I want to get a dog but I have to work, how does everyone on broadway market do it ?

Feels like the kinda thing someone who's got a dog as an accessory rather than an actual pet would do. "This dog I don't understand isn't doing what I want it to, off to boarding school."
Could understand it as a service for rescues with previous issues maybe, but you kinda know what you're getting into there.

Yeah in general I think it's silly but I saw a TV docu where a guy was trying desperately to train his completely out of control rescue dog, and really failing. Sent it off to trainers for two weeks and it came back as a lovely good boy.

I feel like this is a bit like saying 'why would I need to go to a therapist when I can just read a book on therapy'. Yeah maybe you can. But for some people they will do better out of being taught.

The dog trainer of course should also be an expert at spotting your dog's cues and realising why they're behaving like they do, which you won't get from YouTube.

I can imagine it'll be useful in a few cases like that, but in general I'd think a trainer should train you and the dog together.

I was asking a question, not saying.
I would do it, if I had the disposable income. Good analogy.

Dog trainer = "sit, stay, moonwalk"
Dog (animal) behaviourist = "how does your dog feel when you ask them to sit, stay, moonwalk..."

What does a dog trainer do? Do they train you, or the dog? Is it valuable?

We saw a trainer/behaviourist with our rescue for about a year because he was a nightmare. It all stemmed from being nervous and manifested itself in him going apeshit at everything. Without that we’d have had to get rid because he couldn’t really be walked unless we knew we wouldn’t see anyone.

I wouldn’t say he’s perfect but he’s miles better and will happily walk round other dogs and goes to a dog daycare place once a week.

That was achieved by her training us to spot cues and reward good behaviour and us repeating it for months and months until he got better.

Wonder what I am missing by not?

Nothing. If your dog doesn’t need it, why waste your money. We’ve done classes with our other dog which have been fun and helped train recall etc.

We had a single long afternoon with a dog trainer. He ignored the dog pretty much, drank cups of tea and talked to us about how to read the signs, stop her bolting away, why taking your dog to the pub is just not ok if they don't like it (seems obvious now), and how to reduce slightly defensive/aggressive reactions around other dogs.

We've been fine since. Money well spent, I call it owner training. I hasten to add it was not a massive problem to start with, and as said, all dogs are different.

I keep coming to this thread and then remembering I don’t have Pretzel anymore.
#sniffs

Well said

Exactly this. It's more owner training than dog training.

Bud. I feel ya.

I actually came to post 3 things

1. @Markyboy said the most important part- cornering any dog = unpredictability.
   I learnt this the hard way and have a scar across my face- from possibly the most docile dog I have ever known.
   
2. Having someone help bolster the training is super helpful. Our littly bundle of stupidity gets a bonus 1hr at daycare additive to the many many hours we put in, and they give us feedback and tips on how to train etc. It has been invaluable.
   
3. The bond is everything. And the failures just add to the love you have for your dog. I hate and love our little cheeky dog's face when I know he is about to do the opposite thing to what I want. And I've grown to be better at coping with it, and the result is he's better every day.
   

Yes. I would file rescues under a different heading and totally seperare to my comment.

It depends on the size of the food. And if it’s in something (e.g. toy). Small treats he’ll just eat. Larger things like edible chews he’ll either eat (annoyingly quickly the savage!) if he’s hungry or just leave there. We’ve learnt to take these away if he’s not immediately interested because it potentially turns into guarding later on. Treats in toys though is a bit different. We want to give him some mental stimulation (so kibble in wobble dispenser thing) but he has ended up guarding that FFS. I’m now wondering whether to double up on these toys to make them less special.

Back to last night’s/today’s episode… He came out around 1ish. Can only assume because he was thirsty AF and the smell of the ox chew around the corner was too much to resist.

We’ve got our second session with a dog behaviourist next month. Referred by the vet and covered by Petplan (who are awesome IMO). Obvz got plenty to work on still but reactivity out and about has definitely improved. As others have said, it’s more about helping you read your dog and when to reinforce/reward the good/calm behaviours. Timing is rather important too. Hard to get across in books.

How old is your dog / pup?

If you are getting the dog resource guarding from you the method we were advised was to from our behaviorist was to feed them their meals by hand for a few months to associate that you are the provider (and taker away) of the food. It's really worked for us.

She will still resource guard if another dog comes near her with a treat / meal though, but i'm not sure there's much you can do about that.

Different breeds have slightly different responses, and there are different circumstances (like if they have a toy) where some breeds of dog will want you to trade if you want the thing they have.

Scotty had a "date" yesterday, the dog walker has a new dog to walk who's a rescue and a bit nervous so Scotty got a free walk to introduce them and because they look alike, there's a video of them and they're having a blast.

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Trying to keep a reactive, energetic, anxious dog calm after an operation is DIFFICULT and STRESSFUL. Daisy has developed a seroma at the incision so that's mint. Should be fine, if we can keep her calm.

Dogeyes.

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was not expecting a gif, not ashamed to admit it shit me up a little when it moved. haha

in other dog news. I spent £57 on a dog bed yesterday because it matches our new sofas (button back) and I didn't want him to feel left out, I don't recognise who I am anymore.

Ha! Not quite the same, but was walking about Cheltenham yesterday and the puppy looked cold, so I spent £30 on a chunky knit jumper for him.

This season is all about the 'where eagles dare' tactical assault steez.

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Waiting to hear back from Dogs Trust if we can give this girl a home.
Part Springer, part Collie, part Australian Kelpie.

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Looks like a smasher!

Also looks like she could run for 3 days straight and ask when the warm up ends