MAD Dog Club

MAD Dog Club The MAD Dog Club is a dog training club based in Southport welcoming dogs of all ages and all breeds offering one to one training as well as classes.

09/08/2026

🐾 A busy week at MAD Dog Club! 💙

From puppies starting their training journey, to adolescents working through those slightly questionable life choices 😆, our life skills groups, agility dogs and 1-2-1 clients have all been keeping us busy!

🐶 Pet Life Skills
🐾 Puppy Classes
🤪 Adolescent Groups
🏃‍♀️ Agility
🎯 1-2-1 Training
🧠 Recall, focus, confidence, loose lead walking, listening skills and plenty more!

This little recap video is just a few snippets from another full week of training.

Different dogs. Different goals. Lots of progress, plenty of laughs, and humans working just as hard as their dogs! 💙

That’s a wrap on another week at MAD Dog Club! 🐾

07/08/2026

🐾 WHEN RECALL SUDDENLY GETS HARDER…

Teal is 15 months old and firmly in the adolescent phase where apparently other dogs are VERY exciting — particularly the girls 😂

So in certain environments, the long line is back on.

Not because his recall has failed, but because I don’t want him practising the behaviour I don’t want.

Every time a dog ignores a recall and gets to run over to another dog, sniff, play or explore, that behaviour is being reinforced.

So instead, I manage it.

Last weekend at a show, surrounded by lots of dogs, we spent time practising recalls and building that reinforcement history.

And this is the important bit…

When I recall Teal, I want one behaviour:

➡️ Turn
➡️ Come back
➡️ Come back FAST

I don’t ask for a sit.

I’m not interested in making the recall look fancy.

I want to reward the actual recall.

Sometimes the reward is food.
Sometimes tug.
Sometimes play with me.
And sometimes the BEST reward is being released straight back to whatever he was doing.

That teaches him something really important:

Coming back to me doesn’t always mean the fun ends.

The long line simply helps me make sure those recalls are successful so I can reinforce them again and again.

Because the behaviours our dogs practise are the behaviours that get stronger.

And adolescence is definitely a time when some previously brilliant behaviours can suddenly become… slightly optional. 😂

So tell me…

👇 What has your adolescent dog suddenly “forgotten”?

Recall?
Loose lead walking?
Listening around other dogs?
Or your existence entirely? 😂

07/08/2026

🐾 A special shout-out to one of our smallest Dog Club members — Callie! 💙

Her human, Jill, has been working really hard on building Callie’s confidence and developing her skills, and it’s definitely paying off!

Despite her small size, Callie is shaping some pretty cool agility skills. She’s driving confidently to tunnels, starting to understand layering, and has built a pretty impressive jumping skill set too.

Agility definitely isn’t just for collies! 🙌

It’s all about building confidence, communication and skills at a pace that suits the individual dog — and Callie is absolutely showing what little dogs can do. 🐾

The girls had a busy weekend at Bromsgrove Avility Show. Nessie had a NQ 1st Place in Grade 6-7 Agility and Mia won the ...
05/08/2026

The girls had a busy weekend at Bromsgrove Avility Show. Nessie had a NQ 1st Place in Grade 6-7 Agility and Mia won the anysize with a lightening time that defies her 11 years 🩷

A little rest from shows now until September for these two.

#

Meet beautiful Belle, a lovely Border Collie who joined us for her first training session. 🐾Belle’s humans would like so...
04/08/2026

Meet beautiful Belle, a lovely Border Collie who joined us for her first training session. 🐾

Belle’s humans would like some help with her recall, lead walking, confidence around traffic and barking when visitors arrive.

During the session, we focused on building better engagement and helping Belle understand that staying connected with her humans can be just as rewarding as exploring independently. We introduced some simple loose-lead walking exercises, practised recall using movement, food and play, and discussed using a long line to give Belle more freedom while keeping her safe.

Belle can be nervous around busy traffic, particularly buses, so we will also be working on this gradually and at a distance where she feels comfortable enough to observe, learn and build confidence.

She made some really lovely progress during the session and responded particularly well to clear guidance, praise and play. There is plenty to practise, but she has made a fantastic start.

Well done, Belle! 💙

03/08/2026

Jumping skills this week for our agility classes 🩷

It was nice to run a jumping course for a change and work on some key skills..

Well done everyone- especially Kate Starkie and Luna - the only partnership to go clear on Weds, and Coral and Lilly on Thursday.

02/08/2026

Another Busy Week. - a bit of fun with our Monday Night Groups. Building confidence in skills, some tricks and growing independence in cues 🩷

31/07/2026

When the weather warms up and competition season is in full swing, we often spend a little more time focusing on skills rather than simply running full courses.

One of my favourite things to work on is discrimination.

In this little clip, Nessie is tackling one of her nemeses – an open-faced weave entry with the added challenge of discriminating between the weave entry, a tunnel and nearby jumps.

We break the exercise down so she learns to find the weave entry, take the tunnel, or take the jump on separate cues, really testing her listening skills. Plus I am staying completely still so not helping her at all. This exercise is great for anybody who thinks agility is also about the human having to run.

When people think of agility, they often picture dogs running flat out and flying over obstacles. They think about the physical exercise and fitness benefits. But one of the most overlooked advantages is the mental stimulation it provides.

Learning to listen, think, and make the right choice under excitement is incredibly challenging – and incredibly rewarding.

Nessie definitely finds the listening part harder than the running part! Doing what she's asked is much trickier than charging flat out over jumps… (and, occasionally, through them! 😂).

It's a great reminder that the fastest dog isn't always the most successful. The dogs that can slow their brains down, listen to their handler, and make good decisions are often the ones that produce the best rounds in the long run. 💙

🐾 Give Your Puppy the Best Start in Life! 🐾Bringing home a new puppy is exciting, but those first few months lay the fou...
28/07/2026

🐾 Give Your Puppy the Best Start in Life! 🐾

Bringing home a new puppy is exciting, but those first few months lay the foundations for a lifetime of good behaviour.

At MAD Dog Club, our puppy classes are about so much more than teaching a sit. We help you build a confident, well-mannered companion through fun, reward-based training in a safe and supportive environment.

🐶 Learn essential life skills, including:
• Recall
• Loose lead walking
• Focus and engagement
• Confidence around new experiences
• Calmness and settling
• Appropriate social skills
• Plus plenty of advice to help you navigate puppyhood.

Our small class sizes mean you'll receive plenty of individual support, helping both you and your puppy succeed.

Spaces are limited and often fill quickly, so don't leave it too late!

📩 Drop us a message to reserve your place and give your puppy the very best start.

Nessie had a successful weekend at Kelluki Agility Show bagging her penultimate strike towards Grade 7 with a Clear 1st ...
27/07/2026

Nessie had a successful weekend at Kelluki Agility Show bagging her penultimate strike towards Grade 7 with a Clear 1st Agility, two 2nd Places and a 5th Place.

She celebrated with an Octopus Plushy and Ice Cream 🎊



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Russell Road Methodist Church Hall
Southport
PR97RA

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