Latest news with #KarenBrady
North Wales Live
24-07-2025
- General
- North Wales Live
Guide Dog training trick could stop your dog from getting distracted
The majority of dog owners describe their furry friends as 'easily distracted'. Whether it's seeing other dogs while they are out on a walk or the sound of the doorbell, dogs often struggle to maintain their concentration. Only 9 per cent claim their dog has never ignored a command because they were too distracted. Instead, four in ten pet owners said their dog gets side tracked by things like the post arriving or a cat walking by. Consequently, while many people admire the discipline of Guide Dogs, two-thirds of owners doubt their own dog's ability to match that level of focus. Karen Brady, a training and behaviour business partner at Guide Dogs, who were responsible for the study, said: "Taking your dog on a walk is great for both the dog and the owner. But while you can't eradicate all distractions and make your dog resistant to them all. "It's important to know how to regain control and calm your dog down." Guide Dogs have adopted an innovative training method involving a life-like toy squirrel attached to a remote-controlled car, which helps to teach the dogs to avoid distractions. By simulating real-life scenarios within a controlled setting, they suggest that owners can help diminish their dog's instinct to be distracted by things such as squirrels or cats elsewhere. For guide dogs, this means they can remain focused on their vital work. "Dogs are intelligent beings," Karen said. "By positively reinforcing specific actions, we can train our dogs to resist the temptation to chase a squirrel up a tree, or other forms of wildlife they might come across whilst out and about." She also added: "It is not really common knowledge that we employ such techniques, so putting a spotlight on our squirrel car helps to broaden the awareness of how we train our dogs and get them ready to perform vital duties as Assistance Dogs." KAREN BRADY'S TOP TRAINING TIPS: Focus on what you do want Rather than thinking, 'I want my dog to stop chasing something', instead, think, 'I want my dog to act with this specific behaviour' as the goal. This gives you and your dog something to focus on teaching, like a really good sit action. Patience makes perfect Practice does too, but start with small expectations. A dog that has spent a year chasing squirrels isn't suddenly going to listen to you because you've decided to train them. Teach your dog to do the behaviour you want them to do away from all the distractions to begin with. Train with something your dog really likes You're competing with squirrels or cats, so you need something your dog values. That could be some roast chicken, their favourite treats, or a beloved toy. When they get it right, they get their prize. Break it down We never start training in the park full of squirrels and we certainly don't try to teach everything at once. We teach a specific behaviour through reinforcement training, then gradually bring in the distraction. As training progresses, we'll combine behaviour and the distraction. Gradually your training drills will go so well that your dog will automatically check in with you, ignore the distraction, sit, or continue guiding to their next kerb or walking politely on lead beside you. Be kind to yourself When it goes wrong, take a deep breath and plan for next time. Even the professionals make mistakes, we simply make it easier for the dog next time, and build up to the distraction at a slower rate. Slow and steady builds longer lasting results and resilience than rushing through the process.
Daily Mirror
24-07-2025
- General
- Daily Mirror
Genius training trick to help stop your dog getting distracted
Only nine per cent said of dog owners say their pet has never ignored a command because their attention was elsewhere Dog owners across the nation are in agreement that their furry friends are 'easily distracted'. Whether it's seeing other dogs on walks or someone ringing the doorbell, it's easy for their dogs to lose focus. Typically, four in ten say their dog gets distracted when the post arrives, or when a cat strolls by. Only nine per cent said their dog has never ignored a command because their attention was elsewhere. While the majority of dog owners admire the fact Guide Dogs seem to be able to ignore distractions, two thirds said their pet would never have the focus needed to become one themselves. Karen Brady, who works as a training and behaviour business partner at Guide Dogs – the organisation behind the study – commented: "Taking your dog on a walk is great for both the dog and the owner." However, she also pointed out: "while you can't eradicate all distractions and make your dog resistant to them all, it's important to know how to regain control and calm your dog down." In an innovative approach to training, Guide Dogs use a life-like toy squirrel fastened to a remote-controlled car, which helps the dogs ignore tempting distractions. It's suggested that mimicking an everyday situation in a controlled environment can eliminate your dog's urge to chase after distractions such as a squirrel or car in other environments. For guide dogs this means they're able to focus on their job. Karen added: "Dogs are intelligent beings. By positively reinforcing specific actions, we can train our dogs to resist the temptation to chase a squirrel up a tree, or other forms of wildlife they might come across whilst out and about." "It is not really common knowledge that we employ such techniques, so putting a spotlight on our squirrel car helps to broaden the awareness of how we train our dogs and get them ready to perform vital duties as Assistance Dogs," she adds. KAREN BRADY'S TOP TRAINING TIPS: Focus on what you do want Rather than thinking, 'I want my dog to stop chasing something', instead, think, 'I want my dog to act with this specific behaviour' as the goal. This gives you and your dog something to focus on teaching, like a really good sit action. Patience makes perfect Practice does too, but start with small expectations. A dog that has spent a year chasing squirrels isn't suddenly going to listen to you because you've decided to train them. Teach your dog to do the behaviour you want them to do away from all the distractions to begin with. Train with something your dog really likes You're competing with squirrels or cats, so you need something your dog values. That could be some roast chicken, their favourite treats, or a beloved toy. When they get it right, they get their prize. Break it down We never start training in the park full of squirrels and we certainly don't try to teach everything at once. We teach a specific behaviour through reinforcement training, then gradually bring in the distraction. As training progresses, we'll combine behaviour and the distraction. Gradually your training drills will go so well that your dog will automatically check in with you, ignore the distraction, sit, or continue guiding to their next kerb or walking politely on lead beside you. Be kind to yourself When it goes wrong, take a deep breath and plan for next time. Even the professionals make mistakes, we simply make it easier for the dog next time, and build up to the distraction at a slower rate. Slow and steady builds longer lasting results and resilience than rushing through the process.
BBC News
24-07-2025
- General
- BBC News
Guide Dogs: How a remote controlled squirrel is used in training
Training guide dogs is no easy task - it takes time, patience and fluffy toy squirrels strapped to remote control charity Guide Dogs train up dogs to help support people who are blind or who have other visual part of training dogs for such an important job, they need to make sure they are able to give their full focus to the owners they are squirrel-car, which Guide Dogs say is the perfect training tool to help guide dogs learn to resist distractions. What does a guide dog do? Guide dogs have a very important job - to help support their owners in their day-to-day could be as simple as guiding them around trip hazards or helping them cross dogs can also help their owners plan routes and find objects like door knobs or stair breeds are chosen for their abilities to work well with people, remember information and follow golden retrievers and German shepherds are all breeds that can make great guide dogs. So, what's the deal with the squirrel car?A survey of 1,000 dog owners from the charity Guide Dogs found that 61% say their pet is "easily distracted".And 35% say their dog will dart for a squirrel climbing a squirrel car helps train new guide dogs not to be distracted by things that a dog might understandably be distracted training with the squirrel-car can help a guide dog learn to focus on the task at hand, and not an enticing-looking Brady, Training and Behaviour Business Partner at Guide Dogs said: "There is a lot of work that goes into training these dogs."That's why we've had to think creatively when designing training techniques that closely mirror real life situations."
Times
21-06-2025
- Automotive
- Times
The new guide dog training: e-bikes, phone zombies, busy cities
Nothing upsets Laurie. With 'pavement zombies' marching towards him obliviously while tapping at their phones, with ambulance and police sirens screaming in his ears, and a speeding-but-silent e-scooter flashing across his path at 25mph, he pads safely and calmly through the chaos. Still, at least there are no robots to worry about today. Laurie is a 20-month-old labrador-golden retriever cross with a look in his eyes that could melt your heart. He's also a professional, with a job to do. He is nearing the end of his six-month training to be a guide dog, an intense process and one which has had to change a lot in the past decade, as Britain's roads and pavements have been transformed by new technology and evolving attitudes. 'We've had to adapt fast,' said Karen Brady, 35, a training and behaviour manager at the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association, known as Guide Dogs, which launched in the 1930s. Their animals are now taught to cope with a host of new hazards — and delivery robots are one of the most recent. 'We've had a lot of fun with those in Cambridge,' she said. Introduced in the area in 2022, the automated vehicles trundle along the pavement and simply stop when they detect a pedestrian. Guide dogs were initially baffled, and stopped too. 'We had to teach them to treat the robot like a car that's parked on a pavement, and find a way around it,' she said. 'The makers gave us a shell to practise with.' Other innovations are much more widespread — and potentially dangerous. 'Electric vehicles are a big thing, because the dog owner can't hear them,' said Brady. 'E-scooters fly up past the dogs really quickly, really quietly. We've hired them sometimes and rode them around to get the dogs used to them.' • How Terry the guide dog puppy was bred for perfection Owners and their dogs work as a partnership, and with the human unable to perceive an almost-silent car, bicycle or scooter, the dog must be extra vigilant. The human is in charge, but the watchful dogs are trained not to move across a road if they see a danger. There are plenty more new hazards. 'Cars have got bigger, and often park on pavements — we've taught the dogs to do a lot more work, often having to go on roads so the owner can get through the space. You get e-bikes and scooters littered all over the pavement now too, which is another big thing to find a way around. Then there are mobility scooters: we get them used to those as puppies. 'And of course there are people staring at their mobile phones, not looking where they're going. We do indoor exercises in our training centre to get the dog used to them. Outside, Oxford Street is a good place to practise.' Modern life impinges in ways that the sighted might not consider. Glass lifts, increasingly common in shopping centres, can confuse dogs trained to avoid height hazards. 'Just seeing that the floor beneath them is moving up and down can be worrying for the dog,' said Brady. Shared spaces, where cycle and scooter paths are integrated with pedestrian pavements, present issues too. 'We have to familiarise the dogs with new schemes — cycle lanes, floating bus stops and so on,' said Laurie's sighted handler today, specialist trainer Wayne Townley. 'You have this real grey line of where traffic sits.' Some distractions are more traditional. This year, Guide Dogs ran a training session at Ascot to ensure the animals would not be unnerved by enormous, garish hats and fascinators. The charity said many are scared and confused by oversized headgear, which can make a familiar person look strange. London dogs have always had to get used to the Tube. Shallower lines such as the Hammersmith & City are easiest to cope with: only those with the strongest nerve can endure the high-decibel screeching of the deep Northern and Victoria lines. Laurie has taken it all on board, and is a model of calm purpose as he guides Townley, 58, through the pandemonium of London's West End. He effortlessly tacks around an approaching phone zombie, is unfazed by deafening sirens and traffic, and ignores a tempting discarded kebab. 'They're a lot more common than they used to be — it's littered with them round here on Saturday morning — but the dog must know it can only eat food when it's given to them,' said Brady. 'We call it food manners.' She said most of the public are kind and considerate around guide dogs, but often do not notice that one is near them. 'People are involved in their own worlds, expected to do emails on the way to work. The modern world is such that people are looking down a lot of the time.' There are about 3,000 working guide dogs, mainly labradors, golden retrievers or crosses of the two, which are purpose-bred. It costs £38,000 to train each dog, all of which comes from donations. Their training begins when they are 14 months old. Most will then stay with one owner until about ten years old, when they retire to a volunteer's home to become a family pet. Laurie will soon be matched with a visually impaired person on the Guide Dogs shortlist, which could be anywhere in the country: there is then another five weeks of training specialised to their needs. 'Sight loss has no regard for background,' said Townley, who has been training dogs for 36 years. 'We've had to familiarise them with visits to a church, or mosque, even to Emirates stadium for Arsenal games. A businesswoman user had to fly a lot, so we did trips through the airport and a couple of flights. Every owner, and every dog, is different. 'But I've been doing it for 36 years and it's still a privilege. You see the change it makes to people's lives, the freedom, the confidence. It's humbling.' To donate to Guide Dogs, go to
BBC News
18-06-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
'I worry at the moment' - fans on Hammers' fixtures
Following the release of the 2025-26 Premier League fixtures, we asked for your thoughts on the schedule and where West Ham might be after 10 are some of your comments:Colin: Sixteenth. Very concerned that David Sullivan and Karen Brady need to spend in the window, and they don't seem to be doing I suspect that unless this useless board invests well in new players we will be sitting in the bottom three. We need a new good spine to the team starting with a new keeper (either Burnley's, Southampton's, or both), centre-back, central midfielder and a centre-forward. We won't ever win the league title so we need to stop putting out under-strength teams in cup games and try to win some trophies. For us to move forward, there needs to be major changes within the Looking at them, 12-15 points Hopefully in the top 10. Graham Potter can do this by buying players who can bang in the goals and a goalkeeper who can keep them out. Must improve after finishing 14th last After 10 games, I believe we will have a total of 10 points because as of yet haven't seen an improvement within the We have a really decent mix of games to start the season off with. With the right signings we could be seventh to 10th by I worry at the moment. No transfer activity of note and the current squad looks weak. Still hoping for a mid-table finish and a good cup About fifth - if we are lucky.
