The Christmas Turkey Shock

SPEAKER_01 0:00

It was Christmas Day. I took her to the park and she ran off. She had no recall. And says you made didn't let your dog off and definitely didn't let them off Christmas Day and she came out with a turkey on her head and she'd actually nicked on turkey. She's nicked on Christmas Day turkey. And I basically said to anyone that looked at me I didn't know her.

Meet The Hosts And The Mission

SPEAKER_01 0:26

Welcome to the Absolute Dogs Texting as Girl 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. So, Hughes, the mistakes that we've made in dog training. So we're gonna do a bit of a table tennis of mistakes that we've made in

Building Intensity Without An Off Switch

SPEAKER_01 0:55

dog training. I'm gonna I'm gonna start with Bella. She was my first border collie and she was amazing. Actually, she reminds me a lot of Bernard. She was a really intense little dog. She was really driven, she was very cool, she was a fluffy tri-coloured border collie. I'll have to get a picture. She was very, very beautiful. I don't even like tri-colours, I like black and whites. She was very beautiful, and of course, males. I love miles. But Bella I taught to be very, very intense. And she was a very intense dog. But with that intensity, actually came something quite annoying, where she had zero off switch, and she would stare at her Kong on the mantelpiece until you brought it back down again. She would know where her toy cupboards were, she would look at her lead and grab it and tug it and rag it until you took her for a walk. Like I taught a lot of intensity, and then I got a dog who very much didn't have an off switch. Or in fact, she didn't have any other thing, she didn't know anything other than work. She only wanted work. And so for me, I suppose I realized that I could have done better by her when I noticed dogs like Tokyo or Maze or Brave or dogs who have an off switch, dogs who actually have set or I actually taught intensity. So I would walk, I would go out walking, and I'd be hiking down the I was it it was Plymouth, so it was the park, so I was down the park, and she would be backing behind me, barking, bouncing. She was sensi. She was a sensi monster. And she'd be backing and like, let's go, and on her like little bouncy feet and ruining her wrists and her toes. And she would be doing this backwards, looking at you. I taught a dog who was too intense for me to actually handle, and I also taught a dog who had no ability to be a dog, so she actually struggled to be a dog because she just wanted to work all the time. So that's probably one of the biggest mistakes that I made early on in my dog training. You, Hughes, you, what did you do?

SPEAKER_00 2:34

Truth and reconciliation. Well, I never did. So oh dear.

Sports Drive And Preventable Injuries

SPEAKER_00 2:42

Well, my first sports dog, which was not my first dog, but my first dog that I did sports with. What breed? Border collie, of course. Bloomer. There we go. Name Mika. Oh, it's a nice name. She she did all those things full on, full on, full on, jumping up in the air, twisting, spinning, running, backwards, toys thrown, injuries. Got injured. I hate it. I absolutely hate it. I hate it. The first one was broken toe. Not a lot. Well, not a lot. And then she got a little what they call a mouse in the toe. So that was operational. That then a lot of healing and all sorts of things. And then I went to a physio who whose trainees I still work with is that the physio that trained Mel. Wow. Barbara Haldin. Very, very good. Very uh well known. Well known and respected lady. Went to Barbara Holdling. Well, Barbara never held back. Oh I sound sounds like I like Barbara. Never held back. She gave me such a lecture. I mean, really, really gave me a lecture. I think she thought I did agility, which would have been worse than what I did do because I do obedience. So the the actual toll on the dog physically in obedience is not as much as agility. But I did get told in no uncertain terms that I needed to look after this dog in a better way than I was. Um and because she was so high drive, of course, the dog just covered up the discomfort and all the things that was wrong with it. And I was still I was still competing with them.

SPEAKER_01 4:28

Yeah, and they and they they those types of dogs in some ways I like those types of dogs because they got a bit more in the tank. Yes. Whereas for things like injuries, but that's a brilliant one, injuries. I hadn't even thought of that. Like I'm watching the lies with the horses, and I keep saying to her, less jumping, less jumping, less jumping, less jumping. And deep down, it's because I know I've broken myself and an animal accidentally, so I've I've really hurt myself by by accidentally breaking animal. And I was watching someone really throw balls the other day. I can't remember who I was watching, and they were throwing the ball again and again and again. And I was just like, It's carnage for wrists, for toes. Like I barely throw a ball, like I barely, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 5:07

Like I the same dog, I still used a chuck-it thing. Wow. With the heavy chuck-it ball. Yeah. And I went to do this like this, and she was no more than just on the floor there from me, and I hit it through it, and it smacked her in the eye.

SPEAKER_01 5:26

I know, and I damaged the oh no, the the uh the the iris of her oh and it happens,

When Toys Cause Real Accidents

SPEAKER_01 5:34

it happens. You know what? Here's here's one of those things that mistakes the dog trainer. I was training a really sensitive dog, and I had a ball just like that. It wasn't Chuck, it was ball on a rope. You know, we used those like Mickey or something like that, they're ball on ropes, and they were like they used to get them in the holes, and I'd probably still get them, but I just don't go to pet shops. And everything's so online now, isn't it? And I don't tend to find myself in normal pet shops. But I was and it's quite heavy ball, it had a bell in it, and I pulled it back and I was working a very sensitive dog, and it was Tiki, really nice dog. No, would have been a nightmare for obedience, didn't like you standing on her. And if you ever had trodden her, she'd have never forgiven you. So she would have been a terrible obedience dog, um, didn't like being in your space, a very, very nervous dog. I got I took her to agility champion, she went and won a gold medal at Worlds, like I did very well with her, but she was hard work. I was never a relief to work her, it was always a bit of a stress to work her. I pulled that ball back one day and moved it behind my arm, I swung it, I smacked it right into her face. And I it couldn't have happened to a worse dog. Like it was the sensitive one, the quiet mouse, the one who would she wouldn't come near the ball or me for weeks, it felt like those dogs. So some of the mistakes that you make as dog trainers, you hit your own dog in the face, and you definitely would never ever have like even touched a hair on her body because you knew just how sensitive she is, as well as the fact that you adore her anyway. Like it was just carnage. Anyway, go on. Mistake you've made as a dog trainer.

How We Created A Reactive Scanner

SPEAKER_00 6:57

So another one I've made as a dog trainer, which is the one that we get quite a lot with people, is the first reactive dog I ever owned, and it wasn't called that then. I don't know what we just said. She's aggressive, I suppose we'd say. And I used to walk her the two dogs at the time, walk them in quiet places. But I taught her to look for trouble because I called her.

SPEAKER_01 7:21

Yeah, I've got that such a poppy. That was poppy. You'd call and she'd be like, Who's around? Where are they? What are they doing? Who can I go, please? Where's the trouble I need to be? Oh, yeah, what trouble am I going to look after now? Thank you, Hughes. Sorted. She'd let me do my job. You know what? Here's a massive lifelong lesson, and I wasn't planning to share this one, and it just crossed my mind as a you should tell people this because I made it as a dog trainer and I made it as an owner.

Losing Tokyo And Heat Risk

SPEAKER_01 7:45

And it's quite hard to forgive yourself when you feel you did something that you could have done better at, and it makes me sad. Tokyo, losing Tokyo a year and a half or two on. If I reflect back to how I lost him, I think I know how I lost him now. And at the time I didn't know, I thought he had water intoxication. Um, I was swimming some dogs down in the pool the other day, and I put two in crates whilst I had two in the pool and I was rotating them, and I was rotating them between each other because I didn't want them running in and out and slipping, paranoid about injury, paranoid about the ramp, paranoid about someone hurting themselves. So I didn't want anyone slipping on the ramp. So I put them in crates. Two crates, two in the pool, and I was just rotating them myself, and it was me in the pool and I was on my own. But I had my um phone and had someone working, and they would be running dogs if needed, so they would have come and collected if anyone needed to come out. And after I put one of the dogs in and I went to get a back out for the second round, she was really, really hot, really, really warm. And I'd never thought about it before, and I'd never considered it like this before. But the morning that I lost, well, the morning that I I last had my dog healthy, I took him swimming and I watched the sunrise, and it was so beautiful, like it was the most beautiful day, like it was absolutely gorgeous. We travelled, it wasn't too hot, it was it was okay, but obviously, when wet, they heat differently. I've never considered it. I'd never considered it, Linda. And back then, and and I I mean I adored everything about that dog, like there was nothing he could do, no wrong in my eyes. Back then, I couldn't understand what happened because all of my other dogs were fine. But that morning he was the only dog that came swimming with me, and I hadn't fully dried him because it was you're in the middle of Spain, it was nice weather, and he was cool and calm, and it felt like he was cool. I thought that having him cool was the right thing. I actually think with hindsight it was the wrong thing, and I should have fully dried him off, and I shouldn't have travelled him after swimming, and I think there was probably a mixture of both. I think he probably had taken on water, but I also think that he had the water gives another effectively traps heat in them.

SPEAKER_00 10:02

That's right, he does, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:04

And I'd never thought about it, yeah. And I don't know how I'd never thought about it.

SPEAKER_00 10:07

It just makes their coat clump.

SPEAKER_01 10:08

Yeah, and he couldn't sweat. Yeah, and for me, I'd never thought about that as a dog owner, I'd never thought about that as a dog person because we live in England. Why would we? Yeah. We live in England. We don't have to think about it over here, and I'd never considered it. And I suppose it it's one of those things that a couple of years on, it is coming up to two years now. Like a couple of years on, you can like talk logically about those things, but that actually was a life-changing day for me and obviously for him. And I wouldn't want anyone to go through it. Not even someone that like might not even your worst enemy, not that I feel like I don't live having enemies and it let them see it's sort of the idea for me. I think that let them Mel Robbins sort of space is a good one. I don't spend my time worrying about what other people think, but I I definitely know what I think there is that I made a mistake and I wasn't aware of it, so I didn't knowingly do anything, I just didn't know better. And if and I and I know dogs really well, and I feel like I'm a really good dogs person. Like I feel very competent and confident on how I handle and treat dogs, and yet that feels really I'd almost swear about it, it feels really messed up. Like you would never have done it if you'd known you just wouldn't. So for me, traveling a wet dog is no. Now I wouldn't travel a wet dog. And I would I would know differently. And now, also in that swimming pool that day, I no longer will ever put a dog in a crate in a swimming pool because I didn't realise how quickly the heat just I have never realized it, Linda. And it was only about three weeks ago that I was in the swimming pool and realised it. So a sad one, a mistake, something that that happened and something that you live with, something that definitely still brings a tear to my eye. And at the same time, there's a space for learning and there's a space for giving other people learning, isn't there? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 11:56

Yeah go on. Have you got a funny one? Or do you want a funny one? Do you want to be that's chapity energy? I just want to cry. I don't know if this is a mistake, but I had a I had a border colleague called Bella.

The Runaway Moment In Town Traffic

SPEAKER_00 12:09

Bella. Bella Bella. Bella. She was my first first border colleague.

SPEAKER_01 12:14

That's uh we've got a coincidence that we have both of our first border collies were named Bella. What colour was your border college? First border collies black. And you'll be pleased to know she was short coated. Oh my goodness. Oh my goodness, one day I'm gonna see you with a smooth coat. Go on, tell us more.

SPEAKER_00 12:29

She was she was the heavenly border colleague. She was one of those dogs that just lived beauty. Just lived and learnt and was just a good girl. A good girl. She was absolutely beautiful as a dog. Absolutely beautiful. So much so that I could walk her anywhere without putting her on the lead. Anyway. She would just trot along the paper. I lived, I I while I had her, I left my ex and I moved into a house near on in a town in Chelmsford in Essex. And we were walking Saturday morning weekend off, we went down the shops, walking along in the park in the middle of Chelmsford, and some kind adolescent was playing with a cat gun. And Bella and I walked past, and then this adolescent dropped this cat gun right behind us and she fled. And I'm running through Chelpsford town centre going, have you seen the border collie? Have you seen the border? It went this way, it went this way, and I got legged it. Went this way, went that way, went that chasing chasing and chasing and chasing until I get to the ring road. We get to the ring road, and of course we go under the underpass, don't we? Well Battle hadn't gone under the underpass. Bella was in the middle on the on the on the the the island in the middle of the two carriageways. Wow. And I like I come to a halt like this time. Like don't move, don't move, I'm going. And I'm watching the traffic, I'm watching the traffic. Please don't come back to me. Please don't just come back to me because you'll be under a car. Anyway, there was a gap in the traffic, and I called her to me. It was in the days when I smoked. Your lungs were dumb. And I put her on the lead. I've got my ciggy's out. Roll the sea. I was sitting on the wall with my dog. Trembling. Dragging on my cigarette. The relief.

SPEAKER_01 14:56

The relief. Dear Lord. Those moments. You know what? I had a funny runaway moment

Turkey Head And The Chinchilla Surprise

SPEAKER_01 15:03

with my lurcher Lucy. She was my first dog. Well, she was my second dog, my first own dog. And it was Christmas Day. I took her to the park. She ran off. She had no recall. And mistakes that you make, don't let your dog off. And definitely don't let him off Christmas Day. And she came out with a turkey on her head. And she'd actually nick someone's turkey. She'd nick someone's Christmas Day turkey. And I basically said to anyone that looked at me, I didn't own her. I was like, oh my goodness, who's that dog? Like I was like, not owning that dog. That was not my dog. And she had a turkey on her head. She literally Christmas turkey. Um and that was Christmas Day. Uh I lived in Plymouth City Centre, the house across the big posh houses, really big posh houses. Our house was a three-story but kind of quite townhouse. They were big posh houses across the road. I can't remember the name of the road. I mean that's a lady. No. Lipson Road was where I lived, and it was right across the road from Lipson Road. And it was the most beautiful property, like line of properties. And she'd gone in and helped herself to Christmas turkey. So someone had obviously put turned around, put it on the side, ready to carve it. Lucy had had it and off she went. On her head. On her head, literally on her head. Another funny, funny moment, and so we've gone to funny moments for dog training as well as mistakes, but mistakes for me would be she shouldn't have been off lead. Second one was my dog caught chinchilla. Um, and the chinchilla was white in the lane in the back of the streets. My mum still doesn't believe me to this day that my dog caught chinchilla because I've just brought the chinchilla home. But Lucy the Lurch at caught chinchilla. So another keep your dog on a lead moment. I was only 11 when I owned Lucy, and she caught chinchilla, so I brought him home. His name was Chuck the Chinchilla. I brought him home, and mum made me give him away to a friend. But he was absolutely caught. And he survived the experience. Survived, survived big fluffy thing, white wood bite, watched Chuck the Chinchilla. He lived like 20 years, so friend had him, but we didn't ever find his owner. So I think someone had dumped him or dipped him. So I think he'd been chucked, discarded, and I think Lucy found him as a bit of breakfast, picked him up, bit of fluff. White fluff. He was white, he wasn't a grey chinchiller, he was a white chinchilla. Beautiful, beautiful thing. Anyway, mistakes in dog train training. You get one last one, Hughes. One last one, one mistake.

Puppy Proofing And Staying Humble

SPEAKER_00 17:11

Yeah, one one last mistake would be well, it would just be putting my sandwich down on the coffee table and walking out of the room when I've got a puppy.

SPEAKER_01 17:25

And expecting it still to be there when you come back in. So funny. Like it's so funny. I think mine would be thinking you know it all. I think thinking you know it all. I definitely have had years where I thought I knew it all. So, like for example, turning your notifications off, so thinking you know it all. And it doesn't really matter how long you've done it for or how long you've been involved in it, you don't ever, whenever you think you've done it all, you really or know it all, you really are done.

SPEAKER_00 17:52

No, no, you do you never know it.

SPEAKER_01 17:54

And I remember being a little bit cocky at 20.

SPEAKER_00 17:57

Right.

SPEAKER_01 17:57

A little bit like can you no? No. I think I'm much more humble these days. I mean, life life shapes it that way a little. So you have like moments of life that, or big moments of life that throw throw things at you that you kind of get, okay, now I get to tackle that. But for me, I think that you the those moments when you are a little bit, I don't know what the word would be, almost arrogant to it. Like you you think you know it all, you think you've done it all. I I've been I was competing at the top, I was picked for Team Great Britain multiple times. I had really, really talented dogs, my business was kicking off, we were moving to amazing property, and I I'd come from very humble backgrounds, so parents who grew up with nothing and and I grew up with very little. And so you and suddenly you found yourself like making good money and being in good spaces and surrounding yourself in good circles, and it just all felt like it was all clicking. And I think there's a space of, yeah, I can do this and I know what I'm doing. And actually, then there's something that goes, No, no, no, hang on a second, just a little reminder, you've got lots to learn. I don't know, it might be a vimer on a like you, or it might be a person that that tries to drag your name through, like whatever, it doesn't matter. But those moments of like humble spaces are there. Mine mine actually, one of them was being um flat back. I was literally flattened by a vimer on her, and that was like a wow, that's how quick it can be. And you could be done. Yes, you can. That you could be dumb. Yeah. So I've enjoyed listening to mistakes from you, Hoose. I thought it was quite fun. Very fun. That was good. Will you come again? I will