Is there anything as wonderful as a walk with your dog?! Out exploring the world together as a team, enjoying the fresh air and sunshine – or more often the rain! Free exercise, the great outdoors, wonderful scenery and your best friend to share it all with you.
BUT…
It doesn’t always work out as planned.
Your dog is getting strong, dragging you all over the place and almost choking himself! He is impossible to walk next to the buggy or with the children. He is completely distracted and ignores you when out of the house. He is obsessed with picking things up from the floor and sometimes even eating them – and yes I am referring to horse poo! He runs and hides when you get the lead out or jumps all over you in excitement!
And if you let him off lead to get rid of some of that energy he disappears into the distance. Or worse, he finds something to chase, like rabbits or even sheep. And all of a sudden this becomes a very dangerous mistake.
Dogs aren’t born knowing how to walk nicely on a lead, and the big wide world is a distracting place! Buggies and prams can be tricky things not trip over! He loves exploring different tastes and textures with his mouth, no matter how inappropriate it seems to us! And how can we expect them to come back to us when off-lead when there are so many other choices out there! And the adrenaline of the chase is such a huge rush!
No-one wants dog walks to be hard work or a chore, but without the right training sadly they can become just that. Owners may dread walk time or avoid it completely, stopping exercising their dog altogether. Dogs that would benefit from an off lead explore are restricted to short lead walks. You may have wasted lots of money trying different training aids like headcollars and harnesses but these haven’t helped at all and your dog hates them!
We use reward based training and a holistic approach to your dogs routine to make sure that walking nicely on the lead and being around you is the best thing yet!
With careful planning and commitment we can help you to teach your dog how to walk nicely on a loose lead and to come back to you when you call, ignoring all of those other tempting distractions. Get in touch to see how we can turn your walk nightmares into a dream come true!
But don’t just take our word for it! Read these case studies and references from two Contented Canines and their happy owners!
Typical to his combination of breeds, Albert is a bouncy and excitable Springador (Labrador crossed with Springer Spaniel). His owner Pat was finding him difficult on walks where his endless energy resulted in pulling on the lead and unreliable recall. We put together a plan to help him focus this energy on something more appropriate then set to work with the walks!
I found the whole experience of working with Nicola excellent. Her advice on how to work with Albert – our very lively young Springador! – sensible, sound and practical. She greatly improved my self- confidence when handling Albert. A very approachable, caring person who bases her training techniques on experience, knowledge and common sense
Luna is a mixed breed from a rescue. As an adult rescue dog she hadn’t been taught what to do out and about on walks by her previous owners. Her owner Jo got in touch with me to learn how to teach her to walk nicely on walks around distractions and to come back when called.
We had some home training sessions with Nicola from Contented PetCare to help with our 1 year old rescue dog Luna. Luna seemed to find it difficult to hear me if there was something more exciting around! She came up with a detailed personalised training plan for our dog using lots of positive reinforcements and worked with me on recall and lead work. We have a very busy life style so it was fantastic that Nicola came out to us and spent one to one time with me and my dog. It was a very relaxed and positive experience and I now have a very happy dog that I can let off the lead (well most of the timeJ). I look forward to now joining in with the puppy training classes. Thank you Nicola.
Ronnie is a very special boy who had a horrible start to life. Luckily he now lives with a family who absolutely dote on him. The bond between Ronnie and his owners was an incredible one, and they were a really special family to work with.
Our dog Ronnie is a rescue yard GSD, he came to us when he was about 2 years old, for the beginning of his life he was tied up morning, noon and night. Nicola from Contented PetCare was recommended to us by Victoria Vets at a routine visit, as someone who could help us understand Ronnie’s issues.
During Nicola’s visits she helped us understand and deal with Ronnie’s insecurities, only after a few visits Ronnie came on in leaps and bounds, this was due to not only Nicola’s guidance with Ronnie but also the help and advice she gave both my husband and I.
Nicola also helped us purchase a correctly fitting harness, halter and lead, which has resulted in me having the confidence and be able to enjoy long walks with Ronnie without my husband.
Thanks to Nicola’s advice, over the summer holidays, we have spent time socialising Ronnie with lots of dogs, all different sizes and breeds, he now has a very good friend in a springer spaniel called Fergus, this year for the first time at our caravan, we have been able to sit in company where Ronnie was very happy to lay besides Fergus, everyone who knows Ronnie at our caravan site have commented on the change in him.
Since our meetings, we have also on several occasions felt confident enough, where there has been no distractions to let Ronnie off the lead, with Ronnie staying by my husband’s side the whole time, previously he would have just taken off. Nicola also gave us basic treat training, this has resulted in Ronnie now listening to commands and responding really well.
We can’t thank Nicola enough for all her help and guidance, we wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Nicola to anyone who needs help understanding their pet. Ronnie does miss his monthly visit from Nicola, he was always so excited to see her, so if you are ever passing Nicola, please feel free to drop in.