Latest news with #GraemeHall
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Popular TV show looking for Wiltshire dog owners
A popular TV show is looking for Wiltshire dog owners who need help with their unruly animals. Channel 5's "Dogs Behaving (Very) Badly" is set to return for its eighth series. The show follows master dog trainer Graeme Hall as he helps owners across Britain manage their pets' behaviour. After seven series and visits to over 250 homes, Graeme has dealt with nearly 300 dogs, but the programme makers, Avalon Factual, believe there might still be unique cases out there. Read more: New use for old Swindon pub saves it from demolition They are particularly interested in dogs with unusual issues or those whose behaviour has a significant impact on their families. Graeme Hall's motto—"any dog, any size, any problem"—has seen him tackle a wide array of challenges, but the team is eager to discover more. Dog owners in Wiltshire now have the chance to apply for their pets to receive Graeme's expert advice. Whether your dog has a peculiar problem or its unruly behaviour is affecting your home life, the producers want to hear from you. For those interested in participating or seeking more information about the show, you can reach out to the team at dogs@ This could be an opportunity for local dog owners to transform their pets' behaviour and improve their family lives.
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Channel 5 show searching for dog owners who need help
Channel 5's Dogs Behaving (Very) Badly is searching for dog owners who need help. The reality TV series, which follows master dog trainer Graeme Hall, is set to return for an eighth series. After seven series of helping dog owners across Britain, Graeme has visited more than 250 homes and assisted nearly 300 dogs. He believes in the motto, "any dog, any size, any problem." However, the programme's producers are keen to find dogs with unique issues that Graeme hasn't encountered yet. READ MORE: Dogs play positive role in enhancing exercise and mental wellbeing If your dog's behaviour is having an unusual impact on your life or family, the show's producers would like to hear from you. They believe that Graeme's expertise could help turn around challenging behaviour, ultimately transforming family lives. The producers said: "Maybe your dog has a unique issue that needs addressing, or it could be that their unruly behaviour is having an unusual impact on you or your family. "Whatever the problem, the programme's producers would love to hear from you." If you think your dog could benefit from Graeme's help or if you want to learn more about the show, you can email Avalon Factual, the programme makers, at dogs@
The Guardian
28-04-2025
- General
- The Guardian
‘It's all about tone of voice': three dog trainers on how to beat behavioural problems
Firstly, make sure that you have got the right equipment, says Graeme Hall, AKA The Dogfather, a dog trainer, presenter of Dogs Behaving (Very) Badly and author of Does My Dog Love Me? 'If you have got a harness, attach the lead to the chest instead of on the back, this gives you a bit of steering and you can move them sideways, which makes a difference.' The next issue is the length of the lead. 'If your lead is too short, you've already shot yourself in the foot, because the dog is going to pull against that tension. If you pull backwards, they automatically pull forwards, and that is where most dog pulling problems come from. If the lead is too long, the dog could get across the front of you and trip you over, or they can't see you any more and they don't really care – you are just there to be towed along.' To remedy this, Hall recommends a 'J shape lead': 'If the dog's shoulders are alongside your legs – this works for any size of dog – when you look down at your lead, it should go down slightly before it goes back up. If you've got a J shape lead, you've got enough slack for it not to be permanently tight, but it is not too long.' For some insistent dogs it won't be enough, he says, 'so say 'no', firmly, but never aggressively or angrily. If using a well-fitting harness, it is OK to give a little tug backward, but it is very important that it should only be a nudge, not a hefty yank.' Then, once you've got the setup right, he says, 'don't forget to praise them when the lead is slack. It is so common for people to forget to reward the good bits because you are waiting for the bad bit to happen.' 'Safety comes first,' says Hall. 'If you are particularly concerned about this, consult a dog trainer, because it is really important that you don't make it worse. 'If you've got a dog that is really reactive to other dogs, distance is your friend. You can start training at a certain distance from where they have seen the other dog, but they are not yet reacting. If they are calm enough, and you're far enough away, they will probably listen to you.' Don't force your dog to look away from the dog that is causing them distress. 'We don't want a dog that goes through life never looking at dogs,' says Hall. 'Actually, it can make it worse, because what they are thinking is 'where is that dog? I need to woof at it and try to get it to go away.' They will be more anxious because they can't see what the other dog is up to.' It is far better to teach them to look at the dog and learn that they don't have to react, praising them when they don't. 'There are lots of ways of training a dog not to chase sheep, but I wouldn't resort to an electric shock collar,' says Hall. 'When it comes to sheep, I would just keep your dog on the lead. Sheep – and dogs – are really unpredictable. Even if you think Fluffy the cockapoo would never do such a thing, you could be surprised. Sheep can be literally scared to death: if a dog runs after them playfully, that can be enough for a sheep to have a heart attack. Just don't go there with a zapper collar. There is no need. There are better, kinder ways of training dogs.' 'Jumping up is a really normal dog behaviour when dogs are excited,' says Amelia Steele, a dog trainer and behaviourist. 'They want to be where you are and be close to your face. If you like it, you can let your dog jump up at you. If you don't like it, we can prevent it and teach them to do something else,' says Steele. If it is happening outside with strangers, keep the dog on a lead and reinforce better behaviours. If it is happening in the home, consider installing a safety gate so that when a person comes into the house, there is a barrier between them and the dog, which gives time for training. 'Teach an alternative behaviour first that they are really good at, such as sit or go to bed. Make that really high value for the dog, reward it a lot, and then put the two things together. When the person comes in, there is the management in place so that the dog can't just go and jump up. Then we would look at rehearsing that behaviour that we want to enforce. It is about teaching them what you want them to do, rather than focusing on the negative.' The key, says Steele, is to look at why the dog is barking: 'Are they scared of something? Are they alert barking? Are they overexcited and frustrated?' When you have figured this out, address that underlying emotion, says Steele. 'If a dog was barking at other dogs on a walk, we would look at if they are scared of other dogs, and change that association, to make it positive again. When the dog looks at another dog, give them a treat, so they feel good about seeing dogs.' Some dogs naturally bark more than others, because of their breed or personality, says Steele. 'I've got a golden retriever and a German shepherd. My German shepherd will bark at the door, while the golden retriever sits there staring blankly into space.' 'If you're going to get a dog, expect them to want to spend time with you, because their entire genetic code is telling them to want to be with you,' says Steele. She encourages owners to change their expectations of dogs, 'because I think we have the idea that we can get a dog, stick it in our house for a full day, and come back and they will be calm and chilled,' which is often anything but the case. If your dog is needy, 'make sure that you are giving them enough outlets so that they feel fulfilled by the relationship that they have with you,' she says. If your dog is suffering from separation anxiety, you can help them work on their independence by building up the amount of time you spend away from them, says Steele. But she adds: 'I always encourage people to do more with their dog, to build that bond, rather than try to cut it off.' 'Stop thinking of walks as how far you go and think of them as 'outings',' says Louise Glazebrook, a dog whisperer and author of The Book Your Dog Wishes You Would Read. 'Our dogs deserve outings where they get to be a dog and run, play, bark, sniff, and go in bushes. Simply trekking the streets and visiting little squares of grass is a wee break, not a walk.' It can be difficult to estimate exactly how much exercise each dog needs, she adds, but consider age, activity levels and breed traits. 'If you take on a working cocker spaniel, you can't then be annoyed that it needs a gigantic amount of physical and mental stimulation and output. They are designed to be on the move and in fields working, so if you can't meet that level of stimulation and output, your dog is going to struggle. If you choose the dog, it is your job to fulfil the dog.' 'Dogs do need access to toys,' says Glazebrook. 'Some are brilliant, others are cheap, contain grim materials and barely last.' She suggests avoiding microplastic-shedding nylon and to opt for natural materials or edible toys, such as pizzle sticks – a long-lasting chew that comes in different sizes. 'I tend to keep some toys in a basket that mine have free access to and then I keep some that I only bring out to either play with them with, or that are treat dispensing. I do the same with chews, I believe dogs should have access to decent chews every single day. They can relieve boredom, stress and help to get rid of teething pain. I can't bear items like the nylon chew bones – dogs chewing on cheap plastics and ingesting the particles is not what we want to be encouraging when there are excellent natural and healthy options out there.' For a homemade toy for dogs that like to rip things up, 'take a kitchen roll tube, put a treat inside, then stuff each end with paper and let them shred it up,' she says.
The Guardian
27-04-2025
- Lifestyle
- The Guardian
Which dog should I get? How to choose the best pet for families, city living or people with allergies
At the risk of pleasing a handful of the dog owning population and annoying the vast majority, we asked Graeme Hall, AKA The Dogfather, a dog trainer, presenter of TV's Dogs Behaving (Very) Badly and author of Does My Dog Love Me? to suggest the best breeds for different contexts. 'It would be really funny if for every category I said labrador,' laughs Hall. However, his recommendations do come with a caveat: 'Dogs are individuals. All Yorkshiremen are smashing, but every now and again you might meet one who's not. Dogs are a bit like that.' FamiliesA labrador is a good bet for a first family dog. They are pretty calm around children. But also, and this might raise a few eyebrows, Staffordshire bull terriers have always been known as the 'nanny dog'. Normally they are very good with families. Urban livingSmaller dogs are best, so: companion breeds (a dog whose purpose is to provide companionship for humans, unlike a working dog). If you've got time to groom, pomeranians are quite cute. Or pugs, but you've got to be thinking about health issues, because some of the dogs with very short noses can struggle to breathe. Country livingWorking breeds, generally speaking – if you've got a lot of room to let them run and time to exercise them, go for spaniels and border collies. Older peopleSmaller dogs, typically, because you don't want a lot of weight on the lead, and not too energetic. So one of the terriers. We often think of a yorkshire terrier as an old person's dog. Or the right kind of jack russell can be a really sweet dog. People with allergiesThere is no such thing as a hypoallergenic dog, despite what some breeders have been saying for years. But some breeds shed less, such as curly coated breeds. As much as I love boxers and rottweilers, they are more slobbery, and some people are affected by the saliva. The officeIf you work in an office in the city and you are travelling by public transport, something smaller is better. I have seen big dogs on the London Underground, but they take up a lot of space. You also want a dog who is happy to sit around for long periods while you are sat in meetings, and is not too barky. A poodle cross or a cockapoo is a safe bet. Emotional supportYou want a really calm, steady dog, so that tends to be a bigger dog. Labradors are a good option in general and of course they've been used around the world as assistance dogs. Or try a St Bernard. SecurityThe obvious choice is a German shepherd, as used by police and the military. If you don't like the barking and hair shedding that comes with those, a rottweiler can be a much calmer companion. But I think there needs to be a bit of a caveat, which is if you want to train a dog to be a guard dog, have a word with yourself. A swimming companionPoodles, which were bred to retrieve game across water, or a Spanish or Portuguese water dog. A running buddyBorder collies – they will run for ever.
