Clare Valley Home Services & Dog Training

11/03/2025

Quote from Roni Sagi who dances with her dog Rhythm.

07/03/2025

06/03/2025

🌧 Pet Safety During A Weather Event! 🌧

This is a pretty incredible picture of an evacuation centre in Townsville after a flood event a few years back, set up to keep people and their pets safe while bunking down in close proximity. A highly stressful situation and another great reason to crate train your pets outside of emergency scenarios.
Dogs that are crate trained are visibly calmer than those who aren’t.

If you happen to end up in an evacuation centre with your animals, remember that they are likely to be as stressed as you and outside their comfort zones.
⚠️ This is generally not the best time to allow them to meet other animals or socialise.

👉 Keep them tethered or crated close by.
👉 If possible, take them for a walk, on lead, outside the evacuation centre for exercise.
👉 Enrichment to take their mind of things.
👉 Visible barriers (like the towels in this photo) to keep calm.
👉 Seek medical advice from a vet if your pet is unable to settle and is becoming more distressed.

This link is a fantastic resource for those of you with pets who are preparing an evacuation plan given the current cyclone warning on the east coast.
http://www.getreadyanimals.nsw.gov.au

Animal Evacuation Check List - https://www.ses.nsw.gov.au/get-ready-animals/get-ready-animals-splash-page/get-ready-animals/

05/03/2025

🩷Great news little Remi is heading to her new home tomorrow 🩷

❗️❗️Please help Remi find a new home ❗️❗️

This sweet little girl Remi who is a 18mth old Female Jack Russell is needing to find a home where she is the ONLY DOG.
She is fine children, not sure about cats.
Please pm or text me for more information.

Please note she is not my dog I’m just helping someone find this girl a home.

05/03/2025

Willem is learning to walk nicely next to his mum. There’s nothing wrong with him walking in front but there is times that the best place for him to be is next to his mum. Both are doing a great job.

03/03/2025

📣Attention new puppy owners .

🐕‍🦺 1 spots available for Thursdays class.

🗓️New puppy class starting Thursday 6/3 at 6pm for pups 8wks-6mths of age.

🐾5 week course, Limited spots available.

🏠 Indoor lessons at Clare Valley Vet clinic

☎️For more information or to book pm or phone 0407434161.

02/03/2025

Back in the day a choker chain on your dog was meant to stop pulling,We have come along way since then.We now know that this sorts of equipment doesn’t stop our dogs from pulling it just creates pain and and injuries to them. By using a well fitted harness and training in loose lead walking will create a more enjoyable walk for you and your dog.

25/02/2025

Dogs are great at many things, but one thing they are not so good at is generalising. It makes sense to us that, when they have learned a cue at home, they should be able to understand and respond to that cue wherever they go. The thing is that dog brains don't work in quite that way. Dogs need to be taught that the same cue means they do the same thing in all different kinds of environments and situations.

To do this, we need to generalise or 'proof' the cue. Help the dog to understand that the cue asks them for the same thing, wherever they are.

To do this we look at the three factors listed here.

Distance: Initially when we are working on cues with our dogs, we will be very close. But there may well be a time when you would like or need to ask your dog to do something when they are a distance away from you. To do this, gradually start asking the dog to respond to the cue from further away. For recall, as an example, once the cue is well established at home, start practicing at slowly increasing distances when out for a walk (use a longline attached to the dog's harness until their recall is solid in all locations and from distance). Periodically call the dog back from a distance, reward, and then send them off to explore again. This is one that's good to keep doing once their recall is reliable and they can go off lead, as only ever calling an off-lead dog back to put the lead on might well put them off coming back! And remember to always call your dog back if they are approaching an on-lead dog as a simple courtesy to the others using the same area.

Distractions: This is an important one for many dogs, especially young dogs who are keen to explore the world and learn about their environment. Once the cue is well established at home, start building up distractions slowly. Going from your garden at home to a busy local park will be far too much for the dog to be able to concentrate so take it in little steps. Outside your house, perhaps, or somewhere like a car park with plenty of space but where there will be some people/cars etc to act as distractions. To begin with, in a new environment, go back a little in terms of the distance between you and your dog when you give the cue and increase it again as the dog is becoming comfortable with the cue in the new location. Build up the number of different places and how busy the places you go to are to help your dog see that the cue means the same, no matter how busy the environment. (But play fair and let them have plenty of time to explore new environments safely and happily, for both you/your dog and the others using that space).

Duration: Sometimes we will need to ask our dogs to do something and have them keep doing it for a while, perhaps a sit, a down, a wait/stay. Something that helps with building duration is having a release cue, and this is something that we can teach the dog at the same time as the initial cue we'd like them to respond to. For instance, I use 'OK' as my release cue, so I'll ask my dog for a down, and then say 'OK' to let him know that he's fine to get up again. Initially we'll say this almost immediately after we've marked and rewarded the down, and then gradually increase the length of time between the cue and the release.

You can combine all three of these factors to have a cue that your dog can respond to at a distance, in any kind of environment, and (where appropriate) will stay there until released. Having this kind of reliability in your cues means you can be confident and enjoy being out in the world with your dog, knowing that they will listen to you wherever you are.

23/02/2025

📣Attention new puppy owners .

🐕‍🦺2 spots available for Thursdays class.

🗓️New puppy class starting Thursday 6/3 at 6pm for pups 8wks-6mths of age.

🐾5 week course, Limited spots available.

🏠 Indoor lessons at Clare Valley Vet clinic

☎️For more information or to book pm or phone 0407434161.

20/02/2025

Congratulations to Thursday nights puppy class on completing 5 weeks of basic training. This class definitely kept me on my toes when they first started but as the classes went on the pups learnt to focus on their handlers and how to settle in their class.

Marvin the little Dachshund came to his first class a little anxious but as time went on his confidence grew and tonight at graduation he shone, showing all the pups in his class that he can do what they can do.

🎓Congratulations to Bella and her mum Belinda.
Marvin and his family Ingrid and Talitha.
Betty and her mum Morgan.
Tess and her mum.
If you would like to join Thursdays class starting 6/3 at 6pm, Pm or phone 0407434161 for more information or to book.

19/02/2025

📣Attention new puppy owners .
❗️Taking bookings for March class.

🐕‍🦺2 spots available for Thursdays class.

🗓️New puppy class starting Monday 3/3 and Thursday 6/3 at 6pm for pups 8wks-6mths of age.

🐾5 week course, Limited spots available.

🏠 Indoor lessons at Clare Valley Vet clinic

☎️For more information or to book pm or phone 0407434161.

17/02/2025

I think this is one of the biggest realisations that can help people living with sensitive and complex dogs who struggle with things they encounter in the world around them, that the daily walk isn't absolutely mandatory.

Yes, we need to find other ways to physically and mentally stimulate them, but going out into a world they struggle with day after day so that they (and we) are never able to truly recover and return to a real sense of calm is not helping either of us.

Find a secure field somewhere they can run around and explore in safety and both of us can relax.

Do some training at home.

Try some food puzzles (pitched to a level where your dog can succeed with a little work).

Maybe a little bit of fun agility in the garden, or some doggy parkour.

Scentwork exercises around the house and garden (one of my personal favourites with all my dogs).

Anything that exercises body and mind will help to keep them contented and happy while taking a break from going out into that world they find so difficult.

Once we have both had a chance to recharge and de-stress then we can start planning a return to walking in a way that will help our dogs to feel safer in the world.

17/02/2025

🎓Congratulations to Mondays class on completing 5 weeks of basic training the first class for the year.
Meg and her pup Honey
Narelle, Wayne and there pup Nala
Di and her pup Norman.
These handlers have all done a great job in teaching their pups basic skills to help there pups grow into well mannered dogs.

🐶New classes starting Monday 3/3 and Thursday 6/3 at 6pm. To book or for more information pm or call 0407434161.

🏃‍♀️Louise was missing for graduation tonight as on Saturday she competed in a 50km charity run in New Zealand. Congratulations Louise what an achievement!!