Sezan Öz - Öz Dogs

Directions Website

Sezan Öz - Öz Dogs Rescue Dog Behaviourist MSc-CCAB
🛟Supporting Shelters & Homes for 15+Yrs
🌟Building Happy, Fulfilled Lives for Dogs & Their People

02/10/2026

I used to rush kitting dogs up rescue dogs in kennels

Their stress levels were high

Mine crept up

It was a race against time

If food was used, it was simply a distraction to get the job done and nothing more.

Now I break it down

I use food to teach skills, not just to distract – so that the dogs have a clear understanding of what they are being rewarded for

I treat every step of equipment as its own task - the goal is to be quick with minimal faff (we don’t want to build frustration) - but with a with a tiny micro ‘break’ of restraint and a reward between each

I have a moment of calm before I open the door, so dogs aren’t rearing up to charge out

And as soon as it’s safe to do, I take a pause to connect with the dog before we continue on our walk

And the result?

Calmer dogs that know their ‘job’, and are less anxious or frustrated

Less harnessing and handling issues

More connection and engagement

How rescue dogs come out of their kennel can help set the tone for so much of their day, it’s something that is well worth investing in early!

And it goes without saying, this may need adapting for higher risk dogs.

As you can see the carers had done a truly awesome job with this little guy - this was the first time he ever met me; and he totally understood his assignment! 👏

24/09/2026

Filming for the First 5 days of life with your new rescue dog is underway!!

I am so excited to share this totally free resource with you, with the tips and tricks I have learnt from over 15 years working with homes, shelters and the dogs themselves.

We are in the building stage right now, thank goodness for my attentive staff always on hand to help support me with any camera shy moments 😅

This course is as much about looking after people as it is dogs, how to judge when your dog is ready for you to move on; but also how to make sure you look after them the best you can by remembering to take care of yourself well, and not loosing yourself in the process.

Remedy did have a slight disagreement with the day 2 content and popped up to make it know she’s the best placed to make me feel better thank you very much, and any alone time is probably best spent with a malinois to the face 🤦‍♀️

Follow along to be part of our journey and stay tuned for what’s coming next!

21/09/2026

I actually believe we could prevent so many rescue dogs from being returned in the first weeks of going home if their adopters knew about this!!

Why??

Because so much of the advice we see or hear about for new rescues is geared towards the nervous dogs, the quiet dogs.

But what about the wild dogs!

The ones that don’t have an ‘off’ switch.

The ones that don’t understand how to play without loosing self-control.

The ones that need quiet time away from one thousand and one things they COULD get up to seeking a buzz, just to relax.

This is super common for dogs coming home after time in kennels … I would argue even more so than the ‘quietly’ nervous dogs; it’s even more relevant as so many rescues are in their adolescence.

Suddenly .. all the options are overwhelming! How could they possibly choose to settle and relax when they could be playing?

And when you sit on the sofa and try to relax at the end of a hard day? …

Game on!

It looks fun to begin with; but for some dogs it can become a habit that’s hard to change, and one that can lead to a lot of frustration and conflict.

And the sort of advice you might see aimed at helping?

More toys, more play, more snacks.

Why is my advice different?

It’s this: Don’t play less, but do play smart.

In the garden; on walks, or a designated area of the house.

For me, that’s never the living room (the living room is always a calm space).

Meeting your dog’s energy needs fully elsewhere, and using the living room for quiet time allows them to really understand what to expect in that space, making it so much easier for both of you to relax.

Of course if you have a quieter dog or one that has no trouble regulating themselves, this shouldn’t pose a problem for them, and you can take a different approach.

What side of the fence was your rescue when they came home - crazy, subdued … or somewhere in the middle??

18/09/2026

‘Our Sue’s’ back this week to share more of Edna’s story…

This time it’s adoption day & some behavioural predictors that stood the test of time!

Next time Sue will be back to talk over some of the things that happened after Edna came home that were not quite so expected!

Happy adoption-anniversary Edna! You are exactly where you were meant to be ✨

… Sue helps me with cases here are Oz Dogs when we steal her away from her work at the University, if you have a special request to see Sue just let me know when booking and I can sort it for you!

I used to think you needed the perfect set up to take on a difficult rescue dog. The ideal home. Fostering dogs in my 20...
14/09/2026

I used to think you needed the perfect set up to take on a difficult rescue dog. The ideal home.

Fostering dogs in my 20s changed that.

I came to realise rescues don’t need perfect, they need adaptable.

Because they don’t care about your life being a little messy (and neither do I).

So, rather than focusing on the negatives we focus on the positives here, and the things that we can do to support dogs to the best of our ability in becoming the very best versions of themselves.

❓How about you, have you got a ‘it really shouldn’t have worked on paper; but we made it work, and it was beautiful’ story to share?

👉 Follow along for more of what i’ve learnt really does matter, after over a decade of living and working with rescue dogs and the people that love them.

09/09/2026

The oxford dictionary definition of manipulative =

‘Influencing or controlling someone or something in a clever, unfair, or unscrupulous way.”

👇👇

Can dogs influence or ‘control’ in a clever way?

Of course!

Do they know it’s unscrupulous ?

Maybe not …

Is it fascinating and awesome to watch?

Definitely!

✨✨

Remedy the Malinois can’t match Vice the Schipperke for strength in character, but she’s clever, she can chain events together well - and she’s in no rush.

Shes got lots of smart tricks up her little skinny sleeves that she knows might work to get her goal without challenging Vice or making him mad.

And here’s one of my favourites! The ‘floppy dolly’.

She flops and goes limp, waiting for Vice to grow tired and let go for a millisecond, then she SPRINGS into life and shoots off before he can catch up 😅

What she wants most is actually not the toy at all but the game of chase that then follows, so this is as much about her learning to have a ‘game’ with him as it is getting possession of the toy.

I posted some of her antics lately and I loved reading the stories about your dogs clever ‘tricks’ … so go on let me know some more of your dogs best stories, and remind us of all the things that make these creatures so fascinating, complex & special ✨

08/09/2026

If a client tells me ‘I tried to go out to train my dog but do you know what i got there and i just couldn’t face it’

They are going to get 100000x more respect from me than ….

‘I didn’t try any dog training this week’

Why?

Because just doing the beginning bit helps - even if that’s all you do, even when it doesn’t feel like it will.

Just getting there, getting out, playing with your dog, or hand feeding them dinner.

Even if you don’t get out the car (even then!)

Because it’s a habit. And next week you might do more.

But if you don’t ever try, you might never get off the start line.

I have a complex relationship with the gym. I know it’s good for me. Sometimes I enjoy it. But if i’m feeling tired I really, really don’t.

But usually i can’t tell you how much I might achieve unless i get out the front door and I try.

I know this phase will fade. I’ll have the energy for it again. I’ll enjoy it, and make some progress.

But if I stop showing up to even try to start, how will i know when that happens?

….

What did you do this week that might have felt like a fail, but actually using this theory .. let’s call it a win 🙌 (doesn’t have to be dog-specific!)
.

Leave my sleepy chattering head a ‘like’, if you also think ‘just showing up’ sometimes is fail worthy of being called a win 🙌

07/09/2026

I thought I was helping shelter dogs by always carrying treats with me

…..

I started working with rescue dogs over a decade ago.

I was eager, and determined to reward every good thing the dogs did!

But I very quickly noticed that when I carried food with me every time, our relationship started to change.

If I tried to just hang out, enjoy some social time, they just couldn’t switch off from thinking about food.

I’d have dogs staring at me, and if I tried to settle into a gentle, low key or purely social interaction, they’d get frustrated and offer behaviours all aimed at ‘winning’ a treat.

This is really common. Ten years on, it’s something I still see time and time again in shelters that lean heavily on treats.

Because here’s the thing.

We think of giving dogs treats as a positive - but if we use it in every single interaction - it can actually become a negative - something that has the potential to add to a dog’s stress, rather than taking it away.

It’s like giving them a job they can never switch off from.

What I recommend now is being really clear, for the dog and for us, about when we do and don’t have food on us. When there is an opportunity to ‘win’ treats, and when there is not.

For most dogs, that means there are times they come out purely for social interaction, maybe some grooming, some quiet company, no treats - no transaction attached at all.

This lets rescue dogs get their social needs met as well as their training needs, and crucially, it gives them the chance to actually switch off from offering behaviour.

Not only does that improve their wellbeing and behaviour in kennels, it sets them up far better for what to expect from people once they’re in a home.

Sometimes the most rewarding thing you can offer a dog is no strings attached, no transaction involved social company.

Have you ever noticed side-effects from the ‘overuse’ of treats at your rescue shelter? ….

03/09/2026

On my way to building a community for rescue dog support and I’ll be honest - i’ve been struggling with creating free generic advice even for those first 5 days (though it is coming!)

Why?

It turns out I actually don’t agree with most of it 😅

Most of the ‘do no harm’ new rescue dog training and behaviour advice revolves around avoidance ….

Avoiding leaving your dog, avoid walks, avoid visitors.

But having worked in rescue for over a decade - i’ve actually seen this can also directly CAUSE harm in some cases. It’s not as straightforward or ‘harmless’ as it may seem.

So instead of telling you to avoid XYZ …

I’m giving you the skills to learn about your own dog, and do right by them as individuals instead.

Also, to know your lifestyle non-negotiables, and learn how make a plan to build your dog up to that within a feasible timeframe - that’s right for both of you.

Not rushing, but not hiding under a rock.

The most important bits of advice you get from the rehoming centre won’t be generic handouts

They will be the information they can give you about your dog - as their own ‘person’.

Ask questions, make notes, then be prepared to relearn about them all over again and adapt when they get home!

Settling in a new rescue dog shouldn’t be a list of ‘don’t’s

It should be a list of ‘dos’ a ‘getting to know you’ plan, so you can start by building your own relationship, and setting a pace of introducing them to their new life that’s right for them and for you.

If you’re fed up of generic advice and want to learn how to get to know your new dog, the use that information to start their new chapter the right way and adapt to them as an individual . ..

✨ Hit ‘follow’ and stick with me for some exciting things coming soon - especially for rescue dogs and the people that want to learn about and adapt to the unique individuals they truly are …

Address

Bristol And North
Long Ashton

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Sezan Öz - Öz Dogs posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category