Make the most of your dog walk!

Does your dog pull on lead and not come back when off lead?

Training and Teaching Online Group

Caspian Canine Teaching and Training Group is now open to the public.
The private Facebook group covers enrichment, training and exercises as well as offering encouragement and advice from other members. Monthly fee is £5 allowing access to all units and support.

Please contact animalzonepetservices@hotmail.com for further info. 

March newsletter; dog walking and COVID19.

March newsletter

Please click the link above to be taken to the newsletter for this month.

Training Challenge for this month is the 'environment or owner?' game. Look on Facebook to follow the how to guide. Post your results or get in touch if you have any problems!

Group walks coming soon!

It is important to me that dogs are transported safely and I believe that the best way to do this is in purpose built galvanized crates where the dog will not be thrown about due to driving motions and will be protected in the event of any accident.

Pictured above is my own dog Enzo at around 6 months, just over 30kg and he still has plenty of space in the crate and he is very comfortable!

The cages are all mesh so it is possible to see what is happening at a glance. Dogs are separated for safety reasons as even dogs who live together cant always handle being forced to be so close!!

Why choose Animal Zone Pet Services?

Choosing a dog walker can be hard especially when there are so many companies and individuals to choose from.
Do you find practical experience or theoretical knowledge most important or do you think a combination of both is necessary? How many years experience is required for a dog walker to be considered 'qualified'?
Many people offering dog walking services have an interest and like of dogs as opposed to a sound knowledge and skill based service. As the industry is unregulated it is advisable for owners to be sure that the service will meet their requirements as terms of 'professional' or 'qualified' can be misleading.
With this in mind, I aim to provide a background to Animal Zone Pet Services and why I believe that it provides a superior service in the animal care field.

As a child animals played a significant role in my life. I grew up with gerbils, rabbits, cats, dogs and horses.
On leaving school I studied for an HNC in Animal Care at Oatridge College and on completion and attaining a grade A pass, I went on to university for  4 years to study for a  BSc Hons in Animal Biology and  in 2018 I graduated with a 2:1.

My degree studies were extensive, I gained a sound theoretical foundation and practical experience across the animal care industry. One such memorable experience was assisting the vet  in the safe delivery of a calf by caesarean section.

My learning developed with 'hands on' work and in the past 10 years I have been employed in dog day cares, veterinary centres, cattery and kennel set ups gaining experience of all different species, breeds and temperaments. I currently also volunteer for Any Dog'il Do Rescue as well as supporting Scottish Dobermann Rescue with fundraising.

My involvement with 'reactive' dogs led me to set up my dog walking and training business. I had witnessed dogs being excluded from training classes or that were too risky to be given to a dog walker. These dogs were labelled a problem when in reality their behaviour was misunderstood or unable to be catered for in that set up.

Dog owners have reported feeling alienated and disheartened in trying to manage their reactive and nervous dogs.

At Animal Zone Pet Services we believe that every walk should be an enriching experience for the dog. Our dog walks can take us down a path, on to a verge, through a bush and back on to a path and may even incorporate a muddy puddle!

Dog walking professionally is about being alert, assessing the environment, reading the dog's body language, avoiding triggers and knowing what is best for your dog.

Although our focus is on solo dog walking, for dogs that I have already worked with and assessed, I offer small group walks (maximum 4). Dogs are transported in a van that has been equipped with custom built crates (as opposed to crates designed for homes). It is vital that dogs in my care are transported with suitable restraints for their safety.

To promote excellent animal care I believe that continual professional development is essential. To this end I attend numerous in person workshops and seminars, online courses and webinars. I am currently studying with COAPE to become a pet ethologist which, after graduation, will allow me to work as a behaviourist with all pet animals but my focus is on canine behaviour. Currently I am also working in the field of scentwork and my own dog, Enzo is loving the challenge in this area of dog sport.

All clients are offered a free training & behaviour consult within each 6 month period, as well as the option of a free teeth clean, nail clip or diet consultation.

Supercharge your dog's training!

Does your dog know sit, stay, down but only in certain situations? Do you find yourself asking for the same thing over and over again?

You and your dog are capable of demonstrating tidier cues and quicker reinforcement with the end result being supercharged training!!

Go right back to basics and make sure your dog understands the cue you are giving. Say the word once and see what happens. Try to not repeat the cue if your dog doesn't follow through. You can of course use a verbal and a physical cue but make sure that you keep these consistent.
If your dog doesn't do what you ask, do not force them to do it (i.e push into a sit) instead let them sniff or play and then ask them again once they have settled.

Common mistakes are to say the dogs name is such a way that means "do it or else...". This is not going to help the long term goals of training so try to avoid doing this. Give the dog an action to act on. Saying "ah!" or "no" is not a behaviour but "sit" is.

Make sure to keep your cues concise. If you taught the behaviour sit by saying sit do not start using 'sit nice'. Nice means nothing to your dog unless it is taught and changing the cues means your dog will get confused and not know what you are asking of them.  Cues work best when they are kept the same and when they are short, ideally one word.

When teaching behaviour to your dog in a new environment they will find it difficult even if they know the behaviour elsewhere.  If you find yourself saying to your guests "he knows this!"  then you must lower expectations of success in a new environment and reinforce in intervals. Your dog does not need to perform the behaviour perfectly. A lot of dogs will jump in excitement with new people in the vicinity. They may know a sit or lie down but in this new environment that goes out the window; sound familiar? Take them to a distance away from the new people and ask for the behaviour there. Distance decreases the excitability and work there. Gradually decrease and be able to work towards greeting new people within the home. If you need help with a specific behaviour then get in touch and I will be more than happy to assist with a training protocol.


Over time you will want to fade out using treats as often to reward. Do this using a variable reinforcement schedule. Additionally, vary the actual treats you are using. High value for hard tasks and their normal food for tasks they know. This actually encourages your dog to work more enthusiastically because there is an unexpectedness to the reward. Over time something that was once hard will become easy and the reinforcement schedule can decrease.

Start small and set your dog up for success.