Separation anxiety is a catch-all term to describe a dog’s behaviour when the owner leaves it. It often isn’t anxiety but can still be highly undesirable. Whatever the cause, given the right training it is usually straightforward to overcome.

Also known as reactivity, there are many reasons why a dog might behave confrontationally to another dog, a person, or even cars, bikes and other moving objects. The key to eradicating the behaviour is to understanding the real cause for it. Why does the dog feel it needs to do this? Once we understand this we can find a solution.

Dogs use their mouths to explore the world, but it’s never a good thing if they are mouthing, biting or nipping. We need to teach them what is and isn’t acceptable.

We all want our dogs to be happy but there’s a time and place for excitement. For example, we may not want our dogs jumping up at people. It’s important for our dogs to teach them how to be calm, and when they can be more excited.

We know that dogs bark but how much is too much? Sometimes it’s necessary to “switch off” the barking. We need to find out why the dog thinks it is appropriate to bark, then we can switch it off in a way that’s fair and the dog will understand.

Lots of people describe their dogs as “not liking men” or “won’t get in the car” or “doesn’t like German Shepherds”. These behaviours can be because of a negative association. This could be the result of a previous encounter that didn’t go so well, or the dog might be reading how the owner feels. If your dog suffers from something like this then we can gently help your dog to overcome it and build confidence.