Ideal for dogs or puppies that need to expand their skill set beyond foundational knowledge. Offering a more comprehensive approach, refining existing skills and introducing intermediate-level challenges to enhance your dog’s confidence and behaviour. Start as a beginner or a seasoned dog parent.
You will receive everything from the Discovery Programme, adjusted to your dog’s life stage. You do not need to progress to this programme, you can begin straight away from a complete beginner! You can choose this programme if you have a new puppy and this will take you through to adolescence, or begin here with older dogs.
8 Sessions (12 hours)
This programme is tailored to help puppies begin their life journey with the emotional security and understanding they need to thrive.
• Toilet Training: We’ll establish a gentle, consistent routine that teaches your puppy how to manage their environment, supporting both you and your puppy in stress-free house training.
• Teething: We’ll provide natural solutions to manage the discomfort of teething, helping your puppy stay calm and comfortable during this developmental phase.
• Cognitive Development: As your puppy explores the world, we support their growing mind with exercises that encourage curiosity and confidence in new environments.
• Social Skills: Early socialisation is key to a well-rounded puppy. We’ll help your puppy learn how to interact with other dogs and people in a respectful, confident manner.
• Building Confidence: By introducing your puppy to new experiences at their own pace, we help them build emotional resilience and prepare for the challenges of adolescence.
Adolescence is a time of energy and exploration. The Synergy Programme provides essential skills to help your dog navigate this stage with balance and control.
• Impulse Control: We’ll guide your adolescent dog through managing their excitement, helping them respond thoughtfully in stimulating situations.
• Self-Restraint: Teaching patience and calm behaviour allows your dog to pause and make mindful decisions, avoiding reactive outbursts.
• Emotional Regulation: Learning how to regulate their emotions supports your adolescent dog in handling frustration, excitement, and anxiety with greater ease.
• Social Skills: This stage refines your dog’s ability to interact with others in a calm and measured way, improving their confidence in various social settings.
For adult and senior dogs, this programme focuses on maintaining mental sharpness, building emotional resilience, and introducing new skills that enrich their lives.
• Mental Stimulation: Keeping their minds active through enriching activities helps prevent boredom and promotes emotional balance in older dogs.
• Learning New Skills: It’s never too late for your dog to learn. We’ll work on refining existing skills and introducing new behaviours that keep them engaged and happy.
• Emotional Resilience: For older dogs, maintaining calm confidence is key. We’ll focus on helping your dog feel secure and balanced in a variety of environments.
Regardless of your dog’s age, these core elements are essential for building a fulfilling and balanced life. We will adjust these accordingly to suit your dogs current skills and life stage alongside the above.
From beginners to more advanced recall in distracting environments, this is one of the most valuable skills for your dog’s safety and freedom.
Walking calmly by your side creates a peaceful, enjoyable experience for both you and your dog.
Teaching your dog to pause and think before reacting helps them navigate the world with confidence and ease.
We introduce the fundamentals of the Canine Dialogue Dynamics method, helping you and your dog build a relationship based on communication and understanding.
Expanding your dog’s vocabulary through simple, everyday words enhances communication and strengthens your connection.
Understanding your dog’s signals is key to recognising their needs and emotions, allowing for more meaningful interaction.
We’ll teach your dog how to relax and settle in different environments, such as at home or in a café, supporting their emotional calmness in social settings.
Providing mental and physical enrichment is essential for your dog’s happiness and well-being. We’ll explore ways to keep your dog’s mind stimulated and engaged.
Teaching your dog how to make safe, thoughtful decisions when faced with new situations builds their confidence and independence.
We’ll develop your dog’s ability to interact calmly and confidently with other dogs and people, improving their social experiences.
For dogs with higher energy levels, we’ll work on finding a balance between activity and calmness, promoting a healthier mindset.
Tailored guidance on supporting your dog’s health and emotional well-being through balanced, wholesome nutrition.
Teaching dogs to feel comfortable with being handled is incredibly useful for grooming, vet visits, and other forms of care. This could include:
-Helping puppies and older dogs become more relaxed when being touched.
-Practising cooperative care, where dogs willingly participate in things like nail trimming or ear cleaning, reducing stress and increasing trust.
Teaching dogs to respect boundaries, whether it’s staying away from unsafe places, not rushing out the door, or waiting calmly whilst you prepare their food. This is particularly helpful for dogs that need a bit more structure in their daily routine.
Helping dogs maintain focus on their environment even in more distracting situations. This builds attention and engagement, making day-to-day interactions smoother.
This helps your dog to grow in their confidence and become less dependent on you. Ensuring that they have the ability to think for themselves safely.
Gradually introducing dogs to new sights, sounds, and experiences can be an excellent part of teaching. From vacuum cleaners to new environments, it’s important to help dogs remain confident in a variety of settings.
You will learn all of the above first and then move onto these more advanced lessons.
Reliable recall is essential for your dog’s safety and freedom. In the Balance Programme, we build on basic recall skills by working with your dog in more distracting environments, (Once they have learnt foundational recall), such as parks with other dogs, busy outdoor spaces, and areas with wildlife. This teaches your dog to stay focused, even when there are exciting distractions around them. Strengthening recall in challenging situations gives you the confidence to allow your dog more off-lead freedom while ensuring they return safely when called, regardless of the distractions around them.
Building on loose lead walking, we refine your dog’s walking skills in a variety of environments, including busier streets, parks, and areas with more distractions. Techniques such as “Tuck in” or “Stay close” are introduced to give you and your dog more control while still allowing your dog to explore. Refining lead walking ensures peaceful, enjoyable walks in more challenging environments. This helps prevent pulling and over-excitement, creating a calmer and more enjoyable experience for both you and your dog.
Impulse control is taken to the next level, with more complex scenarios such as remaining calm in the presence of exciting stimuli (other dogs, wildlife, or guests arriving). Emotional regulation is further developed, helping your dog manage frustration, anxiety, or overexcitement in increasingly stimulating environments. Building impulse control in complex scenarios teaches your dog to think before reacting, leading to more balanced and thoughtful responses in high-energy situations.
We’ll focus on helping your dog become more self-aware in busy environments, teaching them to check in with their emotions and make calmer choices, even when surrounded by exciting stimuli. This includes scenarios like greeting guests calmly or remaining composed when encountering other dogs during walks. Developing self-awareness helps your dog make better decisions in high-energy situations, reducing hyperactivity and ensuring they remain calm and composed when it matters most.
As your dog progresses, we’ll move into more complex social environments, such as busier parks and cafes, where they will have the opportunity to refine their social interactions with other dogs and people. This includes teaching polite greetings, calm interactions, and appropriate play behaviour. Social confidence and appropriate interactions are key to your dog’s ability to navigate a variety of environments without stress or fear. This ensures that your dog remains calm and composed around others, even in busier settings.
Some dogs have a strong prey drive, making them reactive to small animals, birds, or fast-moving objects. In this programme, we introduce exercises to help your dog manage their instinctual drive in a controlled and thoughtful way, ensuring they stay focused on you rather than giving in to chasing behaviours. Controlling prey drive ensures your dog remains safe and responsive in environments where they may encounter wildlife or fast-moving stimuli, helping them maintain focus and preventing dangerous chasing behaviour.
We’ll build on your dog’s language skills, teaching them to understand more complex sentences and phrases. By expanding their comprehension, you and your dog will be able to communicate with greater clarity, giving them more nuanced verbal guidance to follow. Enhancing your dog’s ability to understand complex communication deepens your connection and makes daily interactions smoother, whether in training or in routine activities like walking or playing.
Adolescence and certain adult life stages can bring about significant hormonal changes that impact your dog’s behaviour. In this programme, we’ll work on helping your dog navigate these hormonal shifts by guiding them through moments of heightened sensitivity or reactivity.
Helping your dog through hormonal changes with guidance and understanding ensures that they remain emotionally stable during these challenging times, reducing the risk of anxiety, aggression, or withdrawal.
Understanding your dog’s body language is crucial for recognising their needs and emotions. By learning how to interpret your dog’s signals, you’ll be able to respond appropriately to their emotional state and strengthen your communication. Knowing your dog’s body language helps you anticipate their reactions and needs, creating a more harmonious relationship built on understanding.
Each session lasts between 75-90 minutes, and we will stop when your dog indicates they have had enough. Sessions take place in a variety of different locations based on your dog’s needs and preferences:
~ For new puppies, we begin in your home to help them feel secure in their learning environment. Once they are ready to venture out, we can meet in parks, country walks, cafes, garden centres, rivers, or any location that aligns with your goals for your puppy’s learning and socialisation.
~ For older puppies, adolescent, or adult dogs, sessions can either begin in your home or in a low-distraction area. We’ll progress to busier locations as your dog becomes more comfortable and confident, always ensuring we adapt to their preferences.
We recommend spreading your sessions in a way that supports your dog’s learning and emotional development:
• First two sessions: Held one week apart to establish a strong foundation.
• Next two sessions: Spaced two weeks apart to allow for progress and reflection.
• Remaining sessions: Scheduled monthly for ongoing support and growth.
However, the schedule is flexible and can be adjusted as needed based on your dog’s progress and specific needs. You can choose weekly, bi-weekly.
Flexible for every life stage: Whether your dog is just starting out as a puppy, navigating adolescence, or refining their behaviour as an adult, these programmes adapt to their needs, helping them feel understood, safe, and emotionally balanced at every step.
• Free Book: Each programme includes a complimentary copy of “Barking Up a New Tree – Rethinking Dog Training.”
• Optional Free Professional Digital Photos: You’ll also have the option to receive digital photos of your dog’s progress throughout the programme.
• Free Online Life Stage Course (Puppy, Adolescent, adult/senior)
Discover The CDD Method. We’re Here To Guide You Every Step Of The Way.
Discover The CDD Method. We’re Here To Guide You Every Step Of The Way.
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