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The truth about foreign rescue dogs 🐕
I’ve waited a few days to speak about the BBC documentary ‘Rescue Roulette: Dogs from Abroad,’ simply because I hadn’t had a chance to...
positivedirectiond
Aug 14 min read


The need for transparency
Something I’ve noticed recently is an increase in dog professionals being honest about the struggles they’ve had/are still having with...
positivedirectiond
Jun 17, 20242 min read


Bites are not a badge of honour
Quick tip! If you’re looking for a trainer or behaviourist, ask them if they’ve ever been bitten by a dog they’ve worked with. Now,...
positivedirectiond
Feb 29, 20241 min read


Positive planning
To me, being positive when working with dogs means lots of different things. It means thinking of dogs in positive terms and speaking to...
positivedirectiond
Feb 20, 20241 min read


Do you talk to your dog?
Like most people, I can often be heard saying “good boy” and “good girl” to my dogs, and to other peoples’ dogs! It’s such a natural...
positivedirectiond
Feb 12, 20241 min read


Sniffing
Why am I always banging on about SNIFFING? Most dogs love to sniff - whether that’s in the house, garden or out on walks. It’s really...
positivedirectiond
Jan 12, 20241 min read


Crate training
Crate training is a bit of a Marmite issue. Some people swear by it and some see crates as ‘cages’ and don’t like them at all. I think a...
positivedirectiond
Aug 14, 20231 min read


Empathy
Let’s talk about this, because it’s really important. I believe that one of the main reasons people turn to training methods that require...
positivedirectiond
Jul 31, 20231 min read


Brain architecture 🧠
A long read but please, bear with me, this is important! This is a concept originating in child development, but I use it often to talk...
positivedirectiond
Jul 25, 20232 min read


Learning to slow down…
Life can get hectic sometimes. There are so many things to do, so many things to think about and achieve in our day-to-day lives. Getting...
positivedirectiond
Jul 3, 20232 min read


Levels of trust
I was recently reading a book by former monk Jay Shetty, in which he reflects on love and relationships between people. It’s such an...
positivedirectiond
Jun 6, 20232 min read


Some thoughts on commodification
I recently met a man with a beautiful dog - a big, fluffy bear of a boy. Of course, being me, I stopped to say hello to this sweet and...
positivedirectiond
Jun 6, 20232 min read


The perfect owner
What makes a ‘perfect’ dog owner? Well, first of all, let’s dismiss that word ‘perfect’ - which I believe is a damaging and pervasive...
positivedirectiond
May 16, 20231 min read


Progress
I’ve been thinking a lot about the word ‘progress’ in terms of what we want and expect from our dogs. I work with a lot of rescue dogs,...
positivedirectiond
May 4, 20232 min read


Self belief
So many of my clients come to me with low confidence - not in their dogs but in themselves. Many people tell me they’ve lost confidence...
positivedirectiond
May 4, 20231 min read


The truth about dog training
In the U.K., dog training is an unregulated industry. That means that basically, anyone can decide to call themselves a trainer and claim...
positivedirectiond
May 4, 20231 min read


Total recall
Controversial opinion incoming.. I think the traditional way that we think about recall is all wrong. Yes, whistle training and teaching...
positivedirectiond
Apr 25, 20232 min read


The importance of context.
A dog’s behaviour isn’t always black and white. There are lots of rules, traits and tics to behaviour and body language, but nothing is...
positivedirectiond
Apr 25, 20232 min read


Say no to animal abuse
As well as being a behaviourist, I have experience of working with victims and survivors of domestic abuse. Abusive people can use...
positivedirectiond
Apr 17, 20231 min read


Even Very Good Dogs have their moments!
Dylan is a good boy. He walks beautifully on lead and never strays very far from me when we’re out and about - I don’t have to worry...
positivedirectiond
Apr 15, 20232 min read
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