Great session today with the lovely Maddie & her wonderful owners. Maddie a strong 3 year old Golden Retriever has always pulled hard on the lead & with her owners having had a few issues medically it was imperative to get Maddie walking nicely & for everyone to start enjoying walks. So after a nice chat, some advice & implementation of training techniques we were delighted with immediate improvements. This clip was around 40 minutes into our 1st session & Maddie is loose lead walking for the first time ever. Well done all, you absolutely smashed it today! (Especially you Maddie) 👍🐕

Bryn the Barking GSD

Star pupil so far this week. Given his owners the keys to stop barking at any noises, attention seeking & more. Lovely dog is Bryn! Call Graham our Dog Behaviour Expert on 07825 171319 now for any training or behaviour issues & needs.

Puppy Classes Coming this Spring 

Only £20 per session for valuable training tips & invaluable socialisation with puppies of a similar age in a lovely secure private location. Book now!

Happy New Year from Wiggle Waggle 

Star Pupil Huxley 

One of my favourite ever "pupils" the wonderful 'Huxley', a Great Swiss Mountain dog. We've just finished 7 sessions over 11 weeks with him & his hard working owners and the progress for just 2 and a half months is amazing. Well done Hux & probably catch up again next year 👍🐕

Winnie the Reactive GSD

Not the easiest to demonstrate on film using my phone camera BUT this is Winnie the lovely GSD. Winnie has been incredibly anxious & even more so reactive (mostly dog reactive but also human ... to the point it took me 10 mins to get close to her in our 1st session about 4 or 5 months ago) and initially she only had to see someone or especially another dog at any sort of distance to kick into a lunging, barking, snapping & going off the scale. We've come a long way since then & that includes building the confidence & assertiveness of Winnies owner. Here even though its not so obvious on the footage, Winnie is walking in reasonable proximity to people with dogs. She's choosing to practice avoidance & being rewarded for non reaction. There's a way to go yet & too close up situations can still be too much. However from the 1st session where I mostly observed & did a little firefighting during which we hid within a clump of trees & bushes as the reaction to the merest sight evoked mayhem, this progress in just a few months is exceptional. Well done Winnie!

Another Happy Customer

Formerly hard pulling Labrador walking nicely after just one session.

And yet another excellent review. 

We love it when owners & dogs are happy!

Keep your dog cool, safe and well trained this summer 

RECENT WIGGLE WAGGLE STARS

Bloss & Cookie, a happy success story

2 lovely Daschunds, Cookie & Bloss that were so reactive the owner couldn't take them out near people or other dogs as the reaction was so severe. In fact one of them (Cookie), we at Wiggle Waggle had to write correspondence for the local council stating she wasn't actually aggressive or dangerous.  An absolute joy to see them now, Cookie even off lead. Totally different dogs & massive credit to the owner for so brilliantly applying our theories & techniques daily.  

WIGGLE WAGGLES WORK WITH LOCAL SCHOOLS FEATURE IN MAGAZINE ARTICLE 

Our community work with local Schools featured in Round & About Magazine highlighting the valuable safety &:education work we've done in the interests of children & dogs.

Albie the Staffy fresh from a rescue.

Albie the Staffy literally less than a week out from a rescue with owners concerned about several issues including guarding, jumping, potential aggression & destroying and humping items, notably his bed. After just one session I was able to assess Albie and rectify most of this & discount any real aggression (though guarding is an aggressive instinct & not easily eradicated). However Albie is a lovely boy & with correct consistent training & engagement should be absolutely fine. The new owners are relieved & happy and want to give this lovely fella his forever home 🐕❤️ to add text.

Puppy class time!

Wiggle Waggle Puppy Classes. £60 for a course of 3 sessions. Includes advice from a qualified Dog Behaviour Expert on good puppy parenting, basic obedience and valuable socialisation with a class of a maximum of 5 dogs that ensures all pups & owners get plenty of attention with all questions answered. An enclosed private field used for the hour long sessions. Call now on 07825 171319 to book or email via our contact page. 

Hugo, Well Done!

This is Hugo, a loveable ex street dog who was adopted by a caring lady with her own business. Hugo goes to work with his owner & spends the day in her office, only a year ago he overcame a debilitating illness that had him paralysed. Sadly due to his past Hugo automatically went into a barking frenzy when people came in or out of the office & even stood at the door. After 4 sessions we've made fantastic progress where Hugo gives amazing engagement to his owner & using knocks at the window or door as an operant conditioning stimulus for positive re-enforcement, there's barely any reaction now, even a solitary bark is quickly quelled & redirected. Well done Hugo, you're a star!

Wiggle Waggle helping free in the Community 

Wiggle Waggle are helping in the community. We've already booked 7 talks at Primary schools in the Cookham & Maidenhead area scheduled for assembly time to talk to & educate children about safety & conduct around dogs to cut the risk of unfortunate and totally avoidable dog bites to kids. It's a fact that around 50% of children have suffered some form of dog bite by the age of 12. These talks we plan to run through February to local schools & are being done absolutely free of charge.

A few comments from me about the issue is that everyone, including parents need education to improve relationships between children & dogs. Kids by their nature are erratic, loud, energetic & unpredictable all aspects that aren't a great mix with dogs, especially those with any anxieties. Children will want to directly approach (quickly & loudly often) a dog, to hug them , pet down on top of their heads, pull tails, ears etc, approach & touch the dog when it's eating or sleeping. None of these are comfortable for a dog, some anxious dogs will react badly, even more confident dogs may bite if a series of growls, deflection and avoidance signals are ignored. Constant unpleasant experiences with kids will lead to the dog making a negative general association with youngsters. My aim is to educate children around dogs to avoid the potential issues.

For all dog behaviour issues contact us now via email, through the website or via phone/WhatsApp. 

Fantastic Engagement & Reactivity Session 

Links to You Tube of a very successful session with the normally VERY reactive (9 year old) Ellla, using engagement techniques to great effect. 

Another Success Story

The very handsome Murphy. We have helped his owner with anxiety based aggressive barking & charging at strangers (human) and large dogs by gaining his focus & trust. Murphy & owners are now much happier, relaxed & able to enjoy walks out. This isnt ever 100% a dog issue or owner one, there's inevitably some of both but its how we as owners, handlers, walkers etc interact with our dogs & present our energy, posture, vocalisation etc that is key & understand the REASON for our dogs anxieties, the triggers etc.

SEASON OF GOOD WILL TO ALL

Wiggle Waggle aim to please. Found a solution to a disabled clients issue earlier this week by using some training equipment I carry with me (soft braid slip lead). He was going to get one from Pets at Home to progress training over Christmas but they were out of stock & he doesn't use Ebay or Amazon so I offered to order and deliver one for him. It came today & was a pleasure to personally deliver it & see his gratitude... especially this time of year it was very fulfilling & ultimately it's to benefit his lovely little Jack Russell (Loki who's pictured)

HAPPY CHRISTMAS FROM US AT WIGGLE WAGGLE 

How important is a Childs safety and a Dogs Life?

• A FEW STATISTICS REGARDING DOG BITES
  MILLIONS OF PEOPLE ARE BITTEN BY DOGS WORLWIDE EVERY YEAR
• OF THOSE (VARYING ACCORDING TO COUNTRY) BETWEEN 20-50% OF THOSE PEOPLE ARE CHILDREN (UNDER 14), THE FIGURE IN UK IS OVER 25%
• OF THOSE BITES (TO CHILDREN) CLOSE TO 70% ARE FACIAL INJURIES
• AROUND 1,500 CHILDREN ARE HOSPITALISED THROUGH DOG BITES (UK) ANUALLY
• THE AGE GROUP (FROM 1 TO 100) THAT MOST DOG BITES OCCUR TO IS UNDER 9s
• 50% OF CHILDREN WILL BE BITTEN BY A DOG BY THE TIME THEY'RE 12
• 9 PEOPLE DIED THIS YEAR THROUGH DOG ATTACK, 4 WERE CHILDREN (UK ONLY)
• DOG THAT BITES MOST, JACK RUSSELL. MOST DEATHS, AMERICAN XL BULLY
• 80,000 DOGS ARE EUTHANISED YEARLY (UK). OF HEALTHY DOGS WAY TOO MANY ARE PUT DOWN DUE TO "AGGRESSION" - MOST CAN BE AVOIDED IF WE READ THEIR COMMUNICATION MORE EFFECTIVELY & AVOID DOING THE WRONG THINGS
• EDUCATION PROGRAMMES WORLDWIDE ARE STATISTICALLY PROVEN TO LOWER ALL THESE FIGURES, REDUCE RISK TO CHILDREN & PROMOTE A BETTER, MORE HARMONIOUS RELATIONSHIP WITH OUR BEST FRIENDS.

WAIT
IN OUR LEAFLET WE MENTION NOT TO APPROACH STRANGE DOGS. THIS EXPLORES THE SUBJECT MORE & IN A SCENARIO WHERE A CHILD SEES THEIR NEIGHBOUR APPROACH WITH WHAT LOOKS A SUPER FRIENDLY DOG & DESPERATELY WANTS TO SAY HELLO, THERE IS AN ACCEPTABLE & SAFE ETIQUETTE TO FOLLOW.

W - WAIT. Look at the dog, does it want to engage, does it look relaxed & happy?
A - ASK. Speak to the owner & ask if it's ok to say hello to their dog
I - INVITE. Don't reach toward the dog, allow the dog to use it's nose & come to you (a fist works best)
T - TOUCH. Not to top of dogs head, stroke chest, sides following fur contour gently

Anthropomorphization via dogs on TV, social media platforms such as TIkTok leads to much misunderstanding on how dogs actually feel & think, when simplified on this level to a child, it can lead to incorrect assumptions of how to act around dogs. Remember a wagging tail doesn't necessarily mean a happy dog. With education we can address these issues effectively to ensure adults, children & dogs have happy relationships.

IF YOU FEEL LIKE YOU NEED HELP OR EVEN PEACE OF MIND CALL OR MESSAGE NOW!
EVEN IF YOU'RE NOT LOCAL ENOUGH FOR A 1 TO 1 PERSONAL VISIT, A ZOOM SESSION IS ONLY £15 FOR AN INFORMATION PACKED HALF HOUR THAT WILL LEAVE YOU FAR BETTER INFORMED & EDUCATED.

Obedience for Dogs & Puppies 

Obedience training in puppies. At a couple of months old you'll want to start obedience training with your pup to make sure you have a happy, well behaved and mannered dog going forward. At this stage dont over do it. Too many commands & too much training will likely confuse & frustrate your dog leading to problems.

Train no more than 3 ten minute sessions daily, more & your pup may begin to lose focus. Ensure training isn't carried out soon after meals if you intend on using treats as motivation, even use some of the dogs meals as rewards to avoid over feeding. Always end any training session on a high. Everything for your dog needs to be Black or White, there's no room for grey areas. Don't repeat commands. Use the dogs name only in a positive sense, never to chastise. Work on your body language & signals need to be consistent. Your tone of voice rather than the words used is far more important.

Below are the magic ingredients & basics you need to proof (perfect) before you decide to move onto things like recall, wait, take it, place, wait & combinations of these and other commands.

1) FOCUS, FOCUS, FOCUS! Teach the LOOK command. You have little chance in getting a dog that is failing to engage with you to follow commands.

2) STRUCTURE. I call structure the very basics of SIT, DOWN (or LAY) & after these are nailed you can phase in STAY. These basic commands will be your friend and a huge help to you in a variety of situations. Without these being totally proofed then it's pointless trying to move onto more complicated commands.

What your dog needs is a fair, gentle but authoritative leader to look up to & defer to for LEADERSHIP & DIRECTION. By following the above directions you can be that, believe me, it's imperative you do! Here at Wiggle Waggle we can give you all the support & techniques required to take these vital steps.

Here is a beautiful 3 month old Akita pup (Luna) who recently received some of this basic training. Remember at this stage less is more.
#dogbehaviour #dogtrainer #puppytraining #dogbehaviourist #dogtrainingadvice #puppy #dog

Check our YouTube link below.

Elvis the Guarding Sprocker

Elvis who's a lively, handsome Sprocker (Springer/Cocker Spaniel cross) who adores his family & is loved so much by them had a bit of an issue. He wasn't too keen on visitors to the house, especially those who were complete strangers and wanted them gone, something he expressed in his aggressive deep consistent bark that I was on the receiving end of for the 1st couple of minutes of my visit to see Elvis & his loving family. They were even worried that this might escalate to a more physical form of aggression if it kept increasing. After an hour with Elvis & his family (including a couple of other dogs, one who had started to join in with Elvis!) I had explained & demonstrated how visitors should behave on arrival, how they could correct or redirect Elvis if the behaviour persisted along with some daily exercises and how to interact with him. Suffice to say by the time I left Elvis was my best friend and had taken to resting his chin on my knee & gazing up at me and my clients were happier & more confident going forward with the anxiety being removed from receiving visitors. As usual Wiggle Waggle are open to providing FREE service, advice & after care between sessions to help our clients achieve the happiness that they & their dog deserves.

Terrified Terrier

Oscar the Yorkshire terrier wasn't even 18 months old & was on his third home. Poor Oscars first home had we believe been an abusive one, his 2nd little better where he was bullied & chased by a bigger dog. Not surprisingly Oscar is a bag of nerves, barking at every sound & movement almost hysterically.  After our 1st 1 hour session we had Oscar coming to me, taking treats freely as a reward for sniffing & engaging calmly initially WITHOUT treats (Try not to bribe dogs!) After an hour & a half lots of good advice regarding new daily routines I left feeling Oscar can become a far happier & calmer dog. There's a long way to go & lots of hard but consistent work to do by all but this is an excellent & encouraging start to the rest of Oscars life. 

Rover, severe anxiety around cars & traffic

This is Rover, he's 4 now and was born on a farm & unsocialised to cars & traffic. He's very anxious around them & has an instinctual defence mechanism to drop down in a lay & be submissive when one approaches, even at a distance, also to occasionally lunge at them through anxiety which we know can be very dangerous. He even began demonstrating this behaviour around bikes & runners.

I've done 2 sessions with Rover now and we've made amazing progress considering this behaviour is ingrained over years and he's actually built increased instinctual anxiety over time. We're able to redirect Rover with a ball which he loves & have even been able to successfully carry out this on the road as cars pass. Rover previously wouldn't stay on his feet if any vehicle approaches. In fact Rover no longer even notices bikes & runners. There's still much to do & he will take time to be desensitised & counter conditioned sufficiently to handle walking by busy areas & roads.

When dealing with instinct, anxiety & phobia its a different proposition & in fact much harder than trying to fix bad behaviour & I hasten to add Rovers issues aren't poor behaviour in the slightest. However it's a fantastic & fulfilling challenge to try and give Rover an anxiety & stress free rest of his life which should be another decade or so, plus make his owners walk times a happier more relaxed occasion. This proves no dog is a lost cause & even if issues cannot be totally eradicated, they can be improved immeasurably.

You just have to work, think, get to understand the dog, find the key & implement a workable plan. I believe we've done this here although we all have much hard & consistent work to do. Come on Rover, you can do it!