Shaping Dogs

10/10/2026

Just a friendly reminder 😊 🐾

In the UK, dog training and behaviour work isn’t regulated. Anyone can call themselves a trainer or a behaviourist, with no qualifications, no insurance and no code of conduct to answer to.

As dog professionals, our hands are tied. We can’t stop anyone setting up in business, and we can’t step in when a lovely, well-meaning owner spends their money, and their dog’s trust, on someone without the knowledge or care to help.

So I’m asking you to be vigilant. Before you book anyone, use the checklist below. And yes, use it to check me too.

A good trainer will be glad you checked.

06/10/2026

As part of my behaviour programme, I always include a movement and posture a**lysis, even when there's no initial sign anything is wrong.

Why?

Because dogs are brilliant at adapting. A little weight shifted off one leg, a slightly different way of sitting, a change in how they get up. Unless you're actually looking for it, you won't see it. And discomfort often shows up as behaviour long before it shows up as a limp.

So there are two possible outcomes, and both are useful.

✅ If something is going on, we spot it early and we can flag it for your vet.

✅ If everything looks good, you now have a brilliant baseline. So if you notice a change later on and aren't sure whether you're imagining it, we can look back at the footage and compare.

Either way, you know more about your dog than you did before.

05/10/2026

Ziva is nudging adolescence 🐾

That means her skills are in a state of flux, and I need to be ready for the blips without worrying she'll be like this forever 😊

I've mentioned before that the parts of her brain driving emotion and motivation are maturing faster than her impulse control.

In practice, that means more interest in the wider world (for Ziva, that's people, dogs and anything that moves) and, quite likely, less interest in me.

So how am I managing it?

✅ Rewarding the good stuff. I take every opportunity to practise and reward recall (like the whistle recall in the video - she wasn't that fussed about the toy reward so I'm going to have to up my game there).

✅ Keeping the bigger picture in mind. A blip just means we go back to basics and add management where needed.

✅ Doing fun things together to keep building our relationship.

✅ Focusing on disengagement from distractions. This is key. Lower-value food used to do the job of rewarding her; now it's time to bring out the big guns.

✅ Channelling her curiosity. She's increasingly drawn to anything new (she's nosey!), but she's also confident. The seesaw video is a great example: she's choosing to walk up and down it, no luring involved.

✅ Supporting arousal regulation (i.e, overexcitement/overstimulation). To help with this I need to make sure she's getting plenty of rest without being disturbed. I add in a little impulse control with things she wants (not too much though!). We also have a pretty solid "Stop" cue as a rescue (I wish I'd called it "Freeze", because it really means stand still). It's a lifesaver when she goes full Tigger.

✅ Staying humble. Adolescent dogs are very good at teaching us that one.

Your pup might be nothing like Ziva (she's high energy, high drive). Or yours might be Ziva with bells on! Either way, this is the time to batten down the hatches and avoid putting them in situations they can't yet handle.

That doesn't mean stop doing things. It means shorter sessions, more distance from distractions and making sure they've got their thinking head on before you start.

Anyone else is riding the adolescence rollercoaster right now? Mine is likely to go on for a couple of years 😮 😆

04/10/2026

It's been a while so I thought it's time to say hi!

29/09/2026

This is an interesting read, particularly the younger dog case.

When we see a 6-month old dog with challenging behaviour, how often do we consider pain first?

To add to the challenge, the imaging at the time didn't show anything untoward.

This is where pain trials can be really useful.

It also reinforces what an individual experience pain is. We can't see it on an x-ray.

(The link to the article is broken - I'll add the correct one in the comments)

Aggression isn’t always a purely behavioural problem. Sometimes, an underlying medical issue may be contributing to the behaviour.

A 2026 paper described two dogs with intrahousehold aggression in which physical discomfort, including pain, was considered the primary motivational factor.

𝗖𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝟭: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗲𝗹𝘀𝗵 𝗧𝗲𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗿

A 7-year-old neutered male Welsh Terrier developed aggression toward people in the household at around 5 years of age, following an episode of illness.

The behaviour included fixed staring, growling, lunging and skin-puncturing bites. The owners also reported a slow, stiff gait, reluctance to continue walks, disturbed sleep, leg cramping and a depressed facial expression.

During examination, the dog looked toward its hindquarters during abdominal palpation, and an impacted a**l gland was identified. Because physical discomfort was suspected, a**lgesic treatment was started while further medical investigation was pursued.

The aggression decreased directly after a**lgesic treatment was initiated. Subsequent radiographs revealed severe osteoarthritis of the spine. Interestingly, the aggressive behaviour could resurface on days when the owners observed signs of pain.

𝗖𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝟮: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗙𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗵 𝗕𝘂𝗹𝗹𝗱𝗼𝗴

A 6-month-old intact male French Bulldog began showing aggression toward another dog in the household at 3 months of age, after falling from a chair and injuring his right hind leg. The aggression subsequently increased in frequency and intensity.

The dog displayed fixed staring, a tense posture and biting directed mainly toward the other dog's face. Later, aggression could also be redirected toward owners who intervened.

Although initial radiographs after the fall showed no abnormalities, later examination revealed an abnormal hindlimb gait, hindquarter muscle asymmetry and signs of pain. Further orthopedic assessment found a positive Ortolani test bilaterally, and radiographs confirmed bilateral hip dysplasia, along with bone changes in the left proximal tibia.

After a**lgesic treatment was adjusted, the behavioural problem decreased. The dog subsequently underwent bilateral 3DHIP surgery. Six weeks later, the owners reported that the dog was doing well, was no longer receiving a**lgesic medication, and that the aggressive behaviour had disappeared. No behavioural retraining was necessary.

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆?

Pain can influence behaviour through avoidance of potentially painful interactions, increased irritability and reduced frustration tolerance. Importantly, the trigger for aggression may not always be an obvious painful stimulus.

The authors highlight several behavioural red flags that should prompt consideration of physical discomfort:

• A sudden change in behaviour, particularly following illness or injury
• Aggression associated with movement or approach
• Behavioural episodes without an obvious external stimulus
• Concurrent subtle signs of discomfort, such as changes in gait, posture, sleep or activity
• Behaviour that does not fit the dog's previous behavioural history

The authors also emphasize that medical and behavioural assessment should work together. Pain relief may resolve the behaviour in some cases, but learned associations with previously painful situations can persist and may still require behavioural intervention.

Study cited in the comments:

28/09/2026

I've seen a few posts going around about the new film with a German Shepherd (Odin) in it (and some guy called Brad Pitt), and the worry that people might rush out to buy a pup.

So here's an honest look at a morning with Ziva, my 5-month-old working line GSD. Working lines tend to have the dial turned up, but every GSD pup needs a lot of thought and input.
Some will just express it a little more politely 😉

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5:30am
She needs the toilet. How do I know? She jumped on my head.

I don't use a pen, because she worked out how to climb out at 9 weeks. I don't crate her overnight, because she likes to change her spot, and she sleeps in the room with me. (She's pretty good at not gnawing my flesh at night. That's mostly saved for 6pm onwards.) All the doors are locked, because a few weeks ago she worked out how to open them.

After the toilet trip, I sit in the dark with her on top of me like a hot, hairy blanket, because I refuse to let 5:30 am become the new start to the day.

6:00am
Breakfast goes in her Toppl to slow down her ability to inhale food. It also gives me 30 seconds to freshen up and get dressed without my toes being considered prey.

Then it's into the kitchen. I make a cup of tea, weigh out her dry food to use for training through the day, and chop up some chicken to mix in. We do boundary games at the same time, because underdeveloped impulse control plus insane food drive means she would very much like to help me dissect the chicken on the counter.

7:00am
Food sorted, she's raring to go. We do a 10-minute training session. Then I hide food in the garden one piece at a time, to get her sniffing, slow her down and build some patience.

I leave her out there while I put the dishes away. Apparently the crows on the garage roof are casing the joint, so we need protecting.

7:30am
I bring her in while I tidy. Every cupboard door I open requires inspection, just in case the crows got in.

She's been awake for two hours. Of course she doesn't seem tired, but if I want to survive the day, she needs a nap. (She's actually pretty good at this now. We've worked HARD on that off switch.)

9:00am
Out into the garden. She brings one of my solar lights back in to chew. No idea why that particular one has offended her.

Treat pouch and poo bags ready, we head out for a walk. A delightful nature trail? Nope. We're going round the block. We'll do this several times today, 10 minutes or so each, while she learns to cope with everything a humble housing estate can throw at her: cars, cats, bin men, and people digging weeds out from between the paving slabs. A bonus with doing this is that the lead going on doesn't wind her up, because it doesn't always mean something exciting is about to happen.

She generally walks really nicely. I know she's improving because, even when several cars zoom past in a row, she no longer goes full spring-loaded Zebedee on the end of the lead (apologies to folks too young to remember the delight that was The Magic Roundabout).

Back home, we have a little play in the garden so she gets to move her body after her brain had to work hard.

9:45am
Time to deal with the delicate covering of black fluff on a light beige carpet. She's fine with the vacuum cleaner, because we've worked on that. But uh-oh, fragments of chewed wicker basket have blocked it. To be honest, it was an expected casualty of teething. The rest of the furniture is (so far…) untouched.

Taking the vacuum apart to unblock it is, for some reason, thrilling. Possibly because I'm ignoring her. Either way, I apparently deserve a nip on the bum. It doesn't hurt (now), because her bite inhibition has really come on, but she's made her point. She's either frustrated or overaroused, so I prepare a snuffle mat to occupy her. In the meantime, she somehow manages to fling Tigger into a sink full of soapy water.

And it's only 10:30am…

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Odin is the finished article. Ziva is a work in progress. I love her to bits, and I wouldn't change her. But if the film has you thinking about a German Shepherd, ask yourself whether you want this morning, every morning, for the next year or more. If the answer's yes, do your research, and line up support before your pup comes home (just in case).

24/09/2026

Does your dog keep barking at noises? 🐾

Fireworks. Car doors. The postman's van. Another dog barks in the distance. And your dog is off again.

The barking can drive you crazy, so it’s natural to focus on stopping it.

But it’s also worth asking: why have those sounds become so hard for my dog to cope with?

While fear and past experiences may play a part, sometimes pain might too. A dog who’s uncomfortable will find a sudden startle more difficult, and over time, their response often spreads to other sounds.

I’ve written a blog post where we take a little look at noise sensitivity.

Have a read here 👇

Does your dog bark at noises more than they used to? Explore how pain may contribute to noise sensitivity, what changes to look for, and when to speak to your vet.

23/09/2026

Ziva is around 21 weeks old now, and some days we still go no further than the end of my street.

There's so much pressure on people with puppies to socialise and build experiences that it can easily tip into overwhelm, especially if we're not giving the pups the time and space to process what's happening around them.

At this age, Ziva is experiencing big feelings about things, but the thinking part of her brain hasn't caught up yet. So the buffer between a dog who is able to be calm and one who turns into a whirling dervish is small. Of course, some puppies have a bigger buffer than others, but the principle's the same.

So, if I don't like the behaviour I'm seeing when we start a walk, we don't go any further. Now, by that I don't mean we go back indoors. We might just retreat to a slightly less distracting spot and do some simple training games. Then, if all looks good, I might push on a little and I might retreat again.

On one hand this stops Ziva assuming that every time the lead goes on, exciting (or worrying) things happen. The more she expects that, the more she's going to get excited every time she sees the lead. And on the other hand, it's an opportunity to practise loose lead walking as something we do together (rather than her racing to get to wherever she thinks we're going and me planning my weekly shop while I'm dragged behind her).

And socialising? That really means learning to experience the world without interacting with it. Today we just mooched down the street, and she was allowed to stop and sniff as much as she wanted.

Along the way:

🚗 A couple of cars and vans went by and she chose to look at me. This is big for her because of her drive to chase.

🚪 A front door opened and a lady stood on her doorstep, then went back in. Ziva paused to look, then looked back at me. Shepherds can be spooky, so I was really pleased with this.

🔊 Through an open window, we could hear some kind of beeping children's game going on. She listened, then turned to me.

Every choice to turn back to me was rewarded with food. Then we came back indoors, had a quick play with some toys and a scatter feed to chill.

Short, calm, frequent, successful outings will do far more for a young puppy than long walks spent over threshold 🐾

(The video shows a brief moment of us leaving - apologies for it being short - videoing and training is tricky! But this is where Ziva would pull to go through the archway to see what's on the other side. Instead, when she realises I've stopped and there's a slight pressure on the lead, she comes back to me and gets a reward)

22/09/2026

Does your dog "seem fine" because they're still keen for walks and games? Let's talk about Dancing Queen Syndrome (I might be showing my age here!) 💃🐾

Imagine this. You're at a wedding. You've been standing for hours, politely mingling and waiting for the photos. Then sitting through the speeches on a hard chair with your knee stiffening up. You try straightening it, but that niggling ache remains. You hope nobody asks you to get up too fast...
..you've made it to the evening reception and, uh-oh, the DJ drops Dancing Queen.

Suddenly your knee doesn't exist. You are ON that dance floor. You are living your best life. Pain? Never heard of her.

It's not until the next morning, wincing as you try to get down the stairs, that you question your life choices.

We do this all the time, don't we?

🩹 You feel that blister developing, but you're determined to beat the queue for that brand new phone/game/designer top. Worth it. Ask you again in an hour.

🎾 You've twinged your back, but hey, it's just one game of tennis/football/whatever; you'll rest it properly tomorrow, promise.

Dogs do exactly the same thing.

A dog who's genuinely sore can still absolutely lose it over a ball, still drag you excitedly to the park, still play with their favourite dog friend like nothing's wrong. Because in that moment, the joy and the drive to do the thing completely override the discomfort. Excitement is a brilliant painkiller, right up until the music stops.

The pain doesn't show up during the fun bit. It shows up after:
🐾 Stiff and slow getting up from their bed that evening
🐾 Reluctant to jump in the car the next day
🐾 A bit "off" on a walk 24-48 hours later
🐾 Not greeting you at the door like they normally do

If any of this sounds familiar, a Movement and Posture Assessment is a simple way to find out what's really going on beneath the enthusiasm. It's an objective look at how your dog moves and holds themselve. Drop me a message if you'd like to know more. 🐾