Dog Squad Bridgnorth

A couple of members of the Squad made famous on their Dog Friendly holidays 😍 and their wonderful humans as well of course!

Yesterday we took the cavies down to Maverick Mutts at Halfpenny Green. Everyone was very helpful and supportive of Teddy and Lexi who were a bit unsure of the water. We fitted them up with the life jackets that are available in different sizes for you to use with your dog. Paul and I went in with them to give them both some confidence. You are in a secure area so the dogs can be off the lead. It’s under cover with space to change and leave your personal items. There is a ramp down into the *heated* pool and lots of toys to entertain! We had a great time! You can book private swims or there are group options 🐶 definitely recommend if your dog enjoys the water and you’re looking for somewhere safe and clean for them to swim!

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A big welcome today to two lovely Golden Girls 😍 Ella and Mabel joining the Squad and I can already tell they’re looking forward to exploring Bridgnorth and finding new things to roll in! IYKYK!

**Group Dog Walking Spaces Available!**

We have some spaces on our group dog walks which are suitable for sociable, adult dogs with good recall. Group walks are £13.50 for around an hour, plus travel time. Come and join the Squad! 🐾 (please note we only cover Bridgnorth town to keep travel times as low as possible)

✨️ Dougies ✨️

Now stocking the full range from Dougies Raw. I love this brand for many reasons but just to name a few...

* Single protein
* Affordable price range for a quality brand
* Conveniently sized, pre-portioned blocks
* Extensive range of flavours
* 80:10:10 & Superfood ranges
* Great for first time raw feeders

For full stock and price list please send me an email to [email protected]

Keen to feed your dog a raw diet but don't know where to start? I'll happily put together a transition to raw starter box for you and give you all the info and help you need to get started and continue your dogs raw fed journey.

It's a whole lot easier than you might think 😁

🗣️ “What about dogs with actual drive?"

Was a comment made to me yesterday on my remote control car recall video.

My primary response was "can you specify what you mean by 'drive'?"
Driven to do what? What behaviours are you expecting to see?

"Dogs with prey drive", they said.

Apparently, according to their response, show line dogs and 'mongrels' don't qualify. As it happens, Mohawk has some agility lines in him.....but anyway! 😆

Annoyingly, I couldn't respond to their last comment as I appeared to then be blocked by that person. Although, not blocked before having a good snoop at their own content 🤪
I deleted their comments, as a one way contribution doesn’t represent both participants fairly.

So often, in response to contesting the use of aversive tools in dog training we are told to 'show us your work'.

So, I do. Time and time again.

Videos of my dogs (in a group!), recalling away from other dogs, videos of my dogs in wild locations, videos of our clients' successes, videos of a dog having their first sniff of another in years, videos of owners successfully handling their dogs.

All trained without corrrections and aversive tools.

But it's never good enough for some, is it?

It's not a malinois...... so it doesn't count apparently!

"It's not a working breed"

"That dog is not REALLY aggressive".

Why? Because I don't video them being set up to fail and show you them at their worst? Is it not enough that the client is allowing me to publically describe their story?


'Drive' aka Motivation comes in many shapes and forms.

Such as being driven to pummell through undergrowth or engage in high speed ‘hooning' across the coombe, like Amigo, my impulsive, action packed 'mongrel’ who rarely completes a risk assessment prior to action.
A dog who ironically everyone compliments on his 'drive' to engage in training when they meet him and see him in action.

Or stalking and giving eye like my Border Collie, Mohawk, who looks seriously 'on the job' when we play our stalking games together. As it happens, he killed a rabbit two years ago (albeit what appeared to be a sickly one!). But obviously as a ‘show line’ collie ….that’s not REAL prey drive 😆

Or Kanita, my street dog, who is NOT driven to play stupid little training games, but who has a MASSIVE prey drive, including a livestock worrying track record (11 years ago now!).
She still excels at the fox pounce, managing to recently kill a mole (plucked from beneath the ground in a milisecond) at the age of 12!

Furthermore, dogs can be less 'driven' when solitary and more 'driven' to respond to stimulus as a group. Ie, Engaging in territorial behaviour or chasing prey as a group, whilst otherwise ignoring or not overtly responding to the trigger stimulus when on their own.

You can find plenty of videos of my dogs exhibiting 'drive' for a variety of behaviours as individuals and as a group.

Drive is not limited to working line dogs nor dogs who do sports. It is not limited to dogs who are observed in elevated states of arousal, working hard to maintain control over their intense intrinsic motivations until cued otherwise by their handler.

Additionally, if a dog doesn't look excessively driven to you, then it's quite possible that the layers and layers of training historically applied to set that dog up for success and to teach them self- control and self- regulation is what is at play.

Whilst it's undeniable that there is a variation in the level and intensity of ‘drive’ between breeds and lines, there is also variation at an individual level. You can get show line dogs with high drive for some behaviours and working line dogs who will favour the sofa over a job.

Please reconsider downplaying the efforts and achievements of others. If you wish to offer critique, I personally feel the fair thing to do is to have a good delve into the backstory of whom or what you are critiquing before taking to the keyboard.

If your criteria for dog training skill or success is to observe the presence or application of aversive tools, then at the very least recognise that this has nothing to do with so called ‘drive’ or levels of ‘aggression’, and has everything to do with your confirmation bias.

A welcome to Beau’s little sister Belle who has started on group walks now she’s old enough. Full of beans and making friends in the squad 🐾🖤

A big welcome to Mabel who has joined the Squad and been settling in nicely! 💞

There is currently a post being shared regarding Alabama Rot in the area. Please check your sources are reliable! This is the official website for live cases and accurate information on the disease.

Alabama Rot | CRGV | Information & Questions CRGV, known as Alabama Rot, is a rare but fatal disease affecting dogs. Anderson Moores are Alabama Rot veterinary specialists. Find out more.

A cute little extra on today’s walk 😍😍

Dog First Aid refresher for me and Slee'paw'vers Bridgnorth today! Thanks to The Bridgnorth Dog Club for hosting and also great to catch up with our pals at LRS Dog Services too! 🐾

Wishing everyone a very Happy New Year! 🥳 2️⃣4️⃣ 🥳 Looking forward to getting back out on some rainy walks tomorrow! 🐾

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year🎄 Thank you for all your support through 2023, we are looking forward to seeing you all in 2024 🌟 Slee'paw'vers Bridgnorth

A few walkies from this week 🐾 the newbies to the Squad are settling in nicely ☺️

Welcoming Barney & Millie to the squad ❤️💙 some soggy walks to start with but that didn’t spoil the fun 🐾🐾

Big welcome to the Squad today to Ella 🐾 She had a lovely stroll with her two new pals in the woods ☺️

Some of the walkiessss this week 🐾

😍🐾

Back from our Scottish road trip holiday just in time to celebrate 3 years of having the best job in the world 🎈
Feeling very grateful to have wonderful clients (dogs, cats and owners alike!) & thankful to have my best gal Kate Dog Squad Bridgnorth to work alongside too.
.. straight onto a pet sit this afternoon of course! 🐾

When "Treat Training" Doesn't Work: Operator Error - eileenanddogs Positive reinforcement training using food works. It's fun and helps build a great bond with your dog. Here's what's wrong with articles that say otherwise.

Happy 8th birthday to my little madam! 🥰 👑

Welcome to this handsome fella today! At 6 months he’s already a big lad 😍 Any guesses on his breed? 🤔

Happy dogs (and dog walkers!) in the cooler weather this week 😍🌦️🐾

Big welcome to Holly today. She had her first group and we’re taking things slowly and getting to know her. She was wearing the tracker just in case she got spooked but she was a happy girl and enjoyed her woodland walkies with some pals 🐾

Happy 9th Birthday to my sweet boy 🥰💞

**Group dog walking spaces available**

We have some rare availability on our group walks. These are around an hour long plus travel time and we walk locally to Bridgnorth in places like Comer Woods and Stanmore. These walks are suitable for adult (over 1 year old), sociable dogs with reliable recall in a variety of environments and situations. We currently only cover Bridgnorth town to keep travel times to a minimum. The cost of a group walk is £12.50.

Pop me a message on WhatsApp if you’d like to join the Squad!
Kate x

Walkiesssss