The Positive Belgian Podcast is your go-to place for understanding, training, and living harmoniously with the brilliant, sensitive, occasionally dramatic Belgian Shepherd. Hosted by Belgian Shepherd Specialist and behaviour consultant Natasja Lewis, this podcast blends expert training advice with real-life stories, practical guidance, and plenty of breed-specific insight. Whether you share your life with a Malinois, Tervueren, Groenendael, or Laekenois, you’ll learn how to build focus, conf ...
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Natasja Podcasts
De Chicks And The City podcast is dè Survival & Inspiration Guide voor de moderne kosmopolitische (jonge) vrouw en iedereen die zich hierin kan vinden. Alles wat de vrouw van nu bezig houdt komt ter sprake. In deze podcast gaan presentatrice Natasja Morales en de chicks in gesprek met mensen met een bijzonder, spraakmakend of inspirerend verhaal.
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Ever find yourself confused about what dog trainers are on about? In a world where dog owners are bombarded with dog training Jargon. Your Hosts Natasja and Wendy are determined to make the art of dog training easy to understand for all dog owners, we have even gone as far as banning all Jargon! So if you are struggling with your dog, don't understand what your dog trainer is telling you and you just want to learn how to have a dog that does as it is told and walks with you rather than piss ...
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We share the stories of McMaster University staff and alumni's experiences as students. These stories are typically untold. They are those of loss, grief, transitions, relationship difficulties, mental health problems, and much more. We hope that by listening to them, many will realize that they are not alone and that they can find their way through difficult times and experiences.
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Bringing home a Belgian Shepherd puppy? Welcome to the world of bitey landsharks, big emotions, and the most fiercely loyal breed you’ll ever meet. In this episode, we unpack the early puppy weeks — the 8–12 week window where Belgian Shepherd behaviour can feel overwhelming, confusing, and utterly adorable all at once. Natasja shares real stories f…
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Welcome Back to The Positive Belgian Podcast — Meet Your Belgian Shepherd Specialist, Natasja Lewis
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12:44In this reboot of the Positive Belgian Podcast, Natasja Lewis returns with a fresh season focused entirely on helping guardians understand, train, and live harmoniously with their Belgian Shepherds. In this short, warm welcome-back episode, Natasja reflects on why the podcast is returning, what’s changed since Season 1, and what listeners can expec…
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Special Episode Part 2: David Clark on Building the Sanctuary Campus
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47:37Bounce at McMaster is proud to share a special episode, from the University of Victoria's "Waving, Not Drowning" podcast. Rebecca Gagan, the lead of UVic's Bounce project and McMaster alumna, talks with McMaster's own Dr. David Clark about her journey. For more information about UVic Bounce or to leave a comment or question about Waving, Not Drowni…
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Dr. Natasja Menezes on Carrying On After Receiving Negative Feedback
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43:45Dr. Natasja Menezes would have wished to have more psychological awareness when she was younger. She wishes that she had the ability to press pause instead of pushing through school until there was a breakdown (which happened frequently). She wishes that she had the ability to reflect and realize that sometimes, difficult conversations involving yo…
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Dr. Tracy Prowse on Knowing When Self Help Isn't Enough
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39:19Dr. Tracy Prowse was finishing up her PhD in biological anthropology at McMaster when she realized that she constantly felt unsure of herself, was worried that she didn’t belong in graduate school, and found it difficult to describe to her friends what was wrong. At the time, it was difficult to understand what was happening. She knew that graduate…
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Dr. Jennifer Heisz on Overcoming the Shame She Associated with Her Mental Illness
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31:59Many would describe Dr. Jennifer Heisz as a kind and considerate person. She also believes this to be true, but there was a time when she was seriously concerned about who she was. It all started during graduate school, when strange and distressing thoughts began showing up in her mind. The thoughts made her afraid she might hurt others and she beg…
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Mathura Mahendren on Changing Relationships and Your Body's Response
40:04
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40:04Mathura Mahendren was the first in her immediate family to have attended university. She found that the transition to university was difficult, but not necessarily due to the schoolwork. How do you find your people amongst so many people? How much freedom do I really want? Do I really want to pull all-nighters? How do you manage your identity when …
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Dr. Deborah Sloboda on Being Seen as a Whole Person Who Has a Life Outside of the Lab
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41:27Dr. Deborah Sloboda is currently a well-known researcher in fetal and maternal physiology. If you don’t find the advice, “don’t be a superwoman” helpful, Dr. Sloboda would agree with you. Dr. Sloboda defended her PhD thesis (while heavily pregnant) at the University of Toronto, and moved to Australia for a Postdoctoral Fellowship (PDF). Having her …
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Dr. Mat Savelli on Slowing Down and Reflecting on What You're Doing and Why
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37:25Dr. Mat Savelli loved school, and this didn’t change when he was doing his bachelor’s degree at McMaster University. What did change was his relationship with his parents, siblings, and girlfriend. In response, he continued to focus on school until he realized in third year that that too would be ending soon, leaving him uncertain of many things in…
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In this powerful spoken word piece, Zeinab Khawaja shares an intimate recounting of some of the events she discusses in her podcast. She shares the journey that she endured as she entered her arranged marriage and found the courage to leave that marriage. Please note, this spoken word piece contains content about sexual assault. For more informatio…
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Zeinab Khawaja on Finding the Courage to Reach Out for Support
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35:06Follow Zeinab as she describes how she puts different parts of her identity together during her time as an undergraduate student at McMaster. Zeinab had a great time at Welcome Week and would make some close friends in her first year. Eventually in first year, she would open up to a few people about what had happened a few days before Welcome Week …
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Welcome to Bounce! In this short episode, you'll get to know Dr. Catharine Munn, the Bounce project leader. She'll walk you through her inspiration for Bounce, how she hopes Bounce will help the McMaster University community, and even stories of the furry friend that helped her through the pandemic. For more information, please check out our websit…
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Episode 6: Down the Ethics Rabbit Hole with Jo-Rosie Haffenden
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1:25:30In today's episode, your host Belgian Shepherd Dog Specialist Natasja Lewis chats to the lovely Jo-Rosie Haffenden from the School of Canine Science. We cover Jo-Rosie's introduction to Nando's Mali Fizz and how they ended up with 2 Malinois each. as we chatted we tackled Puppy Teething, the A22 aggression gene which is prevalent in the Malinois br…
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Episode 5: The Live One - Surviving Teenage Belgians
1:29:24
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1:29:24To celebrate the launch of the Positive Belgian Podcast I brought you a YouTube Live which was a recording of the podcast with three very special guests to discuss the Teenage Belgian and share with you our tips for surviving this stage of the Belgian Shepherd's development. Your host Natasja Lewis was joined by Eric Brad, Belgian owner of 32 years…
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Episode 4 All Things Belgian with Kamal Fernandez
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1:25:07In today's episode, your host Belgian Shepherd Dog Specialist Natasja Lewisis joined by World Renowned Sports Dog Coach Kamal Fernandez. In this gem of an episode, we chat about how Kamal was introduced to Belgian Shepherds and he regales his first encounter with the breed. As we continue our conversation we discuss competing with Belgians, breedin…
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Episode 3 Training IPG Positively with Corrine Wrend
1:13:58
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1:13:58In today's episode, your host Belgian Shepherd Dog Specialist Natasja Lewis chats to the lovely Corrine Wrend. Corinne competes in IPG with her positively trained Malinois and we chat about training Belgians in protection sports using positive reward-based training methods. We explore the differences between the traditional compulsion training meth…
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Episode 2: Embracing Reward based training with Eric Brad
1:11:58
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1:11:58Today your host, Belgian Shepherd Breed Specialist, Natasja Lewis is joined by Eric Brad CDPT-KA. Eric Brad is a dog trainer, writer, blogger and Canine Nation podcast host. Eric is known for his articles on Canine Nation and the Canine Nation Podcast. In our chat, Eric confesses that he is a cross-over trainer. Having trained his dogs for many yea…
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Episode 1: Train The Belgian In Front Of You with Kerry Ward
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56:45In this first episode, your host Belgian Shepherd Dog Breed Specialist Natasja Lewis chats to Kerry Ward of the FairyDogMother Leeds about her failed protection dog and rescue, Malinois Bruce. To Join the Positive Belgian Community check out thepositivebelgian.com Join the conversation and discuss the Podcast in our Facebook Group Intro and Outro m…
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In this Introductory Episode, your host Belgian Shepherd Dog Specialist, Experienced Belgian Shepherd Breeder, and Author Natasja Lewis, explains her reasons for starting the Belgian Shepherd and gives you a sneaky preview by sharing a couple of snippets for 2 of my upcoming episodes. This fortnightly podcast will feature interviews with Belgian Sh…
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Episode 37 - The Play Master: Craig Ogilvie
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41:59In today's episode, Natasja is joined by the Play Master himself: Craig Ogilvie. Craig is the Author of The Interactive Play Guide and together they have a chat about importance of using play to build and maintain your bond with your dog as well as touching on how to use play as an effective reward in your training. So pull up a chair, pour yoursel…
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Today Natasja is joined by the lovely Suzanne Gould from Edinburgh Holistic Dogs. Suzanne is a rescue dog specialist and she has just published her first book The Rescue Rangers Roadmap. So pull up a chair, pour yourself a cup of your favourite hot drink and discover all there is to know about rescue dogs what to look out for when getting a rescue …
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Episode 35: Agility Tales with Lisa Jordan
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40:22In today's episode, Natasja is joined by Lisa Jordan from KIS Agility based in Kent. Together they have a chat about Agility. So pull up a chair, pour yourself a cup of your favourite hot drink and discover all there is to know about Agility and find out whether this dog sport is for you and your dog. Subscribe to The Fun Focus Play Podcast on I-Tu…
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This week Natasja is joined by the lovely Helen Bull from Calm Dog Training based on the Isle of Wight and together they deep dive into the topic of Breed Prejudice and all that entails. So pull up a chair, pour yourself a cup of your favourite hot drink and discover all there is to know about breed prejudice and how you can avoid falling into this…
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Today Natasja is Joined by Carrie-Anne Sewlyn from Canine Hoopers World to talk about all things Hoopers. Carrie and Natasja discuss the benefits of doing hoopers with your dog and why it is so inclusive to all dog owners, breeds and abilities. So pull up your favourite chair, pour yourself a cup of your favourite hot drink and relax while we share…
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Episode 32 - Coping with a nervous or anxious dog
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48:23On today's episode, Natasja is joined by Clair Hickson from Talk to the Paw. Clair is a Dog Trainer and Behaviourist from Bristol and specialises in helping dog owners improve the lives of their Shy, Nervous and Anxious dogs. Clair and Natasja discuss how to identify whether your dog is shy, nervous or anxious and how to help them overcome their is…
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Episode 31: The Barking Dog Interview
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1:00:33This weeks episode of the Fun Focus Play podcast is a little bit different. Today we are airing an interview about Barking Dogs that Natasja did with the lovely Claire Lawrence back at the end of 2018. the twist is that Claire was the interviewer and Natasja was the interviewee Pull up a chair, pour yourself a cup of your favourite hot drink, have …
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Episode 30 Help! My dog's coat is a mess.
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26:14In today's episode, Natasja is joined by Alexandra Noone, award-winning, stylist to the pooches from Berkshire to talk about looking after your dog's coat when you can't get to a groomer, and what you can do to keep your dog's coat in tip-top condition between grooming visits. So pull up a chair, pour yourself a cup of your favourite hot drink and …
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On today's episode of the Fun Focus Play Podcast Wendy and Natasja are talking about how life has changed since the Pandemic and how they are coping with the lockdown. So pull up a chair and grab your favourite tipple or hot beverage and snuggle down to listen to this weeks episode and find out what we have been up to and the struggles we are facin…
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Episode 28 Lockdown entertainment for your dog
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35:11The Lockdown has happened and Wendy and Natasja are having a chat about the restrictions and what they mean for dog owners as well as brainstorming ideas on keeping your dog entertained now that we are forced to stay at home. Pull up your favourite chair, make yourself a cup of your favourite hot drink, have a few biscuits or a piece of cake and po…
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Ever wondered why so many dog owners have dogs that pull on the lead? In this episode, Wendy and Natasja discuss how easy it is to teach a puppy to pull on the lead, without you realising that is what you are doing and we give you some pointers to avoid this from happening. So pull up a chair and grab your favourite tipple or hot beverage and snugg…
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In light of the Coronavirus outbreak, Wendy and Natasja discuss how you can keep your dog entertained at home when our ability to walk them has been curtailed by self-isolation or in the event of a national lockdown that will severely limit our ability to walk our best friends as we would normally do. Pull up a chair, pour yourself a cup of your fa…
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Ever wondered what the best way is to choose a puppy or a rescue dog? This week Wendy and Natasja tell the stories of how they chose the dogs they have and discuss how you can assess the suitability of a particular rescue dog and warn that proper research into breed, breeder and rescue centre can save you a lot of heartaches. As ever they are fuell…
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Episode 24 Do those who can do, and those who don't teach?
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46:46
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46:46This week Wendy and I discuss what makes a good dog training instructor. We look at what it means to be a dog training instructor and what you as a dog owner should consider in a teacher before joining a class. So pull up a chair and grab your favourite tipple or hot beverage and snuggle down to listen to this weeks episode and find out why your do…
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Episode 23: Is Counter Surfing Self-Rewarding?
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46:37Wendy and I sit in Wendy's kitchen, with the obligatory cups of tea, discussing the topic of self-rewarding behaviours and explore whether there is truly such a thing as self-rewarding when we talk about dogs or whether the dogs are just offering behaviours they have previously found to be rewarding. Find out why Natasja had to use the excuse my do…
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We are holed up in Wendy's kitchen for today's episode of the Podcast, talking about Capturing and why it is considered to be the laziest way of training your dog, our discussions lead up onto two other dog training techniques, Modelling and Mimicking. Pull up a chair, pour yourself a cup of your favourite hot drink, have a few biscuits or a piece …
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Episode 21 Mistakes can be easily made...
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36:46On Today's podcast, Natasja is joined by the lovely Sue Kewley from the Sue Kewley Practice in Suffolk. Together they discuss the intricacies of excitement and how this affects our dogs, both at home, on a walk and when competing in dog sports. So pull up a chair, pour yourself a cup of your favourite hot drink, have a piece of cake and settle down…
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Episode 20: Ghostly Encounters of a Dog Kind
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28:17Wendy and I sit down at the kitchen table with our regular cups of tea to talk about the weird, wonderful and sometimes outright spooky abilities of dogs. Do dogs have psychic abilities or are they just very perceptive? So if you like ghostly stories and spookily weird anecdotes pull up a chair, pour yourself a cuppa of your favourite beverage and …
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Wendy and I sit down at the kitchen table with our regular cups of tea to discuss taking the stabilisers off when training your dog. By having a look at the processes of Luring, Prompting and Fading we show you how to refine your cues to your dog and maintain the behaviour you taught your dog. So pull up a chair, pour yourself a cuppa of your favou…
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Wendy and I sit in the kitchen drinking cups of tea and eating Leberkuche, following on from last weeks podcast we thought we would discuss the different dog sports that you can get involved in with your dog. Feel the inspiration and discover some of the options out there that will help you and your dog become fitter and healthier in 2020. Listen u…
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Wendy and I are once again settled in my kitchen drinking cups of tea and eating biscuits. This time we are talking about keeping your dog fit and healthy and how a gentle exercise regime can help you and your pet lose weight and keep fit. Bury yourself in your favourite chair, pour yourself a cup of your favourite hot drink, have a few biscuits or…
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Wendy and I are drinking more cups of tea, and eating some lovely chocolate Biscotti biscuits while talking about building habits and we are launching the Fun Focus Play® 2020 Challenge and share how you can get involved. Pull up a chair, pour yourself a cup of your favourite hot drink, have a few biscuits or a piece of cake and settle down to find…
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Today I am joined by Dog Trainer and Author Sarah Bartlett to talk about multidog household. We dive right in there and start busting myths about multidog households and cover every aspect of having more than one dog and managing the different personalities as a whole and how to avoid problems right from the start. And we do all that without even p…
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Episode 14: We do not condone the use of drugs.
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34:13Natasja is joined by yet another special guest: Author, Dog Trainer and Business Coach Dom Hodgson, aka The King of Canine Common Sense, and this time we are tackling how to be more f-ing interesting when walking our dogs so they will stick by you rather than p*ssing off to find their own entertainment. So grab your favourite tipple or hot beverage…
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This week Natasja is joined by a very special guest on the Podcast. Kerry Lawson the FairyDogMother from Leeds has joined me to talk about flexibility and why it is important to teach our dogs to bounceback and be flexible in their responses to whatever life throws at them. We didn't have tea or biscuits this week as the podcast was recorded over t…
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Wendy and I are drinking more cups of tea while discussing whether we should teach our dogs what we don't want them to do or whether it is better to concentrate on teaching our dogs to do the things we want them to do. Pull up a chair, pour yourself a cup of your favourite hot drink, have a piece of cake and settle down to find out which list you s…
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Wendy and I are back in my kitchen sipping tea and talking about the fabulous sport of Canine Hoopers. We both passed our Canine Hoopers World Instructors course and we are feeling pretty darned good and happy about it, so we thought we would share what Hoopers is all about. So pull up a chair, pour yourself a mug of your favourite hot beverage and…
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Wendy and I have changed venues and we are sitting around Wendy's kitchen table drinking cups of tea while discussing the fact that dogs learn 24/7. It is easy to forget that you need to be consistent, and this was highlighted by a question on Natasja's recent "How To Fix Your Pulling Dog webinar. So we dive in and explore the training circle. So p…
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Episode 9: Does punishment free dog training exist?
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22:46Another Monday morning sees Wendy and Natasja drinking more tea, eating biscuits and discussing yet another hot topic. We explore what the term punishment in dog training really means and whether there is such a thing as punishment free dog training. So pull up a chair, pour yourself a cup of your favourite hot drink and get your head around punish…
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Episode 8 Self control is making the right choice
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23:28It's another Monday morning at Chez Lewis and Wendy and I are drinking more cups of tea as we contemplate the importance of teaching our dogs self-control. So pull up a chair, pour yourself a cup of your favourite hot drink and discover how important focus is and what problems we face with our dogs due to the lack of focus from other dog owners. Su…
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Wendy and I are once again fueled by cups of tea and discuss the various faces of focus in dog training. So pull up a chair, pour yourself a cup of your favourite hot drink and discover how important focus is and what problems we face with our dogs due to the lack of focus from other dog owners. You can discover more on the training classes offered…
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