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oduction: We’ve all been there—you’re out for a walk with your gundog, and suddenly, they start pulling on the lead, excitement building, and before you know it, you’re speeding up too. It’s easy to get caught up in their energy, but what if I told you that the way we feel directly influences how our

training your dog, it’s easy to get frustrated when things don’t go as planned. Maybe your dog isn’t picking up a new command, or they seem to be going backwards in an area where you thought they’d made progress. These moments can make you feel like you’ve failed as a dog owner. But here’s the

Welcome to Confident Canine in Essex – The home of the Holistic Gundog Specialist Welcome to Confident Canine, Essex. I am The Holistic Gundog Trainer and I specialise in positive, reward-based 121 training for gundogs. Gundog Training Recall and Loose lead walking specialist Confidence Building Reactivity – Barking and lunging etc How to raise your

Why won’t my dog settle? To listen to the audio version of this blog please click the button below  Click here Why can’t your dog settle, is the more appropriate question There are many reasons why your gundog might not be able to stop and relax. In my experience none of those are because they

The right support for your gundog and you I see so many posts on social media seeking advice. Today was which task a person should concentrate on teaching their dog – sit, stay, come or retrieve Another day it’s my dog won’t come back to me what do I do. There are multiple posts, literally

Careful what you wish for So today I saw a FB post, I see them all the time, they are really hard to scroll past because they are nearly always followed by tonnes of comments from people that are struggling with their dogs and loose leash walking, comments such as: Fantastic, where about are you

Every perfect recall Get help training your gundog: Book your 121 here For testimonials visit our FB Page  5/5 Facebook Instagram Spotify Twitter Member of the PGG British Isles So, at the start of our walk, we cross a green, it’s next to the main road, do I think she will run off? Nope.

Stop the blame It is time to feel empowered again! I had an amazing weekend, the sun was shining, I love working with dogs and I had some amazing 121 clients to see! One particular conversation really got me thinking. It was with a fantastic owner who had been struggling to connect with her dog

Day 0 – I am doing the 30 day challenge because as our puppy was entering our lives, our old boy, my heart boy, Kodi was leaving us, he died New Years day when little Rosa was just 4 months old and her training fell by the wayside as we grieved, I think this will

Rewarding your gundog properly Rewards in dog training, contentious for many reasons but they certainly have their place! I know that there are many opinions on reward based training in the gundog world and everyone is entitled to their opinion of course. Many misunderstand reward based training as treat bribery but if done correctly this

The cost of confidence The cost of confidence is priceless! So, we have a young puppy, always happy and confident and up until a recent ear infection in one ear she was also happy to have her ears cleaned. However, upon her ear becoming inflamed she went from standing still to have it cleaned to

Perform action without regards for the fruits of action “Perform action without regards for the fruits of action” I heard the above recently on a meditation experience download (it is apparently from the Bhagavad Gita or at least similar words are) and it really struck a cord with me in regards to dog training. I had

The tell tail tell Every dog is different and that is one of the things that I like best about teaching scentwork. There is no magic way for you to understand your dog and what it is telling you when it’s working or on scent, the only way to understand your dog is to take

I was recently on a training day and I had a great day and I believe everyone else did too and that was the main take on the day overall. I can’t help myself, I’m always observing how others work for good or bad. The good I take home with me and look at how

I want it all! Twice again recently I have had the age old conversation of doing more than one discipline/sport/activity with your dog. So many times over my past 10+ years in dogs I have been told I can’t do obedience if I want to do field work, I can’t take my dog tracking if

Let your dog show you I did a blog some time ago about working with the dog you’ve got, it still stands you should work with the dog you have in front of you rather than the dog you wished you had however I’ve learn’t a lot since then and I’d like to update it

You will often hear me say, train them young, from the moment your dog comes home training commences, train anywhere, train everywhere….but when shouldn’t you train? I have two hard and fasts for no training and they are simple: When your dog is not ok (physically or mentally) When you are not ok (physically or

Our latest offering at Confident Canine is for those of you who think your dog has what it takes to be a model. There are lots of agencies out there that you can join for a small fee and I know plenty of people of have gained work from those agencies but it all depends

Someone said this to me just yesterday but it isn’t the first time and won’t be the last and its a phrase I will never ever understand, ‘You can’t do it all!’ Can’t I? Why can’t I? One good reason please? Just one will do me…. I can’t think of any and of my three

I have an ideal follow on to my last blog from just last week ‘Competing – It is never perfect‘ It has been an interesting week. I recently posted on my personal FB page that I am giving up competitive obedience for now, possibly permanently, time will tell and it was interesting to see the

My clients already know this about me, its simple really, I dont recommend products, toys, treats and training that I haven’t tried and tested myself. Pet Remedy has not only worked for my dogs but for many, many dogs to whom I have recommended it. I am a stockists and orders will soon be easily

Many of us dog owners are highly dedicated, I don’t mean in the sense of competing but in caring, loving and providing for our dogs. Some of that includes important things like daily food and exercise and some of that is also training time. Those who know me will know that I lost my mum November

Many people use the term ‘obedience class’ to mean many, many different things, such as: Competition obedience – These should be about Learning and working with very precise movements and commands in order to later compete, usually in Kennel Club shows. Pet obedience – These tend to be about learning and working with general commands

This year has been a major one for me, for a start I lost my mum. Amongst other things I’ve had to let friends go which has been sad, for whatever reason they were not meant to be part of my journey going forward. I’ve said goodbye to my beloved cat after 16 lovely long

I recently watched a post unfold on social media, this prompted me to write this short blog. So positive training, what isn’t it? Lets start with what too many people believe it is: Handing out to your dog an endless stream of treats Handing out those treats to bribe your dog to do what you

Most people now know that the physical effects of  reactivity / stress / fear etc can last for up to 72hours after the event but what many people do not fully appreciate is the physical effects of over arousal. Over arousal is often put down to drive but isnt the same thing. Over arousal is

So many people remain unaware of the changes that took place to dog law recently. Please take your time to familiarise yourself it could save your dogs life. Changes include your responsibilites at home and also the fact that a dog now only has to be seen to be a worry for action to be

Summer finally looks to be rearing its lovely head and its a great fun time of year for your dogs but remember to take care too as with the heat comes a few added dangers to consider watching out for. Exercise – Take your dogs out early or late since these are much cooler times

We are our pets guardians, they do not have their own voice and it is therefore up to us to keep them protected and ensure they feel safe, we know this, yet sometimes it can prove difficult. Today I failed in that job and its led me to reflect just how hard it can be

I recently came across the website of a fellow dog trainer. On their page they mentioned something that drives me crazy, I never tend to tackle it myself (until now) as I dont believe in putting down other trainers down because I think thats cheap tactics. Instead I prefer to talk about and show people

Nina suggested Pet Remedy to me as I had tried another leading brands Diffuser, Spray and Collar which sadly had no effect on any of my 3 dogs. I do think that the Pet Remedy Diffuser has made a difference in aiding to calm my dogs behaviour, along with other training tools such as a stuffed

Hi, I just wanted to say that the spray worked brilliantly. To be honest I wasn’t really sure that it would work but for the first time ever he jumped in the car laid down and had a nap. Didn’t cry, moan or shiver. Highly recommend the spray to anyone with a dog that’s nervous