Deer proofing your recall + loose lead walking skills!

Laird is recovering well from his “jousting “ injury - the only reasonable explanation for the huge hole in his shoulder!

But while we can do a bit more exercise, it all needs to be calm and controlled.

Calm is not a word often used for 2yr old German Wire Haired Pointers . . . . .

So walking nicely even around distractions has shot up the priority list – being dragged by your dog is never fun, especially when its 36 kg of muscle doing the pulling.

Off lead Zoomies are also on the forbidden list which means more long lines. Extra tricky with frustrated-enthusiastic powerful dog. I’ve been experimenting with lines that pass through the front harness ring but connect to the top ring for safety.

As a wee treat after waiting patiently during a workshop, l wanted to take them somewhere interesting for a walk, but with minimal chance of deer - they are far too exciting for Laird.

Ermmm

Lets just say that 4 pm on a Sunday afternoon is prime time for deer on the water meadows by Fulford….

We saw a total of 5 deer at varying distances!

I was so glad Laird was on a line and we were able to walk away in some semblance of control.

There’s no magic secret or technique , just careful foundations built up over time.

How would YOUR dog have coped?

If the idea fills you with dread, consider signing up for a 3 week intensive course with me! We have two starting Monday 5th August, and more in September

• Stay By My Side II (walking nicely on lead around distractions) 5th Aug
• Baby Come Back I (coming back when called) 5th Aug

Find your intensive course here

• Stay By My Side I (learning how to walk by your side consistently) 9th Sept
• Mind Your Manners II (resisting temptation everywhere) 9th Sept

What’s on in WCC Land?

Open Day Sat 7th Sept

We’re celebrating TEN years of building better relationships with dogs . Come to our Open Day on Sat 7th Sept, Yorkshire Museum of Farming. Stalls to browse and FREE activities to try with your dog!

Classes in August

There’s NO workshops in August but we do have short courses on core skills  like recall or not pulling on lead, plus Get Tracking (starts Aug 5th) and Introduction to Bodywork (9th Sept)

CaniCross Survival Skills on Sunday September 15th

Morning - learn how to warm up and cool down effectively
Afternoon - start loving those hills with and without your dog to help

*Book both workshops and SAVE £10*

Location: Yorkshire Cycle Hub, Fryup Gill Farm, Great Fryup, YO21 2AP

Gundog + Herding Dog Workshops 

They start back from September  21st and we've dates booked in till 2020 so grab those spaces fast!
See the calendar here.

Stop in the name of safety!

Frosty mornings are my favourite.

There’s sparkling twinkling glitter on every blade of grass and leaf.

The mud is a forgotten memory.

And the nippy early mornings seem to bring out the zoomies in all my dogs!

But, there’s also the dreaded icy pavement to negotiate while the fields beckon with their wide open spaces.

This morning I stepped onto the front step saying “steady dogs, let’s not die on the ice just yet!”.

Now you know that for me nice walking is pretty important because of my long standing sciatica problem (previous blog), but I reckon it suddenly gets much more important for everyone when its icy.

And it’s not fair to expect our dogs to magically not pull on frosty mornings if we tolerate it on other days…

Nice walking, or loose lead walking, or “stop pulling my arms out of their sockets!” is hard to train, and there really aren’t many quick fixes.

Here’s a wee summary of how you could approach the problem: 

Want more help?

Why not book onto a three week intensive that concentrates ONLY on nice walking on lead – Stay By My Side.

These sessions have a maximum of just two dogs per trainer, and give you very specific homework tasks to practice each week.


Happy frosty walks!

Morag and the Beasts

What’s going on in WCC land? 

 

Three Week Intensives: Stay By My Side, Baby Come Back, Mind Your Manners 

Classes run on Mondays (foundation) and Wednesdays (advanced) in the evening at Yorkshire Museum of Farming

See the full set of options here 3 Week Intensives

Gundog Games Workshop – ONE SPACE LEFT

Learn how to have fun with your dog's natural instincts rather than fighting them!
Open to gundogs, gundog crosses (cockerpoos, labradoodles and more) or any dog that wants to have more fun.

Book to spectate OR bring your own dog

Scentwork and Sniffing School 

Channel your dog’s natural talent for sniffing with our Introduction to Scentwork workshops, and then enrol in Sniffing School for structured weekly challenges.

• Introduction to Scentwork EVENING (6th + 13th Feb 7pm) Yorkshire Museum of Farming
• Introduction to Scentwork DAYTIME (Saturday 9th Feb 9.30am) PawPark, Sand Hutton
• Sniffing School Level 1 starts 27 Feb at 7.30pm (5 week course)

 

 

Helpful Hounds returns! 16th February

Clare is leading two workshops focused on teaching your dog just some of the things Assistance Dogs do every day.

The introductory session is ideal for dogs who are new to these skills, while the progression session is designed to advance your learning.

Attend as a handler with your own dog, or come as a spectator to observe and practice at home!

Venue: Shipton By Beningbrough Hall

9.30am Foundations workshop
1.30pm Progressions workshop

Helpful Hounds 16th Feb

 

 

Introduction to Canicross Workshop: Sunday 27th January 

Expert kit fitting, basic skills tuition and a short guided run to put it all into practice!

NO NEED TO BE SUPER FIT!

Wigginton near York 
2pm Sunday 27th January

Book Intro Workshop