DogPsyche UK

In small social groups of 8 dog/handler partnerships or less, we don't 'walk our dogs', we travel with them as a mini-adventure with lots of interesting and fun exercises along the way such as learning to be calm when other dogs are close....

When we travel as a social group, we sometimes meet other groups also on a journey!  Two groups pass each other above - note the two groups are facing different directions as they continue on their journey.

 One of the most fun parts of the journey is 'hunting' with our dogs; joining in with them on exciting searches for food, toys or simply interesting scents on trees! (Note Max's tail above is wagging so furiously it is a blur!)

The recall is practised safely on a long line until it is 99% (there is no such thing as a 100% recall - we have dogs, not robots!).

Or offlead once a safe recall is established...

For even the most anxious dog, there is space enough for them to relax even when other dogs are working all around them.

And of course ample opportunity for dogs to work right alongside others...

From time to time we take the clubs out to unfamiliar environments to further develop their social skills...

(its also a very nice excuse for a day out on the beach or at the Lakes!)

No dog is allowed to join without a 40 minute one-to-one assessment and induction session with me and my own dogs.  This way I can provide all of my initial, basic guidelines and information on canine behaviour and training with and assess whether dog needs more one-to-one or will be okay to integrate into one of the clubs according to their personality and temperament.  Cost:  £35.00

With young pups under 5mths this is a full 2-hour consultation in the home where I can give a new owner ALL of the information and one-to-one help that usually takes 6wks on a puppy course.  Cost:  £60.00

Every walk club is different according to the environment and the dogs but a typical Walk Club session might go like this:

1-1:20pm. 

Club meet up in a wide open space and immediately start 'travelling'.  Dogs onlead, practising brief onlead polite greetings.  No play allowed on walking leads.  Once dogs are a little calmer, we practice brief ‘Sits’ and ‘Stays’.  In between this we are still travelling and also introducing some scent work, encouraging dogs to use their noses to track tiny pieces of food dropped by the owners.   This helps to calm them down and also teaches dogs who live alone to share resources (I strictly supervise this to stop any resources anxiety or guarding behaviours developing).

1:20-1:30pm. 

If we have a fairly cohesive group of dogs that are socialising well and have calmed down enough after the initial greeting,  there is some offlead play.  If I have any concerns over a dog’s recall they are kept on a long line and the owner is told that they must stay close to the line to reinforce their recall.  We practice recalls while the dogs are playing, often telling the owners to ‘scatter’ to train the dogs to follow them if they walk away from the play session.  If there are young puppies in the group or any unbalanced dogs that need help socialising, the group stays static (stops travelling) and I closely supervise the interactions so that everything is kept calm and all dogs have as positive an experience as possible.

1:30-1:45pm.

We do some work to calm the dogs down and this varies from ‘Down Stay’ work to tethered stays, ‘Leave’ exercises with food or toys or sticks, walking past static dogs, training dogs to retrieve or doing single dog recalls etc.  Standard ordinary training class exercises but in an outdoor environment.

1:45pm

The group ‘travels’ back to the car park.  By this time it is usually possible to have all dogs offlead (except for the ones needing long lines) as they are a lot calmer now they’ve been mentally and physically stimulated by this time.  We practice gate control, getting into the car, sharing water with other dogs, have a brief chat about the session, etc.  If we're in a location with a cafe, we often stop for a sociable coffee and chat afterwards!

Cost per 4wk block of Walk Club sessions:  £18.00

• To establish balanced social groups of owners and dogs in their natural environment while on a walk.
• To teach owners AND their dogs how to cope with the kinds of things that happen on an ordinary walk in our geographic location.  These exercises might not be appropriate in an average city park densely populated with dogs but for our rural demographic they are appropriate.  (As an example, we practice a recall away from dogs that are already playing together.  In a city park this might not be necessary as some people either wouldn’t let their dog offlead or would not allow them to play with another dog unless strictly managed.)
• Help to ‘re-balance’ dogs who have lived a restricted life of being on a lead by carefully monitoring and shaping their social behaviours with an established group of socially balanced dogs.
• To teach owners how to get their dogs wanting to be with them and listen to them more than anything else in their environment which will then lead to better control.
• To educate owners on canine behaviour.
• To educate owners on their legal and moral responsibilities as dog owners.
• To teach dogs how to interact safely with each other, even if the other dog isn’t socially balanced.
• To teach dogs that they can and should listen to their owners, even in the middle of a game.
• With puppies, to learn how to respect their elders.
• With elder dogs, to learn how to respect puppies.
• With ALL dogs, to respect and love their owners! (in that order!)