This weekend we joined a Pack Walk organised by @animalwellnessandbehaviour
Pack walks are a great way to expose your dogs to things like people, bikes, children playing at the park etc. and for them to coexist with other dogs in a safe and semi-structured environment.
While at the same time getting in some good exercise (boy do we need it😮💨) and mental stimulation 🏃♂️🧠🥵
Its also a great way to network and meet like-minded dog owners who you can meet up with and start practicing your training goals between sessions with your trainer.
It was great to see so many responsible owners all come together, respecting other dog’s space and always asking before they let their dog rush over to greet another. Nice work everyone! 👏🏻
And a special shout-out to @chloe.finnie who tried to keep quiet that it was her birthday.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHLOE 🥳
#packwalk #jointhepack #dogtraining #balanceddog #mcarthurdogtrainer #camdendogtrainer #dogtrainer #caninetraining #dogtrainingsydney #dogsofinstagram #dogsofsydney #petdog #petdogs #smallbusiness
This past week I was fortunate enough to be invited to attend (and participate in) a GRC mock trail event.
Gameness (G) Relationship (R) Control (C) is a great dog sport to get into. Testing a combination of aspects such as the relationship of handler and dog, the dogs ability to have self control when in drive but also it’s ability to be at liberty.
It’s also a great way to give your dog both mental 🧠 AND physical stimulation with appropriate outlets.
Quake and I tried our luck in the SR1 test and to my surprise we passed 😱
A special thank you to grcsydney for planning and running the event; and to our guest judge from @the_hound_lounge It was such a great day of fun, meeting new people and putting our skills to the test.
Awesome job to all that participated! 💪🏻
For more information head to www.grcdogsports.com or contact the team at @grcsydney
#grc #grcsydney #socialresponsibility #dogtraining #balanceddog #mcarthurdogtrainer #camdendogtrainer #dogtrainer #caninetraining #dogtrainingsydney #dogsofinstagram #dogsofsydney #petdog #petdogs #smallbusiness
A little preview of todays session with Miss Echo aka Nanna 👵🏻
Echo is an older lady at 8 years old but she still loves to get out and train.
Today was a relatively easy session for her. We worked on some obedience around low level distractions.
This in conjunction with her bite work training with @toa_working_dogs Echo and her mum will be ready for their IGP titles in no time 🏆
@the_scruffketeers_1gsd
#dogtraining #balanceddog #mcarthurdogtrainer #camdendogtrainer #dogtrainer #caninetraining #dogtrainingsydney #smallbusiness
#dogsofinstagram #dogsofsydney #petdog #petdogs #igp #shepherd #gsd #workingshepherd #workingdog
This weekend Echo and Rosie joined us with helper dog Benny.
Knowing we’d be stuck inside for most of it, we braved a short break in the rain 🌧 to get in a slow and steady warm up for everyone.
Then we did some range of movement exercises before giving everyone a turn on the mill!
It was Rosie’s first time so we took it slow and veteran Benny jumped on to help out and show her how it’s done.
Finishing off with a cool down and some playtime before everyone crashed out for the rest of the day (and weekend 😂🙌🏻)
It’s hard during days or weeks of rain to have motivation but there’s always something you can do to fulfill your dogs needs that isn’t them causing chaos in your home 🏡
*Please note: it’s important to give your dog an appropriate warm up and cool down when doing any strenuous activities, such as mill running, agility, bite sports etc.
If you’re unsure, consult your trainer.
Mel Rivart
@the_scruffketeers_1gsd
#dogtraining #balanceddog #mcarthurdogtrainer #camdendogtrainer #dogtrainer #caninetraining #dogtrainingsydney #k9training
#balanceddogtrainer #dogsofinstagram #dogsofsydney #petdog #petdogs #groodle #gsd
#germanshepherd #rainydays
This week Dakota had her final lesson from her Grey Wolf Canine Puppy Package.
She came to conquer the obstacle course and gave it a mighty fine crack!
The obstacle course is designed to help with confidence building; from different surfaces, enclosed spaces and different sounds, among other things.
It not only helps the pup but teaches the owner how to help them navigate something they may not be super confident with - as you can see Dakota was a bit hesitant with the chain and bottle obstacles so we spent some time working on those individually at the end.
#dogtraining #balanceddog #mcarthurdogtrainer #camdendogtrainer #dogtrainer #caninetraining #dogtrainingsydney #k9training
#balanceddogtrainer #dogsofinstagram #dogsofsydney #petdog #petdogs #dutchie #dutchiepuppy #workingdog
While pet sitting Miss Addie, she worked on her impulse control.
Addie has great obedience foundations and will wait patiently for a treat; but when it’s dinner time she can sometimes struggle to control herself 🤪
While she only stayed two days you can see a big improvement already once she understood the requirements and started to generalise her patient waiting.
*If you listen carefully you can hear Quake let out a massive burp 🤢
#dogtraining #balanceddog #mcarthurdogtrainer #camdendogtrainer #dogtrainer #caninetraining #dogtrainingsydney #k9training
#balanceddogtrainer #dogsofinstagram #dogsofsydney #petdog #petdogs #labrador #chocolatelab #lab
HAPPY MOTHER’s DAY 🌺
Whether you have a fur child or a real child, wishing all the mums a happy Mother’s Day and hoping you were spoilt.
We celebrated with lunch and a pack walk!
@the_scruffketeers
#dogtraining #balanceddog #mcarthurdogtrainer #camdendogtrainer #dogtrainer #caninetraining #dogtrainingsydney #k9trainer #k9training
#balanceddogtrainer #dogsofinstagram #dogsofsydney #petdog #petdogs #mothersday
#centralcoastdogs
Meet Claude, an exuberant 8 month old Labrador🦮
Although Claude is still young, he’s already quite a big dog. Mixed together with his mass amounts of energy, he had become a bit silly 🤪and has been making things a little difficult for his owners. Not to mention he’s now a rebellious teenager!
We went over implementing boundaries and structure in the house as well as the beginning stages of loose leash walking so he’s not dragging his mum and dad around everywhere.
Remember Rex the JRT? Well meet his brother Ted!
Both came to do some more work on their reactivity when on leash.
Rex and his dad were working on the other side of the road as his threshold is a little further than Ted’s. But they both did an awesome job! 🤩
I was also told they were absolute angels at their mum and dad’s recent wedding 👰🏻🤵🏽
Nice work to all the dog owners and trainers who still braved the rain the past few weeks 💪🏻
With a break in the weather, Quake was eager to get out and explore.
His eagerness (over-arousal) raised two points I wanted to talk about briefly (I will give the short version 😅).
Firstly, expectation.
I know Quake has been stuck at home for about two weeks and not getting the full extent of training in, so while we were out, instead of expecting the world of him, I adjusted my expectations accordingly. Meaning, I didn’t ask too much of him.
For example - a simple ‘PLACE’ command while I wandered away for a short period (about 1 min) in a low-moderate distraction area.
Secondly, reward placement.
Depending on what behaviour you’re teaching, training or proofing will depend on where you reward your dog. For instance, with the ‘PLACE’ behaviour, you see me return to Quake and reward him in position using his ‘continuation’ (or keep going) marker.
The reason I did this instead of giving him his termination marker, is to encourage him to stay in the behaviour. If I had released him to come and get his reward from me, next time it’s likely he will pre-empt the release and break his ‘PLACE’ (which I know is a big one for Quake). Another example is rewarding next to you rather than in front of you, if you’re trying to teach a ‘heel’. 🦮
Every dog is different so adjust to you and your dog’s needs! 🙂🐶
Young Kingston was back at it this week putting his skills to the test in a new environment 🌳
We also took the opportunity to work on getting him used to some different surfaces, heights, and being comfortable standing on moving objects.
He was very confident and had no issues with anything new we asked him to try.
Kingston’s owners are doing some great work with him and the proof is in the pudding 🍮
Today I checked back in with Baldr and his dad.
They showed me all their skills they have been practicing; which are coming along nicely 👌🏻
We worked more on marker words, practiced some manners, then went for a stroll to start generalising behaviours and working on some thresholds and neutrality near the park, plus much more!
Baldr has also been much better behaved (for the most part) when left alone which is awesome news!
It also helps to demonstrate the importance of mental stimulation 🧠
Considering Baldr and his dad are both learning, they did an awesome job! 🥳
