Boisterous Bournemouth Stag Parties!

Bournemouth is the perfect destination for a stag weekend. Everything you’re going to want to do is located in an ideally compact area. The heart of the city is where the best clubs are, as you would expect. The best, well certainly the most convenient, selection of hotels and other accommodation are also based in the same area. From this central region, where the main action goes down, the beach is thankfully but a stone’s throw and is a must-do on any weekend in Bournemouth.

A seven mile stretch of sandy beaches offers unique opportunities for a stag party in Bournemouth. The area enjoys its own micro-climate, sheltered by the cliffs and boasts some of the warmest waters in the UK. Needless to say, water sports enthusiasts make the most of this area. Stag parties however can also get in on this action as there are numerous centres offering anything from paddle boats to jet skis.

The Bournemouth seafront is filled with enough activity to keep any group of lads entertained for the weekend. It is good for the active groups offering extreme sports like kite surfing, wake boarding and wind surfing, whilst centres can offer anything from just the equipment to full on tuition. For those feeling less active, but still looking for a thrill, there’s power boating and RIB excursions. If however you are looking for a bit of style you can charter a luxury boat, a perfect idea if you want to have a couple of drinks in style before the night out.

If water really isn’t you’re thing and lying by the beach just won’t cut it for you, then the New Forrest isn’t far. Here you can find all the stag classics including quad biking and paint balling to keep you busy for hours.

Bournemouth, in recent years, has become one of the most popular destinations in the UK for stag and hen events. Located on the south coast it has a heightened chance of sunshine, compared to some of the other rain coated destinations in the UK, which probably attributes to some of its popularity. On top of that, the night life here has now become as enticing as it is respected. The main stomping ground for the hardcore clubbers is in between Old Christchurch Road through to Lansdowne, but as they will tell you the area extends further afield too.

With the promise of mad nights and chilled days by the water, Bournemouth surely has to be one of the tops spots to go for a stag do.

 

Turning Boisterous Schoolchildren into Great Leaders and Thinkers

Among the things purportedly lacking in schools are responsibility and motivation. It's often claimed that pupils come to school "because they have to", and that their relationship with their school begins and ends in the classroom. A closely related point of view holds that children are fast becoming "feral" and "beyond help".
For the past three years, Debate Mate has begged to differ, focusing on "how amazing" children are, and investing in them now to make sure they have every opportunity of becoming the leaders of the future. And now we're starting to see evidence of them taking on responsibility at their schools too.

Take, for example, Lordswood Boys' School in Birmingham, where the prefects for this year have just been elected. The teacher who supervises the school's Debate Mate club took great pride in telling the mentor, Dan, that the vast majority of the students elected were regular attendees at the club. The teacher said she strongly believed it was the students' participation in the programme that gave them the confidence and ability to run for the position. Dan, who is a student at Birmingham University, called it a "fantastic achievement...and a fine advertisement of the benefits that come with the programme".

It's refreshing to see the skills debating gives young people permeating into other parts of their school-life, and encouraging them to lead others to greatness. In one of the schools we've worked in since 2007, Robert Clack School in Dagenham, the sixth-formers are running their own debate club for children in year 7, using the skills they have acquired through participating in Debate Mate to teach others. This year, we're getting other schools to follow in Robert Clack's footsteps with our Ambassadors' Programme. We're sitting down with our older pupils, getting them to figure out how they can create a permanent culture of debating in their schools. We ask them to set targets so when we visit them in school, we know how much progress they've made.

So it's clear that teaching young people to debate lends a framework of responsibility and leadership to the schools. But what's also great is that the content of these sessions is nudging schoolchildren to consider and question the underlying values and assumptions of education. At Greenford High School in west London, the mentors Kriti and Olivia were left open-mouthed when one particularly philosophical Year 9, giving a speech opposing the banning of religious symbols in schools, said:

"But you know, school isn't just there to educate you now. You have to give students the skills for their entire life, and beyond. Do you think it is a good excuse for someone to go up in front of God on judgment day and say, 'Sorry God, I didn't obey your commands [to wear a headscarf] because my school told me not to'? Isn't it morally wrong to just disrespect what - for someone - might be such an important part of their religion?"

An anecdote like this challenges the assertion that energetic schoolchildren are incorrigibly disruptive and must be humiliated in order to be taught a lesson. It recently emerged that a headteacher in Cambridgeshire has been handing out all manner of degrading punishments to children caught talking at lunchtimes--including "holding a teacher's hand or eating their lunches standing in the center of the hall". In my experience, such reactionary gestures don't get to the heart of the matter: far better and more edifying to give young people the confidence to speak in the right way, and the dignity which eventuates in self-discipline and respect.

 

How to Stop Your Dog From Its Boisterous Barking

It is but normal for a dog to whine or to bark. In fact, many people get pet dogs to alarm them through barking in case there are intruders in their homes. However, persistent loud barking that just would not stop could also be very irritating. This is also a possible indication of something wrong or discomforting with your dog. A change in the dog's environment as well as behaviour correction may be needed. After all, his incessant barking may only be because of excitement, boredom or anxiety. Although it is impossible to have your dog stop from barking completely, you may still downplay this kind of behaviour over time and a good amount of patience. There are some steps that you can take to tone down the barking which will be enumerated hereunder.

First option is to make use of Citronella Collar. It is an anti-bark dog collar that is now used globally and is designed to stop dogs from barking. The collar will spray mist to the dog's face if it barks. This is why they will eventually stop barking. Some though are considering this Citronella Collar offensive since the mist is sprayed at close range and can be bad for the dog's nostrils. It is however much better to first learn the reason for your dog's irritating behaviour. For all you may know, it is too much energy that just did not have the proper outlet. The barking is simply a signal of the dog's frustration.

Should the energy within the dog is not provided with the corresponding outlet, dogs would not stop barking due to the frustration as well as anxiety they are feeling. Since dogs by nature are extremely active, it would be wise to channel their energy into the right direction. A game of catch would always be welcome to your pet or a simple walk in the park. Unknown to some, dogs need to get a short walk and two long walks to release the normal energy they have. Otherwise, they get anxious, bored or become hyperactive and thus bark unendingly.

Another way to keep your dog from constantly barking is by giving in to its attention-seeking. Barking is actually a technique dogs use to seek their master's attention. If you will ignore your dog, he will just continue to bark. Some of the favours the dog expects to get by barking are toys, meals, pats or simply your attention. However, if you will give it to your dog whenever it barks, he will in effect be just dominating you. To make sure that if you will show your dog some love, it will be according to your terms. It would be ideal to praise your dog and show it some attention when it becomes quiet. This way, it will feel that by not barking, it will get what it desires. Another way to stop your dog from barking non-stop is by sprinkling water on this face when it barks or simply firmly saying "Be quiet!".

Finally, another good reason for your dog's barks is its feeling of its territory being invaded. This is what your dog is likely to feel if it is in an area where it can easily see unfamiliar passers-by. Barking for the dog is a way to scare off these strangers. To stop your pet from barking all the time it sees a new face, it would be best to block off the areas which it can access so as not to be able to view everybody that passes by.
A barking dog is trying to convey a message. This is how he talks to you. It would be ideal to just add more patience when dealing with your pet and try to understand what it is going through.

 

Down Boy! Stopping Your Boisterous Dog From Jumping

If you have ever walked into your friend's house and at the door you get pounced on by a dog, then you probably know how annoying it feels. If you are dressed for an evening out and you go to your date's house to pick him up and get jumped on and pawed by his dog, wouldn't that make you mad? It is important as a dog owner to actively train your dog so that it does not jump on people when they walk into your house. Many people consider this a normal doggie behavior but as a cautionary measure, you should properly train your dog because you never know how an individual will react when a dog instantly pounces on him.

The effect is more tremendous if the victim involved is a child, an elderly person or a person who is handicapped. A child or a person who is handicapped can easily lose grip when pounced on by a dog and end up falling down and even if they don't fall they are likely to be scared and upset by the situation, something definitely to be avoided.

If you have a dog, then the question should be why does it jump? To answer this, you should know that the three main reasons that may lead a dog to jump include excitement by the dog, a dog looking for attention and lastly a dog that is aggressive in nature will generally jump on people.

As a way of getting your dog to stop jumping, you need to take your dog through obedience training. The training requires that you come up with commands to effectively control your dog's behavior. Among the commands you can come up with are commands like "sit" and "stop." These commands will help you control your dog's behavior anytime someone walks through your door.

There are other ways of ensuring your dog is well mannered if after training it has not yet grasped the commands or you have not yet started training it. Among the ways you can use include lifting up your knee whenever your dog begins to jump on you. This will act as a blockage preventing your dog from actually reaching on you. In case you are not good at balancing and you need to prevent your dog from jumping on you, you can simply turn your body away from the dog. You can continuously ignore your dog anytime it tries jumping on you until the dog stops jumping on you.

Once your dog changes its behavior and stops jumping on people, you can pet him and show him attention. By doing this, your dog will understand that he is only given attention when he stops jumping on people and so it will refrain from jumping on people.

If after trying all the possible solutions you still cannot control your dog from jumping on people, then you should think about using a choke collar. You can use a choke collar together with a leash. Every time your dog shows a behavior that is unacceptable, then all you need to do is give the leash a tug. Keep in mind that the main reason for using the choke collar is to control the dog's behavior and not to hurt the dog. This measure will completely deter your dog from ever jumping on people.

The important points that you need not forget when dealing with a jumping dog include breaking this jumping habit immediately when your dog displays it and keeping in mind that dog obedience training session does not give instant results and so you should never give up on the training.

As a lasting solution, you should at no time give a treat to your dog in attempt to preventing it from jumping on guests. Some dog owners make this mistake and the dog gets different signals on how it should behave. You should be consistent on how you treat your dog and on the manner in which you reward it based on specific behaviors it shows. With this under consideration, then you should know that dog jumping is an easy habit to deal with if you use the right training. Patience, time and reinforcement are all you need and you will get your dog behaving in a good way.

 

What do we mean by 'over-boisterous'? Generally, owners use it to mean that their dog is more active than they would wish him to be. Teaching the right behaviors and rewarding calmness can help a great deal when living with an energetic dog. Channel his mental and physical energies into acceptable outlets through games, exercise and training.

Possible causes:
o This can be a natural behavior. Look at what your dog was bred to do. If he is a working type, then a high level of activity is normal and to be expected.
o It can be a sign of stress or confusion. If a dog is uncertain or does not understand what you want, it is likely that he will show a higher level of activity.
Prevention:
o Take care over your choice of dog. A working dog may
look appealing, but do you have the time and energy
necessary to look after it?
o Teach the right behavior from the beginning.
o Reward good behavior. Train yourself to notice when your dog is behaving well, including simply lying down quietly. Ensure that you give him an appropriate reward.
o Be a leader he wants to listen to.
What to do if problems have arisen:
o Follow the above points.
o What was your dog bred for? What do you want from him? If the answers to these two questions are different, look at what more you can give him to satisfy his needs.
o If boisterousness occurs in certain situations only, set up those situations to teach your dog what behavior you would like. For example, if your dog jumps up at visitors, ask a group of friends to call around, one at a time. Instruct them to ignore any jumping up, but to give lots of rewards (in the form of attention, treats and games) for keeping four feet on the floor. Sitting brings even bigger rewards. Ask each friend to leave after about ten minutes and call again immediately. This way, your dog is given clear messages about what behavior is rewarding.
o Be consistent. Ensure that all the family behaves in a similar way towards the dog.
This problem is especially seen in:
o Dogs bred to be active, e.g. working dogs.
o Dogs who are confused about what their owner wants.
o Dogs with owners who are unrealistic about how much exercise and stimulation their dog needs.