Pawsitive Connection

07/01/2025

Behaviour and pain - so related! Nice free course for everyone

07/01/2025

How awesome are these gorgeous quilted mats from & Co. and perfect for a place training mat for our upcoming January classes 😉

& Co have generously offered our followers 15% off any item excluding sale items.

Use code: PAWCONNECT

They also have some very cool bandanas/leash sleeves including "IN TRAINING" and "GIVE ME SPACE" ones 👌

05/01/2025

What a legacy she has left ❤️

With profound sadness and immense gratitude, we honor the life and legacy of Karen Pryor, a true pioneer in the fields of animal behavior and positive reinforcement training. Karen’s groundbreaking work revolutionized how we communicate with animals—and each other—leaving an indelible mark on science, education, and the lives of countless species around the world.

Continue reading: https://bit.ly/4214rRG

01/01/2025

🐾 January Group Classes 🐾

Do you have a new puppy or young adult dog in your family?

Now is a great time to start group classes 🙌

Our group classes will set your dog and family up for training success and get your puppy started on the right paw forward.

Your puppy will learn vital skills for life and most importantly you and your family will learn how to train those skills and get the best our of your new family member.

Our training includes:
• Focus - getting and keeping your dog's attention
• Skills to increase confidence and connection
• Building impulse control and calmness
• Learning appropriate socialisation
• Leash walking skills (Junior & Fundamentals)
• Recall skills
• Tricks for fun and husbandry/cooperative care (grooming, nail clipping, muzzles and more!)
Plus, a heap more 😊

Our classes are small and are different to most traditional ‘obedience’ classes. Come and join our community!

For more info including start dates visit:
https://www.pawsitiveconnection.com.au/dog-classes/

29/12/2024

We Rate Dogs top 5 dogs of 2024 😍

28/12/2024

New Years Eve Fireworks: Be Prepared - Be Proactive 🎇

🎆 Make sure your pets are wearing ID and microchip details are up to date
🎆 Keep your pets somewhere quiet and safe (inside, secure, den, rest zone) and /or stay home with your pets
🎆 Close curtains/blinds and keep lights on if your pets react to flashes
🎆 Play music/TV or sounds that help your pet relax or can dampen out loud noises
🎆 Prepare enrichment toys such as filled Kongs, simple puzzles, lickimats or long lasting chews
🎆 Apply gentle pressure - TTouch wraps, thundershirt/anxiety wraps may help some pets
🎆 You CAN comfort your pet. Reassurance does not reward anxiety
🎆 Have ADAPTIL , Zylkene , Rescue Remedy or other calming supplements on hand or speak to your vet about medication.

28/12/2024

24/12/2024

🎄 Quick Guide to Enrichment for Christmas 🎄

If you are too busy to walk your dogs or take them out, or it’s too hot or wet, these are 5 quick ideas to enrich your pet’s Christmas:

⭐ Scatter feed or snuffle toy. Sniffing is self-soothing and can lower arousal levels so use part of your dog or cat’s daily diet and get them snuffling. We like using ziwi peak or Prime 100 SPD air dried.

⭐ Lick mats – frozen is great too and will last longer. Try yoghurt, kefir, bone broth, banana, cooked pumpkin/sweet potato, sardines, raw food. Be sure to count the food in your dog or cat’s daily calorie intake.

⭐ Chews – chewing can help to lower stress and arousal levels. Stock up on healthy Australian sourced dried chews such as bully sticks, kangaroo tendons, shark tails/skin, venison/lambs ears.

⭐ Frozen treats and food toys

⭐ Treasure hunt in house or yard. Hide treats in cardboard tubes for your dogs to find. We like placing these hides up in the forks of trees/shrubs or a bit out of sight for those savvy scent dogs!

Have fun! 🎅

23/12/2024

Emergency vets 🐾❤️‍🩹

Know the location and contact details of your nearest emergency vet over the holidays.

In BRISBANE we have:

Animal Emergency Service https://animalemergencyservice.com.au/
Locations: Jindalee, Underwood

Animal Referral Hospital https://www.emergencyvet.com.au/our-network/arh-home/arh-brisbane.html
Location: Sinnamon Park

Animal Emergency Centre https://www.emergencyvet.com.au/our-network/aec-home/aec-woolloongabba.html
Location: Woolloongabba, Kedron

Brisbane Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care Service: https://www.bveccs.com.au/
Location: Albany Creek

Plus, some vets do out of hours house calls - check the mobile vets in your area.

23/12/2024

Christmas Prep - Visiting Dogs at Christmas 🎄 🐾

Are you taking your dog to family or friends for Christmas? Or perhaps you have another dog visiting you and your dog/s.

The dogs may never have met, or maybe they know each other but haven’t been in each other’s houses before. Some dogs may be great walking buddies but having them together in their own territory can often be different. Even if the dogs know each other here are some tips:

• On the day introduce the dogs away from home. This may be at a local park or even just outside the front of the house and go for a short walk together before bringing them back into the house.
• Pick up all toys and treats/chews/bones in the yard and house. Even if all dogs like to share, or they don’t resource guard, it’s better to be safe than sorry.
• Use management. Crates, baby gates, tethers and barriers may be needed so it’s better to have them ready.
• Actively supervise all interactions.
• Separate for any feeding of meals or high value treats such as chews or bones.
• Watch and manage arousal levels. High arousal times may include play times, when people arrive or leave and when people are active (such as playing in the yard). Have a plan for high arousal situations which may include management/separation.
• Incorporate breaks for all dogs and make sure they all have their own space if the visiting dogs are staying for longer periods.
• Also, for longer visits, we recommend doing short training sessions on a daily basis. Treat sharing (learning to take turns), mat/place training and basic skills such as sit, and touch are great reminders for all dogs to learn what is expected.
• It’s OK to leave your dog/s at home if you think they may not cope or get too stressed at another house.

23/12/2024

Gorgeous Piper wins best head tilt after our session on Saturday 🤍🩶🖤

We are working through some through some reactivity and sound sensitivity issues with the help of Cam Day Consulting with Piper's dedicated family.

22/12/2024

Appreciation Post 📢

We would like to do a shout out to all the businesses who have supported us this year – from referrals, general support, advice and friendship. We thank you for being on the journey with us. 💞

Wishing you all a very Happy Christmas and a great 2025! 🎄

All Pets Education and Training
Brisbane Behaviour Vet
Chew Chomp and Chill
Coorparoo Veterinary Clinic
Daisy Hill Vet Clinic
Cam Day Consulting
Greencross Vets Woolloongabba
Vets Jindalee
InSync Pet Services
My Own Vet
Paws & Relax Doggy Day care, & Grooming
MacGregor
Raceview Veterinary Surgery
Taringa Vets
Tarragindi Veterinary Surgery
The Acupuncture Vet
The Bloomin Vet
VetLove Southside
vet-n-pet DIRECT

21/12/2024

Heat Stress 🔥

Do you know the signs and exacerbating factors?

Do you know what to do if you suspect a dog has heat stroke?

Read more:
https://www.pawsitiveconnection.com.au/heat-stress/
https://animalemergencyservice.com.au/blog/heat-stroke-in-dogs/

20/12/2024

Need Dog Training Help?

We are available over the holidays with zoom appointments and limited in person appointments (location dependent).

Contact us for help:

📱 0499 044 687
💻 [email protected]

19/12/2024

Congratulations to our latest Pawsitive Puppies graduates Paloma, Maple and Nelson! 🎓👏

We are so proud of how far they have come in the last 6 weeks 🥰 and can't wait to see what they get up to next!

Our next puppy classes are starting January so be sure to check out our website for dates.

17/12/2024

🐾Dog Park Etiquette 🐾

It’s no secret that we aren’t huge fans of dog parks 😬, but we suspect dog parks are here to stay, so if everyone practiced this etiquette it would be better for the dogs and the humans!

• Don’t let your dog crowd the entrance/exit gate (being crowded is extremely hard for the dog entering and can set them up for a bad experience right at the start).

• Watch your dog and stay connected with them (doesn’t mean you have to helicopter them but keep an eye on them). Recall to you regularly and release.

• Don’t let your dog fence run – there are a lot of dog parks divided into big and small dog areas, so letting your dog run up and down chasing other dogs on the other side of the fence might look like fun but it’s super counterproductive and usually contributes to frustration and over arousal.

• Don’t let dogs ‘sort it out’. If your dog is continually getting into scraps or fights, perhaps rethink your dogs’ need to visit dog parks.

• Don’t excuse inappropriate or rude behaviour as friendliness or ‘he just wants to play’. This may include mounting, harassing, continually chasing or getting into the face of another dog.

• Pick up after your dog – dogs parks are usually stocked with poo bags so use them!

• Leave your mobile phone in the car – or at least don’t use it unless you’re taking a cute piccy, then put it away.

What do you think? 🤔 What are your ‘rules’ when going to a dog park?

You can find answers to other dog park questions in the help centre:
https://help.vetnpetdirect.com.au/kb/are-there-rules-or-etiquette-i-should-follow-at-the-dog-park/
And also our article here: https://www.pawsitiveconnection.com.au/dog-parks/

16/12/2024

Our Top Travelling with Dogs Tips 🚙🎄

With many of us taking our dogs away on holidays, there are some important tips to remember, brought to you from our seasoned road trippers:

🚙 Secure your dog in the car. There are many options from variocage to crate and seatbelt to cargo barrier, so whatever you choose ensure the best safety and security that works for your dog, your car and you.

🐾 Make sure your dog’s collar/harness is secure, and they can’t back out of them at rest stops or at your destination.

🐾 Make sure your pet has ID on them and microchip details are up to date.

💧 Take water and water bowl – sounds obvious, but make sure your pet stays hydrated on hot days travelling.

☔ Take extra towels and bedding – both for unplanned accidents and muddy/rainy stops.

🚗🌳 Factor in extra breaks along the way. Just like us, it’s good for pets to get out and stretch their legs every couple of hours. Choose rest stops with plenty of shade and grass and not too close to the highway.

Happy and safe travels!

13/12/2024

Need to brush up on your dog's recall?

'Ping pong' recall game is super easy and fun for the whole family to play.

Practice in the yard before going out and about ;-)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4bQ4a2Hpk8

Once you have taught your dog a recall cue you will want to practice with each member of the family. A fun game you can play is called Ping Pong.To start, ma...