Speaker 1: 0:09

Welcome to the Absolute Dog Sex in a Squirrel podcast. I'm Lauren Langman. I'm one of the world's leading dog trainers and it's my mission to help owners become their dog's top priority. In each episode, you'll discover how to gain trust and communicate with your dog like never before, creating unbreakable bonds that make you the most exciting part of their world. Okay, confidence circuits, jamie, one of my absolute favorite things to do, because I think that they have changed the game for so many of my dogs in sport, but I also know they're not just for sport. They've also had massive benefits in naughty buty but Nice Dogs. What is a confidence circuit?

Speaker 2: 0:47

A confidence circuit is the best thing ever, I think, and it can be anything really. I love how enthusiastic you are the best thing ever.

Speaker 1: 0:55

They are so cool. They're also really fun, aren't they? They're really fun to do.

Speaker 2: 1:00

And you can get creative doing them and there's not really there's no rule.

Speaker 1: 1:04

You can't go too far wrong. No, I mean, you don't want them. Running is the only thing. So these you're going to play at where you do we do. I think there are some people who might play them where they let the dog do any old movement. Jamie and I are both going to look for some specific good movement. Why? Because we've got a sports trained eye. So when you've diet, it's kind of like ignoring I don't know. It's like a police officer going out and doing something that's really against the law for them, because they you know what the rules are in the games that you play in sport. So because we play so many sports, we probably are going to look at it from a sporty point of view. Yeah, at the same time, brilliant for rehab dogs, brilliant for dogs that are nervous, brilliant for dogs that are lacking confidence. So what is a confidence circuit?

Speaker 1: 1:41

a confidence circuit is I don't know how to describe it. I would say it's a series of different obstacles, yes, where the dog has to problem solve to go from a to b whilst individually maneuvering their limbs. Yes, in a correct form, in a calm headspace, you can focus, keeping focus forwards, forwards, preferably. Yeah, and I think that it can look really different, can't it? Because I'm already like designing one in my head and it's got big boxes and it's got little foily bits, the dog's coming through and like glitter and shimmer, and the dog is like striding through the glitter and the shimmer, like all of those types of things I really like. I really like them to look different. At the same time time.

Speaker 1: 2:21

It also should be non-slip, yeah, and the thing when people are at home listening going well, I haven't got all this stuff. You don't actually need a lot of stuff. You actually need to be quite versatile and flexible to what you already own, like if you've got a bath mat, or maybe you've got a baby with a baby mat, or whether you've got some form of um dirt trapper at your door. These things are all quite useful. And the brillo brush type mat outside the front door those types of things are all a broom handle. Yeah, all of these things. A mop, like all of them, can come in handy into the circuit yeah, definitely a baby step, like yeah, yeah definitely, definitely.

Speaker 1: 2:56

There's so many. I'm looking around the room now. I know about random things. There are so many random things that you can utilize a yoga block if you've done any pilates and then given up which is what most of us do. All of random things that you can utilise A yoga block If you've done any Pilates and then given up which is what most of us do. All of those blocks that you might be working with yes, a hoop would be nice. You can get them from Tesco's and Sainsbury's and Asda and Amazon and Costco and, I'm sure, lots of other places like that. But loads and loads and loads of like. You want like DIY gear, almost, don't you? You just want like different stuff. If you've got anything I don't know what it's called. I do know what it's called. It's called insulation. Insulation, for example. Great, we make everything non-slip, jamie why?

Speaker 2: 3:33

because we're asking our dogs to stand on things or in things with confidence and we don't want that to move. We don't want to cause an injury. We want to make this a safe thing for them to do. Also, if it did move, then not only is there a risk of injury but there's also the risk of frightening them and we don't want them to get scared of what we're trying to build confidence. You know we're doing confidence circuit. We don't want them to and I'm just thinking.

Speaker 1: 3:59

Then, when you told me that about one of your free cycle, up cycle type situations that you brought here and I was jealous, I was like I want that upcycle free cycle jealous thing, look at me and I started to eyeball it like I really wanted it.

Speaker 2: 4:10

But tell everyone what you did and what you got and how you improved it so there were drawers from an old like art kind of draw thing that I was going to chuck out and I was just like, no, not chucking them out, and we're going to use them. So they were about that wide and about maybe that deep, so just right for the dog to step into, or if I turned it upside down, they could step onto it as well. So they were nice kind of secure plastic, yeah, so anything like that, and a couple of those draws in a row or in different parts of the confidence circuit. It was really cool.

Speaker 1: 4:42

And I think things, things like that really good to start to spot because you'll see them when you're playing confidence circuits. You're like, oh yeah, I could use that you also put that non-slip stuff in it.

Speaker 2: 4:50

Just explain what the non-slip stuff is so the non-slip stuff you can buy, kind of like a matty type thing. It would be fine, and you'd like to stick some caravans to stop things slipping. But yeah, I bought a roll of that. It's I think it's called on Amazon decking decking like non-slip decking tape.

Speaker 1: 5:06

So you, oh my god, a sped a sped, you put it on a step. You put it on a step to stop you slipping. And I was just thinking about it. That like, do you mean that like sandpaper stuff, I have to say, be good for a scratch board? I have to say that stuff is one of those materials that makes me feel sick and I don't know why I I can use it for my dog training, but when I get to stick it down I'm like you know, like chalk on a chalk on a chalkboard. For me it's a chalk on a chalkboard scenario and so when I touch it I'm like I always feel like I need to like do something. My nails or I don't know. It makes me kind of go and that stuff and that stuff. So that stuff is fantastic for your confidence circuits. It works really well. And underneath it, isn't it?

Speaker 2: 5:47

Because underneath it will stop it, some stuff, because we use a lot of sensory mats, so things like it can just be a bath mat, but bath mats can be Both sides, yeah. And we've got kind of astroturf up here and sometimes certain things. It's weird certain things can be slippery on the astroturf and not slippery on the carpet, and then vice versa, slippery on the carpet and not slippery on the astroturf. So it's just making sure you're checking it. If you're changing whatever's underneath, check it first. You you could you turn a corner on it?

Speaker 1: 6:16

and a bit of trial and error, isn't it? So it's a little bit of trial and error and I think that's really really key as well. So trial and error and change it about and mix it up a bit. Yes, the other thing I really really key as well, so trial and error and change it about and mix it up a bit.

Speaker 2: 6:24

Yes, the other thing I really really love with confidence circuits is I think you touched on it there like proprioception and sensory stimulation and what's that about so it's just the ability for the dog to be able to place, or or become more aware of how it's placing its feet and body and weight shifting.

Speaker 1: 6:44

And who's that good for us?

Speaker 2: 6:45

Everybody, dogs, puppies, from like tiny to all the way up to when they're in their senior years, and you're helping them to, because we kind of go backwards, don't we, from being a puppy. I think we're there, jamie.

Speaker 1: 7:01

We're just talking about this, but, yeah, kind of going backwards when I think about it, though. I've got a dog with a neurological deficit. Her name is Brave, her neurological deficit. She had a spinal disorder or a spinal condition post an accident where she went sprinting, lost her mobility in her back. There was no health issue beforehand. We didn't know there was a problem. She'd had her back x-rayed, everything was fine. We were just very unlucky afterwards. Sometimes she'll scuff. Now you'll hear that scuff with older dogs. I remember with my late dog, poppy, she used to scuff. Yeah, so some dogs scuff. So if your dog is a scuffer, I think it can also be a really nice exercise.

Speaker 2: 7:36

Definitely it'll help them to be able to, instead of scuffing along, pick up their, pick up their feet pick up their little tootsies and and yeah, definitely, I think it's really really good for the older dogs, but just as good for everybody else. Yeah.

Speaker 1: 7:51

I think it's a brilliant, brilliant, brilliant, brilliant, brilliant exercise to be playing for anybody with neurological or sensory struggles and dogs wise, because actually, and actually even the sort of thing that people with their dogs can work with, because when you're working with the owners, they're creating them. What I really really like is that you see the dog develop through the learning and you see the dog sort of really hone in on on the learning in a in in quite a smart way. You see brave, really enjoying her learning.

Speaker 2: 8:20

Like for me, this is nice, yeah, it's nice territory, it's good territory to be in, yeah, definitely, and I think I love it when they get to the point of under completely understanding what their, what their, their kind of task is to do in the exercise.

Speaker 2: 8:34

And then you, you maybe do a couple of reps, maybe two reps each way, and then put them in a on their boundary or on their place and then change something within that circuit and see what they do then, because that often it's amazing then to watch them work it out, watch them, oh, but this was this and now it's not this and oh, I did this here, or and it's just like, yeah, amazing to watch them then work it out, so whether it was a step in bucket, so they got to step into something.

Speaker 2: 9:02

If you just change that to step onto, that changes the whole stride and that changes the whole way they're looking at it and they've got, you know, be reactive in a positive way to their environment, which is it's helpful for dogs that have off-leash freedom, that are jumping over things out and about, to be able to have that ability, to be able to use their body. For sports dogs it's massive the ability to be able to turn and twist, the ability to flex flex and the ability to change and the ability, I think, to be quite dynamic.

Speaker 1: 9:34

Yeah, I think the dog has to be quite dynamic to change, and just that moment as well, isn't it? Yeah, it's big, really, really big. And I think the other thing that's worth acknowledging here is that you never do the same session twice, so you'll actually do that session once and then you'll do a different session and a different session and a different session, because you're always changing something on the confidence circuit. It always looks different. It doesn't ever look the same. No it, even if you try, yeah, if you tried, you'd make it hard.

Speaker 2: 10:01

It'd be hard to make it the same, because you're always moving something yeah, and it's cool to watch your brain think of new things to do with it as well. Like you know, just doing cavaletti with a plank underneath it that was that was quite a cool one to do and I was just like, is this gonna? Is this gonna work? I'm not sure how this is gonna work, but it was really really cool and I was just like, oh, and that like actually looks really cool, and for the dog to be able to work that out, that's a lot of skill to be able. So it's basically like doing Cavaletti along the dog walk, isn't it? That's smart, isn't?

Speaker 1: 10:32

it Smart, smart. So what is one of your favourite objects to put in your confidence circuit? And I'm going to start, and I'm going to give you a minute to think about it, because I've already thought about my question and I'm going to say my favourite object I actually love adding a large box. I just like adding a box where they go through something, and I don't know why. I think it's probably because when I was little I liked making dens and for me there's a level of den making and Cavaletti, confidence circuit sort of building. So when you're building a confidence circuit with some Cavaletti in it and you're building that scenario, there's a bit of den making for me and I love the um.

Speaker 2: 11:07

You had up here a really big box for a while where they went through like I loved it. Yeah, and so it was for that separation thing as well, because they've got to trust you, because they're going behind that barrier.

Speaker 1: 11:13

If you've got a dog who's fearful of being separated, a dog who's a little bit separation anxiety, sort of driven a little bit and anxious to be left again, it's these little micro moments of separation that you do and you build in confidence for them to go. Yeah, I got this and it's no different with how you're raising a child or how you're doing other confidence training. Eliza didn't used to like speaking to people but she has horse riding lessons and so she's actually really confident in teaching other people on horses and herself having lessons. But she's learned through the concept of confidence, through training horses. Yeah, she didn't learn it sat in school or at a desk or with a pen in her hand, and I think that's really important that we learn. This is how you can learn the over and arching skill. So for me, the box that could be a tunnel, nice and long, could be tall, could have dangly bits on it, but that's my favorite, we even put like a box in there where they had to.

Speaker 1: 12:03

You just got to be tall enough and then they have to go in it yeah, step in it and the other thing we did we put different surface in it, so we did do sometimes some mats in it and we also did some foot targets in it to make it stay upright because it won't go wonky, and then you had to put cones around it and things. So I do remember that one, but that was my favorite. And then there was one someone, someone lovely sent me some flowers in the flower box. There was a flower box as well that was similar and that was in the house and rather than the dog training room and it was back in the house and that was in and the back room and we used that one for a while, the purple box. It was a little bit cool shape. Yeah, what about you? What's one of your favorite items to put in a confidence circuit?

Speaker 2: 12:37

I'm gonna say the step in, step out of a box, because you can use it for stepping in, stepping out of the box, like my draw, the drawers that I had, the, the ones that I recycled, upcycled, you know. You could either use them lengthways or widthways, which was, so that could be even a change, because obviously the narrower the article is, the harder it is for the dog to target, either way really. So you've got the length that way, but then you've got, you've only got one. When you turn it the other way, you've only got one narrow bit. So it all switches it up. So I quite like a step in and step out of box.

Speaker 1: 13:14

Yeah, nice, no, really nice. I love a hoop as well. I don't know, we do love a hoop, no fire. So my next question One day, one day. So my next question one time. Just imagine it quick gonna happen. The room's on fire. So my next question is if you were to pick a favorite purpose for confidence circuits, what would it be?

Speaker 2: 13:34

I think I love it for naughty but nice dogs, and naughty but nice dogs they kind of are definitely dear to me because I think I've been trained well by my lot over the last.

Speaker 1: 13:44

And you've worked in rescue and you've worked in those types of dogs for a long time and I do love them.

Speaker 2: 13:50

I just love them. I get drawn to them Easily attached. Yeah, definitely, they are my cup of tea.

Speaker 1: 13:57

I do like them. I love it when we say that's my. I was reading someone's post actually yesterday. They'd lost their dog and they said this dog was my cup of tea. And some dogs are just more your cup of tea than others. I feel like one of my dogs. I don't drink alcohol. Really I feel like she's vodka for me, um, whereas I've got others and I'm just like you are. So my cup of tea, just my cup of tea. And, um, the naughtier the better. You're so good. You're so good with them as well.

Speaker 1: 14:20

For me, my favorite purpose running contacts. They're the bane of my life because I train agility and I travel all over the country trying to win at agility. For me it's massive to have a dog that can do these things well, and Confident Circuits have just helped me so much in agility and the dog's movement, their overall movement. I think Wild at her best is really fit on Confident Circuits. Wild is my dog and so at her best, she's good at Confident Circuits. So I think wild is my dog and so at her best she's good at confident circuits.

Speaker 2: 14:45

So I think it's just a really nice one.

Speaker 1: 14:46

Yeah, definitely yeah really good one, really good one, really good one all around. So last last thought on confident circuits can you do them in a smaller space? Is there a way of adapting them? Is there something we can do to make it doable in anyone's house, and do you need loads of equipment?

Speaker 2: 15:00

yeah, no, you can definitely do it minimal and it's definitely a rainy day activity.

Speaker 1: 15:04

So good for that, isn't it the?

Speaker 2: 15:06

three things that I stick to, if I ever do them in. I haven't got much space in the house and I literally tend to do it in the hallway.

Speaker 1: 15:13

Jamie's got three kids, a very happy husband, four dogs and we were just moaning today about grumpy old men Do not tell our men this but we were moaning before this, which is why she nearly spat out her cup of tea as we spoke about it. But, man, three kids, dogs, kids, stuff yeah, because, liza, I'm constantly putting stuff away. I literally work on decluttering every morning and she works on cluttering every day and it feels like it's like a declutter circle and I feel like I lose most days.

Speaker 2: 15:43

but I try really hard anyway, I tend to for this reason I tend to just have my hallway by my front door, because chloe will be in the other room with stuff every stuff, every bit of stuff.

Speaker 1: 15:52

So go on. What have you got?

Speaker 2: 15:53

bare bits of my little, three little exercises that I love to do that are just good for small spaces. So my little cones, so three cones, and then you can have a yoga block so a step on to step off type of block. So it's just the three cones and the yoga block so they go from one side to the other, to the other. Then I switch that out and put my draw where they've got a step into and out of whichever way you want to put that. They do a couple of circuits of that and then I do maybe a pole and if your dog's advanced, you could do three poles out of the three cones then, so that they're doing a nice curve as well. Yeah, and that's that's. That's the equipment I would take to new environments and stuff as well. So it's not huge but it's a workout.

Speaker 2: 16:38

They're working on their flexibility within their spine, they're working on their proprioception, they're working on so many task focus. They're working on so many things. You can play around with the distance in my hallway. I can actually move away from them. Yeah, you can come forward and you can play around with the distance and stuff like that. But it's just a nice rainy day activity or an activity that you want to teach them to be able to take to you know the back garden, the driveway, wherever you are at with your dog, a car park or or wherever really, the agility waiting for your agility round see if they're flexible enough to do that and have like stuff going on in the background.

Speaker 1: 17:17

So, yeah, yeah, I love it for that it definitely makes sense, because you actually can then play around the space. Another thing I'm going to say guys, if you don't have space, hiring a facility, using a facility, taking the kit that you've got, using their kit I know that if you were hiring this facility, we hire out the arena here. So if you're in Devon, we hire the arena, or if you're passing Devon, we hire the arena. I would say the kit in the entrance is actually all you need. So it's just giving you an idea that actually we should probably hire the entrance. So hire the kit in the entrance that people can just use that, because that's really what you need. Yeah, so you just need a little bit of space and and the entrance area and you can get very creative with all of that, oh my god, literally, you could spend as long putting it out as you could doing your training session.

Speaker 1: 17:54

In fact, you could spend probably a lot longer. Have fun with it, enjoy the colour, enjoy the vibrancy, enjoy the flexibility that it offers. Confidence circuits have something for everyone. If I was to pick confidence circuits, confidence hoops or Cavaletti, which one would you pick If it was a fist fight? If it was a fist fight, it's really hard, isn't? It. Isn't it because of my hoop of fire? Jamie's struggling, jamie's struggling.

Speaker 2: 18:26

I don't know they're too good.

Speaker 1: 18:28

I've given her, basically, three different types of chocolate. Oh my goodness, she likes all of them. Oh my goodness, it's tough. You know what? They've all got brilliant, brilliant purposes. I'm gonna say like they do work together. They do work together really well, really well.

Speaker 1: 18:43

I'm gonna say, if I had to pick one, I'm gonna say confident circuits. And the reason I'm gonna say confident circus is I think it incorporates all three. And I think no, no, no, you can pick your own. You don't have to take mine, you don't can. You're OK to have if it's different. Jamie, I really like that. You can do all three. So I like that you can and you can have all three, which is the best bit. Just head to absolute dash dogs dot com. They're all three, yours and their lifetime badges. But for me, if I was to pick one, I would pick Confidence Circuits. And the reason I would is I think Confidence Circuits incorporates hoops, I think it incorporates cabaletti, I think it incorporates movement, I think it incorporates all the patterns, ideally dual three. I mean it makes sense to do all three, do all three.

Speaker 1: 19:24

However, confidence circuits for me is like home, I feel. I feel like there's that song. It's like home, is you confidence circuits is like home for me. I just literally see it and I'm like it makes my I was about to immune system. It's not my immune system, my whatever that is. That system that sometimes triggers it makes it happy. That system that just goes chill I can't remember the word but it makes me just feel a little bit sort of settled like. It doesn't make me feel it when I watch it. I just feel really comfortable watching a dog around it. When they do it well and when you're training. It's very calming and it's very focused exercise. Yeah, it's a good exercise. You have to zone. Yeah, it's a bit like I'm thinking it's a bit like childbirth. You really have to be in the right zone, don't you I?

Speaker 2: 19:56

think you've got to be in the moment and adjust yourself. I think that's what the three, three badges really teach, isn't? It is being in the moment, you're just mechanic whatever.

Speaker 1: 20:05

They're giving you a little huge mechanics, a brilliant eye. For those of you who want to improve your dog training, you will improve your eye doing confidence. Circuits, cavaletti and the hoop training. Particularly the former two I think they really hone your eye in, they really make your eye work hard. And then mechanics for all three, and especially the hoop, like your mechanics need to be really good. Do you ever have a lot of hands? Especially if you start putting it on fire, you lose. So I don't know that you've got a lot of hands then. So it definitely, definitely, definitely All of them combine, don't they Very, very nicely?

Speaker 2: 20:33

They all complement, don't you think, I don't think I could choose one, you know.

Speaker 1: 20:37

It's just calm. She's struggling to pick. So, guys, confidence circuits. It is a must for any dog owner Works for naughty but nice dogs. Works for puppies. Works for senior dogs. Works for dogs who are geriatric. Works for dogs who are athletic. Works who are geriatric. Works for dogs who are athletic. Works for dogs who are sporty. Works for dogs who need to improve movement. Works for naughty dogs Jamie's favourite. So dogs who are difficult dogs, who are troubled, dogs who are menacing. Yeah, that's sometimes how I look at mine. I'm like you are a menace. You're an absolute menace.

Speaker 1: 21:08

Ultimately, I cannot wait to see more confidence circuits. I think we should actually have a competition. Yes, the best confidence circuits that we can possibly see. Share them on social media, share them on our community space. Share them because I love to see them. Maybe you could post one, jamie. It's really cool. Your next confidence circuit that you do, posting a few of them in our community space. And for you guys, if you could also get posting, posting, we'd love to see them. So that was this episode of the sexiness girl podcast. Remember to join us for next week and, more importantly, remember to stay sexy.