Paw to Hand Dog Training

13/07/2024

Third lesson with Adrian and Gigi and the first at my place. Both Adrian and Gigi have learned lots about focus and the importance of building a great relationship. Gigi is much calmer and less frantic than when we first met and coped quite well with a new place, lots of interesting new smells and my dogs barking in the background. We’re looking at increasing that focus, building loose leash walking skills and building duration of sits. A big bonus was that she has almost conquered a fold back diwn after virtually refusing to drop at all last time we trained together.

08/07/2024

The four dogs and their people who attended our Training and Tricks class this evening were on fire🥇🥳 Beautiful loose leash work, great focus success and then all of them managed to get a head start on some tricks. We had a great time.

06/07/2024

Big frost at my place this morning.🥶

03/07/2024

Second session with Adrian and his French Bulldog, Gigi. Gigi is 8 months old and a very energetic, hyperactive girl. We’ve installed a marker system and are working on building a strong focus on Adrian, training sit and place to address her excitability with guests to the house and starting to train loose leash walking. Gigi is a quick learner and has started to settle visibly. She will come to my place next week for her next training session and it will be interesting to see how she copes in an unfamiliar place.

15/06/2024

Bow. Collie.

15/06/2024

Nose touch - one on each hand for 2 seconds. Collie.

15/06/2024

Step up with Monty.

15/06/2024

For my class members in puppy class and Training and Tricks group, my two boys will be trialling for their first time in July. This is what we’ve worked towards (a practice session with a friend today. Thanks, Deb, for the videos). First one is Monty and straddle.

13/06/2024

Second Midway Point puppy class last night and the 4 pups are quickly developing a strong focus on their people. They’ve nailed sits, so we’re adding a little duration. They all worked nicely in the hall without being too distracted by the other pups. And they had some fun with play equipment at the end.

13/06/2024

Thanks, Sarah for the photo of your lovely dog, Echo, after our first ever Training and Tricks class on Monday evening. One very tired dog😁 You both did very well.

12/06/2024

Trevor and Harley in early this morning. At least it wasn’t too cold😁 With my beautiful Collie as an unfamiliar dog in the environment Harley is learning that other dogs don’t need to be warned off as Dad is there to protect her. Leash walking is also progressing nicely with more focus on Trevor and some good work with 180 degree turns today.

30/05/2024

Last night of my inaugural puppy class at Midway Point hall. Sadly Covid put paid to two people attending but the other 2 had fun in their last class. Pepper (Golden Retriever) and Lionel (BC) are little champions.

24/05/2024

Nicole and her delightful Lab, Pepper were in today working on loose leash walking and recall. Young Pepper is very quickly changing her focus to Nicole, rather than environmental distractions. Still a way to go, but we are definitely seeing the changes occurring😁🤩

23/05/2024

Trevor and Harley are retuning her skills after a bit of a break. Basic obedience, recall and a addressing her tendency to bark at other dogs are on the plan. Lovely stay here.

23/04/2024

Lacey, and her mother, Karen, started today with Willow. Lacey has taught Willow some lovely skills (a terrific dog trainer in the making😁) and Willow is finessing some of her behaviours, including working on building a great recall. She is a natural for Agility - loved the tunnel which we played with at the end of our session.

16/04/2024

Pups in Monday evening class at Midway Point hall. Daisy (terrier) and Sumo (BC/Chihuaha).

13/04/2024

New client yesterday. Chocolate Lab, Bailey, is a very calm 9 months old and needs mainly to learn impulse control and not to jump on people (and how to not destroy stuff😁). He picked up very quickly on the value of loose leash walking in terms of treat payment.

01/04/2024

Easter Monday training fun with Beau and Zoe and their Groodles, Louie and Oakley. After a couple of lessons and some pre-training major zoomies today, they settled in to concentrating a little better on their learning🤣 They are both still young (7 months and 12 months) so all credit to Beau and Zoe for working hard with their teenage pups.

31/03/2024

Hi, everyone. I’m just about to finish my first small group dog training classes and will be starting a new group on Monday 8th April in the Midway Point Hall. Venue changed due to the end of daylight saving and the onset of winter. There will be 5 places available and the 4 week class will cost $200 ($50 per session). The class will run from 7.30 till 8.30. If you are interested and would like more information please message me through FB, email through [email protected] or ring me on 0417780775. My website also is available for information (www.paw2handdt.com.au).

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26/03/2024

Beautiful Aussie Shepherd, Kumo, picked up very quickly on the foldback down today. Even managed to do it in his LLW.

18/03/2024

What is canine enrichment and why is it important? Check out the latest blog on my website to learn about enrichment strategies for your dog.

"Enrichment is learning what our dog's needs are and then structuring an environment for them that allows them, as much as feasible, to meet those needs."  (Allie Bender and Emily Strong,  Canine Enrichment for the Real World). All dogs have a common set of behaviours w

15/03/2024

There’s only two in my Friday Foundations class. First lesson today and we all had a good time and learnt some new ways to increase focus, practise loose leash walking, start a recall and learn about place. Mia (Aussie Shepherd) and Pepper (Rottie) are both beautiful girls. Here they are, starting to work on place.

13/03/2024

Pepper is really progressing well. Demonstrating middle yesterday in our training session. She’s such a calm Kelpie.

07/03/2024

Recall is one of the main things people ask for when they are looking for a trainer, and it’s sometimes a very difficult thing to achieve, particularly if your dog is a hunting or gundog breed or has those genes in its mix. Persistence is the key and making yourself the most exciting thing in your dog’s world. That’s why most trainers teach focus games as a start for training.

ARE YOU WORTH COMING BACK TO?

I often cringe when I watch people trying to get their dogs to come back when they call.

They call and call and get increasingly angry and frustrated as their dog keeps ignoring them.

When their dog eventually does come back, or has been chased and "captured” by the now really angry person, they get screamed at, yanked about, smacked or punished in some way for taking so long and not listening.

Why on earth would a dog want to return to someone who does this to them!

Genetics may play a big part in this when an environment is far more stimulating and exciting.

Coming back to you is often the last thing a dog may want to do when genetic instinct is triggered.

An exciting scent or seeing something to chase can all override a response to recall.

Genetics aside, the most common reason that dogs don’t come back when called is because it’s not a positive experience.

Make coming back to you worth it by always making it a rewarding experience and keep practicing this throughout a dog’s life.

Have a little patience if it takes longer than you would like, let your dog finish what they’re doing before calling them, practice in different locations and environments and never reprimand or punish them for coming back.

There is never a guarantee of a perfect recall each and every time, but making it a rewarding experience will greatly improve the rate of success.

04/03/2024

Mac is a young BC who’s in the grip of his teenage time. He’s got a mind of his own and we’re working on loose leash walking, recall and focusing steadfastly on his mum and not on everything going on around him.😁

04/03/2024

This beautiful boy was a new client last Friday, coming to learn about loose leash walking, recall and how to focus with other dogs around, given that he lives on a property with not much interaction with other dogs. Jeb is a Blue Heeler/cattle dog. I’ve had both Blue and Red Heelers and love the breed❤️

27/02/2024

Another photo of Pepper, the working line Kelpie. Look at that focus! We’re working on polishing the skills she already has and teaching some useful ones like calling front and middle.

20/02/2024

Pepper is a switched on Kelpie who is hoping to eventually become a support dog. She has good basics and we are looking at building on the great foundation. Love the ears🥰

20/02/2024

The beautiful and chilled Harley had her first training session last Thursday. She has learned some good skills previously and is training with her grandfather to finesse basic obedience and social skills.