Dog ownership is on the rise all around the world, and training is absolutely vital so that you can learn to communicate and live peacefully with your new furry companion. Often owners don’t have much time to dedicate to attending in-person dog training sessions, whether that is because of work schedules, family life, no accredited and professional trainers nearby, or any other such reasons. This is where online dog training comes in!

 

Online dog training has increased in popularity over the past few years and it is extremely effective in helping owners with anything from basic training, to behavioural modification plans. 

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The benefits of online dog training

• Can be done from anywhere in the world! I have had many clients from the USA, Australia and Asia who have wanted to work with me remotely for dog training. The majority of these cases have been separation anxiety sessions, and also problems faced with multi-dog households.

• Flexible timings and duration to fit in with your lifestyle. Most remote dog training sessions are an hour long, but I often do 30 minute check-ins with my muzzle training clients, separation anxiety clients, and others. This means that no one has to spend extra time travelling to and from venues, and we can maximise everyone’s schedule. 

• Multiple people who are involved with your dog and their care can join the session as it all takes place in an online room. That means that a nanny, a dog walker, a carer, other family members, or even stooge people who we may be using for a variety of behavioural set-ups, can be involved fully from day one. 

• A lot of behavioural issues are more suited for online training. For example, stranger directed aggression and separation anxiety are the two most common ones. The trainer does not need to be in the home, and often their presence is too stressful to the dog. 

 

The top 3 dog training online tips

• In terms of space and lighting, it is a good idea to make sure you are all set up correctly to make the most of the training session. You may even want to have two different devices that are dialled in on the call so we can observe the dog from different angles during the online training session. 

• Don’t worry about making notes during the session, just be as present as possible and ask as many questions as you need. The session can either be recorded and sent to the client so that they can look back at it for reference during the week, and emailed notes are always sent after a session too. Just the same as in-person dog training sessions, online dog training is all about human training. The human needs to understand what they are doing, why they are doing it, and how to do it so that they can build up the behaviours required with their dog.

• Have at least 2 different types of treats available to use, as well as a chew toy for your dog so that they can relax and chew on something during times of discussion. Dogs have very short attention spans, and so expecting them to be fully engaged for the whole hour long online training session is not feasible. By giving them something to do in moments where they are needed, means that you can pay full attention to our discussion without also trying to manage your dog. 

 

What behavioural issues can be improved through remote dog training?

The majority of issues can be worked on via dog training online. Things I have worked on with previous clients:

 

• Separation distress and anxiety

• Multi-dog household management

• Dog to dog reactivity

• Dog to human reactivity

• Muzzle training programs 

• Trick training

• How to prepare your dog for the birth of a baby, or arrival of a new puppy 

• Assistance dog tasks like turning on and off lights, and retrieving items

• Regression in behaviours like toilet training after moving house 

• Dealing with prey drive, and recall issues in the park

• And more

 

As with all dog training regardless of in-person or online, consistency, time, patience and understanding plays a critical role in success rates. The benefit of online training is that you are starting the process in the most neutral environment for your dog; their safe space. Dogs like humans, are unable to learn if they are stressed so by eliminating as man stressful factors as possible (scary people in their home space, travelling by car or public transport to a venue, being around other dogs in a group class), we can get right to the behavioural modification plan! 

How to get started with dog training online

The first step is to fill out the contact form with an initial inquiry, stating that you are looking for online dog training. It is helpful if you give a brief summary of the problems you are facing and the goals you are hoping to achieve through training. Remember to leave a contact telephone number too! I will then be in touch asking more specific questions to get a history of your dog and build more context. We will then schedule an initial hour-long remote consultation to meet and build a training plan. Depending on the issues that we are tackling, then we will discuss and decide on how many online training sessions are needed and the frequency that we will meet. I often ask clients to provide video clips and reports via WhatsApp between sessions, continuing the remote training theme! This helps ensure any tweaks that need to be made to the dog training techniques can be implemented as soon as possible. 

I am often booked a month in advance for in-person dog training sessions within London, but I often have availability for online dog training within a week of the first inquiry. This flexibility means that these remote sessions can happen after work hours, when the kids are in bed, and there is no need to ensure your house is clean and tidy for visitors!