Laura Jennings Dog Training

 Imagine you are walking to work and a stranger going past hits you, no bruises or marks but you get an awful fright.  A few weeks later, a different person jumps you and knocks you over and says they were only messing and stop being such a snowflake. Another few weeks later and another stranger going past comes shouting in your face and leaves a scratch and minor bruise but you can’t see them under your coat anyway, so no damage done...right... Or maybe wrong....how would you feel about walking to work? Would strangers make you nervous?  This is what our dogs are suffering over and over and I get several emails PER DAY about confident, happy social dogs confidence damaged by untrained off lead dogs sometimes friendly, sometimes just inappropriate and occasionally aggressive.  ⚠️ If your friendly dog runs up to other onlead dogs to play, you need to teach them to recall and stay focused on you or else leash them while you pass.  ⚠️ If your dog is not friendly an...

Finding a Dog Walker? As people are starting to plan ahead for a return to school, I am receiving more enquiries about Dog Walking.  I only cover Swords and Malahide for dog walking and have very little availability at the moment, so in an unregulated industry, it can be hard to know who to trust with your best friend and with more people using it as an easy way to make quick money, how can you find a professional you can trust?  As a professional Dog Walker and as someone who has used the services of a dog Walker in the past, these are my top five tips for finding a genuine professional: 1.  Qualifications  The qualifications you should look for in a Dog Walker would be at a minimum First Aid and a basic accredited Dog Training or Animal Care course.  When I take on new dogs, I spend a lot of time training them to come to my cues, I can’t have 4 different cues for 4 different dogs, so it’s extremely important there is a basic understanding of how to train dogs ...

Prevention is better than cure when it comes to dealing with separation anxiety and its associated behaviours.  Dogs that are anxious characters with true separation anxiety, will need to work with a Clinical Animal Behaviourst for expert supervision and to put in place a carefully tailored protocol and sometimes even medication.  This is why its important to hire the correct professional from the start so they can help you in conjunction with your Veterinarian.  But in terms of prevention or starting to rehabilitate early in the journey, there is lots you can do.  In order for puppies to feel independent, they need a secure attachment to their guardians.  So that means you can't love a puppy into separation anxiety and leaving them to 'cry it out' for hours at night, might in fact causes separation anxiety, rather than build independence.   1. Micro Sessions of Absence  Start with short micro absences up until 12 weeks of age, so this means you m...

 Have you decided to take advantage of the extra time at home to add the pitter patter of tiny puppy feet to your life.   When you take home your puppy, it is quite frankly, often a shock to the system, sleepless nights, crying, teething, biting and pee and poop everywhere (for anyone that’s yet to get their puppy, yep we are still talking dogs not newborns babies lol) And now you need HELP but.....no where is open, so where can you get help, trainers can’t visit your home, puppy socialisation classes are cancelled!! Well, thankfully like most industries, dog trainers are going digital too.  I know, you want the trainer in your home, the helping hand in front of you and what about the all important puppy socialisation....  Like most dog trainers, I’ve moved my business online, it has been such a success, I’ve decided it’s going to be a permanent feature.  Let me explain the benefits and why I love online teaching and why you should embrace it too. 1. Safety Of c...

SO the journey has begun...