Guest Blog – Face to Face with the Tesselymoor Way

Anyone who has ever trained a dog will know: while it’s all very well training your puppy via YouTube, books and friendly advice, you can’t beat spending time with an expert dog trainer. I was thinking Lola was coming on pretty well following Damian’s advice over the phone, plus things I’ve picked up with my older dog. However, today was the moment of truth. Lola had to look Damian in the face and puppy dog eyes were not going to cut it with him.

Her training has been going well in that she’s a nice, well behaved dog in the house. She doesn’t wreck the place. She’s polite while waiting for food and greeting visitors. The thing is, she’s still tiny and when she’s out and about on a hillside and gets the scent of a grouse, I’m going to need much more than this.

So we start with heel walking. I’ve done a bit of this with her. I know it’s not great. From having a strong dog who is eager to run, I have a tendency to hold the lead too tight. I’ve transferred this to Lola and as Damian helpfully points out, I’m yanking her about when she goes off course. It’s a simple correct, well, he makes it look simple and we’re off with a nice heel walk. The same with a sit, wait. Then a little recall.

There’s a philosophy behind the technique. The lead is there to correct not control. Short-term pain (for the owner) leads to long-term gain (for you both). It’s not about distance covered, it’s about the lesson that’s learnt. I think I’ve been pretty strict with Lola but it turns out, she’s got too many toys. I want a happy dog but I want one that is focused on me. Damian showed me his young dog Islay; full of the joy of life but working for him like nothing else mattered.

It all looks easy when you are with an expert dog trainer but that’s the point. Damian knows what he’s doing so why wouldn’t I take his advice? While we were chatting he received a couple of messages from clients who were struggling with his recommendations and wanted to give up. They need to talk to me. I’ve been there with the disobedient dog. I’ve also been there in the middle of field in the pouring rain training that dog the Tessleymoor Way. It takes time but it really works. So with this puppy, I view this advice as the easy way out. I can’t wait to see what she can achieve.

Posted: October 10, 2018