DOGS ETC: Dog Trainer Kate Lloyd

12/07/2025

The official ANKC Rules for the dog sport of Rally are currently undergoing a review, and the finalised version of the approved Rule changes will be available very soon, although the new Rules won't come into effect until January 2026.
Good news - there will be some new exercises introduced in Novice Level, some Rule clarifications and more.
My online self-study course will be UPDATED to reflect these new changes. So everyone who has already signed up for the course will automatically get access to the new video lectures that I will be filming and adding later this year :-)
And in 2026 I will start filming courses covering Advanced, Excellent and Masters levels!

Teach your dog the fun dog sport of Rally obedience using simple lure and reward training techniques

25/06/2025

Tintin’s Training Tip 🐾👍
Teach your dog to fetch (retrieve) all sorts of different items! If you only ever use one particular toy or object, your dog may find it hard to retrieve other items later on, if required.
I forgot to put a toy in my pocket, so today Tintin fetched a piece of cuttlefish bone for me 🐾🤗
*Sticks can be dangerous as they can land pointing up and injure your dog*
In some dog sports, such as Kennel Club Obedience, or Mondioring, the retrieve item may be provided by the Judge, and could be any safe item - such as artificial flowers, or rubber ducks. In Dances With Dogs you may want your dog to fetch one of your props - a flag, bag, or fake jewellery. An Assistance Dog may be required to fetch medication, keys, water bottles or other personal items.
Happy Training!

15/06/2025

Tintin’s Training Tip 🐾👍
In the sport of Scent Work, one of the exercises is for the dogs to search the outside of vehicles (the bumper bar, number plate, towbar, wheels, wheel arches, sills) for the hidden odour.
When you are preparing your dog for Vehicle searches, position your vehicle in a large open space such as an empty car park. You want your dog to understand that the vehicles are the target, so set up your search so that the vehicle clearly stands out and avoid doing vehicle searches where there are other objects, walls, fences, in close proximity. For example, don’t do vehicle searches in your carport or garage where there is lots of other stuff close by.
Later on, once you reach Ultimate Level (the highest level) there will be a blended search environment where searches are not separated into each Element (type), but to start with, a Vehicle search is JUST vehicles. So help your dog understand this concept 🤔🤗
Happy Sniffing 🐾😁

09/06/2025

Tintin’s Training Tip 🐾👍
Try to anticipate the conditions that your dog will need to cope with, and ensure your dog is adequately prepared in advance 🤗
Tintin is entered in a Rally Trial (obedience competition) next weekend and it’s likely that the grass will be wet. Tintin is definitely not a water baby, and hates getting his feet wet 😆 So today we practiced some down-stays on wet grass. This gives me the opportunity to see how much of a problem this might be, before expecting him to lie down on wet grass if required in the Trial. And I can reward him with his favourite treats during these practice sessions, to help make the experience a positive one.
Tintin was fine, as long as the water wasn’t too deep 😆
Happy Training 🐾😀

07/06/2025

Tintin’s Training Tip 🐾🤗
It’s wet and windy so I am using this as an opportunity to do an indoor training activity and introduce Tintin to a new Scent Work odour.
I want to install the odour into his memory banks, so all I am doing is using my reward marker “Yes” when he sniffs the odour. With repetition, this creates a positive association with that specific smell, and teaches him that this is one of the specific odours that I want him to search for and locate.
He is also doing a bit of a nose freeze (holding still and pointing his nose at the odour source) which he has already learned as his Trained Indication (to tell me where the odour is located).
Scent Work for fun or sport is a great activity for all dogs - check out my online self study courses for sporting or pet fun options - here’s a link ⬇️

https://www.dogsetc.com.au/?page_id=1185

02/06/2025

Looking for online dog training courses?
My self-study courses, hosted on Udemy, consistently receive high ratings. Four of my courses have 5 star ratings, the other courses have 4.7 or 4.8 star ratings.
My thanks go out to everyone who has taken the time to rate my courses - I appreciate your support 😊
Affordable prices from $29.99 AUD to $59.99 AUD
Topics include Rally, Dog Dance, Scent Detection, Herding Games, Dog Acting, Recall - with more topics in the pipeline!
No expiry date - go back over the video lectures any time.
Link to all the courses are on my website ⬇️
https://www.dogsetc.com.au/?page_id=1185

23/05/2025

Tintin’s Training Tip 🐾👍

Finding multiple hides in Scent Work.
In Novice level, your dog will only be finding one hide. How do you transition to more than one hide in a search, ready for Advanced level and up?

I like to set up a search along a wall, and work the dog on a short lead so I can help the dog move forwards. The goal is to introduce your cue that tells the dog to continue on searching after the first Find. So pick your cue - More, Another One, or whatever you choose. Reward your dog as usual at the first Find, and then use your cue and a gesture and help the dog to continue the search, using the lead to prevent your dog from back-tracking. Set the hides fairly close together initially so that your dog gets the next hide and reinforcer soon after leaving the previous hide.

I set up this search for a client today, then took the opportunity to run my two dogs. Tintin first, then Maddy. Maddy is now deaf, so her marker is a thumbs up hand signal.

Happy Sniffing 🐾🤗

21/05/2025

Woo Hoo!
Milestone reached for enrolments in my online training courses!
Check out what my online students already know! Affordable, uncomplicated, clearly explained and demonstrated dog-friendly training techniques, all presented by me personally and including methods to suit a variety of dogs. Study at your own pace - no expiry date - look back on the material at any time!
Scent Work, Sniffing Games, Recall, Herding Games, Rally, Dog Dance, Dog Actor Courses - more coming soon!
All courses can be accessed directly from my website - here’s a link ⬇️
https://www.dogsetc.com.au/?page_id=1185

10/05/2025

A special Happy Mother's Day to all the canine mothers out there that deliver us our much-loved puppies 🥰
Please support responsible breeders 👍

06/05/2025

Really Useful Tricks 🤗 by Tintin 🐾
Teach your dog to walk backwards. Then if the lead gets under their leg, instead of having to reach down and untangle it, simply let the lead drop to the ground and ask your dog to Back so they step over it - problem solved 👍😆
Video on how to teach your dog to Back Up is in the
c o m m e n t s

03/05/2025

A bit of sniff-and-fetch fun for Tintin today 🐾👍🤗
I leave him in a sit-stay, and go and hide (or pretend to hide) his toy, behind a tree. Then send him to find it and bring it to me. He is working into the breeze, and finds it nicely using his nose. If you participate in the sport of Scent Work, this game will help develop your dog’s search skills. It’s also excellent for all Gun Dog breeds as a biologically fulfilling replacement for retrieving birds.

This is a great addition to regular “fetch”, as it engages different parts of your dog’s brain - search with the nose, not just chase/grab with the eyes. We do a bit of both 😁

This is a variation of one of the Sniffing Games from my latest online self-study course “Sniff! Scent Detection Games For Pet Dog Fun” - if your dog doesn’t fetch, use a treat pod instead - here’s a link to the course ⬇️
https://www.udemy.com/course/sniff-scent-detection-games-for-pet-dog-fun/?referralCode=31F6B6A9BDB520765657

26/04/2025

Tintin has been working on a “Call Off” - this is when the dog is running full speed towards something they want, and we call them back to us. I am using Tintin’s toy - I have spent a lot of time building a strong motivation to run out fast to his toy. So this is a good challenge 🤗

I am using a whistle to call him back. In this session I am rewarding him with his absolute favourite food. Notice in the first Call Off he gets multiple pieces of food, and I praise him and move while delivering the food - the reward is an “Event”, including an interaction with me, so it’s not just about giving him a piece of food.

These training techniques are all demonstrated in full in my online self study course “Here! Teach Your Dog To Come When Called”. Link to course is below ⬇️

https://www.udemy.com/course/here-teach-your-dog-to-come-when-called/?referralCode=28EFF9D2B4B293365C18