We love teaching pets and their people! Here’s a run-through of our basic classes that are on on weekday evenings.
Puppy Manners
Puppy class isn’t really about teaching obedience and “commands”, but more so about making sure we are installing some vital life skills that puppies must develop during their first few months.
Anything you want in a two year old dog or a five year old dog, we have to prepare for now, while puppy is in those early months of life. All is not lost if we don’t get started that early, but certainly we need to get working on this stuff as soon as possible.
This clip gives you a taste of just some of the work we do on this course – and this is just the tip of the iceberg…
Before your puppy is vaccinated, it’s important to use that time to get a headstart with a Puppy Session (90 minute private session – €60).
If you book both a Puppy Session (€60) and a Puppy Manners course (€125) you pay just €150 – which is a great foundation for you and your puppy to get off on the right paw (not to mention a great bargain!)
Once puppy education is over, that’s not the end of your dog’s lessons; indeed it’s only the beginning – we wouldn’t expect a child to be done with school after the first half of primary school!
Teenage dogs, just like puppies, have specific requirements. Adolescent dogs are most likely to become unwanted so we want to put lots of work in place to make sure the teenag dog stays a lifelong canine companion.
We work on lots during the Teenagers Manners course, all based in helping the adolescent dog develop better self-control and self-calming skills.
We welcome all types of dogs at AniEd but not all dogs benefit from a class environment. We do everything possible to keep our training class environment low-stress (see our videos!) but some dogs have difficulty coping with even that; proximity of strange dogs or people, lots of food rewards or toys, lots of distracting smells and general excitement associated with being some place new can be pretty challenging.
I often tell our training class students that bringing their dogs to class and asking them to concentrate is like bringing their seven year old to Disney World and then asking them to do their homework!
So, we will work with you to make sure that we find the best service and approach to help you and your dog – there’s nothing ‘wrong’ with your dog (or you), every one’s an individual and we will do our best to help you.
Email or call us if you have any queries about class, suitability and AniEd services: contact us.
We see lots of puppies and we want to see more puppies, and we want to see them earlier.
Waiting for your puppy to be finished his or her vaccinations or waiting until the nipping and the accidents and the chewing are driving you bonkers is too late to start your puppy’s education.
Book a puppy-session NOW and make sure that everyone gets off on the right paw!
What happens during a puppy session?
We talk about all the things that you can start to put in place so that puppy raising is easier and your puppy becomes a great, easy to live with, companion dog.
1. Social Experience
Not only must puppies know how to be dogs, but they must also know how to fit into human society – and that’s tough!
We emphasise:
socialisation is not about your puppy learning to greet, play with and love everyone
socialisation is about your puppy learning that other people, dogs, animals and related goings-on are so normal that they’re not even worth getting worked up about
socialisation is about ensuring puppy has mostly positive experiences in social interactions
socialisation is about puppy learning how to behave appropriately in social situations
We will teach you how to teach your dog to greet politely, to manage their excitement and to teach others how to greet your puppy appropriately so your puppy doesn’t become over-whelmed, and learns that social greetings are positive, enjoyable and safe.
How to use your hand-link-a-Kong to teach all this:
Teach puppy that people approaching makes a treat appear so that puppy learns that approaching humans are safe and so that puppy learns to focus on their own people when someone else is approaching:
Off leash puppy activities must never be a free-for-all!
2. Exposure & Experience
The world is a new, exciting and often scary place for puppies. As their new guide to the human-world, in which they will live, we want to gently and carefully expose them to all the things we want them to be able to cope with later on.
Think of the dog you want in two years time…you are preparing for that NOW!
We emphasise:
bring your puppy everywhere you go – you can carry him, have him in the car
set up a couple of odd things everyday, in a new place in and around the house for puppy to explore
Remember, when you start walking your puppy out and about, increase the size of their world very gradually (from the house to the street on the first day is plenty, and around local streets is lots for the first week) and take your time, stop with puppy and allow them to explore in their on time.
3. Mental Exercise
Puppies are active and inquisitive so let’s channel that energy, so it doesn’t become a people-problem and so that puppy is an active learner and problem solver.
We emphasise:
no food bowls for puppies!
training puppy throughout the day, working for their regular food
All puppies do it, and most people are bothered by it.
Puppy nipping is important for puppies though so we put exercises in place to make sure puppies have an acceptable outlet for this behaviour, but preventing it from becoming to much trouble for people.
There are different schools of thought on this and lots of diverse advice.
We emphasise:
keeping interactions with puppy brief and low-key so puppy doesn’t become over-excited (they will often express that with mouthing and nipping)
making sure puppy has lots of down-time, settling and sleep (over tired puppies are like over tired toddlers…)
diverting puppy behaviour and using treats & toys so that we don’t need to restrain, physically manipulate or position puppy
redirecting teeth onto suitable toys
yelping and withdrawing for 5-10-count if we feel hard teeth
moving away from puppy 20-count timeout if they turn into a landshark
teaching puppies the rules of play with people
making sure puppies have lots of opportunities to play bitey-face games with other appropriate dogs
You already know all the behaviours that puppy is going to do that you are not going to like – squealing when left alone, chewing your belongings, toileting in the wrong places, and that’s just for starters.
So, if you know they’re going to bother you, why are you allowing them to happen?! Prevention is key.
Never allow puppy to practice unwanted behaviour so that they never learn to establish unwanted behaviours.
We emphasise:
night-time training so puppy never develops distress at separation (prevents sleepless nights too!)
This is lazy training, and really effective too! Puppy isn’t doing the wrong things all the time so catch him doing the right behaviour and reward that with food rewards, toys, play, attention or access to things he wants.
We emphasise:
rewarding puppy any time you notice he’s quiet, he has four paws on the floor, he’s keeping the leash loose and he’s showing calm focus
It’s normal, natural, necessary dog behaviour (humans do it too!) so let’s set up our puppies so that they never feel the need to make people go away from them, when they have stuff.
We emphasise:
making sure puppies have their own place where they can eat, chew, play and hangout undisturbed
puppies learn that when they have stuff and people come near, awesome things happen
Puppies and dogs will be handled, sometimes in invasive ways, throughout their lives. Remember, anything we want in our dog in two years time, we need to start working on right now!
We started working on an interruption sound so that we can get his attention when he is distracted or spooked, both of which are easy for teenage dogs:
The very pretty Shelley came for a visit too, with her foster-brother-soon-to-be-forever-brother, Frosty!
Check out Frosty’s amazing ears:
…and his amazing eyes:
A pair of stunners on the outside and on the inside!
People Training
Our Helen Zulch workshop/seminar is just about booked up, with a couple of spaces on each day remaining.
We are really looking forward to building on mechanical, advanced training skill on Saturday with a workshop format. Here is some of the action from last year:
On the Sunday we will be looking at the relationship between medical and behavioural health, building medical and behaviour healthcare teams and how to boost that awareness in both veterinary and training fields.
This is one of the most commonly expressed frustrations by trainers so it’s surprising that these topics are not presented more commonly. As such, you need to get booked in for this one!
Should you wish to get one of the few remaining spaces please email info@anied.ie as soon as possible!
A short next week with the Bank Holiday so have a good one!
This week we had Molly for her last daytraining session and she did so amazingly well that we got to take a walk in our local park and have lots of fun!
With Molly’s improvement in the foundation our work has laid, she and her family will continue to build on this closer to home.
Harry came for his first puppy session with his new family to get the best start with all that puppy stuff!
Zepp came for some behaviour work with his people. Among other things we worked on some sofa manners, including how to teach a dog to get off the sofa when asked:
Leo came for some behaviour work too, as we begin to work through some adolescent behaviour – dogs go through a teenage phase too!
Basil came for a training session to help boost his responsiveness and comfort with specific triggers, when out walking. As you can see, he’s pretty relaxed about this whole training business…
Double the fun, double the cuteness and of course, double the trouble, Meryl & Doug.
These two came for their first puppy session with their people, and everyone learned loads!
People Training
This weekend our Canine Studies – Foundation learners came for their second day of tuition. This course is for pet sitters and dog walkers and on Sunday they worked on learning theories, luring, capturing, shaping, and canine signaling.
On top of that they learned how to evaluate a dog’s weight using a body condition scoring system. Most pet dogs in development countries are overweight and what’s more worrying is that people, even including some pet care professionals, have trouble identifying a dog who is overweight.
Many of you will have seen this and similar BCS tools:
This great resource helps you more quickly evaluate the amount of fat carried on your dog’s ribs:
Share this far and wide – the first step in helping improve your pet’s health is to assess the extent of their weight gain.
AniEd Dogs
Dilis, Boomer and Zak were ‘working’ this week, along with lovebirds Decker & Daisy:
Daisy is even starting to play and initiate interactions with Decker:
This week we had lots of applicants in for interview, well more of a chat really, for our new Canine Behaviour & Training Technician program that’s starting next month. CBTT7 will be starting soon and we can’t wait!
Awesome Pets & their People
Molly was back for more Daytraining this week and we were able to achieve more polite leash walking in new areas with much improved responsiveness and reduced vigilance from Molly!
Help your dog pass major triggers, when there’s no other way, like a large dog in a window (only a couple of metres from the pathway) barking at us, as is the case here:
Once we can surprise Ralph with his new recall cue when he’s mildly distracted, we can begin to build an approach and collar grab into our recall routine:
Not only does our new recall cue mean that the dog will always be rewarded, but also means that to access distractions they must recall first.
Lola came for some behaviour work – she is even more adorable in real life! She has spent much of her early life confined to a crate but is now in a great new home and we will be working through some behaviours to help her settle and better cope.
Teaching default sits is a great exercise – think of all the things that your dog can’t do if she’s sitting…!
More Canine First Responder course delivery this week for the Animal Care students of Ormonde College of Further Education, Kilkenny with everyone earning their certs and a greater understanding of what to do in an emergency.
This weekend, our CTI3 learners are back for their second weekend of tuition, working on Canine Health & Disease and Animal Learning & Applications.
They are working hard on learning about canine health, responsible ownership, disease and disease prevention, emergency care, environmental enrichment, learning theories, canine signaling, the effects of aversives and training techniques luring, capturing, targeting and freeshaping. They will certainly deserve their rest after all that!
Molly did some really fantastic work during Daytraining this week and we made lots of progress when we went for short walks – go Molly!
Molly – treat stalking level: expert
Here she practices Crate Games, 1, learning to settle in her crate, that polite behaviour gets her nice things and that rewards happen away from the door:
This stunner, Balto, came for some behaviour work and we put lots of new exercises in place to help him and his family.
Practice collar grab exercises with your dog everyday, even if you only do five reps at a time – it all adds up, helping your dog feel more comfortable with collar handling, a vital skill.
Make sure to go at your dog’s pace, listening to them to maintain comfort and safety.
Elvis, and his buddy Millie, came for a training session too and we worked on confinement comfort…but really needed to spend more time working on posing…or at least both looking at the camera at the same time…
Bella and Ruby came for a visit too. Bella has just been adopted and we want to make sure that these two girls learn to get along and develop a great friendship.
We looked at lots of the best ways to manage their behaviour with separation and careful integration so that we can avoid the rehearsal of any unwanted or inappropriate behaviour.
On walks we are going to practice lots of parallel walking so that the girls can become more comfortable with one another, in wide open space, without direct approach or contact, and while everything is moving.
Here’s a top tip: do you own an adolescent dog, a new dog, a puppy or a worried dog?
Bring treats with you on every walk. Any time you or your dog spot something concerning that causes your dog to alert, stop and watch your dog closely.
Each time your dog looks at the distraction, feed them a treat, one after another.
Soon your dog will begin to get the game and look at the distraction and then back at you (hey! where’s my treat?!). Your dog is learning that distractions mean to focus on their person – without you saying a thing!
If your dog reacts, vocalises, can’t take food or is unable to look away from the distraction, the situation may be too much for them. Get them out of there and try again, when further away.
Rua and Loki are quite a pair – full of life and mischief! They came for some behaviour work to help them cope better with stress, learn to settle when apart and make life easier for everyone!
Blurry tails!
Loki is learning to happily wear a muzzle right now; an important skill for all dogs.
We recommend this training program for helping dogs learn greater comfort with muzzling and taking your time so that they are comfortable with the feel of the muzzle on their face.
If your muzzle training reaches a bit of a lull or you want to give your dog some extra help, try adding this exercise:
Prince, such a cheeky chappie, came for some behaviour work too and is going to be learning all about crate training and handling comfort from now on!
An unexpected visitor
A very sweet and friendly cat, yes, a feline, found us and we soon made friends. He has no collar or chip, and is injured and quite skinny.
He is very comfortable with our handling and contact and had a yummy lunch, before we brought him to the vet for treatment.
We have a lovely rescue space all lined up for him, should no owner come forward, so hopefully he is on the road to recovery soon.
We have named him Ollie!
Although we didn’t introduce him to the dogs, to prevent any distress, Daisy and Dilis had a great time sniffing one of the blankets he slept on, giving it a very thorough going over!
Olfactory enrichment!
People Training
Today our CN4 group came for their last day of tuition on their Canine Nutrition course.
We covered lots and lots, with some great discussions on homemade and commercial diets, food and behaviour, dietary adverse reactions, obesity and dietary support and management for a range of conditions.
A busy day with Decker lending a hand because who better to tell us about canine nutrition than the dog himself!
AniEd Dogs
These four troublemakers had lots of fun being office dogs:
There seems to be continued confusion about microchipping which is now a legal requirement for all dogs.
We have updated our information post about microchipping several times as new information seems to slowly trickle down here and Dogs Trust Ireland have shared a Top 10 FAQs:
We also sent you a piece on a more balanced attitude to being a dog trainer, working at what should be your dream job…Somewhere in between
Awesome Pets & their People
Molly was back for more daytraining – she had lots of yummy Kongs and a lovely nap…
Gorgeous Boxer girl Bailey was back for a follow-up session:
She, and her people, have been doing so well that we signed off on Bailey’s case and they will continue to work to maintain our program. We will always be here to support them so hope to see them again.
Jessie from A Dog’s Life, now in a new foster, came for a session to make sure everyone is settling in well.
This stunning dog is looking for a new home; find out more about her here.
Mason, also from A Dog’s Life, has worked his magic on his foster family and they have now become his forever family – YAY!
He and his new sister, Lucy the Basset, are getting on great, with careful management by his people. Good news!
Elsie, who has just been adopted from A Dog’s Life, came for a session with her new family to help everyone settle in and get to know one another.
Moe cam back for his first follow-up, after initial consultation, and he and his people have made amazing progress. We were ready to do some stooge-dog work to help teach Moe alternative and more acceptable behaviours when he sees other dogs.
And then we had some fun with ball play!
Riley, the Tibetan Terrier puppy, came for his first session and had a great time learning how to train humans…
People Training
We have a new Canine Behaviour & Training Technician group starting soon and already have a list of applicants for interview. CBTT7 will be underway next month and we can’t wait to get the ball rolling. More here.
Don’t forget that we have Helen Zulch back for another weekend seminar/workshop in June! There is only one working space left for the Saturday and couple of spectator places on both days so you better sign up quick so that you don’t miss out!
More information here and on our Facebook event here.
AniEd Dogs
Zak cuddled up to the heat:
And the rest of them went to work:
Hopefully we have some more lovely Spring weather in the coming week…enjoy!
Thanks to all our FB supporters – you guys helped us get over 2500 Likes this week! Keep clicking Like and sharing so that that number keeps going up.
This week we sent you pieces about choice in dog training and new microchipping legislation in Ireland – the countdown is on! (We have updated that piece as new information became available amidst plenty of confusion!).
Awesome Pets & their People
Another short week so we just had a couple of consults this week with some great dogs, and committed owners.
Stunner Roxy came back for another follow-up and we went out and about to help her people help her when out in the big bad world. Roxy is a fearful girl, who spent the first 8 months of her life in an almost feral state. Now she has awesome people who have made amazing progress, and her confidence and social skills grow by the day.
Here’s a playlist of some of our work, during our walk around:
The very handsome Teddy came for a first consult; he has been in his fab new home for a very short time so we are working on building his confidence, settling in and increasing his responsiveness. He is off to a great start already!
Lottie came back to do some stooging with Decker and is learning that she can just be, when close to another dog. Doesn’t have to love him, doesn’t have to play, doesn’t need to aggress…can just be.
And next week we will be launching the next run of our CBTT program, CBTT7!
Many of our qualified CBTT-ers have developed or are developing their training businesses, so if you need a pet dog trainer, look no further: Our Dog Trainers.
AniEd Dogs
A look back with a nostalgic shot of Boomer & Zack (before Decker was even born!):
And Decker has an Easter balloon hunt, and is very excited about it:
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AniEd Ireland 