Absolute Dogs Cofounder Shares Training Tips and Explains How Dogs Improve Their Owners’ Health
Dog owners all over the world know Lauren Langman for her pioneering game-based courses, training-made-easy videos, and Crufts competition wins. The leading agility handler, coach, and author has always loved training, competing with, and spending time with dogs.
This is the story of how Lauren brought her reward-based dog behaviour courses to fruition, helping owners all over the world connect with their dogs and reach their training goals. Lauren also shares tips on how to overcome training challenges and ace agility competitions.
The Story Behind Lauren Langman’s Dog Training Success
Lauren Langman has always been passionate about dogs. She explored a few career paths, such as law and teaching, before bringing her biggest passion into her work. Even during the earliest days of her career, when she was studying law, she knew dog training was her calling.
Her dog Popi was her “super pal” at the time: “I was training her at every opportunity and all over campus!” Lauren says. Since then, she hasn’t stopped coming up with new ideas to take dog training to the next level.
As her passion grew, Lauren knew she had to bring dog training into her career. “This is a lesson I am determined to pass on,” Lauren says. “Don’t waste time fighting what your heart is screaming. If you know what lights you up and makes you so excited for the next day to begin, you are lucky. You have so much to give.”
From Back-Garden Business Owner to Globally Known Trainer
With this affirmation in mind, Lauren started her dog training business in a back garden, which “felt like it was on a 45-degree angle slope.” In need of higher-quality training grounds, she secured a barren site, as shown on the television show Relocation Relocation.
Lauren transformed this site into an elaborate dog training facility with all the mod cons dogs could want. (Think a heated pool, water treadmill, and 70-metre arena with artificial grass. There are also four on-site holiday cottages and three off-site cottages for students and filming and podcast recording studios.)
Lauren now runs possibly the biggest dog training centre in the UK. Meanwhile, millions of dog owners around the world take the stress out of training their dogs with her game-based training online.
What Sets Lauren Langman’s Training Approach Apart
Three main factors set Lauren’s concept-focused dog training apart from traditional training.
1. A Focus on the Dog-Owner Relationship
Lauren puts the dog-owner relationship at the heart of all training. Successful training relies on a strong bond between the dog and their owner. Traditional training doesn’t always focus on this relationship.
Lauren and her team are by each student’s side throughout the training journey. They dedicate themselves to helping owners become their dogs’ advocates, teachers, and guardians.
Lauren reminds dog owners that “it’s a privilege to hold their paw through life and support them through reward- and game-based concept training to live their best life.”
2. Training For Situations, Not in Situations
Lauren trains dogs for specific situations, rather than in these situations. This pre-emptive approach prepares dogs ahead of time rather than tackling difficult situations as they unfold.
Lauren uses the example of a dog who chases squirrels. The owner may attempt to combat this by pulling on the dog’s lead or bribing the dog with treats. But these approaches don’t usually work. You can’t pull on the lead when the dog isn’t on their lead. And a treat is rarely a sexier offer than chasing the squirrel. (Cue: Absolute Dogs’ Sexier Than a Squirrel challenge.)
Instead, game-based training allows dogs to disengage from squirrels or other temptations, instead valuing proximity to their owners.
3. A Supportive Community of Gamechangers
As more dog owners master training with Lauren, she and her team have grown a community of supportive “Gamechangers.” These people share support and encouragement with new dog owners who are taking the training.
Lauren even trains some Gamechangers into Pro Dog Trainers. This way, dog owners from all over the world “have a kind and knowledgeable shoulder to lean on.” This is the case even for dog owners who have “had their lives turned upside down by their dog’s behaviour.”
Lauren reminds dog owners that whatever the struggle, there is always a game to overcome this challenge. “It is not an exaggeration that this way of training transforms (and in some cases, even saves) the lives of countless dogs,” she says.
How Lauren Langman Helps Dog Owners Solve Training Challenges
Langman shows dog owners how to turn rewards into experiences. For example, rather than offering a simple treat, dog owners can turn this treat into part of a game. Whether an owner bowls a treat along the floor or throws it into the air, bringing play and excitement to a treat makes it even more rewarding.
Lauren believes dog owners can overcome every training challenge with a game. For example, if a dog constantly tries to hunt rabbits, she recommends a game of hide and seek where you encourage your dog to hunt you instead. As dog owners see progress in their training with approaches like this, they find the training “immensely rewarding.”
Games aside, mindset is a major part of Lauren’s training approach. This means that Lauren and her team coach owners as much as their dogs. They help these dog owners feel positive, resilient, and capable as they master their training efforts and bond with their dogs.
Lauren Langman on Acing Competitions (Even If You Don’t Win)
Lauren’s no stranger to Crufts competitions. With the help of her exceptional team, she’s won the Championship, singles event, ABC event, and teams event. (And she’s been runner-up countless times.)
Over the years, Lauren has trained herself to block out the busy competition environment so she can focus on the agility course ahead. She also manifests the belief that she and the dog she’s competing with have the potential to win the trophy.
Talking yourself into the competition space, rather than out of it, is the “best prep work” you can do. “Be your own cheerleader!” Lauren says.
Getting some love from the dog in question also gives her emotional backup. “Who doesn’t feel brighter after soaking up some love from their beloved pup?”
Lauren also reminds competitors to drink plenty of water and reserve time to rest. Competing can take its toll, physically and mentally, so contestants and their dogs need time to relax.
Although Lauren’s had plenty of competition success, some of her proudest moments have been in competitions where she and her dog didn’t win. In these cases, the dog hasn’t found being in an overwhelming environment easy and has still given their maximum effort.
“That is a massive victory and worth even more to me than a trophy,” Lauren says. “To be able to leave knowing that you couldn’t have done any better, that you attacked the challenge on every level that you could, is just the greatest feeling. You always go home with the best dog!”
A Love for Dogs, Training, and Competing Throughout the Family
Lauren’s family shares her love for dogs, “living and breathing them morning, noon, and night.” Her daughter “got the agility bug from a very young age,” and her fiancé enjoys competing, too.
In 2023, Lauren’s daughter followed her mum’s advice and won her first-ever Crufts competition.
“The night before the competition, she actually told me she knew she was going to win!” Lauren says. She fully embodied the confidence she needed to bring her skills and relationship with her dog to the course, winning Young Kennel Club Crufts 2023 Jumping at 11 years old.
How Dogs Can Help You Improve Your Physical and Mental Health
Often, dogs give their owners the push they need to get out into the open, enjoy nature, and improve their fitness.
Those who reach competition level have even more motivation to get fit. Lauren explains that when she started competing, she “needed to take a long, hard look” at her physical health if she was serious about winning. “My dogs were, for sure, more fit than me! I needed to keep up with them!”
Aside from giving their owners the impetus to improve their physical health, dogs can be exactly the animals we need to improve our mental health.
“They always know when you need them,” Lauren says. Her dogs are one of the few things that will get her to stop working and recharge. Lauren’s dogs are also firm favourites in the office. They “moonlight as therapy dogs,” she says, getting “everyone in the right headspace.”
Lauren Langman’s Life Outside Dog Training
While Lauren spends most of her time training dogs, competing with dogs, or enjoying quality time with dogs, she also loves horse riding and hacking on the moors. Aside from this, she enjoys visiting the beach with her family, dogs, and horses.
This time outdoors allows her to connect with nature and refuel for her latest competition or business project. When making plans for her game-based dog training business, she draws inspiration from books, magazines, and podcasts.
Lauren also loves coaching her private clients, helping them overcome personal obstacles as they train their dogs. This “feels so meaningful,” and Lauren plans to take her coaching practice further. “I’m building the picture of what that looks like, and I’m so excited,” she says.
Lauren has one more piece of advice for people who want to grow their confidence training their dogs: “Take the leap,” she says. “Fate will catch you.”
Lauren has been involved in the creation of several resources to make dog training easier. Read this guide on how to teach your dog to be calm.
Originally published at https://dogdaysonline.co.uk on November 7, 2023.
