Good Choice Dog Training

Good Choice Dog Training Accredited Dog Trainer (Puppies & Adult dogs) Puppy Specialist - 121’s - Training Walks - Classes

03/09/2026

Sometimes training just looks like doing life together.

Stanley was helping me with a 121 this morning, so this afternoon Vinnie and I headed out together.

Nothing particularly exciting — light bulbs from Wickes, chews from Pets at Home, lunch at Cultivo Lounge and a little walk through town back to the car.

But there’s actually quite a lot of learning in a spontaneous outing like this.

He gets time to sniff and explore new environments.

He learns that going into shops doesn’t mean he needs to interact with everyone or everything.

He settles with a chew while I have lunch.

He navigates a busy town alongside me.

It’s at times like this when the behaviours we’ve trained become genuinely useful!

By the end I was carrying rather a lot of shopping 😂 so I asked Vinnie for “close”, he dropped back beside me and trotted along while I carried everything back from the car.

No formal training session.

No drilling behaviours for the sake of it.

Just using the skills we’ve built together to make everyday life easier.

Because ultimately, this is what I’m training for.

Could and should you do this sort of outing with every dog?

No & No. It depends on the dog’s capabilities how far along they are with their training/exposure and most importantly if they would enjoy it or not. Always consider if the dog would prefer to be left at home.

Vinnie didn’t need to be perfect either, he just needed to be comfortable.

He’s also pleased he was the first customer for treats!

Also no point did I leave him in a down in a busy town centre street just to prove I could …. What is with that trend 🙄😂

Letchworth dog training • life skills for dogs • positive reinforcement • calm dog • settle training • heelwork • loose lead walking • dog friendly shops • dog friendly cafe • engagement training • reward based training • golden retriever

25/08/2026

Ruby’s mum wasn’t feeling well enough to attend their puppy 121 today, so we adapted!

I took her out instead and recorded clips with coaching voiceovers throughout, so her family could still see what we worked on, why I made certain choices and how they can continue the training themselves.

These are a few clips.

We had plenty of time to sniff and explore, used some of her food to snuffle through leaves — giving her an appropriate outlet for searching and scavenging and to have some decompression/free time.

Then we found a quiet grass verge set back from a pedestrian crossing.

Ruby LOVES people, and would very happily say hello to everybody, so we spent some time simply watching the world go by and rewarding her for noticing people and then choosing to disengage at a distance that was easy for her.

Inadvertently whilst doing this we also worked on settling.

Once she’d had an opportunity to rehearse disengaging from passing people successfully, we carried on with our walk and put this into practice in closer proximity on the walk home.

By the end of the session she only needed around two steps of extra space from passing people, to be able to disengage and carry on, and we even stopped and chatted to a lady with a dog calmly.

Sometimes good training doesn’t look particularly exciting.

Today it was ….

🔹Sniffing
🔹Observing
🔹Disengaging
🔹Creating enough space
🔹Rewarding choices you’d like to see more of
🔹= Setting Ruby up to succeed

She had a fun adventure, mum has a new action plan and I really enjoyed!

Some of my older customers will remember this set up from when I used to do training walks to support 121s back in the day!

puppy training • training walks • puppy socialisation • calm greetings • disengagement training • positive reinforcement • scavenging dogs • sniffing for dogs • real life dog training • puppy confidence • one to one dog training • Hitchin dog trainer

23/08/2026

Vinnie went out for his p*e before bed last night and returned with his latest treasure.

He’s a retriever through and through and LOVES finding things to carry home.

And honestly? If it’s safe, I let him.

He gets to proudly carry his treasure through the building, into the lift and all the way home. STRUTTIN 😉

Once we’re inside, we swap it for a sweetie and the treasure quietly makes its way to the bin. 😂

He’s even done this while we’ve been staying in hotels, proudly carrying his finds back through the bar much to everyone’s amusement.

Could I take it from him as soon as he picks it up? Of course.

But why create unnecessary conflict over something that matters to him when I can embrace the behaviour, let him enjoy it and teach him that giving things to me is rewarding too?

It’s part genetics, part Vinnie and 100% adorable.

Retriever’s gonna retrieve and I’m going to let him! ❤️🪵

If I did a compilation of treasure I’d have 6553656785434 clips 😆

golden retriever • retriever behaviour • natural dog behaviour • breed traits • dog genetics • retrieving • positive reinforcement • force free dog training • resource guarding prevention • drop and swap • relationship based training • life with dogs

22/08/2026

Same idea, very different session!

After yesterday’s reel with Vinnie, I mentioned I couldn’t really film Stanley’s session because the way we play together is completely different.

So today I found a tree to prop my phone against. 😂

Stan’s play is slower and much more physical, but we can still use it for training.

Today we ran through a few impulse control exercises, plus a bit of sit stay and emergency stop.

When he’s released from the exercise he LOVES the possession part of the tug game.

So I’m down on the floor with him, using my body weight so he gets to pull and use his body weight against me and eventually… he wins.

Vinnie’s ball session yesterday was quicker, involved lots of dynamic movement and rapid repetitions.

Stan doesn’t want that game, he would likely stop engaging.

So …. The reward is only rewarding if the dog actually values it.

That’s why I don’t have one particular way that I play with or train my dogs. I look at the dog in front of me and I find out then use what they enjoy.

Same training principles. Different personalities. Different play.

It’s also really nice for me as I get to participate in two completely different sessions and feel rewarded and bonded to them both. ❤️

It’s way bigger than balls v’s tug toys, Stan does like balls but mainly to play short distance catch, so it’s about individual reinforcement preferences.

We did a bit of scent work to finish and then Stan showed my neighbour his play dead trick 😂

dog play styles • tug play • reward based training • impulse control • dog motivation • positive reinforcement • training through play • dog enrichment • toy rewards • engagement training • individualised dog training • golden retriever training

21/08/2026

10 minutes - 1 ball - training + play

I really enjoy little mini sessions like this with Vinnie.

We also did a few catch’s in close, to practice changing direction in position, but I find it hard to film AND aim those 😂

Plus we did a few leave it exercises, find it games and swapped the ball out for food, to run through stringing multiple behaviours together for longer durations, to help manage arousal.

So yes I will use balls 😇

Vinnie in particular is a fan, so I can use his drive for the ball as a reward for training, and because he loves training too, the whole thing becomes one big game.

Everyone’s a winner!

toy reward • ball motivated dog • engagement training • heelwork • middle position • emergency stop • impulse control • positive reinforcement • training through play • dog training games • reward based training • real life dog training

06/08/2026

Confidence isn’t built in a day, it’s built one positive experience at a time.

Kiz has been working hard to build confidence around other dogs.

You may have seen our previous sessions with Vinnie, helping her learn that calm neutral dogs can be safe to be around.

Today we took the next step to continue building confidence, trust and her social circle.

After successful lead walks together, she met Stanley in a secure woodland field. Initially on lead, building up to off lead.

Stanley is very different to Vinnie. He’s bigger, more vocal and likes to let the world know he’s there! 🤣

Kiz’s mum described him as a galumphing fog horn 😂 Personally …. I’d agree 😂

But he’s also very happy to plod along on his own, respect space and won’t force interactions. So it was good for her to be around a more vocal dog with no negativity attached.

They were quite happily waiting together at a gate for us to catch up and open it at one point ☺️

By the end of the session they were happily coexisting, exploring together and training side by side.

Confidence isn’t about avoiding new experiences.

It’s about introducing them thoughtfully, at a pace the dog is ready for.

Real confidence isn’t built by meeting the same dog over and over. It’s built by gradually introducing different personalities, sizes and communication styles in a safe, controlled way.

So that every positive experience becomes another building block for the future.

Plus, Stan had a great time!

dog confidence • confidence building • positive dog introductions • calm coexistence • positive reinforcement • relationship based training • fearful dogs • one to one dog training • neutral dogs • confidence around dogs • reward based training • Hertfordshire dog trainer





04/08/2026

Today’s 121 was all about getting to know each other.

🔹Finding what motivates her
🔹Building engagement
🔹Creating positive experiences
🔹Starting a conversation

She was very focused on the environment initially and not interested in food so we I popped to Tesco and we started to get some engagement.

I can confirm that Roxy likes chicken and cocktail sausages!

Every dog learns differently, and one of the most important parts of an initial session is understanding the individual in front of you—not the label attached to them.

I’m looking forward to seeing how our relationship develops over the coming weeks and sharing some of her progress along the way.

It will all get much faster 💨

Belgian Malinois • engagement training • positive reinforcement • relationship based training • reward based training • one to one dog training • prey drive • dog behaviour • confidence building • Hertfordshire dog trainer • personalised dog training





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Good Choice Dog Training, The Paddock, Offley Hoo Farm
Hitchin
SG53ED

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