DynamoDogs

23/02/2025

Poppy acting in her star roles as Moses, leading the tribes out of the desert. Or something like that.
🚀🐕🧡

08/02/2025

“It made the last 5 years make total sense to me now!! Thanks for the push, wouldn’t have done it otherwise!!”

Words from a training client taking my advice and heading out for herding training with her city-living border collie with a history of reactivity.

I am so frickin’ proud of Team Brontë for taking the step to try something that they were a little apprehensive about. Breed fulfilment is so important, and if you have a herding dog with big feelings, giving them an appropriate outlet like this can be a relationship lifesaver.

Huge thanks to Dave at Diggers Herding & K9 Education for running workshops for city folks with herding dogs. If you have a kelpie, border collie, cattle dog or similar, do yourself a favour and head out to see Dave. He’s the best. 🧡

05/02/2025

Before getting a dog, please make sure to research the dog’s breed/s and choose wisely, based on what suits your lifestyle.

02/02/2025

Time for a Very Important Question:
Are you Team Kelpie or Team Collie for season 3 of Muster Dogs?
(Assuming you’re all watching it, of course)

01/02/2025

Ever wondered what it’s like to tag along on one of the pack walks for ?

Well, here’s what it’s like at the back of the pack.
Nothing but nice calm and quiet.

Walks run a minimum of three times per month across various locations in Melbourne’s north. If you have at home and you want to join, ping us a DM and let’s talk!

30/01/2025

For all of you who are working on hard stuff with your dogs, whether that is explosive Big Feelings about stuff; a tricky obedience skill; recovery from a health set-back or anything else…
Here’s a tiny reminder that progress isn’t always linear.

27/01/2025

Here’s some thoughts on reactivity.

Reactive dogs make reactive owners and that, more often than not, leads to a toxic cycle of relationship. Reactivity can’t be spot treated, so if you want to fix it you have to get to the root cause and that is almost always buried somewhere deep in the relationship dynamic.

Think of it this way: in a relationship, both individuals have the right to their own needs, thoughts, emotions and feelings about what’s going on around them, and if you don’t take that into consideration the issues you’re having will never get solved.

Why? Because you’re coming at with only your perspective and experiences instead of creating a two-way communication where you both get what you want and need. When you switch this thinking the issues you’re having tend to fade away by themselves as both parties are heard and everyone’s individual needs are met.

So if you’re currently working on stuff with your reactive dog, take a moment or two to think about what’s actually happening.
What is it that you need from a relationship? What about your dog? What’s specific to them based on age, breed and breed purposes etc? Are you both fulfilled and getting what you want in terms of physical, mental and emotional needs? If not, how can you change that?

Last but not least, please remember that there’s nothing wrong with needing a bit of help to figure it out.
🚀🐕🧡

26/01/2025

Here’s an interesting thing about dogs and training.

The speed with which a dog runs for their reward is the same speed at which they’ll perform a given behaviour. That is, a meh sort of reward, even if given for free, will only ever produce a meh response from the dog when asked to perform for said reward.

Why? Because the potential rewarding outcome that you receive when completing a task is what motivates you to do said task to start with. And if you’re not motivated, you won’t perform.

Consider that next time you reach for whatever convenient thing you choose to give your dog as a ‘treat’ for doing tricks or obedience.

21/01/2025

Are you feeling a little uninspired to train your dog today?
Maybe this will help.

Please note the calmness and the exact cueing for the dog, as to what behaviour to do next.

Bart Bellon & Thor. What a team.

Bart is really, really, really the most gifted dogtrainer that is walking on this planet.What he can do with dogs is amazingWatch, enjoy and you will have a ...

19/01/2025

Have you ever asked yourself, why *exactly* did you get a dog and why did you get the specific one you have now?

There’s be a myriad of answers to this question, of course, but quite often people get dogs because they remember that a certain type or breed made them feel a certain way at a certain time of their life, so they got their current dog (of that same breed or type) to feel that way again. That is, quite often there is a whole heap of emotional baggage and emotional validation as an owner that comes with having a dog.

‘Yeah, and so what?’ you might ask. ‘Why are you telling me this?’

Well, this is surprisingly often the reason for problems! Why? Because the dog isn’t there for the relationship and companionship, but more to fulfil their human’s unmet emotional needs, and that is not a good way to pick a life partner, whether they’re human or animal. If anything, it’s a great way to build resentment, especially if the dog isn’t matching its human’s expectations and doesn’t fulfil the needs it was bought for.

More often than not, these unmet emotional needs are unspoken, and in some cases, the human might not even be willing to admit it to themselves. Good examples of this include stuff like ‘I wanted a dog as a kid so I bought one for my children so they could have that experience’; ‘I got a dog because I wanted the family picture of a dog’; ‘I got the dog because he looks just like my old dog that passed away, and I’m grieving that loss and I needed a replacement’; ‘I got a dog because I think it’s so fun to see dogs out at breweries and I want the attention that *that* brings’; ‘I feel bad about my past trauma, so I have to go out and rescue the saddest story out there so I can try to self-heal my trauma by putting that on the dog’.

The common denominator here is the ‘I’ statement, which, when the dog behaves in an undesired way, leads to the ‘why is the dog doing this to me? This is embarrassing’ thinking.

So what does this have to do with dog training? A lot, actually! Because dog training isn’t what happens in the 60 mins that you’re with your trainer. It is what’s happening every day, every moment that you interact with your dog. It’s in the relationship you have with your dog, and how you relate to each other.
Every time you interact with your dog, you’re training it to interact with you and the environment around you, whether you’re conscious about doing it or not. In short, the dog is learning how to interact with the environment and with you, based on the relationship you have together. As with all relationships, it’s a two-way street and in a lot of cases (especially around reactivity), the relationship is a little like that between an addict and an enabler. In fact, many dog owners who come see a dog trainer for help with a problem, often reach a big revelation expressed as ‘Oh. It’s me, isn’t it?’

So, the next time you look at your dog and wonder why they’re being such complete muppets, have a think about what you both do on a daily basis that might have caused the issue. Try not to waste time blaming the dog or yourself, but instead just observe and have a think. What is your current relationship status and what would you like it to be? How could you change the way you interact, what might be needed?

If you’re completely stuck, reach out for help. Sometimes all that is needed is a little bit of perspective, after all.
🚀🐕🧡

(This was inspired by, and in part quoted from, an excellent podcast episode by the Canine Cooperative: ‘Dog ownership vs relationship’)

Send a message to learn more

19/01/2025

Do you feed your dog raw meat regularly or on occasion?

If you’re in the North, I would highly recommend Eat Good (neighbours to Barking Good) in East Ivanhoe. They sell all sorts of meat, mince, bones, supplements etc, all human-grade but made for dogs.

If you’re in the SE, try Gippsland Game Meats, who delivers frozen raw food, in various forms, including rabbit, kangaroo and goat.

Barking good (and eat good, which doesn’t have a website yet): https://barkinggood.com.au/

Gippsland game: https://www.gippslandgamemeats.com.au/collections/pet-food

17/01/2025

You live in or around Coburg or West Reservoir and take your dog for walks along Edgar’s Creek?
Excellent, here’s a refresher for the on and offleash areas!

30/12/2024

Remember Snowy the who we had boarding at Casa Dynamo a while back?

He was on the look-out for a potential new home and now he’s found it! This lucky guy has just found a human who wants a new best mate; has experience with working dogs like Mr Snowy and lives in a quiet semi-rural area, which is perfect for a guy who gets a bit overwhelmed by city life.

I think Snowy’s going to love his new life, once he settles in and finds his feet.
🚀🐕🧡

23/12/2024

Happy holidays and merry Christmas everyone!

Thanks for the support during 2024, it is hugely appreciated and immensely valued by this small business venture. If you’re feeling generous and want to spread the jolly feelings, we’d be most grateful for a review. It might seem small and tokenistic, but it is actually valuable, as it helps other people find us.

Hope to see more of y’all and your gorgeous pooches in 2025. Here’s to ongoing adventures, more training successes and overall good times with dogs.
🥳🐕🎉🎄🍾

18/12/2024

In case anyone was confused about why their anti-pull harness isn’t working…

Dogs generally pull about 60 per cent harder on a leash when wearing a padded harness compared with a collar, even when the equipment is marketed as “anti pull” – putting the people walking them at risk of injury.

Some dogs – especially smaller breeds – pull with a force more than twice their body weight on the collar, potentially damaging their throats, says Erin Perry at Southern Illinois University.

“It’s really very shocking,” she says. “The dogs are almost choking themselves on that collar repeatedly. But the harnesses in our study just didn’t inhibit pulling in any way, and that’s definitely a wake-up call – especially because of the risk to owners.”

Read more: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2459747-dogs-pull-harder-on-the-leash-when-they-wear-a-harness-than-a-collar/

Image: CBCK-Christine/Alamy

09/12/2024

Are you looking for a new dog? Fancy yourself keen on doing some training and help a young fella find his feet? Do you have experience with working dogs in general and blue heelers in particular? Well… look no further.

If you can offer a dog-experienced and calm home, Snowy might be your new best mate.

Snowy is a young blue heeler, who has a fun, energetic and playful personality. Unfortunately he has not coped too well moving from the quiet outback, to the middle of Brunswick. Snowy gets very...

08/12/2024

Dogs are body language communicators.

If you have dog who is uncomfortable with certain things and who goes into self-defence mode when encountering those things (ie becomes reactive), you have to step in and show them that they no longer have to feel pressured to keep themselves safe as you’ll be their defender.

Advocate for your dog using assertive body language and stopping the oncoming person/dog/thing that your dog has feelings about.

Show them, don’t just tell them, that they’re safe with you and that you got their back.