DogWorkz

19/09/2024

My philosophy to a T

18/09/2024

10/07/2024

This is so important for a dog. CALM us the key.

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04/07/2024

A great little video on how to start getting your dog to follow you on lead. Very simple yet very effective.

01/07/2024

16/06/2024

This is how dog bites happen. Kids need supervision with dogs. It’s that simple. And the poor dog always gets the blame.

Let's talk about this photo. It's cute, except it's not. I see a dog who cannot get up without telling the child to get off. How do you think a dog is going to do that?

The 7 Golden Toddler Dog Rules:
#1: If a dog walks away from you, you DO NOT FOLLOW.
#2: Always leave room for the dog to walk away from you.
---that right there is 90+% of dog bites eliminated---
#3: We do not climb on the dog.
#4: We do not grab or pull on the dog.
#5: We do not hit or throw anything at the dog.
#6: We do not touch the dog's food.
#7: We do not go into the dog's kennel.

I promise these are not overly difficult concepts for littles, nor will they rob a kid of their bond with the family dog. It will deepen that bond, while keeping everyone safe.

"Oh, it looks like Moose is walking away from you. She is saying she wants a break. Let's play with this instead!"

"It's Moose's dinner time! Let's give her space to enjoy her yummies."

"That is Moose's room(kennel) and only she is allowed to go in there."

"If Moose wanted a break, could she walk away from you right now? No she really couldn't. Let's move away from the play house. You can keep playing but now she can leave when she wants a break."

In conclusion, ***parent your child or your dog will do it for you, and you will not like how they do it.***

25/05/2024

Beautiful loose lead walking with Arnie. Love it.

24/05/2024

The gorgeous Arnie was such a good boy today in his at home puppy lesson. A great little pup with the best temperament. He will be a great dog.

20/05/2024

I wanted to share this as its a well written piece on puppies and what people expect when they bring them home. Especially the part about them not being human. This is where a lot of us fall down for dogs. If we do not treat them and train them like a dog then the will start misbehaving and people often wonder why. Because ultimately, THEY ARE A DOG!!

Many people have this perfect vision of what it is going to be like with a puppy in the family. It is also common to forget that you are bringing a young canine into your family, not a human. We think of the cute, cuddly, fluffy puppy …… not the razor-sharp teeth, small bladders & untrained bowels. You’re probably imagining how amazing the puppy will be & how much the kids will love him. Everyone’s going to be happy!

I’m not trying to discourage you, but I do want to remind you that when you invite this puppy into your home; a living, breathing creature, with its own mind & razor-sharp teeth is entering your environment. A human environment.

You may be imagining how your puppy will sit calmly while you eat dinner, be obedient & quiet. It’s great to have ideals of how we want to shape our puppies into our dream dog, but puppies don’t start that way. When you bring your puppy home, he will be a “puppy”. He will do puppy things, not human things. He will behave like a dog, which doesn’t usually coincide with how we live, play & interact with other humans.

Obviously, there is a lot of work to do in order to create your ideal dog. Set goals & work towards them. Want your puppy to lay calmly at your feet while you work in the office. Want your puppy to come when called. Want your puppy to relax in their crate. Want your puppy to be quiet. Want your puppy to sleep through the night.

Recognise that puppies will do as puppies choose until trained. When a puppy first arrives at your home everything is fair game. You will need to teach them how to be appropriate.

There tends to be a fantasy that we have to treat our puppies like humans. We expect them to act like us & think like us. But puppies don’t think like us, they think like dogs! Similarly, we think like humans. We speak English & puppies speak “dog”. We have to learn how to communicate with each other.

The reason that puppies bite is because it is normal dog behaviour. If you have ever watched puppies play together you will have some insight into what is normal puppy behaviour. Puppies bang into each other, push each other over, bite each other in all sorts of places. They strut & bark & maybe even growl. They can be quite rough.

They're puppies, and they don't know what we want. We have to teach them. They don't have our language & don't even know what we're saying to them. It’s important to have reality sitting beside the fantasy being built around the wonders of the new puppy. Recognising that your puppy is a dog & treating them like one is not a bad thing. It doesn't reduce your love or care for them in any way. It gives you a greater ability to enrich their lives.

03/05/2024

An interesting read and supports my lack of confidence in the RSPCA

Last week, our own Steve Courtney, (who is also President of the Professional Dog Trainers of Australia - Incorporated, was called upon to provide information on the inquiry into approved charitable organizations operating under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1979 at NSW Parliament.

Among these organizations, the RSPCA and AWL are predominant.

It is regrettable that the general public perceives the RSPCA as the ultimate saviour of all animals.

However, it sis felt by many that this has shifted over time. It appears that their focus has shifted towards garnering donations and enforcement, which in turn generates revenue.

While this approach is not unusual for a business, it is not ideal for a government-funded charity.

The PDTA is highly concerned that the RSPCA is encroaching upon the realms of dog training and behaviour modification.

They provide guidance and direction on training methods, training aids, and tools that they have insufficient knowledge about.

In the past, they have advertised nearly 70% of euthanasia in dogs that did not respond to their preferred training programs.

We strongly advise individuals to avoid following such advice, which has a high failure rate.

This video links to Steve’s presentation, but all presenters can be viewed for those interested.

https://youtu.be/4EnHLLQ2aeo?t=9310

29/04/2024

Seeing too much of this as well. Medicating a dog is not going to fix the underlying problem just masks it.

03/03/2024

Anyone want to sponsor? I have 6 of these dogs Reggie, Billy and pups Daisy, Dalia, Donny and Delilah. All these dogs can be sponsored. I love volunteering and fostering with Paws Brisabane, but rescuing dogs is expensive and we need help. If anyone knows anyone who wants to sponsor a dog for as little as $200 and get publicity for businesses / organisations at the same time please pm PAWS Brisbane

18/01/2024

Most dogs chew, dig and bark, jump or climb. This is NORMAL. Some hardly ever do these things, others do them all the time as puppies and it's up to the owner to manage a puppy to prevent them practicing unwanted behaviours. A puppy can't dig the garden if it's fenced off. It can't chew your shoes if it has no access to them and is given lots of stuff it can chew in a toy box or basket of its own. Always praise them choosing something they own to destroy; over something you own. A dog can't jump up at people and sit at the same time, so train a solid sit and remember to use that command when needed. A dog can’t rush out an open door, while holding a wait command, so train that as well. Owners need to think about the world from their puppy's point of view. What does your puppy think when you do something? How can you change your behaviour, routine or the environment, so the puppy thinks something that you want it to? Food for thought. Pic of my own sweet boy (mum forgot to put up the toilet roll)

14/01/2024

This is so true. Knowing how a dog reacts is vital to have a NON reactive dog and correcting at the right moment. Learning your dogs triggers and cues are vital to stopping reactivity in its tracks

Over and over I’ve seen owners struggling with the same issue. The early phases of the reactivity sequence seem benign, or at the very least so mild that it would be unfair to correct them for it.

Unfortunately, these early phases or stages are anything but benign. They’re the required initial steps your dog must go through to get to the dreaded big stuff that all of you struggling with seriously reactive dogs know so well.

Which is why if you your dog has reactivity issues, the very best practice you can get into is requiring your dog to simply keep their mind—and eyes—on their own business. Scanning for trouble and “mad-dogging” other dogs has to removed from the menu.

If you learn to correct your dog (appropriately) for any untoward looking, and you do so with tools your dog cares enough about to actually stop the looking, you can actually stop this terribly predictable reactivity sequence in its tracks.

After all, that’s what most great dog trainers do, and it’s what most amazed owners think of as “magical” timing. Alas, there is no magic, just a keen awareness of how all this plays out.

11/11/2023

This is a timely reminder that dogs are for life. All those people that give dogs for Christmas presents need to look at this picture. Be responsible when giving dogs to people. They are not a toy.

04/11/2023

The amount of dogs off lead that I see with no obedience skills whatsoever is alarming. Do what Southend dog trainer says. If something happens. ITS ON YOU!!!
https://www.facebook.com/share/v/ttv3HQMPxXwemdjg/?mibextid=KsPBc6