PAWS To TRAIN - Dog Training

13/10/2026

🎓 DOES POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT ACTUALLY WORK?

Well… yes.

But I think it’s worth having a slightly more sensible conversation about it than:

“SCIENCE PROVES POSITIVE TRAINING IS THE ONLY WAY!”

Because science rarely works like that.

Recent research continues to find associations between reward-based training and better behavioural and welfare outcomes.

But there are limitations to the research too.

Different studies measure different things.

Owners report behaviour differently.

Dogs are individuals.

And there are still plenty of questions researchers are trying to answer.

So I don’t think we need to pretend the evidence is absolutely perfect.

What we can say is that reward-based training has a strong evidence base, it allows us to teach behaviours without deliberately causing fear or pain, and it gives the dog a reason to repeat the behaviour we want.

And there’s another important point.

Positive reinforcement doesn’t mean giving your dog a biscuit for absolutely everything forever. 😂

It means understanding what motivates your dog and using consequences effectively to increase the behaviours we want.

Sometimes that’s food.

Sometimes it’s a toy.

Sometimes it’s access to something they want.

Sometimes it’s being allowed to go and sniff.

Good training isn’t about carrying a sausage around for the rest of your dog’s life.

It’s about teaching them how to succeed.

07/10/2026

👃 LET YOUR DOG SNIFF!

I know. Groundbreaking. 😂

But seriously, sniffing is something I wish more people recognised as an important part of a dog’s life.

Recent research looking at scentwork found changes in behaviour and measures linked to welfare in dogs taking part.

That doesn’t mean:

“Sniffing cures anxiety.”

Or:

“Do 20 minutes of sniffing and your dog will be calm.”

Social media does have a habit of taking one interesting finding and turning it into a miracle cure!

But dogs have an extraordinary sense of smell and using that sense is a natural behaviour.

So when you’re out walking and your dog wants to stop and investigate a smell, they aren’t necessarily “wasting time”.

They’re gathering information.

And sometimes I think we’re far too focused on getting dogs from A to B.

Heel nicely.

Don’t pull.

Keep moving.

Come on.

Come on.

COME ON! 😂

Sometimes a walk can simply be:

Let’s go and see what we can find.

Obviously there are times when we need our dogs to move on.

But if every walk becomes a military march, we’re missing an opportunity to let dogs actually be dogs.

So next time your dog stops to have a good sniff…

Maybe give them a minute.

Their nose knows. 🐾

🔬 The research behind this post:
Recent research into scentwork found changes in behavioural and welfare measures in dogs taking part.

05/10/2026

🐾 New Puppy Training Dates Are Here! 🐾

Ready to have fun with your puppy while building skills that really last a lifetime?

My upcoming puppy training course only has a few spaces left!

🐶 6 Week Puppy Training Course
🐾 Starts 15th October @ 6pm
📍 Chieveley Village Hall
🐕 Small groups, maximum of 5 puppies

As an ADPT UK Registered Trainer, you can be confident that you are training with a qualified professional who uses fun, kind, reward based methods to help you and your puppy build a happy and trusting relationship.

If you would like to book your place, have any questions or simply have a chat about which option is right for you, I'd love to hear from you.

📞 Michelle - 07718 913177
🌐 pawstotrain.co.uk
🐾 Kind. Fair. Effective 🐾

05/10/2026

03/10/2026

🐕 “HE’S JUST STUBBORN.”

I’m not a huge fan of that description.

Not because dogs can’t be incredibly determined 😂 — they absolutely can.

But “stubborn” doesn’t really tell us anything useful.

If your dog won’t come back when you call them, for example, we could say:

“He’s stubborn.”

Or we could ask:

Why isn’t coming back the best option for him right now?

Maybe:

He’s found something more interesting.

He’s learned that coming back means the fun stops.

The recall cue has been repeated so many times without being reinforced that it doesn’t mean much anymore.

The environment is simply too distracting for the level of training he’s had.

Or perhaps we’ve made the jump from calling him around the garden to expecting him to recall away from a rabbit!

That last one is a pretty big ask. 😂

Dogs aren’t machines.

They make decisions based on what’s happening around them and what they’ve learned from previous experiences.

So instead of:

“Why won’t he listen?”

Try:

“What is he learning from this situation?”

That question usually gets us much closer to a solution.

29/09/2026

🐾 “I think I’ve forgotten how to listen to my human!” 😂

That was the starting point for Little Master P, who came along to our Loose Lead Walking & Recall Workshop to get himself back on track.

Rather than simply telling him what not to do, we went right back to basics.

🎯 Building attention
👀 Encouraging focus on his human
🐾 Teaching him that checking in pays
🦮 Introducing a brand-new loose lead walking cue

And then… we put it all together.

Was it perfect? Nope — not yet! 😉

But was there a significant improvement in his loose lead walking? Absolutely! 👏

Sometimes our dogs haven’t “forgotten” how to listen at all — they just need us to go back a step, rebuild the connection and show them what we want.

And Little Master P was a brilliant example of exactly that. ❤️🐶

Great job, Little Man! Keep practising — you’ve got this!

🐾 Positive reinforcement | Kind • Fair • Effective

26/09/2026

🚨 THIS ONE IS REALLY INTERESTING…

There’s some recent research from the Generation Pup project that I think is worth talking about.

Researchers found that owners who reported more behaviour problems were more likely to use training methods containing more aversive elements.

And here’s the bit that really caught my attention…

It may not simply be that:

“Owner uses punishment → dog develops problems.”

It can also work the other way around.

Dog’s behaviour becomes difficult.

Owner becomes frustrated.

Owner starts trying harsher methods because nothing seems to be working.

The behaviour is still difficult.

So the owner becomes even more frustrated.

And you’ve potentially got yourself stuck in a cycle.

I’ve seen versions of this many times.

Not because owners are bad people.

Usually quite the opposite.

They’re struggling, they’re desperate for something to work and someone has told them:

“You need to be firmer.”

But being firmer isn’t always the answer.

Sometimes we need to stop and ask:

Why is the dog doing this?

What is the dog getting from the behaviour?

What is happening immediately before it?

What have they learned from repeatedly doing it?

And, most importantly…

What would I like the dog to do instead?

That’s where good training starts.

🔬 The research behind this post:
Generation Pup is a large longitudinal study following dogs through development, making it particularly useful when we’re looking at how training and behaviour change over time.

19/09/2026

🐶 “HE’LL GROW OUT OF IT…”

How many times have you heard that?

Jumping up?
Pulling on the lead?
Mouthing?
Barking at everything?
Not listening when you call?

Sometimes puppies absolutely do grow out of certain behaviours.

But sometimes they don’t.

And recent research looking at dogs during adolescence and adulthood found that dogs who had received training were less likely to have some owner-reported behaviour concerns.

Now, before anyone jumps on me — this doesn’t mean:

“Train your puppy and you’ll never have a behaviour problem.”

That’s not what the research shows.

There are loads of factors involved in behaviour, including genetics, environment, experiences and the individual dog.

But it does give us another good reason not to simply sit back and hope a problem disappears.

Because every time your puppy practises something, they are getting better at it.

So if your puppy is rehearsing:

🐾 jumping at people
🐾 stealing things
🐾 chasing the cat
🐾 ignoring their name
🐾 pulling you down the road

…I’d rather help them learn what to do instead.

Training isn’t about having a perfectly obedient puppy.

It’s about giving them skills they’ll need as they grow up.

And yes, adolescence is still going to happen! 😂

15/09/2026

❤️ It’s so wonderful to receive such a lovely review.!