ImPAWSsible Dog Training

I have just recently gone through a beginners dog training program that you can use at home. It is available online and one that I wish I had had access to when we first got Paddy.

Its called ImPAWSsible Dog Training.

The course comprises of videos and written notes that you can read and watch at your leisure. After each modules training there is a homework assignment or some ideas on what you can work on with your dog.

After reading the first week I was really impressed firstly by the knowledge that Chetz has (well I expected that anyway as she has looked after rescue dogs for a long time) but the methods she mentioned she would be incorporating into her training program.

One of the very first things she mentioned was the concept of being a prey with your dog. This really rang home because this is the exact method we used with our dog to stop her running off. It was the best piece of advice we got from our dog trainer (in fact it was the only good bit of advice.....) at the time and is something that I have passed on to countless other dog owners who have a nightmare with their dog running off all the time.

One of our neihgbours walks our dog every weekend and they always comment on how she never runs off and they don't have to worry about it. One of the other things that really rang home was in the intro video when Chetz talked about distractions.

Let me tell you a story here:

We got banned from our dog training class. Well I got banned in fact! My husband and I took our dog to the training class together. I would sit and watch but Paddy always wanted to come over to see me. We were told that our dog was being a distraction to the rest of the class and that either we stop going altogether or I stop going.

A puppy is easily distracted and the dog training class was not the right place for her to learn. We watched videos in the end and took her out on her own to train her. So having an online training program really is a good idea because it means you can start your training with none of the distractions that you get at a dog training class.

Chetz goes on to say that you can add distractions in later on and that is part of some later training in the program.

Here's a break down of some of the training you will learn: 

• The importance of having a happy dog 
• Having fun while training 
• Getting your dogs full attention 
• Playing games with your dog 
• Learning the basics - sit, down and stand 
• Training your dog to 'leave it' 
• Training your dog to go to their bed 
• Walking your dog with a leash and getting your dog to walk to heel 
• Introducing distractions 

 Chetz also shows you case studies with some of her own dogs which is really helful. I like this training program it's easy to follow and is based on having fun with your dog while training.

You can find out more here.