Canine Services International

Canine Services International Professional dog training and canine behavioural consultancy based in Melbourne, VIC Australia

02/12/2025

➡️ FOR THE NERDS ⬅️

Nothing sexy to see here…unless you’re a dog nerd….but if you’re a dog nerd, you’ll DIG this.

The retrieve is a complex skill, made up of multiple pieces that come together to produce a harmonious picture.

A lot of folks approach it as though it’s a single ‘blob’ - and that brings with it the potential for any problems to be ‘baked in’ to the skill.

I prefer to break it up into pieces so that should I ever encounter issues with any individual aspect of the exercise I can address them in the moment, and usually in multiple ways or drills. Here is some of what I’m considering:

▸ Eye contact with dumbbell - Dog looks at/orients toward the dumbbell
▸ Sustained interest - Maintains focus on dumbbell, ears forward, body tension/leaning toward it
▸ Forward movement (when released) - Moves toward the dumbbell
▸ Approach/close proximity - Gets close to the dumbbell (within inches)
▸ Investigation - Lowering head toward it with focus
▸ Nose touch - Bumping or touching dumbbell with nose/muzzle
▸ Mouth opening - Opens mouth near the dumbbell
▸ Mouthing/tooth contact - Touches dumbbell with teeth or lips
▸ Attempt to Grip - this is our limit so far

So long as Lunchy is aware of all these criteria, I can reinforce any of them with preference to address any deficits in the exercise. Of course I need to be observant of this too, as I can inadvertently skip a criteria and chain in a problem - that’s the nature of free shaping, and it’s a big part of what makes this such honest dog training.

When you see me move off to the side during Lunchy’s approach it’s to gain perspective on what she’s doing with her mouth…which she is beginning to open in pursuit of grabbing the item.

FYI: The audio on this post is lagging, so you’ll see Lunchy responding to the click before it actually happens…I can’t find how to fix that.

🎯 What’s your biggest issue with your dog’s formal retrieve? Hit me in the comments

01/12/2025

➡️ READ TO UNDERSTAND ⬅️

The ONLY new thing for The Floss to process and respond to in this work is the directional pressure on the collar. EVERY other aspect of these drills are known to her, and this minimises any increase in cognitive and/or emotional load the slip collar pressure may represent for her.

Flossy’s charmed upbringing has been full of building motivation and desire, but it hasn’t featured much ‘must do’, as she’s still very soft and very young.

Recently Flossy has shown a few juvenile avoidance behaviours that are starting to become more generalised, and chaining into her work. The playful ‘pancaking’ in the video is one such example, as she’s worked out that prevents her having to do things she chooses not to do in the moment.

Considering that the path being charted for her is as an assistance dog, that definitely won’t work for Flossy or her humans long term.

So we GENTLY and PATIENTLY begin the work to move Flossy past this, leveraging some well known exercises that require Flossy to take a clearly understood, positively reinforceable action in order to remove a measured dose of directional pressure on a slip collar.

We progress slowly, ensuring Flossy continues to remain optimistic despite the graduated challenge she’s navigating. Note that we keep this as playful as possible across a session that lasted a mere 3mins.

It’s irrefutably true that without some level of adversity to overcome, resilience cannot be developed. There is NOTHING virtuous or morally superior about failing to recognise and address these kinds of issues…but too often we see that used as an excuse by trainers for their rubbish training and lack of skill/understanding.

This is one such example of how progressing behaviours to the point that they’re non-negotiable doesn’t have to be a mean-spirited, high conflict, zero sum battle between handler and dog. If you need help with this stuff, hire a pro - it’ll make all the difference.

27/11/2025

Trending, but also true.

26/11/2025

➡️ SOLID FOUNDATIONS  ⬅️

Most people sprint toward the “finished heel” they want from their dog.
They chase the picture, instead of embracing the process.

What you’re seeing here is me teaching Lunchmeat a concept.

This little hand-touch / nose-hold drill has been around for years - put it on the map for good reason. If you’re building performance heelwork then perhaps you’re doing your own version of it too.

But you might also notice that what I’m doing here looks a bit different.
That’s not because I own a Malinois, or because I’ve been training a long time. There is literally zero secret sauce here.

⚡️PLUG: We teach classes in Heelwork - you can learn to train like this too.

It looks different because we’ve spent some months building the tiny, unsexy layers that make this game feel effortless.
She understands the nuances, so it is fun. It looks smooth because the foundation is rock solid.

Most folks barely touch the basics before racing toward the end behaviour.
I don’t. I triple down on them. It’s almost all I care about.

This game is the goal for me.
I treat these foundational drills with the same respect people usually reserve for the flashy stuff that gets IG views.

And because of that, I’ll be able to lean on this work forever. Whenever something in our advanced training needs tightening, I can lean right back to this drill for effect.
Immediately, without friction, with ease.

Put in the time and effort on the basics, and your dogs obedience performance stops being something you have to “fix.”
It becomes something you can build on, over and over again.
That’s what Build More Dog® is all about.

23/11/2025

➡️ THE RIGHT ERRORS ⬅️

A little footage from yesterday’s AM session.

I put the fun looking turns in the vid for views, but truth be known most of the stuff I loved about this portion of our session didn’t make the video. If you have a trained eye you’ll see a whole bunch of errors, and areas for improvement - and you’ll also see some very cool and important moments.

Considering that Lunchy is only 8.5mo and still very goofy and juvenile, I’m happy with this part of the session. I moved away from any formal heelwork for a couple of months, and we’ve just begun to revisit it in the last 3 weeks.

I see heelwork (and most good dog training in general) as a game, and this is part of why the errors in this clip don’t concern me so much. We’ve built a heap of little drills and patterns that we mix and match for effect - all of which allow us to place focus on the individual areas that need improvement.

What’s more important to me is her willingness, attitude and aptitude for the work…and there seems to be plenty of that in Lunchy so far.

19/11/2025

➡️ FINDING IMPROVEMENT ⬅️

No grand plan was in play for this one, I just wanted to flow off of what Lunchy was giving me - and see what I could learn about where the work ahead lays for us.

⬇️ If you wanna know how I critically assess my own training, read on - MORE IN COMMENTS:

► The backwards walk in the front - I chose to include this in the footage to show you guys that everything is a process, and sometimes things don’t look perfect. The chin contact was great- I’ll reduce criteria in this exercise to deprioritise chin touch for a time but keep it really strong in a couple of other contexts.

► Movement great when I back up, but not so when she’s in reverse…even though in other known contexts she’s incredibly dynamic with it. I’ll be working on some little games to isolate her throwing her butt backwards without momentum, which should help put her in motion and translate the crazy hind end extension developed elsewhere.

► The hand touch isn’t new at all and she’s great at keeping contact with the hand, almost all stationary but with some small proofing around keeping contact. Any significant level of movement with that is a newer add in the last couple of weeks and this is the most I’ve done in a session with it.

► Her hind end moves really fluently in luring and also in other contexts, but she didn’t make that abstraction so well here - I’ll be working on that. She’s super gangly at the moment, but there’s work to be done here across 2 or 3 accessory movements.

► The backwards walk in touch is pretty much the same deal, and I’ll be working that with a neutral instead of a raised head next time - possibly on a wall too, I suspect she’ll move more fluently there.

⬇️ Peep the comments for more ⬇️



18/11/2025

➡️ PATTERNS IN PLAY ⬅️

This play looks like fun — and it is — but even in the fun I’m intentional.

I build features into our game that lead Lunchmeat toward long term success.

I make our play competitive on purpose, but that competition requires collaboration…and I want her to push me to play as though I owe it to her.

⚡️PLUG: If you want to learn to build powerful, productive play with your dog join us for a class in Attuned Play - peep the classes tab on our website.

Every challenge I offer as her sparring partner sits around one idea: overcome all resistance to keep your thing. Winning feels good for a second… but the real juice is the struggle it takes to win it.

I’m building a dog who feels entitled to the outcome she expects — and when the goal isn’t realised, the answer to that problem is MORE.

More possession. More persistence. More commitment. More optimism. More enthusiasm. More grip — that’s ALWAYS the win.

And then we point that same “MORE” at work: More drop. More stand. More heelwork. More behaviour — that’s ALWAYS the win.

This is the core understanding I’m after: She can always create another win for herself on the other side of effort.

The having is fleeting; the effort is everything. When she believes the juice lives in the trying, the toy becomes a ticket back to me for another round — not the finish line.

That’s how I want Lunchmeat to understand the way to win at everything we do together.

Watch the video and look for the patterns:

* The set‑ups that make effort inevitable
* The quick wins that reload desire
* The hand‑back that keeps the game alive

What patterns did you spot?

✅ Save this to inspire your next play session, but train responsibly peeps.

18/11/2025

➡️ BUILDING BEHAVIOUR ⬅️

Most of you expect way too much of your puppy, and way too little from your adult dog.

These unreasonable expectations often compound into frustration and even problems down the line.

If that’s you, then maybe it’s not all your fault.

Almost all puppy schools are focussed on luring puppies into drops, sits and downs - and that’s how they measure success, and that’s what they teach you.

Many experienced pro’s like myself consider success to look very differently though - especially for puppies and young dogs like Lunchy.

For us it’s not about what skills a baby puppy can do - we care a lot about things like:

► Why they do it
► How they feel about it
► The way they make sense of our work together

We teach things in pieces, with criteria that progress for the individual dog, on the given day.

This video shows just how humbly all that starts - teaching pieces of skills, building core understandings and associations.

The learning compounds over time, coming together as the dog matures.

This is why skilled pros can do a bunch of cool guy s**t with our adult dogs, and the dogs learn how to do that stuff to a much higher level.

It works for pet dogs in just the same way - you just have to Build More Dog®

And if you wanna level up YOUR dogs training - at any age - reach out, because we just so happen to teach folks how to do this work with their own dogs.

14/11/2025

➡️ KEEPING IT CURIOUS ⬅️

It never hurts a dog to learn to find the same answer 100 different ways — and that’s very different from being shown 100 answers.

Curiosity is a quality I encourage — and protect. Leverage it, let it characterize your work together, and it creates powerful understanding.

It helps your dog believe they’re capable and competent — fuel for deep confidence.

Watch it take place across hundreds of dogs as I have and you’ll see it confers protective, long‑term effects.

Curiosity helps build an expert generalist learner — the best precursor to specialization.

To build it, teach across modes: free shaping, layered markers, physical guidance, tactile cues.

This gives you max flexibility in how you teach — and how your dog problem‑solves.

Variety matters, but 100 half‑assed things don’t count in the same way. Depth > width… which brings us back to line one.

What’s one behavior you’ll teach 3 different ways? 👇

I wrote up a big post about being proud to be Australian has never been less cool, my understanding of the ideals our br...
10/11/2025

I wrote up a big post about being proud to be Australian has never been less cool, my understanding of the ideals our brave soldiers have fought and died to defend, and the shameful fact that flying our flag in public places has been very cleverly demonised by our politicians and legacy media.

It all got too long and ranty and I couldn’t make it work, so I’ll just say this:

We collectively owe these folks something as a nation, and we’re not doing a good job of honouring their memory right now. Let’s do better.

Lest We Forget.

10/11/2025

➡️ BACKWARDS WALL WALK ⬅️

Lunchmeat has so much more to give physically since entering adolescence, so in the last couple of days I’ve programmed in a block for us to lean into this exercise.

We’ve gotten this far by free shaping, though we surely could have found many other ways to teach this.

I teach a lot of stuff through free shaping, though in truth I don’t tend to teach any core skill I will need to rely on later this way. I may teach significant pieces of core skills this way, but by the time I bring them together into a skill we’re putting under stimulus control (command) it’s unlikely we’ll be working in a free shaping format.

Once we have just a little more stability I suspect she’ll have gained the maximum benefit of her learning this exercise in this way, so I’ll wrap some other training modalities in around it to give me maximum problem solving capacity as I start to generalise the skill into other contexts.

Watching this makes me feel really proud for her - all effort, as yet no quit, and a solid little problem solver (it helps that I prioritise creativity).

If she gets really good at it maybe I’ll make a hashtag of , but we’ll never be quite as cool as the whole concept is.

Address

1/5 Wadhurst Drive
Melbourne, VIC
3155

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 6pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 8am - 6pm
Saturday 8am - 2pm

Telephone

+61499226463

Website

https://hi.switchy.io/CSI_Bio

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