Middlesbrough Dog Club

10/10/2026

Bonfire preparation, part 1: could your dog need medical support?

With Bonfire Night fast approaching, we’re sharing a weekly mini-series over the next four weeks to help you and your dogs prepare.

This week: could your dog need medical support to cope with fireworks?
Think back to previous noisy evenings. Did your dog:

• Shake, pant or pace and struggle to settle?
• Hide for long periods or desperately seek reassurance?
• Refuse food they would normally enjoy?
• Try to escape, scratch at doors or hurt themselves trying to get away?
• Take a long time to recover after the noise stopped?

These can be signs of significant distress. Speak to your vet now, so there’s time for an appointment and to put suitable support in place if they agree it’s needed.

Explain what you’ve noticed and ask whether medication to reduce anxiety could help, when it would need to be given and what else they recommend. If this fear is new, mention that too.

There’s no need to wait until your dog is struggling on the night.

07/10/2026

Congratulations to our amazing bunch of Paw-Scholars graduates!

They’ve worked hard throughout the course, and the results speak volumes. Last night, they all got to show off their skills, and every one of them achieved their Kennel Club Puppy Foundation too.

Well done to all the dogs and their humans. You should be proud of everything you’ve achieved together.

In Paw-Masters, we had some fun by increasing the difficulty of the Paw-Scholars test route, adding a human push-up alongside the doggy push-ups, then finishing with some hoop work.

A brilliant evening of hard work, teamwork and well-earned success.

05/10/2026

Walks feeling more like waterskiing?

Middlesbrough Dog Club’s Paw-Scholars course starts Tuesday 13 October. Five weeks of positive, reward-based basic skills training for puppies and adult dogs, including recall and loose lead walking.

£75 includes club membership, an online induction, handouts and a WhatsApp group.

Explore the course and book:
https://www.middlesbroughdogclub.com/book-online

Our group classes aren’t suitable for reactive dogs.

02/10/2026

Dog training is part of what we do. It’s far from all we are.

MDC is a membership club, run by volunteers, bringing together people who want the best for their dogs.

Alongside training, we have social walks, time to get to know other members and a community that supports you through the challenges of life with a dog. Membership means being part of that community, with people to share both the difficult days and the little victories.

A few messages in our members’ WhatsApp group the other night summed it up better than we could:

‘Everyone looks out for each other.’
‘I’m so grateful to be surrounded by such patient, understanding people…’
‘We’re all just celebrating the little wins together…’
‘Different people coming together all for the love of their dogs.’

And one member told us:

‘She’s a completely different dog now!’

That’s what makes MDC special: progress with your dog, backed by the encouragement, friendships and shared experience of a club.

Our volunteers give their time week after week because they care about the dogs and the people beside them. And our members help make the club what it is, welcoming new faces, supporting each other and enjoying time together, whether at training or out on a social walk.

You don’t have to have a perfectly behaved dog to belong. You just need to want the best for them.

You can book your place directly through our website, or message us through Facebook or WhatsApp 07983406295, if you’d like to know more.

www.middlesbroughdogclub.com/book-online

28/09/2026

It’s been a busy weekend for Middlesbrough Dog Club!

On Saturday, we joined the Friends of Fairy Dell for their Family Fun Day. Our Temptation Alley was out and ready to test just how well dogs could listen to their humans when faced with a rather distracting selection of goodies along the way.

We also sold plenty of treats to some very lucky dogs, although whether they actually needed any more treats after tackling Temptation Alley is another question!

And, of course, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to spend some time with a dinosaur.

It turns out positive reinforcement isn’t just for dogs. The principles of training are remarkably similar across species: reinforce the behaviour you want to see more of, make learning worthwhile and set your learner up to succeed. Although we’ll admit, our usual treat pouch might have been a little understocked for this particular student.

Then on Sunday, it was time for our monthly members’ social walk, and this month we headed back to Wynyard Woodland.

Our social walks are a chance for members and their dogs to get out of the training hall and practise those everyday skills in the real world, walking together, settling around other dogs, checking in with their handlers and, just as importantly, enjoying being out together.

Two very different days, lots of dogs, plenty of chatting, a woodland walk and one dinosaur.

Not a bad weekend for MDC!

26/09/2026

25/09/2026

Morning All,

We will be here to morrow, with a Temptation Alley for you and your dog to have a go at.

You can also pop along and ask us any questions about our Paw-Scholars course.

21/09/2026

Our next Paw-Scholars course at Middlesbrough Dog Club has just 4 spaces left.

Paw-Scholars is our five-week beginner course, designed around the skills you actually need for everyday life with your dog, things like recall, loose lead walking, attention, leave, handling and generally learning how to work together as a team.

Classes are kept small, so there’s plenty of individual help from our volunteer trainers. You’ll also get homework, supporting handouts, plus access to your class WhatsApp group for support between sessions.

The full five-week course is £75 and includes 12 months’ membership of Middlesbrough Dog Club.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re starting from scratch with a puppy or going back to basics with an older dog, Paw-Scholars is about building useful skills for real life.

You can book your place directly through our website, or message us through Facebook or WhatsApp 07983406295, if you’d like to know more.

www.middlesbroughdogclub.com/book-online

13/09/2026

Yesterday, I got the chance to go right back to basics, and it was genuinely really interesting for me. Percy is now five years old and has already been through everything that many of you are working on with your dogs right now.

We visited DogFest, where we were given plenty of samples and treats throughout the day. Interestingly, Percy refused to eat most of them!

It was a great reminder of something really important: your rewards have to match the environment. A treat that works brilliantly at home may have very little value when there are distractions, excitement and lots going on around your dog.

Luckily, we had Percy’s highest-value reward with us — lamb! The moment that came out, he gobbled it straight down. 😂

Knowing what truly motivates your dog and choosing the right reward for the situation can make such a huge difference in training!

10/08/2026

It's Never Really About the Dog...

One of our trainers said something recently that really stuck with us...

People come because they want help training their dog. They stay because of the people.'

And it's true.

Over the years we've seen complete strangers walk into their first class feeling a bit nervous, only to end up making genuine friendships. Dogs have a funny way of bringing people together.

Yes, we teach recalls, loose lead walking and all the other useful bits, but we're also a group of people who enjoy spending time together, celebrating the little wins and occasionally laughing when the dogs decide they've got completely different plans.

That's what makes a club feel like... well... a club.