DOG TRAINING and Behaviour Modification

Do you ever wonder what is going on inside your dog’s furry head? Why won’t they stop chewing everything? How can you stop them from barking at other dogs? What’s the best way to prevent them from pulling when on a lead? It’s a minefield out there, but we are here to help! The Dog Bus offers an extensive range of reward-based training programmes that are backed up by knowledge, passion and formal qualifications.

Dogs do what comes naturally or is rewarding to them. If we can work out what motivates a dog, we can use it as a reward to positively reinforce a behaviour – for example toys, treats, or human praise. Most of the time, it is the human who simply doesn’t understand why their dog is acting a certain way. This makes it hard to address behavioural issues, as they have no clue where to start. It is often the simplest change that can prevent or stop that fluffy angel from becoming a terror!

Dogs don’t speak English, nor understand it. If we keep saying “plasteroid” to you, what does it actually mean? The same way, many commonly used words mean nothing to a dog. Our job is to enable the dog to build an association with a word or gesture, to get the desired result.

Trying the wrong training method on your dog can make the situation worse, so it is fundamental that you know what you are doing. We have all heard of positive reinforcement, but who is being positively reinforced if your actions are wrong? You, or the dog?

There are predominantly two ways to train a dog:

Punishment, Correction, or Aversive methods (same thing at the end of the day) tend to be inputs that your dog doesn’t like. In the simplest of terms, they stop doing the undesirable behaviour in avoidance of the negative stimulus.

 The second and much better method involves positive reinforcement (for the dog). In simple terms, what gets rewarded gets repeated. Rewards (for the dog) are always better than punishment.

 Now you know a bit about how we train, have a look at what we can offer your dog. One of the biggest benefits of training with us is that your dog can use our other services too. This accelerates the process of learning, as the dog can get to know us really well, allowing for a strong bond and more opportunity for us to observe your dog in different settings.

OUR SUPER SPECIAL OFFER

Puppy Training

From November 2022 – we are offering free puppy training – yep, that’s right, free!

 So what’s the catch? Well, the small pawprint says that your training will be free – on the basis that you book 4 days for your dog on our Adventure Field Half Day Service (we don’t take pups on 1-hour group walks until they are a bit older). This way your pup can socialise in a controlled and healthy environment, boosting its learning and getting to know us better too. And hopefully, they become a long-term TDB gang member!

(Book Now)

Group Workshops

1-hr group sessions teaching one behaviour but in several ways.

– Loose lead walking
– Recall
– the 3 D's
– Eye contact

Behavior

IT’S COMPLICATED!

If we feel your pup has some behavioural issues that are beyond our expertise, we have a network of degree-level behaviourists on hand who are absolute magicians when it comes to dog psychology. Contact Us for a referral now.

Our training options walks are undertaken by a licensed operator of The Dog Bus. For more details of our licensed operation, please Click Here