Dog Nerd Training

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Dog Nerd Training

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Dog Nerd Training is a small West Sussex dog training business run by Emily Talmadge CTDI PDT.

At Dog Nerd Training we want to inspire our clients to truly learn about their dogs and how to help them succeed throughout their life, and we aim to be with them every step of the way. Our small business model allows for the 1-2-1 attention and ongoing assistance our clients need in order to succeed long term. Making our service a true partnership between the client and myself. I, Emily, am a fully qualified dog trainer, puppy training specialist, and certified trick dog instructor (CTDI) with 5+ years of experience in the industry. I am also well known for my educational dog training graphics, which I use to proudly spread up-to-date training information across the web. When training I use science-based, force-free training methods alongside games-based training. I also focus on good habit-building for both dog and owner using worldwide recognised habit-building methods, this allows owners to keep motivated with their training so they can get long-term results they need. My focus and hope for my clients is that they will gain a true love of learning about their dogs and through their time with us they too will also begin to call themselves a 'Dog Nerd'.

23/10/2026

Have you ever been in a situation where your dog has done something good but you weren't able to get a reward to them in time? Perhaps you struggled to get a treat out, and by the time you had one available, they had stopped doing what you wanted to reward! Oh no! 😫

The fact is, in training, timing is crucial! If we reward a little too late we could be rewarding a dog for breaking the sit rather than staying, or for barking, rather than being quiet.

One way to combat this issue is by using a 'marker'. A marker is a classically conditioned cue that predicts an oncoming reward. This makes the marker a 'bridge' from the moment the dog does the behaviour, to them getting the reward, and in essence says “This is the moment you did the right thing, hold tight, your reward is on its way”. 🧀🥩

This allows you to really pinpoint correct behaviour and gives you leeway when you don't have a reward instantly available!

Do you train by using a marker? What situations have you found using a marker most helpful?

21/10/2026

Some scentwork for our final session with this gorgeous girly! 👃🏻 🐾

If you are interested in any 1-2-1 sessions you can contact me at: [email protected]

19/10/2026

🌟 1-2-1 DOG TRAINING SESSIONS 🌟

Do you have a new pooch/puppy and need to know how to get things off on the right foot? Or does your current dog need some help with recall, heelwork, or another training issue? Our trainer will be able to offer you in-person guidance and a science-based, fun, and effective training plan to help you turn things around!

So, why should you choose us?

✅ Sessions are run by a fully qualified and insured pro dog trainer and puppy training specialist, with over 5 years of experience.

✅ As well as an hour's in-person consultation you will receive a custom training plan and exclusive handouts after your session, to help you follow through on the training needed.

✅ We offer lifetime online support for you and your dog after the session should you have any further questions.

✅ We have been rated 5-stars on Google and Facebook.

✅ And, we now are able to offer block bookings at a discount for those who are really committed to changing their training struggles into strengths!

If you are interested in booking you can contact us via messenger, or email us at: [email protected]

We very much look forward to hearing from you 🥰

18/10/2026

And puppy classes are back baby!! So excited to see how all these puppies progress over the next 6 weeks 🤩💕

If you are interested in booking any future sessions or 1-2-1s get in touch at: [email protected]

16/10/2026

A common excuse for certain tools and human-to-dog punishment techniques is 'it's mimicking what the mother dog would do' but is that actually a good thing? 🤔

Two of the common techniques/tools that get explained as a variation on 'what another dog would do' are the alpha rollover and the pinch/prong collar, and there are fundamental issues that come with both of these.

The alpha rollover comes from the idea of physically putting a dog in a position of submission. This has shown to not actually happen in the wild with wolves which, although they are not dogs, a lot of these myths do stem from. In fact, any time a wolf rolls over onto its back in this way it is done voluntarily and isn't forced by another wolf putting it in its place. Furthermore, true alphas are actually parental figures in natural wolf packs and part of being successful in this is shown by the fact they do not need to rule over others with some kind of iron fist. Aggression and squabbling in wolves tend to be seen in insecure packs in captivity, not well-established functioning packs in the wild.

The pinch/prong collar is often attributed to mimicking the idea of the mother physically grabbing a puppy with their mouth 'correcting' them with the pressure of the teeth on the dog's neck. However, yet again this is not accurate to reality. Normally there are many steps a mother dog will take before an inhibited bite is used on her pups, and being able to defuse the situation and teach her pups how to do so without resorting to aggression is part of what is seen as being a successful mother. It has also been shown that mothers who use more of these aggressive behaviours to wean their pups end up with pups who are less social with people, which is not an outcome we are usually looking for!

At the end of the day, we are not dogs or wolves and our dogs know that, but even if they didn't these techniques do not hold up to scientific scrutiny. It is so important that we look into these claims rather than taking them for a fact. So NEVER just do something because someone told you 'it's what another dog would do'. 👍

You can find out more about the study mentioned in the graphic here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/016815918490056X?fbclid=IwY2xjawU4xdFleHRuA2FlbQIxMABwZG9mBWJyaWQRMU14SlFMTVhrRkw5TUx4ZTFzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEewNU57xy3ZZVJSgM2cwq5E7GdgBw22iqCGfJcHWizb351AALDLw0DmqIgyZg_aem_O7NCxocQXLMtmmUswY_G0Q

12/10/2026

What a lovely review I received on Facebook! 🥰

I do try and make sure the training information I send out after classes and 1-2-1 sessions has something for everyone, be it video explanations, written up step by step instructions, or easy to read handouts. 👍

09/10/2026

When it comes to behaviour, what is repeated (and rewarded) will be what becomes the habit; behaviours are built like muscles - the more they are rehearsed the stronger they become. This means when training a new behaviour, or habit, we need to make sure the old behaviour can't be practised and allowed to become stronger. This is called behaviour management. 💪

Trying to train a new behaviour without managing the old behaviour is like starting a race 10 laps behind your competitor - you are never going to catch up. Every time you reward the new behaviour, the old behaviour is still being rewarded at another time, and has a much larger reinforcement history, due to the constant repetition it has previously acquired. To actually make progress we need to stop our competitor running until we are the one who is several laps ahead!

This can be seen most clearly when we look at something like recall. To manage the behaviour of running off, we want to put our dog on a long-line (attached to the back of a harness), this means they can't rehearse and get rewarded for chasing the squirrel, bike, small child etc. The behaviour of 'running off' is already established as extremely rewarding for the dog. If it was a savings account it may have thousands of pounds of rewards in, whereas coming to us may only have a hundred or so. To actually be able to compete with the previous behaviour, we need to make sure no more rewards (or savings) are going into that account, and plenty is going into the new behaviour we want the dog to do, until they find it to be the most rehearsed and rewarding option and will choose it on their own. 💰💰💰

If you are ever having trouble changing your dog's behaviour, it could be they are still getting the opportunity to get rewarded for the old one. If you 'manage' that behaviour so they don't get rewarded for it, you will have a better changing in promoting the new behaviour as the better option!

07/10/2026

My friend from last weeks 1-2-1 session, and we worked at barking at people over the fence and coming into the home! 🏡 🐾

If you are interested in any future 1-2-1 sessions you can contact me at: [email protected]

05/10/2026

🌟 PUPPY CLASSES- LAST OF THE YEAR 🌟

Do you have a new puppy, or plan on getting one soon? Would you like THE BEST start for your new family member? Well, we have the service for you!

Our next available set of puppy classes (and last of the year) are starting 6pm October 30th at Coolham Village Hall. These classes run for 6-weeks, giving ample time to cover all the vital skills your new friend will need.

So, why should you choose us?
✅ Our classes are run by a fully qualified puppy training specialist.
✅ We provide our clients with exclusive handouts even when they miss a training class.
✅ We offer lifetime online support for you and your new addition.
✅ We keep our groups small, so each client and their pup can get the individual attention needed.
✅ We have been rated 5-stars on Google and Facebook.

If you are interested in booking you can contact us via messenger, or email us at: [email protected]

We very much look forward to hearing from you 🥰

02/10/2026

Here at Dog Nerd Training we know it is important to train our dogs force-free, but why? ❓

Imagine you have been pulled aside by a security guard at a foreign airport, they are yelling angrily at you in a language you don't understand to do something. You think they may want your papers so you hurry to get them out, but they only gets more and more irate and aggressive. You try something else and it just gets worse, you are worried about what might happen if you don't figure out what they want, will you miss your flight? Or worse will you be arrested for some reason you don't know? 😰

Now obviously if you knew what to do you would just do it, it isn't your fault you don't understand, and yelling at you isn't going to make you figure it out any quicker, nor will scary consequences hanging over your head, particularly with a language barrier there.

This is what it is like for our dogs, they aren't being disobedient they just don't understand what we want. It is fundamentally unfair to punish them for things they had no clue about in the first place.

But this isn't the only reason punishment should be avoided and force-free training should be encouraged...

🐶 You can damage your training relationship with your dog (and their attachment), and make them more wary of people in general through using punishment.

🐶 Your dog will be more hesitant in training to try new behaviours, as they will worry the consequence of getting it wrong, rather than being excited to figure out what you want.

🐶 You can inadvertently make a negative association with something outside what you are training, such as a child passes when the dog pulls, and the dog receives a 'correction' the dog may associate this with the presence of the child rather than the behaviour.

🐶 Punishment can also change the dog's temperament, so they become more withdrawn and less playful.

There are also many more reasons on top of the ones mentioned above, and in the quoted study, that show training force-free is the better, and more ethical, option for us and our dogs.

You can find out more about the study mentioned in the graphic here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0168159111000876?via%3Dihub&fbclid=IwY2xjawUqJUNleHRuA2FlbQIxMABwZG9mBWJyaWQRMU14SlFMTVhrRkw5TUx4ZTFzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEe7HqoSKJaa1yGd-A4v4G9TsmSxnNQ8dPEz1rsqJCQN-9ZwQNzWNS0aCfI2t8_aem_N-N6xeZ5gU8CUKyMU4qD6Q

Address

Storrington

Telephone

+447890034391

Website

http://www.dognerdtraining.co.uk/

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