Training Includes:
Private Puppy Training - Pre-Puppy Consultation - Private Obedience and Manners - Private Ring Craft Training - Private Behaviour Modification - Private Fear Training - Feline Paws Cat Training - Puppy Kindergarten Classes - Rally-Obedience Classes - Tricks Training Classes - Reactive Dog Rehabilitation Classes - Off-Leash Socialisation Group - Residential Training - Clicker Horse Manners - Foster for Local Rescues - Rescue Evaluations - International Pet Transports - Pet Portraiture - Nutrition Education
Hours of Operation:
Private Sessions Romford Area Private Sessions Chelmsford Area
Wednesdays between 9AM and 3PM Mondays between 11:30AM and 12:30PM
Thursdays between 2:00PM and 5:00PM Tuesdays between 11:30AM and 12:30PM
Saturdays between 1:30PM and 4:00PM Fridays between 11:30AM and 12:30 PM
Group Classes
Control Conditioned Saturdays 11AM to 12:00PM
Puppy / Beginner’s Obedience Sundays 7:30PM to 8:30PM
Our General Service Area Includes: Romford, Becontree, Gidea Park, Heath Park, Seven Kings, Hornchurch, Dagenham, Rush Green, Collier Row, Harold Wood, Harold Hill, Chadwell Heath, Chigwell, Barkingside, Rainham, Elm Park and more!
Visit www.caninepaws.com or contact Charlotte via
Hornchurch Animal Rescue and Rehoming
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Introduction to Training by Charlotte Wagner
Welcome to the Canine Paws Academy where we believe in “Teaching Pets and Educating People”. Once you sign up for a group class or private one-to-one sessions you are not only joining a force-free training program, but will also have the opportunity to be a part of a whole network of owners and resources to health, training, nutrition and canine development. I am constantly updating the Canine Paws website to better help my clients and publish a variety of videos and tutorials on Youtube to better aid in training exercises. I also support ongoing socialisation for my clients’ dogs by hosting monthly off leash dog walks where owners and dogs of similar principles can share experiences while being under the supervision of a trainer.
The Method
All training is done using only scientifically developed force-free and family friendly training methods. Unlike some other trainers, I do not promote “my method” or a method I developed myself, rather I use principles tested and proven through the study of psychology and learning theory. We primarily use positive reinforcement and negative punishment in the training sessions. This does not mean we will be bribing your dog with treats or applying forceful corrections like leash jerks, rather we will be rewarding desired responses with a combination of motivating factors such as: food, praise, play, and prey instinct and will remove the access to reward when undesired responses are presented by the dog to extinguish inappropriate behaviour. At the end of the day - we can only expect a dog to be a dog, which may include: humping, jumping, biting, scratching, peeing in the house, and digging in the garden. Although dogs may be dogs, by rewarding appropriate behaviours and preventing undesired traits from becoming habits, we can raise a dog who is well mannered, social, and most of all a member of the family.
Teaching
An Alternative One of the main things I stress in behaviour modification and manners training is the importance of an alternative to an undesired response. It is a lot easier for the dog to learn to sit, rather than not to jump. When working with your pet don’t always consider “Fido, don’t do this, don’t do that” rather consider thinking “instead of this, do that”. In the case of the jumping example it would be “instead of jumping, please sit”. Teaching an alternative will avoid confusion for both you and your dog and will also strengthen the human-canine bond rather than destroy it - as the use of force or aversives often does.
The Importance Of A Marker
With most of my cases I like to use some type of tool to mark desired behaviour in conjunction with positive reinforcement and a high value reward. In most cases I use a clicker - a small plastic box with a little metal tab that makes a clicking noise to let the dog know they did the behaviour right. In other cases where a clicker is impractical, or where a dog is fearful of the clicking sound, I like to encourage the use of a verbal marker such as “yes” to signal the dog has chosen a right response. This makes training a lot easier for the dog to understand since you are letting him know why he is getting a treat by pairing the click or “yes” with the right behaviour. Often dogs are rewarded for the wrong behaviour when a marker is not used and the timing for a reward is poor. When working with another species communication is key and the marker allows us to do so! The best part is clicker training principles can be used across a multitude of species including dogs, cats, horses, dolphins, and other species of domestic pets, livestock, and wildlife.
Timing
When working with your dog, it is important to consider it’s stress levels, threshold for distraction, and tolerance towards stimuli and the environment you are working in. Try planning out your training sessions and systematically adding distractions to the regime. Many owners begin training in the home environment first, before re-teaching it in the garden, park, or local pet shop. Another thing to consider is how long to work with your dog at any given time on a single exercise. I generally recommend you work with your dog multiple times a day for about 3-5 sessions at a time. This way you can work with your dog consistently, keep it interested in what your are doing and have the chance to succeed in what you are doing. Puppies usually have a shorter attention span than adult dogs, however adult dogs are more likely to be distracted by it’s surroundings. Working with your pup in between commercial breaks or chores is a good time for short sessions with little distractions. Once your dog is savy in a behaviour you can begin adding various commands to a training session to increase difficulty.
All Other Things Considered
I usually recommend owners re-teach their dogs in at least 5 different environments before expecting a dog to generalise learned behaviours to various places. These places may include your home, garden, neighbourhood, park, or local super market, however more exotic places where your dog should become compliant may include: the bus, tube, car, or coffee shop.
Three main principles to consider when working with your dog is: prevention, management, and training. If you cannot control your dog or are busy doing other things, prevent undesired behaviour from occurring or manage a situation at hand by keeping your dog tethered to a lead, contained in a crate, or separated by a baby gate.Ultimately you will however need to find the time and circumstance in which you can practice alternative behaviours and training exercises with your dog - so make sure you know what you want your dog to do before working with it.
If you plan on taking your dog out with you to cafes, the market, friend’s homes, or the vet, make sure to prepare your dog through ongoing socialisation and training. The most important and often difficult thing to consider is that you are not only training your dog and learning yourself - but will need to implicate your routine rules with strangers and family members as well. Jumping is an ideal example: many dogs are not allowed to jump indoors, yet somehow manage to spring onto people on a walk in the park. If this happens it is important to let approaching people know that there are rules and that the dog is not allowed to jump, even if they claim: “Oh I have a dog, it’s OK.” No - it’s great they have a dog, especially if it is similar to yours, however rules are rules and they should be followed. Inconsistency can often confuse your dog which is unfair to him and anyone who does not want dirty paws on their clothes! These rules go for puling, barking, and other behaviours as well.
Stumping The Dominance Myth
It is of utmost importance to neglect and ignore any methods revolving around the use of restraint, neglect, alpha roles, dominance, and aversives during training. Using choke chains, shock collars, corrections, or nose taps can actually have a negative impact on your relationship with your dog rather than contribute to a harmonious partnership. Try to work with your dog, at it’s pace, and level rather than fight naturally occurring behaviour. Despite dominance methods being readily available on the television and media these forceful and often dangerous methods can be more damaging than beneficial and commonly suppress behaviour only causing it to resurface with greater intensity due to the dog avoiding an unpleasant consequence. Being a leader does not consist of force or threats, rather of consistency, kindness, understanding, a most importantly teaching appropriate behaviour and keeping fair rules.
There are many legitimate books available on the market that support learning theory and the scientific principles of learning. I hope that if you have some time to dedicate on your hands that you will browse the wide selection of resources available at: www.dogwise.com