Driving Test for Dogs

Hello, you lovely Pet Parent, you! *smiley face*

Driving Instructor

A few lifetimes ago, I was a driving instructor. 

It’s one of those jobs where you’re given lots of theory training, but nothing prepares you for that first day of lessons with real unique, unpredictable people. 

It was an experience and a questioning mindset that allowed my expertise to develop. 

If a pupil turned left into a new road too fast, there might be a simple solution – they didn’t realise how much they needed to slow down on approach, for example, and merely brake more and earlier. 

However, if that remedy is tired and fails, there could be all sorts of other reasons…

• Maybe that’s the speed their Dad drives around corners, so they see that as the norm. 
• Perhaps their clutch was down, speeding them up accidentally. 
• Maybe they watched Top Gear, and it said to accelerate around corners. 

How does this relate to our dogs?

As you might have spotted from the certificate above – I’ve just passed the Absolute Dog’s Pro Dog Trainer Course. Yay!

It’s been absolutely fascinating, and I’ve utterly, utterly loved learning about our hairy wee friends. 

However, just as when I passed the first parts of my driving instructor courses – it in no way makes me an expert dog trainer. 

Our dog’s lives, personalities, histories are unique, so just as a driver may turn left too fast for all sorts of reasons, your dog’s recall may be poor for all sorts of reasons too. 

That’s why we need dog experts – to look beyond the action to the reason and, therefore, a proper solution. 

And yet, sometimes there is just that straight-forward ‘approaching too fast – break more and earlier’ solution ready for us to put in place. 

via GIPHY

Instagram Lives with Bounce and Bella

That’s why I’ve started doing Instagram Lives – video interviews with experts who can help be better Pet Parents with their wonderful nuggets of wisdom to try out. 

A few weeks ago, I interviewed Kimberly, the City Dog Expert, who dropped some great value about approaching training that you can find here: https://bounceandbella.co.uk/live-with-the-citydogexpert. 

And today, I’ll be interviewing Vanessa, the director of the digital recruitment agency, WeAreAdam and Pet Parent to Billie, who is also the Chief Wellness Officer at WeAreAdam. If you missed the live, you can find it on our Instagram account, but we will upload a summary post next week. 

I’m very excited about some of the Instagram Lives that Hannah has booked for us in the next couple of months. They include an agility trainer, a positive thinking puppy trainer and a trainer who specialises in rescue dogs too! 

That’s all for today, but check out our Instagram to watch back the live and let us know what you think and what lives you’d like to see in the future!