SPECIALISED TRAINING

Years’ worth of experience has enabled the trainers at Leaps and Bounds to specialise in the training of dogs who have psychological concerns, and those who are visually, physically or hearing impaired.

Certain breeds are more susceptible to becoming deaf or blind and like people, can lose their hearing and sight overtime or to an illness, infection, or injury. Older dogs may also experience a sudden or gradual loss of hearing and sight. The training process for these dogs is of course, very different to our usual methods of training as deaf and blind dogs are unable to pick up on our visual or audible cues.

This comes with its own set of challenges and requires extra patience from dog owners but don’t panic! We will equip you with the tools needed to further your dog’s training and confidence through a set of bespoke training workshops that assure you, training an impaired dog is not outside of your capability if you learn how to communicate with them clearly and effectively with methods of praise that are alternative to a verbal ‘good dog!’. We provide a focus on attention, responsiveness and distance work in our classes to help you control the actions of your pup and prevent them from harm.

In these classes we also address variety of psychological behaviours, particularly those that can be exacerbated by medical conditions such as fear aggression, separation anxiety or severe nervousness. Whether it be a lack of socialisation or a negative past experience, it is our job to figure out what your dog’s triggers are and devise a tailored plan on how to overcome it. We will work with you and your dog, using techniques such as behaviour modification, conditioning and desensitization to keep them calm and steady in the face of these triggers.

We teach the handler to recognise the warning signs of a dog that is feeling uncomfortable or under pressure, teach them how to prevent an outburst and ultimately how to become confident and self-assured individuals – that goes for both the dog and the handler!

These kinds of medical or psychological issues are incredibly common and require a great support system and a lot of training to help overcome the challenges they pose. Our classes offer a safe space for this to happen, in a small group that is supervised, spaced out and structured at all times, allowing both you and your dog to have a positive experience. We are also able to offer you nutritional advice to promote the best quality of life possible for your dog in accordance with veterinary standards.

Please feel free to contact us for further information about this course. We are always happy to help!