True Nature Dogs

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True Nature Dogs The new name for Pawsitive Pups Dog Training! DipCBT, Certified Control Unleashed Instructor & FDM.

Trainer & perpetual student of canine behaviour, especially Border Collies and their unique talents!

16/10/2026

Barking trigger warning‼️

LONG POST

I've held on to this little video/audio for a few days, as I was unsure whether to post it.

On balance, I think it's part of an important, bigger conversation, so here it is. The actual video itself is of my steering wheel! That's not the important part.

What you can hear - that's the important bit. Zac. Barking his little heart out in the car. We weren't even moving yet.

When Zac first came to me, 3.5 years ago, he was absolutely terrified of the car. When I say terrified, I mean peed himself, shook violently and vomited everywhere.

It took a huge amount of time, patience and playing with him, near it, beside it, in it, and around it, to help him learn that it was safe. Then we added the engine noise, then movement etc.

He got there! Eventually, he jumped in by himself and the rest was history.

Until now. This is every trip. Anywhere.

So why has it come back?

Zac has ongoing medical issues in his spine and legs. Medications have been great and it took me a while to realise, but I've been seeing things that made me think they weren't as effective any more.

Little skips creeping back in. A bit of lameness in his front leg, sitting a bit funny. Random limping and not wanting to weight bear on his back, right leg.

More licking of cushions and clothes again.

On their own, could be stiffness, or even nothing major. But he's also been much more sensitive to noises recently.

So, I took him to the vet and yes, he's got worse. 3 of his 4 legs seem to be struggling now. He's got muscle wastage over both hips.

So now, we've changed his medications and added a new one. I'm already seeing some improvement in his body.

Being in the car means every speed bump, pothole and turn, shifts a dogs body and if that little body is sore, it can be very stressful and painful.

Maybe he's barking in anticipation of the car moving. I can't know for sure but over the coming days and weeks, I'll be able to see if the stress and barking lessens.

When dogs are in pain, most often we see changes in their behaviour long before we see the changes in their bodies.

It can be a bit unusually sensitive to sounds, increased barking, panting when they're not hot, licking surfaces or clothes, and also increased reactivity. Even new resource guarding!

It's so easy to miss the signs, or think that the dog is just being difficult for no reason.

There's always a reason!

Sometimes it takes a bit of detective work to figure it out.

I'm considering running a free webinar all about recognising potential pain in dogs, and would love to know if you guys would be interested in that?

Please comment below, or like this post with the ❤️ emoji.

If enough of you are interested, I'll run it 😊

Zac's getting older now, so it makes sense that his conditions will worsen over time.

As he is also such a stoic dog, and difficult dog to read, physically, keeping an eye on his behaviour means I can act quickly to help him feel more comfortable ❤️🐾

When you're a Border Collie and you're just so photogenic!
05/10/2026

When you're a Border Collie and you're just so photogenic!

Your Border Collie ushering your cat into the corner of the room, is a problem. For sure. What it's NOT is a behaviour p...
23/09/2026

Your Border Collie ushering your cat into the corner of the room, is a problem. For sure.

What it's NOT is a behaviour problem.

It's genetics doing what genetics does when the dog hasn't learned when it is, or isn't appropriate for their ancestral software to be online and active.

Working dogs don't run around the farm, herding everything that moves.

They learn over a long period of time (18 months to 2 years) when they are working and when they are done.

Just because we bring these intelligent and beautiful dogs into our pet homes doesn't erase what hundreds of years of selective breeding pre-installed.

I don't have sheep and I don't do sports with my dogs, and they still live harmoniously with the cats, the hoover, the sweeping brush and our ankles.

Maybe not my slippers but that's just a dog thing and at least my feet aren't in them at the time!

Living with a Border Collie or herding breed dog is not for the faint of heart, but they are most definitely worth the effort 🐾❤️

Tell me below - what does your Border Collie do that you really wish they didn't?

20/09/2026

Your dog does not need to learn to love everything and everyone to be healthy and happy.

19/09/2026

Herdy - fixated Collie?

Bailey (black dog) isn't well at the moment. She's having investigations done for nerve pain in her right front and back legs.

So, we went to their favourite field so she could potter around in peace but Oskar had other 'Collie' ideas!

He loves to stalk and chase her and usually, she really enjoys taking part then turning the tables on him. But. Not today.

Fortunately, I've worked hard to teach Oskar a simple 'Touch!' cue in all sorts of environments and under all manner of levels of excitement.

Is it strong enough to be a Recall cue? Nope. Not nearly BUT it IS strong enough to break his herdy fixation if I catch him early enough. That's the key for this type of behaviour in our Border Collies.

There's always a small window before fixation becomes hyper-focus. Our job is to crack the window wide open!

This cue seems like almost nothing, when I teach it to many guardians and it always turns out to be hugely versatile.

Even for Border Collies with herdy fixation issues!

Follow or like for more 🐾


Big news! - From tomorrow, Pawsitive Pups Dog Training becomes True Nature Dog Services.Same Angie Brown, same methods, ...
06/09/2026



Big news! - From tomorrow, Pawsitive Pups Dog Training becomes True Nature Dog Services.

Same Angie Brown, same methods, same classes, walking and 1-2-1 services, same daft photos and commitment to you and your dogs.

Just a name that finally matches the work I do and the dogs and families I work with.

The more I've learned about dogs, and importantly, the more dogs I've had the pleasure of working with, I realised that their needs often go far beyond needing 'more obedience-style training':

The collies who can't switch off,
Dogs labelled 'naughty', 'stubborn', or out of control,
Families who've been told 'you just need to be firmer' and watched it make everything worse.

Those dogs have taught me to look beyond the 'quick fix'.
To ask more questions.
To really understand WHY they do what they do and to find the kindest, most effective ways to help them.

Why they are running through the fields while bringing up both back legs at the same time like a bunny?
Why do some dogs not even want to leave the house when they used to love going for a walk?
Why are some dogs obsessed with lights and shadows, or
Why does THIS adolescent dog suddenly seem to have had a complete personality change - as if overnight at the age of 8 months old?

Through all of those questions, I've also grown a wonderful network of fellow professionals, to whom I can ask questions, seek guidance and if needed, refer you and your dog to, for more specific or specialist support.

Sure, I could train them to look like they're fine. But that won't last. It never does.

And the more of that work I do, the more I come back to the same thing: your dog has a nature all of their own. It's made of what they've learned, the environment they're living in, the genetics they were born with, and who they simply are.

We cannot expect an inherently shy dog to turn into a social butterfly, with more training any more than we can make an introverted human do the same. Nor should we.

We can look at all of those things, the shy dog, the nervous dog, the dog that growls when a stranger comes near, or lunges when a car goes by; and train against all that to get a dog who complies but is still struggling inside.

Or we can work with their true nature; all of the different parts that make them who they are and have a dog who's actually okay.

A dog who has learned to behave while frightened hasn't been trained. They've been silenced. That's not the same thing and it's not how I work, nor have I ever.

So — True Nature.

The dog that's sitting in your living room. The people who love that struggling dog.

That's what I care about, and it always was.

Now the sign above the door will say so too!

The rename happens tomorrow, Monday 7th September — you don't need to do anything, you'll just see a new name appear.

Force-free, welfare-led support for dogs and their humans in Central Scotland.
Puppy classes, 1-2-1 sessions, with workshops and block courses coming soon too!

Questions, or a dog you're worried about? Comment below or drop me a message. 🐾

PAWSITIVE PUPPY CLASS IS BACK!picture the scene...It's six o'clock. Your adorable puppy has gone completely feral for th...
27/08/2026

PAWSITIVE PUPPY CLASS IS BACK!

picture the scene...
It's six o'clock. Your adorable puppy has gone completely feral for the 8th time this week.
Your hands look like you've lost a fight with a rose bush. Nothing is safe...your ankles, your slippers, the sofa cushions - all ripped to pieces. Somebody on the internet has told you it's because you're not being firm enough.

Sound familiar?

You're not doing it wrong. That's just what an overtired puppy can look like.
Pawsitive Puppies Foundations is six weeks of learning what your puppy is actually telling you — and what to do about it.

Do you need a puppy who can "sit" while vibrating with excitement? Not at all.
What you need is a dog who can settle calmly while you finish your dinner.

Here's what we cover:
🐾 Settling — at home, when visitors arrive etc
🐾 Coming back when called, before it ever becomes a problem 🐾 Walking without your arm being pulled out of its socket
🐾 Staying calm around other dogs and people
🐾 Making sense of the biting, the chewing and the 6pm meltdown
Five of the six sessions are outdoors in a huge secure field — room to move, grass to sniff, and space to work at a distance that suits your puppy.
Week two is on Zoom, from your sofa, introducing puppy body language, biting and jumping up. No wrestling your puppy into the car for that one!

I'm Scotland's only certified Control Unleashed instructor and also a certified Puppy Start Right Instructor. I've got you covered!

Small numbers mean there's time for me to spend with each puppy and human. No gadgets.
You will receive handouts, videos and lots of other guidance to support you in between classes too.

📍 Secure field, Bridgend
🗓️ Saturdays from 5th September, 12pm (6 weeks)
💷 £140 for the full course 🐶 Suitable for puppies up to 6 months old

Places are limited to keep it calm and workable.
All breeds welcome.
To book, message me here, or email [email protected]

14/08/2026

Sometimes they just don't listen!

And in other nonsense...

I was out at the field, this morning with the dogs and Oskar and I did some 'back to basics' fun stuff. While we were there, he had a blip. I asked him to 'Stand' - a skill he knows inside out and upside down. He got up and started to circle me.

We reset - I tried again. Nope! Same result. So. Was he just blowing me off? Just not listening properly? Being 'naughty'?

I decided to post the video. What it shows is this. When our dogs are excited, expecting something specific to happen, worried, or any other emotional experience, even the best trained skills can fail.

In this instance, Oskar predicted that he should have circled around me to come back and have me kick the ball for him.

Why? Because I moved my foot in the manner that I usually do when I want him to circle the ball, despite giving him a verbal cue (which is barely audible to anyone else listening) asking for something different.

That was an error. When I reset, he repeated. Was the error his, or mine?

Mine. The error is always mine. Dogs will respond to our movement, before our verbal cues, especially when they're looking at our feet (or the ball!) and not our faces.

What I did next helped both of us understand where he was at, better.

Like and follow for more tips and support.


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