Great dogs

I have just returned from walking Kai & Ella, and feel very relaxed and happy as a result. Due to me becoming a dog walker, we don't walk by ourselves very much anymore and it's something I should do much more often. Great for stress busting, and believe me the last week has given me cause for needing it.

Tomorrow will be a week since Diva, my lovely, bright little puppy - broke her leg. I wish that last bit wasn't true, but very sadly it is. We were walking on the beach at Weston-Super-Mare when a couple of dogs started racing around chasing each other. Diva was just stood still trying to be out of their way when they ran over her - they rolled her and as she went over she screamed out in pain. Not a sound that any owner wants to be familiar with in their dog.

After gathering up the other dogs and putting the children back into their car seats, we headed to our vets and Diva had a conscious x-ray taken which confirmed my suspicions - a fractured femur. The very same injury that Ella suffered from after jumping off the sea wall at Clevedon when she was 6 months old. I think I'll be staying away from beaches with my dogs from now on, we obviously don't mix well.

On the plus side the bone was fractured in the middle which made repairing it that much simpler, and we made use of Diva's insurance policy by employing Dr Hamish Denny to repair the damage. He's one of the best orthopedic specialists in the country, and I am eternally grateful he's local to us. We also have the benefit of knowing the veterinary rehabilitation specialists at the Smart clinic in Cardiff, and Lowri has given me further advice to get us through the next 4 weeks until we can start a program to rehabilitate her properly.

Whilst Diva was understandably quiet and very un-Diva like at first, each day she is clearly feeling a bit stronger and I'm pleased to report that it would appear her spark was only subdued, it isn't lost completely. During me writing this post she has whined for help getting out in the garden - our scary tabby cat was guarding the exit - so it seems her faith in me as protector is undimmed. We've had to forget recall training for the minute as she had taken on board the message that her 'Come' cue means get to whoever's calling you as fast as you can - it's too nerve wracking and far too dangerous at present. So if we need her we go collect her and walk her to wherever we want her to be. The lead walks only thing doesn't seem to bother her either, as she associates the lead with lots of treats - Diva heaven :-)

Despite this bad luck I'm determined that this won't affect the rest of the year. There are some things we can't control no matter how much we would like to. But we can control our attitude and reaction to those things that are taken out of our hands. My decision about Diva's accident is to allow a little time for feeling sad, take stock, and then move on in a constructive way. I'll keep you posted with our progress - I'm swinging back and forth between the feeling sad/ taking stock stage at present ;-)

Today I'm grateful for Kai, Ella & Diva and all the life lessons they've taught me, as well as my wonderful family and friends who support me when times get tough.

Well done everyone!

I felt I had to just write a note to say how proud I was of everyone today - the long break doesn't seem to have done anyone any harm at all, and you were all very focused - dogs and handlers! Well done!

Today I'm grateful for my beautiful boys who were very pleased to see their Mummy after she'd been out all day. It's so nice to be welcomed home by wet kisses and little bear hugs :-)

'Mission of Joy'

Diva's registration papers came through today and her official title is now 'Mission of Joy', which is more than a bit apt :-)

Training thoughts

It's been a while since I updated everyone on how my little Diva is progressing. Firstly I should tell you all that she's not so little anymore - if she carries on growing at the rate she is now, she'll end up bigger than Kai :-) However what she worries me in the length of her legs (still holding a vague hope she'll remain in the Small KC category) she more than makes up in the training department. I'd like to think it's my excellent dog training skills, but I think it's more likely that I've managed to bag myself a fantastic sheltie who loves to work - every trainers dream!

Her socialisation continues and next Wednesday we'll reach the all important 16 week mark, after which puppies start to become more inhibited and less open to new sounds & experiences. The key thing is to get them accustomed to as much as possible before the socialisation window closes, so that there are fewer new things for them to learn about after that point. Of course it doesn't suddenly stop there, and it continues throughout a dog's life. We will still be doing as much as possible to ensure she's a brave and confident little lady - early signs are very good!

I've been investigating training classes in earnest, and have several possibilities to choose from. I have been very surprised at the cost though - far more than in Toby & Lucy's day, although I'm startled to realise that they're almost 10 years old so perhaps the price rises aren't that surprising after all. You may wonder why I'm bothering to take Diva to training classes - after all, I'm a professional dog trainer so initially it seems a bit odd. But what even the best trainer in the world can't accomplish is teaching a puppy to work through their repertoire of tricks with the distraction of other dogs working, without those other dogs around them! I need Diva to generalise all of the behaviours that I teach her so that she understands that 'Sit' means 'Sit', regardless of whatever else is going on and wherever we happen to be. She already has amazing focus for her work so I don't anticipate any worries, but proofing our dog's understanding is what makes us good dog handlers and builds on the relationship between us.

On the subject of relationship building, I've had a bad run of sessions with Ella - not agility, but KC Good Citizen work. After a couple of bad experiences in the training hall, she's now too worried to complete the 'Stay' exercise which is a great shame and has caused me some distress. I have some relationship re-building to do and it's an important wake-up call to me about trusting my own judgement when it comes to training for my dogs. Fortunately I don't think there's any lasting damage done and I expect we'll complete the training somewhere else. But even if we don't I must bear in mind the triviality of it - Ella's my ideal training buddy, and she doesn't need a certificate to prove it. She's done one better than that, she has the trophies to prove it :-))

Today I'm grateful to my husband for his unwavering love and support, on which I have had to lean on so heavily in the last couple of days. "Love is like the air we breathe. It may not always be seen, but it is always felt, used and needed".

January Newsletter

Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT) Membership

Gemma Osmond, MAPDT 01069

We are pleased to report that last year Gemma applied to join the APDT, and after an assessment in October was approved for membership. The purpose of the APDT is to ‘offer pet dog owners a guarantee of quality when looking for a puppy and dog training class in their area’. Gemma felt it was important to join the organisation so that our current and future students could have further confidence in the services we provide, and to set us apart from the ‘old school’ trainers who still believe in using coercive and punitive techniques and equipment. For further information about the APDT, please visit their website: http://www.apdt.co.uk/


Puppy News

Just before Christmas, Gemma was delighted to welcome 10-week-old Shetland Sheepdog ‘Diva’ into her already busy household! Gemma has wanted to re-join the ranks of the Small/ Medium handlers in KC competition for sometime, since the retirement of her parent’s Medium terrier, Toby. This coupled with the fact that one of her best friends dogs measures into Small and therefore she finds herself ringside of Small/ Medium classes on a regular basis, prompted her search for her own little dog. So far Diva is everything Gemma hoped she would be – bright, bold and eager to learn. They have already started Puppy Socialisation classes with Leanne Barnes of ‘Animal Understanding’, and are looking forward to going onto do their KC Good Citizen awards under Sue James’ instruction at Burnham-on-Sea Training Club.

Price Increase

Gemma started Daybreak Dog Training to offer excellent dog training in both the basics and agility, with a view to earning enough money from teaching that she could continue to train and compete with her own dogs. In researching classes for her new puppy, she was surprised to find that Daybreak’s prices were considerably lower than other similarly and sometimes less qualified instructors than Sue & herself. That alongside increases in show entry fees necessitates a price rise from £5.00/lesson to £6.50/lesson from 27th February 2010. There will also be no discounts applicable for under 16’s after that time. The price of 1-2-1’s will remain the same at £20.00/ hour.

Class Changes

During the Christmas break, Sue & I met up to discuss your classes as we do on a regular basis; to make sure we’re providing you with the very best training for your needs. As you can imagine, it isn’t always easy getting the right balance of dogs & handlers within a group, as progress will be different from each individual partnership. However we feel that the re-arranged groups that we have come up with will allow everyone to get the most from their sessions, and these new groups are from immediate effect. We have also had to change the start times for some handlers – please contact me if you are unable to make the new time:

Start time Class
10.00am Beginners
11.00am G1-3 Agility
12.00pm Improvers

Beginners:
1. Natalie & Billy
2. Norma & Razzle
3. Lynda & Meghan
4. Matt & Colin
5. Sophie & Jasper

Improvers:
1. Catriona & Finn
2. Joan & Jake
3. Kate & Toby
4. Sally & Max
5. Sara & Baloo

G1-3 Agility:
1. Hazel & Lily
2. Emma & Raffy
3. Susan & Monty
4. Becky & Inca
5. Anne & Lacey
6. Jenni & Dylan
7. Catriona & George
8. Sara & Blaze/ Oliver
9. Sarian & Tui

You will notice that the G1-3 Agility group is bigger than our usual number of 6 dogs per group. As such we have enlisted the help of Helen Sharp as assistant instructor to Sue. However we do not expect to have a whole class of 9 to teach, as some of people are only able to make class infrequently – so don’t panic if your name is on this list, it’s not as big as it first appears!

Assistant Instructor - Helen Sharp

We are pleased to welcome Helen to our team of instructors at Daybreak, as Assistant Instructor to Sue James in her G1-3 Agility group. Helen is an instructor at Severnside Dog Agility Club, and a regular agility competitor with her Cavalier King Charles spaniel, Hattie. 2009 was their first season of competition and it was a very good start to their competitive agility career, seeing them move from KC Grade 1 to 4, and UKA Beginners to Senior. Helen is a student of Martin Tait at ‘Dervish Agility’, as well as Gemma here at Daybreak so we’re positive that the G1-3 Agility class will enjoy and benefit from her instruction.


Dates for your diary

Here are the dates for the next two training blocks. These dates take us up until we move to the Spring/ Summer training schedule. Please could you begin to think about which evenings you would prefer to be training and let either Sue or myself know your thoughts – gemma@daybreakdogs.co.uk

1st 6 week block £30

16th January (1st session back)
23rd January
30th January
6th February
13th February
20th February

2nd 5 week block £32.50

27th February
6th March
13th March – CRUFTS, NO TRAINING
20th March
27th March
10th April

‘Ask Why? Say No!’ Campaign

This campaign is being jointly run by COAPE (Centre Of Applied Pet Ethology) & CAPBT (COAPE Association of Pet Behaviourists & Trainers). This is the statement that they are looking for people to support:

There are still huge numbers of ‘stamp and jerk’ dog trainers and whisperers at large with their choke chains, spiked collars, shock collars, rape alarms, correction sticks and bullying attitudes who haven’t chosen to move on into the humane, modern age of dog training.

ASK WHY? of those trainers who still want to be cruel to dogs by training with punishment, correcting jerks and coercion when kind training methods are so much better, and are so very widely known and applied all over the world these days?

ASK WHY? of those ‘behaviourists’ who persist in deploying those long out-of-date ‘dominance reduction’ and one-size-fits-all ‘nothing in life is free’ programmes in the name of behavioural therapy. Why are they telling you to ignore and thus punish your dog? Don’t they know that this threatens the bond you have with your dog and potentially inflicts huge psychological damage on him? Click Here for more information.

‘SAY NO!’ to all of them! There is no such thing as ‘Being Cruel to be Kind’ in the name of dog training or behaviour therapy. Such dog trainers, whisperers and behaviourists are simply being ‘Cruel to be Cruel’ with these long outdated, inhumane and discredited techniques.

Don't be fooled by the fact that they may be members of some institute, council or guild. Ask to see their Code of Conduct. If they don't have one, ‘SAY NO!’ and walk away. If they do have one, see what techniques and equipment are NOT excluded and so might be employed with your dog. ASK WHY they might want to abuse your dog with any such unpleasantness, then, if you are not satisfied that your dog will be safe from harm, protect him! ‘SAY NO!’ and walk away.

If you would like further information and an opportunity to support the campaign by signing their online petition as Gemma & Sue have already done, please visit their website: http://www.coape.org/awsn.html

Welfare in Dog Training

Following on from the ‘Ask Why? Say No!’ campaign, we feel the ‘Welfare in Dog Training’ website (http://www.dogwelfarecampaign.org/) has some very valuable information that all dog owners should be interested to read. Do let us know your thoughts – dog training talk is one of Gemma & Sue’s favourite activities!

Online Feedback Form

We’re very keen to know how you’re all enjoying training and what you think of Daybreak Dog Training as a whole. We have put together an online feedback survey form that should only take a few minutes to complete. If you could spare the time we would be very grateful! Here’s the link you need: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/P3QDQKL

In case of class cancellations

Should we have to cancel a class we will do our utmost to contact you in plenty of time so that you don’t waste petrol travelling to a class that won’t be happening. We will also be using our online blog (http://daybreakdogs.blogspot.com/) more to keep everyone up-to-date with any changes to classes, so please do add it to your internet browser’s favourites to keep up with the latest news. If nothing else you can follow Gemma’s progress with her new puppy’s hooligan antics, and smile that even the best of us go through trials and tribulations with each new dog that joins the family! J

Lastly, Gemma & Sue would like to wish you all a happy & successful 2010, and look forward to seeing you back at training on Wednesday 6th January and Saturday 16th January (all classes).

Happy Training Everyone!