The Well-Mannered Mutt

04/12/2024

🚨 EpicDog Group Classes for 2025 Are Here! 🚨

We’re thrilled to announce our lineup of group classes for the upcoming year, running across four terms in 2025! 🐾

Whether you’re starting with your new pup, building obedience skills, or diving into scent detection, we’ve got something for everyone.

🌟 Class Options:

• Puppy Foundations
• Basic Obedience
• Scent Detection (Beginner)
• Scent Detection (Intermediate)

📅 Dates:
Classes run across four terms, with options starting in February and continuing through to December.

🕒 Times:

• Puppy Foundations: 8:30–9:30am
• Basic Obedience: 10:00–11:30am
• Scent Detection (Beginner): 8:00–9:30am
• Scent Detection (Intermediate): 10:00–11:30am

📍 Location: Teds Place Training and Adventure Park, Springton.

Whether you’re laying the groundwork with your puppy, strengthening obedience, or exploring your dog’s incredible sense of smell, these classes are the perfect opportunity to bond with your dog and build their skills in a supportive, fun environment.

🔗 Each class is limited to 5 participants, to allow for specialised and customised training.
Secure your spot early to avoid missing out!

📧 Email [email protected] for more info or to book your place.

Let’s make 2025 an amazing year for you and your dog! 🐶🎉

16/11/2024

We’re thrilled to re-launch our EpicDog Adventure Service, designed to fully engage your dog’s senses and fulfil their every need! Set on our expansive 60-acre property, your dog will experience a day packed with excitement, including training sessions, playtime, socialisation with other dogs, and specialised scent detection training. With each activity, your dog will be challenged and stimulated, leaving them happily tired by the end of the day.

From 26th November to 17th December, we’re offering casual attendance every Tuesday, allowing you to experience the service without a long-term commitment. During this period, we will provide pick-up and drop-off services in Birdwood and Williamstown, with the option for home pick-ups for local residents. Starting in the new year, those interested in continuing will be expected to commit to a weekly or fortnightly arrangement to ensure lasting training results.

This service is limited to only 4 dogs, and spots will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. We’re looking for serious and dedicated dog owners ready to make meaningful progress with their dogs. Don’t miss out on this exciting opportunity to give your dog the adventure they deserve.

To enrol or for more information, email us at [email protected].

16/11/2024

Some cool videos of talented pups Week 3!

16/11/2024

Week 3 Pics, such brave and clever doggos!

10/11/2024

Some of the fun and practice from Saturday's week 2 classes. Good work everyone, keep up the good work.

02/11/2024

Some of yesterday's beautiful doggos in Puppy Foundations and Basic Obedience classes

29/10/2024

Last call for enrolments...starts this saturday! Hurry Hurry!

📢 FINAL CALL FOR PUPPY FOUNDATIONS! 🐾

Is your puppy ready to start their journey towards becoming a well-rounded, confident, and obedient companion? Don’t miss out on our Puppy Foundations Course – designed to set your pup up for success!

🗓 Enrolment Deadline: Close of business Thursday 31st October.
🎓 Course Details: An 8-week structured program focusing on foundational skills, socialisation, and building a positive relationship with your puppy.
👩‍🏫 Trainer: Led by our experienced trainer, Sharon Mewett.

Spaces are limited, so secure your spot today! Give your puppy the best start in life with expert guidance and a comprehensive training approach. 🐶

Email [email protected] to enrol - don’t wait, time’s ticking!

29/10/2024

Last call for enrolments...starts this saturday! Hurry Hurry!

📢 FINAL CALL FOR BASIC OBEDIENCE ENROLMENTS! 🐾

Ready to build a strong foundation of obedience with your dog? Our Basic Obedience Course is the perfect next step for a well-mannered, responsive, and happy dog!

🗓 Enrolment Deadline: Close of business Thursday
🎓 Course Details: An 8-week structured program focusing on essential commands, impulse control, and deepening your relationship with your dog.
👩‍🏫 Trainer: Led by our experienced trainer, Sharon Mewett.

Limited spots available, so secure your place today! Equip your dog with the skills they need for a lifetime of positive behaviour, guided by expert training 🐶

Email us at [email protected] to enrol – don’t delay!

24/10/2024

Absolutely

23/10/2024

BORN THIS WAY?
Why is a dog the way they are? Are they just born this way?

Genetics certainly play a part, but genetics are not always a reliable predicter of behaviour.

Genetics can provide us with insight as to what could be expected, but it’s so much more than just that.

Genetics, environment, life experiences and individuality all play a role in shaping a dog’s behaviour.

Just like us, dogs are unique individuals, each with their own personalities, emotions, likes and dislikes, sociability, preferences or different health issues. These often change throughout life.

Just as we learn and change through our life experiences, so do dogs. Negative or positive experiences, trauma, stress, learned habits, training methods, trust, feeling safe and secure, predictability and stability are all part of how these type of experiences affect behaviour.

Many dogs live in environments that are not compatible with what they were selectively bred to do.

People bred dogs to do certain jobs like guarding, herding, hunting, pointing, scenting, tracking or companionship. When dogs that were bred for specific jobs, find themselves “unemployed” and have no outlet for what they were originally bred to do, this often leads to pent up frustration and behaviour problems.

Conflict between the environment and a dog’s genetics are an increasingly common reason for behaviour problems.

Yes, a dog may have just been “born this way”, but always look at the whole picture to understand the why of behaviour.

Genetics, environment, individuality and experiences – they all matter.

21/10/2024

Beautiful baby Luna 18 weeks old, very smart and progressing well with her training.

21/10/2024

Hahaha so funny, but oh so true!

20/10/2024

🐾 Meet Ralph: Your Future Best Friend! 🐾

We are excited to introduce you to Ralph, our spirited 18-month-old Blue Heeler who is ready to find his forever home! Ralph has been with us for the past 4 and a half weeks, and during this time, he has blossomed into a well-rounded pup.

Ralph has been honing essential skills that will set him up for success in a loving home. He has been working on basic commands such as sit, down, recall, and loose lead walking and will need ongoing training to maintain and build in these skills. Additionally, he is crate trained, making him a great candidate for a smooth transition into your home.

This affectionate boy has a playful side and loves to chase after a ball. He enjoys being part of our dog pack, showing a friendly and social demeanor with his canine companions. With medium energy levels, Ralph is the perfect blend of playfulness and calmness, making him an ideal companion for those who appreciate both adventure and relaxation.

Please note that Ralph is currently untested with small animals and children, so we are not comfortable rehoming him with either at this time.

If you believe you can provide the perfect environment for Ralph to thrive, we would love to hear from you! Please reach out to us at [email protected] to learn more about Ralph and the adoption process.

Together, we can help Ralph find the loving home he deserves! 🐶❤️

15/10/2024

DISTANCE ASSISTANCE
It’s not easy having a reactive dog. As much as we may feel frustrated, restricted, angry or even ashamed or embarrassed, our reactive dogs are also experiencing a range of negative emotions when they react to something that triggers them.

This reaction is usually caused by anxiety, fear, feeling threatened, frustrated or related to pain.

These emotions cause high levels of stress and stress prevents both us and our dogs from being able to process information, think clearly or learn a different, more acceptable way of reacting to whatever triggers us.

This is why creating enough distance is so important. I’m really scared of snakes and even struggle to look at them. The only thing I want to do is run away and create as much distance as possible.

If someone was restraining me, forcing me to sit down and look at the snake while trying to feed me my favourite chocolate, telling me there was nothing to worry about or trying to educate me about the specific species, it would do nothing to alleviate my fear and would only increase my stress levels.

Doing this at a sufficient distance, where I felt safe would be far more effective and my stress levels would be much lower. In time, with patience and practice, I may even be able to get much closer to the snake without having a negative reaction.

The same principle applies to reactive dogs. Creating sufficient distance where they can see the trigger but still feel safe and don’t react is the best way of helping them to cope with their feelings.

Some dogs (and people) may never be able to decrease that distance and that’s also okay.

Accept your dog for the unique individual they are, keep working on the things you can change and accept the things you can’t.

01/10/2024

DON’T FORCE ME TO BE SOCIAL!
It may be really disappointing and frustrating when our dogs are not the social beings we expected them to be.

Many believe dogs should just naturally get along with other dogs, after all they’re the same species.

Some believe the “unsociable” dog has a behaviour problem that needs to be “fixed”.

Early, appropriately timed and correct socialisation is vitally important, but sometimes despite all of this, some dogs are just not that sociable.

Sometimes this can be improved, especially if the cause is from a negative experience, but genetics, breed tendencies, individual personalities, health and age all contribute to tolerance and sociability, which also change throughout life.

If we, as a human species, don’t get along with everyone we meet, how can we expect our dogs to?

Do we label every person that has an argument, doesn’t make friends with everyone they meet, doesn’t like every other person, prefers not to socialise - as having a problem that needs to be fixed?

Why is it so easy to accept that every individual person is different than to accept that every individual dog is different?

When we have done what we can to improve our dogs’ social skills, we need to accept and acknowledge our dogs for the individuals they are, allow and respect their choice of whether to be sociable or not and never force interactions that a dog is not comfortable with.

25/09/2024

Great products, great people with all the best advice to keep your dog healthy and happy. contact me for discount code

20/09/2024

🐾 Exciting Announcement: Final 8-Week Courses for 2024! 🐾

Join us for our last courses of the year starting Saturday, 2nd November!

Whether you're welcoming a new puppy or looking to refine your dog’s basic obedience, we've got the perfect course for you.

8-Week Puppy Foundations Course
📅 Date: Saturday, 2nd Nov - Saturday, 21st Dec
⏰ Time: 8:30 AM - 9:30 AM
🐶 Ages: Puppies 8 weeks to 6 months
👥 Limited to 5 participants

What You Can Expect:

Building Strong Bonds: Strengthen the relationship with your puppy.
Confidence Building: Help your puppy become a confident adult.
Biological Fulfillment: Meet your puppy’s needs through play.
Safety Management: Keep your puppy safe with essential strategies.
Basic Obedience: Intro to fundamental commands.
Motivation Techniques: Discover how to engage your puppy effectively.

8-Week Basic Obedience Course
📅 Date: Saturday, 2nd Nov - Saturday, 21st Dec
⏰ Time: 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM
🐕 Ages: Dogs 6 months and older
👥 Limited to 5 participants

What You Can Expect:

Basic Commands: Sit, drop, recall, loose lead walking, emergency down, and send away.
Intro to Scent Detection & Trick Training: Add fun and challenge to your dog’s training regime.
Play: Use play to strengthen obedience and your bond.
Motivation Techniques: Master luring and positive reinforcement.
Unwanted Behaviours: Learn to prevent and manage unwanted behaviours.

📍 Location for Both Courses: Ted's Place Adventure & Training Park, Springton
🎟 Limited Spots Available: Only 5 participants per class for personalised attention.

Bonus: All participants will be added to an exclusive Facebook group where you'll receive training videos to watch at home, be able to submit your own training videos for feedback, and be part of a supportive community that continues your journey beyond the classroom.

For more details or to register, email us at [email protected].

Don’t miss out on these fantastic courses to round off 2024! 🐾

18/09/2024

My Dog Training Credentials.