Beacon Dog Training

25/08/2024

Don't forget that there are no classes or play groups running today folks, see you next week!

18/08/2024

“What’s the command for this?” is one of the most common questions that dog trainers hear from owners. There’s a big focus in the general dog owning public on using WORDS to control a dog. We humans use a verbal language as our primarily mode of communication, so it’s only natural that we instinctively use plenty of spoken cues when we’re trying to get a dog to do something.

While spoken cues are a crucial part of training a dog, they can also be the cause of setbacks or failures. “Sit,” says the typical dog owner, and if their dog doesn’t immediately follow the cue, the owner will usually follow up their first cue with some variation of “sit. Sit! Go on buddy! SIT!!” or even some non-verbal prompting, like pushing on the dog’s rear or yanking their leash.

A human equivalent would be handing you a math problem, saying “solve it!” and then continually nagging you until you did – “Solve it! Go on! Do it! I know that you know how to do this! Solve the problem!” In both situations, the instructor would most likely see a better result if they simply gave their student a moment of silence to think.

If you ask your dog to follow a cue, and they don’t comply the first time you ask even when you give them a moment to think it through, chances are that their training is incomplete IN THAT CONTEXT. To go back to our human analogy, that problem was too advanced; the teacher needs to go back and coach the student through the concepts involved.

We’re also big fans of training some behaviours WITHOUT ANY VERBAL CUE AT ALL. We train dogs that meeting a human IS the cue to sit politely. Picking up their leash IS the cue to wait calmly for it to be clipped on. Holding their dinner IS the cue to sit and wait until they are released to eat. Being out on a walk IS the cue to walk next to the human and check in regularly – without any “heel” or “watch me!”

This kind of training - using contextual or environment cues to prompt a dog’s behaviour - is very convenient for the humans, empowering for the dogs, and leads to a more enjoyable and relaxed coexistence for both.

What behaviours have you trained your dog to do without being asked?

16/08/2024

What’s the purpose of your dog walk? A great way to break up the monotony of doing the same walk every time is to think about WHY you’re walking your dog. What benefit would you like your dog to gain? Different styles of walks will provide you and your dog with different benefits.

When I walk my own dogs, there are four main themes that I usually follow, though I’ll often mix and match in the one outing.

During a TRAINING walk you and your dog are in the learning zone; you’re practising your loose leash walking, polishing up those obedience cues and working on your latest tricks. This type of walk is great for mental enrichment, increasing your dog’s focus in distracting environments, and strengthening your relationship.

A DECOMPRESSION walk is all about Zen. No agenda, no training, just some time for you and your dog to stroll about and explore together. It’s a chance for your dog to relax from the everyday little stresses that come from being a dog in a human world. The best locations for decompression walks are places that aren’t too busy, where you can safely let your dog off leash (or on a long line) to sniff and wander where they please.

An EXERCISE walk is designed to keep your dog fit and provide an outlet for their energy. For most dogs, plodding along at a human’s walking pace isn’t much exercise. There are plenty of ways to structure an exercise walk, like sprinting, strength training exercises, weight pulling, endurance running and more. Talk to your veterinarian about an exercise routine suitable for your dog’s age, breed and fitness level.

A SOCIAL walk is an outing where your dog gets to interact with other creatures. Not every dog enjoys the same type of social interaction; there are introvert dogs and extrovert dogs. Some dogs will prefer a quiet play date with a dog or two that they know and trust. Others like playing rambunctiously with any dog they meet. Interaction with humans counts as social time too; if your dog loves meeting new people an outing to a café or marketplace can be lots of fun.

What types of walks do you like to go on with your dogs?

11/08/2024

Hey folks, play groups are unfortunately POSTPONED today due to high winds and incoming rain - we hope to see you next week instead!

24/07/2024

Those aren't cobwebs on Maximus' face 🙈😆🤤
Maximus the is working through some human directed aggression with trainer Maddie, and doing fantastically thanks to his humans' hard work. Well done Max, we love you (strands of drool and all ❤️)

18/07/2024

While supervised off leash play with other dogs is a crucial part of socialising a young puppy, it is also very important to teach a new puppy that there are dogs that they DON’T get to meet. Many new puppy owners, either fretting about socialising their puppy to enough dogs in their sensitive socialisation window, or just wanting their new pup to have fun with other dogs, make the mistake of trying to introduce their puppy to every dog they see.

Though the thinking behind this action is well-meaning, it often causes the puppy to grow up expecting that they’ll get to meet almost every dog they encounter. As the puppy gets bigger and the owners’ thoughts turn to teaching the puppy to walk on lead without pulling, suddenly the puppy is expected to walk past another dog without pulling towards them. Understandably, this leads to a very frustrated puppy – “What do you mean, ignore the dog? I ALWAYS get to meet the dog!”

To avoid this issue, don’t forget to teach your puppy that good things happen around other dogs even if they don’t get to meet them.

If you'd like help socialising your pup we have new puppy schools starting soon! Send us a message and we'll send a link to enrol 🐕✨

14/07/2024

Play group faces! Some of the gorgeous pups from today's Robina Free Puppy Play Groups 😍

11/07/2024

Thanks for the love, Beacon fam! ✨️🐕❤️ - a few of our google reviews from the past few weeks

10/07/2024

Handsome boy Rusty has a very focused treat face! He did excellently for his first one on one lesson with trainer Maddie today 🐕✨️

04/07/2024

Does your dog struggle with husbandry behaviours like nail clipping, brushing, or baths? Do they wiggle and panic when they’re held still for a vet exam or a needle? We highly recommend practising COOPERATIVE CARE ❤️

Cooperative care is when your dog willingly participates in grooming or veterinary procedures, without being forced to. The most important part of cooperative care is that the dog is given a CHOICE. For example, rather than just holding them down and clipping their nails, we would train the dog to offer their paw and hold still without restraint. Done properly, this type of training means that the dog is a relaxed, happy and willing participant in the procedure.

Cooperative care takes time and energy, but it is a very worthwhile investment. It turns potentially scary experiences into fun games, builds the trust between you and your dog, and the longer you practice cooperative care, the easier and smoother the procedure will be. In contrast, forcing a dog to tolerate husbandry behaviours is likely to get more difficult over time, and will damage your relationship with your dog in the long run.

We cover co-operative care skills in our Beacon Puppy School course, and can also help if you have an older dog who already struggles with nail clipping or other husbandry skills 😊

02/07/2024

Some of the gorgeous teenage pups at last week's free adolescent play group at Robina! Kara, Atlas, Roxy, Caizer & Poppy

23/02/2024

We couldn't be more proud of Maxton the cross and his family, who absolutely nailed their graduation week lesson.

Max has a history of aggression with strangers in the home, especially men, so trainer Maddie has been teaching his family how to address the emotions driving this behaviour. After many weeks building Max's trust, creating new positive associations with unknown humans, and helping him feel safe and relaxed, he is now able to make friends with visitors under his family's guidance.

Here he is schmoozing trainer Tom for treats; he's come such a long way from barking, lunging and growling 💕

If your dog struggles with visitors we'd love to help - send us a message 😁

19/02/2024

Ralph the wins best play group face this week, but Atlas and Kaos are close runners up 😂

Puppy play group runs every Sunday afternoon at Robina, check out our website to enrol!

05/11/2023

Hi folks, today's play groups have been cancelled due to the rain; enrolled pups should have received a notification. Don't forget to take your puppies outside for some playtime in the puddles; socialisation to rainy weather can prevent issues with toilet training in bad weather. See you next week!

27/10/2023

So proud of Scally and her human! This is a video of her first desensitisation session, working to reduce her reactivity to other dogs. This method involves exposing the dog to their trigger in a calm and controlled way, and creating positive associations to help them relax. Slow and steady wins the race with reactivity; our goal is long term behavioural change, not short term suppression of symptoms.

Get in touch if you'd like assistance with your own reactive dog!

03/06/2023

Check out this article by Beacon's head trainer Maddie, and help ensure your dog has a good time in off leash areas 😄🐶

Here’s how you to ensure they have an enjoyable, beneficial, and safe time in the off-leash area at the Gold Coast dog market event Paws at the Park.

01/06/2023

Hi everyone, our apologies for taking longer than usual to get back to calls and messages at the moment, the majority of our team has unfortunately been taken out by covid!

This Sunday's play groups have been cancelled.

Our fingers are crossed for speedy recoveries, thank you for your understanding ❤️

04/04/2023

To our dear Beacon family, with incredibly heavy hearts we want to share with you that our beloved dog Clay has passed away after a long battle with illness.

Clay was as much a part of our little family business as we are, right from our very first class. He was the perfect aid for helping dogs overcome reactivity, both in one on one sessions and in our Reactive to Relaxed class. He was a superb demo dog, showing off his shaping skills in Tricks class. He was a role model and guide in play groups, and proof that you CAN teach a husky to come when called. People around the world learned from his tutorial videos, and he was the most handsome model for our business promo photoshoots.

He passed peacefully surrounded by his family, with a belly full of his beloved orange slice biscuits.

If you have any memories of Clay from over the years, we would love to hear them.

Lots of love,
Maddie & Tom

16/02/2023

We're getting quite a few thunderstorms at the moment, so here are some quick tips for helping noise sensitive dogs!

1) Vet Check 👩‍⚕️ - Pain or other physical issues can contribute to or cause noise sensitivity; work with your vet to give your dog a thorough check over.

2) Comfort Your Dog 🥰 - It's not true that you shouldn't comfort a scared dog because you might reinforce the fear! A noise phobic dog is truly panicking and not putting on a show for attention. Try some different methods to see what works best, like speaking softly vs fun and upbeat, cuddles vs relaxing nearby etc.

3) Set Up A Safe Place 🏠 - Reduce the trigger as much as possible and make a safe place for your dog to retreat to. Close and block the windows to muffle the outside sights and sounds, run the air conditioning to reduce changes in the air, play some music or an audiobook to drown out the bangs. Some dogs like a cave-like hiding space such as a blanket fort or a crate, or to snuggle up under the covers on your bed. Scents designed to help sooth dogs, like synthetic Dog Appeasing Pheromone (DAP) may help as well.

4) Play 🎉 - Play can be incredibly powerful for overcoming fear. Try playing games with your dog while the noise is happening, but don't be too over the top or pushy if they're too scared to be interested in playing. Practise playing the games at times when the noise isn't happening so you can determine what they like best.

5) Compression 🫂 - Compression and sensory garments (like thundershirts and T-Touch wraps) may help some dogs, as can being held or cuddled by a human. Not all dogs will find this calming though, we recommend contacting your trainer if you'd like to try it with your dog.

6) Counter Conditioning 🥩 - Desensitisation and counter conditioning is a behavioural modification technique where we introduce a trigger in a less intense way, and create a new positive association with it. It's best done under the guidance of a trainer to prepare for storms or other noises BEFORE they happen, but it can sometimes work during a noise event as well. Every time the noise happens, celebrate vocally and toss some extra tasty food, or a favourite toy. We want your dog to think that the noise causes the fun stuff to happen.

7) Medication 💊 - Many noise phobic dogs need medical help to reduce the severity of their fear. Medications aren’t designed to replace the need for behavioural modification, but instead facilitate it. Speak to your vet or veterinary behaviourist for assistance.

24/11/2022

It's finally here! Introducing our brand new Board & Train service in collaboration with AAA Pet Resort 🎉

Supercharge your training under the guidance of our expert trainers; while you're on holiday your dog can learn a brand new fun or useful behaviour, polish up existing skills, or make solid progress on behavioural modification.

Launching early 2023, you can sign up for the waiting list to be notified when the program is open for bookings here: https://www.beacondogtraining.com.au/board-and-train-waiting-list

24/11/2022

Get ready Gold Coast, we're teaming up with our friends at AAA Pet Resort to bring you a brand new service! It's something we've been getting requests for since we first opened, and we can't wait to tell you about it. Check back at 6:00pm tonight for the big announcement!

Can anyone guess what it is?

23/06/2022

Beacon owners Maddie and Tom had their first night home with their new baby daughter last night! Arriving home with a newborn means navigating the first introductions to the dogs of the household, so it's helpful to have a plan in place to ensure everything gets off to a good start.

Here's how our plan went:

When we first arrived home we arranged for a family member to hold our daughter while we went in to reunite with the dogs after our time away. This way we didn't have to stress that they would be too enthusiastic with their greetings while we had a baby in our arms.

After some much missed cuddles and kisses we put the dogs away in a long term confinement area set up with their beds, crates, toys etc, and provided them with some enrichment activities to keep them happy and occupied for the evening. With the pups content we were then able to totally focus on our daughter.

This morning we began the process of a slow, steady and considered introduction. Our focus is on longterm happiness and a good relationship between child and dogs - we have all the time in the world and no need to rush.

We avoided any kind of "formal" introduction, like holding the baby for the dogs to smell. While that can make for a cute photo or video, holding a baby for a dog to smell has no benefit and is potentially dangerous even for very friendly dogs.

The new situation and built up stress of change in routine while parents are away for the birth can make even the most steady dogs behave unpredictably, and even a moment of too rough behaviour driven by excitement or nerves could cause injury to the child or create a negative association for the dog.

Instead of a formal introduction, we're spending our morning practising protected contact. Essentially we're going about our normal morning routine, but using management equipment like play pens, baby gates and crates to prevent the dogs from accessing our daughter directly. This way the dogs are beginning to adjust to the new smells and sounds and we humans can be relaxed and not have to worry about constantly redirecting any interest in the baby.

The set up in this photo is one of my favourites for early intros. I can enjoy my breakfast while my daughter naps in her pram, the dogs can get right up to me for pats, and the dogs' morning routine is disrupted as little as possible. We're aiming for a "business as usual!" style feel to help them feel at ease.

In our case our daughter is quite settled and content this morning, but if she wasn't we would have postponed our introductions to a later time or day and continued separation and enrichment in the meantime.

We'll keep you updated as we make progress, thank you all for your messages of support and patience as we adjust to being small business owning parents!

- Maddie

PS: If you'd like assistance planning for the addition of a new family member or other big change in your dog's daily life, we'd love to help you create and implement a plan (or workshop if things aren't going well with your current situation). Contact our office to talk to our trainers and see how we can assist 😊

26/05/2022

Ever wondered why a puppy's behavior seems erratic during adolescence, which occurs between six months and 18 months of age?

The neurobiology of adolescence is fascinating, with some key events that alter both the structure and function of the brain.

During canine adolescence, s*x hormones are changing which effects the animals stress responses. Adolescent dogs have a decreased ability to modulate sensory processing and subsequent behavior.

The connectivity between the frontal cortex (responsible for decision making) and amygdala (responsible for emotional processing) decreases, resulting in less behavioral control.

So what does this mean? This could mean that your dog, who used to come when called, suddenly cannot. This could mean that your dog, who didn't jump up on guests, suddenly does. Your dog that walked nicely on leash is now pulling. Or perhaps it seems like some days your dog responds to behaviors you ask of them, and some days they don't, without any rhyme or reason.

We also see increased risk taking and more sensitivity to fear.

As your puppy undergoes this transition into adulthood their inner world is intense, even chaotic. Many pet owners experience an increase in undesirable behavior and find themselves becoming increasingly frustrated. In turn, frustration and impatience sometimes cause us to act unpredictably.

This adds to your puppy’s inner turmoil. When the inside and the outside are both unpredictable it can be difficult for puppies to adjust.

By understanding this we can gain greater compassion and understanding. When we approach adolescence with patience we can help create a world that is predictable and gentle so our puppies grow up to be their best selves.

26/03/2022

Trainer Maddie was interviewed as a part of this story along with some other great trainers in south east Queensland. Check it out to see her thoughts on common issues and some insights into what it's like being a trainer 🐶❤

08/03/2022

Puppy play group is back! Our free socialisation session for puppies under 16 weeks is open for enrolment this Sunday 13th March at our Carrara venue. Head over to our website to enrol: https://www.beacondogtraining.com.au/puppy-play-group

Adolescent play group will be returning soon as well - watch this space!

26/12/2021

We’ve got some news! Some of you may have noticed that Maddie has mysteriously stopped teaching classes recently – well we can finally announce why... 🥁🥁🥁

We’re delighted to share that Beacon co-owners Maddie and Tom are expecting their first (human) child in June 2022! While Maddie will be taking a step back from hands on teaching for a little while, she’s excited to share her journey as she prepares her two mature dogs for sharing their home with a new little person. 🐶🐶👶

Keep an eye out for training tips and management strategies useful for anyone anticipating a change in a dog’s routine or household dynamics.

Congratulations Maddie and Tom!

02/08/2021

Hi everyone, we are currently in the process of organising alternative options for the classes affected by the extended lockdown. Please keep an eye on your email inbox for details. Thank you everyone for your patience and support, please continue to stay safe.

31/07/2021

Hi everyone, please be advised that our Sunday and Monday night classes will be postponed due to the lockdown announced this morning. We will send out individual sms and email notifications shortly. Stay safe everyone!

28/07/2021

If your dog is struggling with anxiety or reactivity, the best place to start your training is with something we call a “cortisol holiday”.
Whenever a dog is stressed, their body releases stress hormones like cortisol. These hormones are designed to do things like increase the heart rate and blood pressure, and ensure the body’s cells are fueled with energy. This means that a stressed dog is ready for action; the famous fight or flight.

Acute stress is useful for preparing an animal to deal with a threatening situation, but chronic stress can be very detrimental. If a dog is entering a stressed state frequently, the stress hormones will begin to build to higher and higher levels. Many reactive dogs have become stuck in a pattern of an ever increasing build up of stress hormones, without the chance to return to normal in between. While the dog is bubbling over with so much stress, it’s very difficult to make progress with reducing their reactivity or anxiety.

To kick-start your training, plan out a period of at least two weeks where you systematically reduce or eliminate stressful events in your dog’s life. Start by making a list of your dog’s triggers; situations that cause them to go into fight and flight mode. Work your way through the list and brainstorm ways to avoid each trigger, or at least lessen their impact on your dog. For example, if one of your dog’s triggers is the sight of another dog, you could change the time of day or location of your walks to avoid encountering any other dogs, or even avoid walks altogether during the cortisol holiday and replace them with mental and physical enrichment at home. If your dog is triggered by the sight of people walking past your house, you could attach some frosted glass window film to your front facing windows. If your dog is reactive to noises from your neighbours you can play some white noise or a radio to muffle the triggering sounds. It won’t necessarily be possible to eliminate every trigger, but the more you can avoid the greater the benefit to the dog.

Once your dog has completed their cortisol holiday, they’ll be in a much better place to start working on learning to relax around their triggers.

If your dog struggles with anxiety or reactivity a professional behaviour consultant can assist you to develop a training plan to help your dog learn to be confident and relaxed around their triggers. The goal when working with these dogs should always be to address the emotion underlying the behaviour, rather than just trying to stop the symptoms.
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Check out Beacon Dog Training’s upcoming seminar “Stress & Anxiety In Dogs: Helping Complicated Canines” running on Wednesday 1st September at 6:00pm at our Carrara, QLD facility: https://www.facebook.com/events/165859538814964

18/07/2021

Having a reactive dog isn't easy, and these dedicated dog guardians are doing a fantastic job helping their pups feel more comfortable around other dogs. This is one of many exercises in our Reactive to Relaxed course, designed to help fearful or excitable dogs learn to feel calm around their triggers. Well done Ghost, Loki, Zu, Pepper, Millie and Coco!

https://www.beacondogtraining.com.au/reactive-to-relaxed-dog-course