APEX Canines

21/07/2024

I'm a big advocate for utilising long leashes so your dog can enjoy some freedom while training for off leash adventures.

What they help with;
✅️ Security - your dog can't run up to strangers if you have a leash attached to them
✅️ Freedom - an extra 5m+ where your dog can sniff and play
✅️ Distance - train for a solid recall further than your standard leash length with peace of mind your dog will come back to you

This long line was purchased from Duck Designs, a small business located in our beautiful South West. Sabiah, custom makes the leashes to your preferred length and width. She works with an Australian based supplier for the extensive range of rope colours.

The long leash pictured is 12 mm wide by 5 metres in length. I'm so happy with this leash. It cleans up easily and feels nice in your hands.

12/07/2024

Some loose leash and peaceful walking tips;

🚪 As soon as the leash is clipped, the training starts, not once you get out the door. If your dog can't maintain eye contact inside the house whilst getting ready, you can't expect them to behave once out the door. So work on that focus at the door first!

🏡 The further away from home you get, the more excited your dog may become because they know you are moving closer to something they want (the dog park, beach etc). So make the walk less predictable by walking up and down your driveway or back inside the house until they start to settle. Continue with the walk once you've gained that focus again. If at any point you start to lose focus, turn back around again until they settle. You may not get far down the road in an hour but by continuously changing your direction, you've likely walked a fair distance still.

🐕‍🦺 Train outside of your dedicated walks. This means allocating time in the day to train a loose leash at home, where you know your dog will focus.

🙅‍♀️ Don't let them pull! Make sure you are aware of where your dog is at all times and don't allow the leash to become tight. This also goes for any interactions with dogs, people and the environment. If you let them interact with something while the leash is tight, you've just reinforced that tight leash. They'll only continue to think this is what gets them the reward!

🥩 Make sure you have something of high enough value. Make it worth their while to keep engaging with you. At home, this may be their meals, but on a walk, you have many competing reinforcers like chasing a bird or playing with another dog.

Let me know if these tips have helped you! Do you have another tip to add that worked for you?

08/07/2024

What goes inside your dog can play a significant role in their overall demeanour and behaviour. Think of gut irritability for one and how it affects us. Why wouldn't it affect our dogs too?Ever go on a major junk food binge and come out feeling like crap? Low energy, stomach ache, brain fog, etc. The same can be said for our dogs when they are fed a highly processed diet (cheap biscuits, dog rolls, tins, etc.).

Feeding a fresh food diet doesn't have to be expensive! Did you know our dogs can eat most of the fresh food we do? Better yet, some of those veggie scraps we throw in the compost bin can actually benefit our dogs!
Today I'm preparing;
🥒 Wrinkly Zucchini
🍃 Celery leaves
🎃 Pumpkin skin & seeds
🍄‍🟫 Mushrooms
🥦 Soft Broccoli
🌱 Brussel sprouts

All of this, I either would have thrown out (pumpkin skin, seeds, and celery leaves), likely won't eat in time, or it has already started to go soft.

Steam or oven bake it to make it more bioavailable to our dogs, then throw it in the blender. I will blend each ingredient and bag it up separately (there is a lot 😅), freeze, then bring it out as needed. Now you can replace a small portion of your dog's next meal with the healthy snack or make some cute frozen treats by adding in some sneaky extras like peanut butter, honey, or Greek yoghurt (all of these ingredients have benefits and their own place in a diet) to make it more palatable if needed.

13/06/2024

If you can't find 10 to 20 minutes a day to set up a training session... train your dog all day! 😉 Sounds contradictory hey? but here me out.

🥩 Feed your dog half their usual portion in the morning and keep the other half on the kitchen bench. Throughout the day, randomly ask your dog to do something like a sit, down, bed, recall or whatever you are working on, then go grab a reward. By lunch time if you still have some food in the bowl throw the rest out on the grass and let them go to town. Rinse and repeat with their dinner or if you only feed once a day, keep going through out the whole day until the bowl you put on the bench is empty!
🫶 Keep it short and simple. Ask them something they know well, so it's easy for them to obtain a reward and others try get in atleast 2 repetitions of something you are still teaching them. Lure with a treat in hand for the tricks your dog is still learning and known commands leave the reward on the bench until they've performed what you asked.

🧡 Training your dog doesn't always have to take time, just get in what you can, when you can. Life gets busy and sometimes training gets pushed to the bottom of the list, try reach for 10 repetitions a day. Each repetition should take less than 2 minutes, by the end of the day you've done a whole 20 minute training session broken up into manageable pieces! Your dog will thank you for it. 🤗

13/04/2024

📢 ATTENTION MARGARET RIVER.

We have had a change of location for Group Classes. Classes are now held at Rosa Brook Oval, across from the Hall on Rosa Brook Road.
Running every Sunday, times below;
Obedience 2.00 - 3.00pm
Agility Basics 3.00 - 4.00pm

Puppies from 10 weeks/ once they've had their second vaccination can join Obedience and dogs 6 months and older are able to attend Agility Basics. Ant questions or to enrol, message me.

12/03/2024

Treats are now available for purchase. All natural, no additives or chemicals.

These are great training treats since they can easily be broken up into small pieces. The Cow hooves are a great long-lasting chew for dogs of all ages and also aid with dental health.

19/02/2024

GOOD breeders are necessary.

🤝 Registered breeders, preservation breeders, purpose breeders (farming, sport) aren't the bad guys. They are a necessary part of pet ownership, and without these people dedicating their life and sanity to breeding healthy-stable dogs we are left with unpredictable, poorly tempered specimens.

🧬 Genetics matter! Different breeds tend to have certain characteristics that help define a particular breed. A breeder will look at the history of that breed & what it was originally bred for, what a healthy specimen should look & act like. They study their own dogs and previous generations and continue to breed to certain standards with healthy-stable dogs. Because of them, we can choose a dog that suits our lifestyle, size, personality & athletic ability.

🗣 They are happy to have a lengthy chat with you about their breed and give you all the information you want. They're also happy to troubleshoot any behavioural problems that may creep up once you have the dog or take back/help rehome said dog if you can no longer care for it at any point.

❤️ Breeders have the experience to raise well-adjusted puppies. They have the knowledge to give them the exposure they need during early critical stages of development. They build a sterile environment for the puppies and gently expose them to many different situations, surfaces, sounds & places.

🔑 Education is key. If we only produce dogs with stable, predictable temperaments and educate ourselves on dog body language & the breeds we are interested in. You'd see a decline in bites & behavioural problems. We'd also have fewer dogs go through rescues & being behaviourally euthanised since we as owners would be better equipped to deal with problems as they arise.

😬 Now, I'm not saying, 'Don't buy a rescue dog!' All I'm saying is that we can't afford to lose the good guys. The wonderful breeders who put their blood, sweat, and tears into providing us with healthy dogs.

01/02/2024

LETS TALK ABOUT BREEDING 🫢

Have you ever thought or are considering breeding your dog? You love your dog and their personality and think another like them would be great! Or perhaps allowing your dog to experience 'mother/father hood' just the once is something you feel strongly about? I urge you to think twice and here's why. 👇

😞 Last year a total of 18,778 dogs came through the RSPCA's doors. Only 7,669 of them were rehomed and 2,875 of them were unfortunately put to sleep, with 1,708 still waiting for a home. This is just RSPCA's statistics...

😬 Just because the dog you want to breed has a beautiful temperament does not mean the puppies will inheret that same temperament. You need to go back more than just 1 generation to get a rough picture of how these puppies may turn out. By crossing 2 or more different breeds the chance is even lower.

🍃 The environment your puppies are raised in will have a huge impact on how they mature. Can you spend copious amounts of time and money to ensure all puppies are exposed to enough stimulus within their critical socialisation period (3 - 15 weeks). I'm not just talking people, other dogs, the vet and their backyard. I'm talking noises, surfaces, new environments, independence, heights, just to name very few.

🤝 You may be able to sell most, if not all to family and friends but you can't guarantee they will actually outlive their lives with that same family. Are you willing to take back that dog at any stage to ensure that dog doesn't take up another shelter dogs space if that family can no longer keep them?

💰 Do you have enough money for an emergency c-section for the mum. What happens if the puppies get sick, can you afford the vet bills to keep THEM alive? Not to mention vaccinations and microchipping.

💔 I know you may mean well and think 1 litter of puppies won't matter, but it truly does to the dogs we've lost, those who are still sitting in shelters and to the ones who will be put to sleep this year if they don't find a home.

Thank you for coming to my ted talk and happy training. 🙃🐾

03/01/2024

🎊 New years promotions 🎊
Make 2024 the year to change how you communicate with your dog. Troublesome behaviour creeping up? New puppy? Or maybe you've been dealing with a challenging dog for a while. Now is your chance to make the change at a discounted rate!

👋 Refer a friend
Both of you get 5% off your initial consult when you book.

🤝 Bring a friend
Pay only $90 per dog for a 3 hr consult when you bring a friend. This deal only applies to people dealing with similar issues along the lines of puppy raising, improving obedience, door greeting/jumping, leash walking, recall etc. More complex cases like reactivity & separation anxiety will need tailored training.

Offer ends 07/02/24.
For enquiries and more information, send me a message.
0429099567

30/12/2023

2024 GROUP CLASS SCHEDULE. Classes are casual attendance. For enrolments, please contact me.

BRIDGETOWN - From 06/01/24
Every Saturday
9:00am Agility
10:00am Obedience
📍 Location - Bridgetown Primary School Oval

NANNUP - From 09/01/24 & 10/01/24
Tuesday
4:30pm Obedience
Wednesday
4:00pm Agility
📍 Location - Nannup High School Oval

MARGARET RIVER - From 14/01/24
Every Sunday
2:00pm Obedience
3:00pm Agility
📍 Location - Rosa Brook Oval

27/12/2023

Formal training sessions are still very important but we should also be praising our dogs at any point throughout the day as well. By monitoring, confining, tethering to us plus much more and rewarding them for all things good we are reducing the chance of bad habits forming.
*Dog greeted me with all 4 paws on the floor without me asking*.. "nice job buddy!"
*Puppy just sat at the back door patiently waiting to come outside with us* "good girl, keep it up!"

🙌🏽

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17/12/2023

Forget the nasties below.. 🤮 Get your hands on some yummy natural treats that we now offer!
Cow hooves from $2.95
Bone marrow chews from $2.50
*Training treats coming soon*

Just in time for Christmas, order now! 🎄🐾

❌ PLEASE LEAVE THEM IN THE SHOPS ❌

Just a little warning regarding the Christmas treat many stores are now starting to stock for dogs at Christmas.

Many of these so called treats end up with the dog "enjoying" some time in a veterinary surgery over Christmas.

The vast majority of these rawhide products and treats come from China.

The chews are made from cattle or horse hides and their journey starts with the hides being soaked in a toxic sodium sulphide to remove the hair and fat. More chemicals are used in order to split the hide into layers which is then washed with hydrogen peroxide to give the white "pure" look and remove the rancid smell. Now comes the pretty festive colours and the glue to form cute shapes. On testing, these chews have shown traces of arsenic, mercury, chromium and formaldehyde.

If that wasn't bad enough, they regularly cause intestinal blockages, poisoning from chemical residue and choking. The chews go slippery when wet and are near impossible to get hold of to save a choking dog.

Leave them in the shop where they belong or if some well meaning person buys them for your dog put them safely away for later, then dispatch in the bin!

Please be safe with your dogs! 🐾

02/12/2023

The art of teaching your dog to simply 'do nothing' is one of the best things you can do for your dog! We live busy lives ourselves and we aren't always going to be able to exercise them to exhaustion every single day, not that we should be any way! So teaching our dogs that once in a while they may have to just lay on a couch for the day is incredibly valuable but often overlooked!

There are many things we put in place for dogs that seem to have no off switch.
You cannot exercise these dogs enough.
You "need" to walk them huge distances as their physical exhaustion is the only sign they have had enough....It will be exactly the same day after day.
These dogs are also incredibly hard to walk, pulling hard and you are often dragged behind.
They jump, spin, bark, react and won't stop....so they are walked harder and faster.
All that does is build more stamina.
Physically exhausting a dog does not mean you have a calm dog that is now able to show emotional self control.....they are just physically exhausted.
There is a very big difference between the two.

You probably throw that ball again and again for them and they are truly ball obsessed.
That ball just cannot be thrown enough for them....they will only stop when physically they just cannot continue.
One thing is very clear with many of these dogs...they don't have opportunities to use their brain or their nose to scent.
They have often forgotten how to use their nose as their world is all about movement and pace.

Why do we talk about enrichment so much ?
Because it works...if you give this a few weeks, it works.
Start limiting their exercise and ball play and add in ways to challenge them.

Stop thinking about time as a measure of a good walk and start thinking quality.
Let them sniff and smell...take them to places where that incredible nose will find interesting scents and watch the changes over time.
You have to start smaller when encouraging nose work and feel free to start encouraging with some tasty treats.
Many will just stare back at you when you start scent work and they need encouraged. Scatter their meals on the lawn to eat....over a few days scatter it everywhere on the lawn.
They will find it.

If you add enrichment and nose work in a few times a day (and vary it)....Watch what happens over a few short weeks...you will have a calmer dog, a dog that doesn't need enormous amounts of exercise to "tire" them out.
Start thinking about the time you walk them and start using a large portion of that time to use that incredible brain and nose.
Smelling and using their brain tires them out and more importantly enriches their lives.

Give it a go.

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06/11/2023

- Private consultations -
APEX Canines offers private training in the comfort of your home. We can help with a wide variety of challenges like, puppy raising, general obedience, improving leadership, dog/human reactivity or aggression and destructive behaviours like excessive digging or barking just to name a few. Send us a message to chat about what you are experiencing with your dog and we will see if we can help. 🐾

22/09/2023

‼️ Group classes are back on
From 14/10/23 I'll be running group classes at the Nannup High School oval on a casual attendance basis.

Saturday
- 7:00 am Obedience
Sunday
- 7:00 am Agility
- 8:00 am Nose work

Contact me for more information regarding criteria, pricing and enrolment. Looking forward to seeing all my regulars and some new faces. ❤️

23/06/2023

✨️ Big announcement incoming! ✨️

I have been cooking up a future little helper over the last 9 months and have absolutely loved sharing this journey with everyone who has joined the APEX Canines family. I am so excited to announce little miss has finally made her arrival! Riley Dee Green was born on the 5th at 12.58pm which means I am officially on maternity leave. 🩷

This has been the most beautiful 2 weeks settling into our new norm as a family of 5 but I won't lie, I'm itching to get back to work and see all my amazing clients again.

At this point I do not have a date for recommencement but I will most definitely update you all as I go. I hope you and your dog's are keeping warm in this winter weather. Love from our big family. ❤️

20/03/2023

Term 2 Group Class timetable. Starting from the 01/04/23 to 03/05/23.

📍 Bridgetown - Saturday
- 9.00 am Basic Obedience
- 10.00 am Basic Obedience

📍 Bridgetown - Sunday
- 9.00 am Novice Agility
- 10.00 am Basic Obedience
- 11.20 am Intermediate Obedience

📍 Nannup - Wednesday
- 5.00 pm Novice Agility

This will be my last term of group classes for a while as I go on maternity leave in May. Private consultations will still be available but places are limited from now until June.

06/10/2022

✨ Attention Dog Owners of Margaret River & surroundings ✨

I am thrilled to announce that I can now offer group classes in Witchcliffe! Currently taking enrolments for Basic Obedience & Beginners Agility starting on Wednesday the 16th of November. For now, I will open up one morning class each (stated times are below) and hopefully add more for that day if the interest is there!

- 9.00 am Basic Obedience class – 3 places available
- 10.05 am Beginners Agility class– 10 places available

These classes will be run on a term basis which is 8 weeks long with a fun/free windup on week 9! Each lesson is 1 hour long. Due to term 4 running into Christmas & New Year I will be closing a few weeks so fear not if you have holiday plans around then! If you would like more information about what I teach & pricing, please get in contact!

26/09/2022

✨️️ Strive for dog neutrality ✨️

Asking a dog to be friendly with every dog they see is just nonsense. Do we as people enjoy every encounter we have with another person?.. Probably not 🤪 So why should we expect our dogs to do so!

✔️ Do;
😌 Strive for a dog that can calmly pass another without making a scene

🌱 Strive for a dog that can explore their environment at a designated off leash area rather than bound up to every dog they see

🥰 Strive for a dog that prefers and enjoys the company of you over another dog

🙌 Socialise your dog with people you know who have dogs that respect boundaries or at an appropriate training facility where they can manage the interactions and set them up for success!

❌️ Do not;
😔 Force an interaction on your new dog or puppy, if they are backing away it's time for you to step in and help them out!

😬 Let them run up to or pull you towards every dog they see, this can be very rude to another dog and cause conflict as well as reinforcing your dog for bad manners

🙏 Be respectful of your surroundings, if you have a dog with little recall or a very social dog be mindful that not every dog your pup runs up to will greet it in the same manner so pop it on a leash or keep it close to you

📷 Pictured is Ember, Hunny & Souffle practising a calm sit in group class, well done pups!

15/09/2022

Spot the dog 😜👀

13/09/2022

09/09/2022

🐍 As the weather warms up reptiles are now becoming more active!

✨️ Protect your dog and the reptiles by booking in with Phil for some Reptile a
Avoidance Training!

🦎 Phil not only uses snakes but lizards as well! I have personally used him with Ember and thoroughly enjoyed the experience as well as being confident in his methods that Ember now has sight and smell association with the reptiles! We'll definitely be using him again for her refresher and with our new dog!

🗓 Check out his page for some training dates coming up soon!!

06/09/2022

Got to give the new jumps a spin at Bridgetown classes last Sunday! ✨️

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07/08/2022

📝 Enrolments are now open for Term One 2023 Agility & Obedience classes
📍 To be confirmed - NANNUP
- 6.00 pm Novice Agility

📍 19/02/23 SUNDAY - BRIDGETOWN
- 9.00 am Novice Agility
- 10.00 am Basic Obedience
- 11.20 am Intermediate Obedience

📍 To be confirmed - MARGARET RIVER
- 9.00 am Novice Agility
- 10.20 am Basic Obedience

Bookings are essential and places are limited.
📞 Contact APEX Canines for more information!

23/07/2022

Beautiful breed ❤️

24/05/2022

Beautiful dewy morning ☀️ Disco's back for the week! 😊

23/05/2022

🔍 Did you know I also offer a dog sitting service? Day Stay or an Over-night boards, I can accommodate.

✨️ Your dog will enjoy all the benefits of farm life and living with a dog trainer including training sessions through out your dogs stay, experience every day life with myself attending group classes and cafe visits in town. Plenty of sniffaris on our 200 acre property with complimentary chats from the cows and goats and of course treated like our very own with Ember to show them the ropes.

✈️ Little Disco has become a frequent flyer at APEX Canines. Since he is still young exposing him to many different environments is one of my top priorities! This includes; trips to town to collect the mail, or a lunch date at a Café to take in his surroundings. Exposure to our livestock and different sounds and surfaces. Last week he even attended the end of term obedience wind up where he was socialised with many different breeds and sized dogs!

📞To enquire about a stay, send me a message!

15/05/2022

We all had a blast at the Term wind-up yesterday! After a few games with prizes and certificates the dogs enjoyed some off leash time together! So proud these guys, everyone has made major improvements over the last 8 weeks. Looking forward to seeing what the future holds! ✨️

15/05/2022

📝 I am now taking enrolments for Term 2 Obedience classes starting 04/06/2022 from 8 a.m every Saturday and 2.30 p.m every Thursday.
💡 These classes will help better your dog’s obedience skills and navigate everyday life a little easier for you both.
📍 Classes are held at the Foreshore Dog Exercise area and run for one hour. Bookings are essential and a registration fee is to be paid upon enrolment.
📞 Contact APEX Canines for more information!

14/05/2022

🤔 Have you ever wondered how your dog might go in Agility? Or simply looking to give your dog a little extra exercise while working their brain.
💡 APEX Canines is now offering a BEGINNERS AGILITY class at the Nannup Foreshore every Saturday from 11am. Learn novice handling skills, jumping techniques, how to read a course and more. It’s also a great chance for dogs to socialise in a structured environment!
📞 Contact APEX Canines for more information!