Alpha Theory - or Dominance Theory - is a school of thought in dog training and behaviour fields that is derived from the idea that dogs are direct descendents of wolves and therefore behave in exactly the same way that wolves do - that is to say, that there is a social heirarchy in their pack with an alpha leader who dominates the other members of the pack.
Belief in this theory has led trainers and behaviourists to train dogs with aversives and advise that dog owners do things such as …

The World’s Biggest Puppy Party was hosted at Brighton Racecourse last Saturday and had a fantastic turnout!
There were many stalls, selling doggy goods, as well as rescues and companies like Canine Partners who were available to talk to people about what their assistance dogs do.
There were also some beautiful Golden Retrievers who work as PAT (Pets As Therapy) dogs - and they all seemed to be having a whale of a time!
There was even a pet photographer  - or petographer as he called himself - who was taking professional shots …

Well known celebrity dog trainer and behaviourist, Amy Hatcher, has opened Doodley Dogs Day Care Centre in Storrington, West Sussex.
She, with her twin sister Jane, opened their doors on 12th and 13th September to the public and their doggy friends. Lots of people and dogs attended, and the dogs had great fun running around with each other - our own dogs were certainly tired out after all the mayhem!
Amy has been working with dogs for over 10 years and Jane has often helped with behaviour demonstrations and running training classes. …

Yet again I have been a bit lax in updating this blog but I have been tremendously busy dog-sitting and also doing some training with some new clients.
I have been lucky enough to start working with a very bouncy labradoodle who enjoys jumping on sofas much to his owners’ dismay, as well as a lovely lakeland who has already been very well trained but has some lead lunging/pulling issues. Yesterday was spent walking up and down pavements working with him and his owner, though he did have a bit of …