Beacon Dog Training

03/09/2024

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!