25/10/2023
Should I use a Kong a Lickimat or a food bowl to feed my dog?
Created for everyone with a dog in their life by industry experts Ian Shivers & Dominique Hone.
Having helped over 6000 clients over a combined 27+ years, this community gives you access to all of their behaviour secrets for just $35 AUD per month that wo
Should I use a Kong a Lickimat or a food bowl to feed my dog?
Is it Bribery? Should I Use Food When Training my Reactive Dog?
We’re so excited to announce that the C.A.R.E. approach of will be the discussion piece with Andrew Hale on September 14th (UK Time)
Andrew’s work and approach is something that we have looked to and used in our own practices over the years.
His platform and community on Facebook “Dog Centred Care : The Emotional Experience of Dogs and their Caregivers” is a fantastic resource, with a seemingly never ending supply of educational content and supportive community.
We’re feeling very grateful and excited for this opportunity to share the C.A.R.E. approach and how it can help improve the lives of dogs and their people.
There’s a link in our bio to find out more about how to tune in live or watch it back afterwards.
Did you know? 🤔
You can gain access to our full library of courses & webinars for as little as $10 per month?
There’s also no lock in context, so you can cancel anytime you like!
This includes our;
🐶Online Puppy School
📢 Reactivity Course
🏠 How to introduce a new dog to the home
🧘🏻♀️ The Five Pillars of Emotional Stability
🐕 Plus Heaps more
There’s so much value packed in and the library keeps on growing
Check out the link in our bio to sign up and learn more 🥳
⚡️ Take the free challenge!! ⚡️
28 days of challenges based on the C.A.R.E. approach!!
There’s some bonus content thrown in too for everyone that steps up 🐕
Sign up with the link in bio
Our Reactivity Course is included in our membership!!
Alongside over 20 other other courses, webinars and challenges!!
Head to the link in bio to learn more!!
Take our new challenge to find out what it takes to be a C.A.R.E.GIVER!!
A new challenge will be issued daily for 30 days!!
Each challenge is to help you learn how you can support your dog to the best of your ability!
Head to the link in bio to learn more
The link between physical and mental health and dog training:
I recently listened to a fascinating talk by an animal physiotherapist on the link between pain and behaviour. Two of the most important insights I gained from what was said were: the huge role emotional state plays in the perception of pain and the influence of stress on the development of chronic pain.
It appears that while two dogs may have the same underlying physical condition, their individual personalities and lifestyles will determine to what extent they experience discomfort from this condition and stress will play a role in how much of an obstacle the condition is likely to become to their quality of life and desire to engage in various activities long term.
Several important thoughts follow from this:
1. Dogs that are more prone to anxiety and fear seem to experience pain more severely.
2. Dogs living with ongoing stress are more likely to develop chronic pain conditions.
3. Training methods based on punishment and rooted in fear create anxious dogs and lead to chronic stress, therefore punishment-based training methods have a negative effect on physical health.
4. Dogs whose needs are fulfilled (companionship, mental stimulation, species/type-specific activities) are far less likely to experience chronic pain.
5. Teaching dogs how to use their bodies properly through body awareness exercises and teaching dogs to master physical movements through trick training, builds physical and emotional confidence, which is a powerful protection against the development of chronic pain.
I found this so interesting, because it confirms what I have seen in so many dogs that we work with. We teach a huge amount of body awareness, proprioception, core-strengthening and confidence building exercises in our classes. Many dogs train with us from puppyhood into their senior years and these dogs seem to maintain a level of fitness, flexibility and positive attitude which seems to help them to live happily with common chronic conditions such as arthritis and to slow down the mental and physical aging process. While I am not for one second saying that training is a miracle cure or preventative measure against disease or injury or should be viewed as a replacement for appropriate veterinary care and physiotherapy, it really does appear that training dogs in a way that promotes emotional and physical confidence and optimism, really has an enormous effect on their long term physical and mental well-being. And physiotherapists agree!
Proprioception and body awareness tricks can do the following:
• Strengthen muscles, including core muscles (which leads to better joint support)
• Improve flexibility, alignment, posture, balance and stability
• Keep the hindquarters activated to decrease muscle loss in older dogs
• Encourage thinking and problem solving
• Increase confidence
As trainers and behaviour practitioners, we have to be mindful of the link between emotional and physical health. As I have said so many times before, this is why our focus in training has moved away from “obedience” and towards building healthy minds, bodies and relationships.
The team at are a pleasure to work with!!
Their goal is the same as ours in that we just want our dogs to live their happiest and healthiest lives.
The relationship between gut health, mental health, emotional health and ultimately… behavioural health cannot be understated.
We’ve seen so many cases now that while training training and management are important, we would not have been anywhere near as successful if we hadn’t taken a look at their gut health as well!
Lyka has been fantastic for so many dogs out there and I can honestly say this is what I feed my own dogs.
To give them a try, head to the link in my bio and get 20% off your first box
There’s more than one way that C.A.R.E. can be demonstrated and Kommetjie Canine College are so often great examples ❤️
Time to share this again - this remains our goal 🐾 and the result is dogs who as well as being secure and content are also capable of amazing achievements from a learning point of view 😊
ANNOUNCEMENT 📢📢
We’ve got a new membership tier 🎉
For those that just want to access the courses but bypass the community!!
Link in bio to learn more
Filming our next short course today 🐕
What’s your dogs daily routine?
Do you have one?
Does it work for you?
There’s no right or wrong answers, our dogs have quite a lot of flexibility in their day but with a couple of staples.
For example they’ll wake up whenever we do. Get fed twice a day morning & evening at no particular time. They go out for walks most days, not every. We’ll spend time playing or patting 95 evenings out of 100 and they go to bed in the same place 95% of the time when we go to bed.
Some dogs will need more structure, some wouldn’t even need that much.
Merry Christmas everyone
🎅🏻🐶🎅🏻🐶
That’s a wrap for this year.
Thank you for everyone’s support so far, we’re excited for bigger and even better things in 2023.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all.
🐶🐶🐶
If you’re bringing a dog or puppy into your life next year then this is what you’ll need to know and this is where you can learn it
Get your tickets here:
https://bondibehaviourist.as.me/canine-caregivers-workshop
How to handle our dogs when we have guests
Let’s talk walking
When you leave the house with your dog… make sure it’s actually bringing value to their day!!
Try not to take them out just for the sake of it on your own activities because the chances are, they might not be living it.
A great example is “the school run”
We’re often rushed so the dog can’t sniff
There are probably lots of kids that want to put their hands in your dogs face… most dogs don’t like that and if you’re unicorn does… that’s great but don’t think that’s the norm.
Kids running ahead/darting around on scooters can be frustrating and confusing.
The dog would have probably enjoyed half hour rest away from the bedlam of everyday life.
Puppy mouthing… what not to do
If you’re struggling with a land shark then get in touch and we’ll help you find out…
1. Why the behaviours happening
2. What you can do to prevent it as much as possible
3. How to react when it happens
Did we mention we’ve got a new puppy school starting in Jan?
What do you need to know when you bring a dog into your life?
- How to build strong relationships
- How to set solid foundations
- How to communicate with each other
- How to socialise your dogs
- How to meet your dogs needs without compromising your own
We've got the perfect workshop for anyone with a new dog or puppy looking to set their dog up for life!!
We’ve have helped thousands of people in exactly this situation and have pulled everything together for you and will teach you exactly what to do to set you and your dog up for success.
- When: 25th Feb, 9am - 2pm
- Where: Animal Welfare League, Kemps Creek, 1605 Elizabeth Drive, Kemps Creek, 2178
- Who Can Come: People, but no dogs. This is super important so that we do not upset any dogs currently on residence.
- Ticket Price: $330
- Get Your Ticket Now - Link In Bio
Where do you place your dogs beds?
Our dogs need so much more sleep than most people imagine (roughly 18 hours a day) so sleep is super important to them!
So where we place their beds and rest spots really matters!!
Our dogs have multiple beds and places of rest but most of them are in places that actually afford them the opportunity to really relax and sleep.
We avoid placing beds near doors, windows & walkways because while the dogs are there, they’re going to get broken sleep and rest and potentially after a few days and weeks of this, end up sleep deprived and adrenals fatigued.
Episode 3 of Pupstars The Podcast is now live on Spotify.
Ian and Dom have very kindly provided our listeners with a month's free membership to the Canine C.A.R.E.GIVERS platform. To access this please use the following link Canine C.A.R.E.givers Membership Group and use the code PUPSTARS
https://caninecaregivers.thinkific.com/enroll/2079730?price_id=2960357
The date has changed to the 25th Feb
What do you need to know when you bring a dog into your life?
- How to build strong relationships
- How to set solid foundations
- How to communicate with each other
- How to socialise your dogs
- How to meet your dogs needs without compromising your own
We've got the perfect workshop for anyone with a new dog or puppy looking to set their dog up for life!!
We’ve have helped thousands of people in exactly this situation and have pulled everything together for you and will teach you exactly what to do to set you and your dog up for success.
- When: 25th Feb, 9am - 2pm
- Where: Animal Welfare League, Kemps Creek, 1605 Elizabeth Drive, Kemps Creek, 2178
- Who Can Come: People, but no dogs. This is super important so that we do not upset any dogs currently on residence.
- Ticket Price: $330
- Get Your Ticket Now - https://bondibehaviourist.as.me/canine-caregivers-workshop
Want your dog to live its best life possible?
Then you should sign up for the Decoding Your Canine - The Christmas Edition: Discover the secrets to having the pawfect dog. The Masterclass Series covering training, health and well-being.
My friend Ness Jones has brought together 20+ top experts and influencers for this complimentary training series on all things dog, including training, behavioural issues, nutrition, fitness & exercise, medicine, seniors, herbal remedies, photography and more.
Not only will you hear from some amazing trainers & behaviourists, plus medical experts and health specialists, you can even learn all about dogs on set with celebrity trainer Chrissy Joy.
Not just that … you will also hear from yours truly talking about one of my favourite things, the very foundations of emotional health & stability, strong relationships and communication skills.
Your tribe is waiting https://summit.decodingyourcanine.com/ian-shivers
1 Campbell Parade
Bondi, NSW
2026
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At the end of each day, it’s important to make sure our dogs feel content and fulfilled - not just tired. Regular exercise, mental stimulation, and plenty of love and affection can help them (and us!) achieve a sense of peace and relaxation. Leave a 🧘🏻♂️ if you agree that enriching our dogs is important
Sorry not sorry for the exercise post!! Wish me luck and follow in the stories if you’re interested as I train for Sydney marathon later this year while trying to eat as many 🍔 as possible along the way 🏃🏻♂️
Are you seeing your pup act unusually unsettled or like they have heaps more energy at home? Before jumping to any conclusions, ask yourself: am I meeting my pup’s enrichment and exercise needs?
Giving our dogs the confidence to make choices and having a relationship with them which we can communicate both our needs and listen to theirs is what it’s all about
Nagging is often easier in the moment than actually finding a constructive solution, I get it… But let’s not kid ourselves. If we’re constantly having to tell our dogs to stop something or to “get off the couch” and simultaneously saying “he knows he’s not allowed to do that”… he doesn’t… he really bloody doesn’t So, either accept that we’re just nagging our dogs and that’s going to continue or actually change things and teach them what it is we’d prefer them to be doing in that situation
Crate training… My take on it is that it’s great!! But not essential!! In its simplest form, crate training is building how comfortable our dog feels about a door being closed on them. It can help keep your dog from getting stuck into the things we’d rather them not chew and destroy but it’s not the only way to do this. Helping our dogs feel safe & comfortable when alone, giving them a place to relax that we feel comfortable with is important however we do it and a crate can be a great tool for some households and some dogs. But, if it’s not for you or for your dog, then there are other effective ways of achieving the same goal.
The first three months of your dog living with you are so important! If you need help setting those solid foundations come along to our upcoming workshop or work with us 1:1
What do you need to know when you bring a dog into your life? - How to build strong relationships - How to set solid foundations - How to communicate with each other - How to socialise your dogs - How to meet your dogs needs without compromising your own We’ve got the perfect workshop for anyone with a new dog or puppy looking to set their dog up for life!! We’ve have helped thousands of people in exactly this situation and have pulled everything together for you and will teach you exactly what to do to set you and your dog up for success. - When: 25th Feb, 9am - 2pm - Where: Animal Welfare League, Kemps Creek, 1605 Elizabeth Drive, Kemps Creek, 2178 - Who Can Come: People, but no dogs. This is super important so that we do not upset any dogs currently on residence. - Ticket Price: $330 - Get Your Ticket Now - https://bondibehaviourist.as.me/canine-caregivers-workshop
I don’t know about you guys, but my sleep patterns in this heat have been messed around… If it’s messing mine around then there’s a good chance it’s messing with my dogs… Broken sleep affects my mood, my tolerances and ultimately, my behaviour. So I’m accounting for this when it comes to what I do with and what my expectations are of my dogs. What are you doing for your dogs in times like these?
If you’re bringing a dog or puppy into your life next year then this is what you’ll need to know and this is where you can learn it Get your tickets here: https://bondibehaviourist.as.me/canine-caregivers-workshop
Puppy mouthing… what not to do If you’re struggling with a land shark then get in touch and we’ll help you find out… 1. Why the behaviours happening 2. What you can do to prevent it as much as possible 3. How to react when it happens Did we mention we’ve got a new puppy school starting in Jan?
Where do you place your dogs beds? Our dogs need so much more sleep than most people imagine (roughly 18 hours a day) so sleep is super important to them! So where we place their beds and rest spots really matters!! Our dogs have multiple beds and places of rest but most of them are in places that actually afford them the opportunity to really relax and sleep. We avoid placing beds near doors, windows & walkways because while the dogs are there, they’re going to get broken sleep and rest and potentially after a few days and weeks of this, end up sleep deprived and adrenals fatigued.
Where do you place your dogs beds? Our dogs need so much more sleep than most people imagine (roughly 18 hours a day) so sleep is super important to them! So where we place their beds and rest spots really matters!! Our dogs have multiple beds and places of rest but most of them are in places that actually afford them the opportunity to really relax and sleep. We avoid placing beds near doors, windows & walkways because while the dogs are there, they’re going to get broken sleep and rest and potentially after a few days and weeks of this, end up sleep deprived and adrenals fatigued.
When you’re introducing a dog to a new home, whatever the age. Or, even if you’re starting off on a new training plan to help your dog that’s struggling… start at the beginning and set foundations before you start asking too much of them
How to start your journey with your dog! Whether you’re planning to bring a dog into your life? Already have but looking for a plan on how to set yourself up to succeed? Or looking to regroup after things may have been slipping away? We’ve got the perfect workshop for you happening in January!! It’ll be an in person event with limited tickets available so keep your eyes peeled. We’ll be announcing details in the next few days but this event can make a huge difference on your relationships with your dogs and the whole families mental and emotional health!
Potty Plant - Grass Dog Toilets
Campbell Parade, Sydney