(Lancs)

At Tail Waggers we train with the emphasis on encouraging the dog to want to do things your way. As a trainer I don’t like seeing dogs working in slow speed, scared to put a foot wrong. The sight of a handler bellowing at a dog who clearly doesn’t understand or is scared and reacting through fear fills me with dread. However I still insist on good manners. It’s just that I believe the dog should be given good reason to want to have those manners

I want my dogs to think I am the most wonderful person on the planet and that whatever I want them to do must be the most fun thing imaginable but to be this way, I must first have given them previous experiences to prove this. I want them to trust that if I say something isn’t scary, then there is no need to fear. I need to create a bond with my dog

It sounds obvious but when you look at things from the dogs perspective it’s often easy to see why a lot of dogs only ‘behave’ for a quiet life and that given the chance (like being off lead in the local park) they would choose another option. I want my dogs to want to be with me and want to please me, not to feel they have to or else so for this reason I prefer positive training

Tail Waggers emphasises training in life skills rather than formal obedience. Whilst there are many very happy competitive obedience dogs out there, most pets owners don’t want a dog walking to the park glued to their leg, they simply don’t want to be pulled over in the haste to get there. Similarly they just want Rover to come back and stop playing with his park friend. In essence they want an easy to live with dog who is able to safely and happily go for a walk and be a dog