Fear & force free dog training, focusing on building the relationship between people & dogs. I am to walk with you on your dog training journey.
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My name is Meg and I'm a qualified IMDT Trainer (Institute of Modern Dog Training) who has completed certification in Animal Behaviour and Training. I train using fear free, force free methods, focused on positive reinforcement and relationship based training. I have experience working and volunteering with a number of external organisations including numerous dog rescues, Therapy and Assistance D
ogs, and community training clubs. I have run both 1:1 consults as well as group and puppy classes. I have also fostered a vast array of dogs which has given me a different level of understanding on what it's like to live with a dog with challenging behaviours. I strongly believe that our relationship and understanding of our dogs is what lies at the core of successful training. It is important to understand that challenging behaviours do not exist in isolation and training requires a comprehensive, collaborative approach. Currently I am offering 1:1 in home consults where we can work on whatever behaviour struggles you may be having with your dog. This includes:
- Recall
- Loose lead walking
- Anxiety
- Distraction
- Reactivity towards dog
- Boredom
- Destructive behaviours
- All things puppy! I also offer Walk and Train sessions where I'll take your dog out myself and work with. This can be great for busy families who may not have as much time to spend with their dog as they'd like.
Today Nacho was very lucky to join a small group class with the wonderful trainers Nicole from Courteous Canines. For us, the focus was just on building Nachos confidence around other dogs and engaging with me when distractions are present. He absolutely rocked it throughout his session and was more than happy to come home and snooze in his crate for the next few hours š¤
Nacho will soon be up for adoption through Perth Animal Rescue so stay tuned!
Yesterday I had an amazing session with Maui where we focused on getting the kids involved in training! We played sniffy games and set up some obstacles for him to navigate, which both he and the kids thoroughly enjoyed. While it seemed like we were all just having a bit of fun, this was a hugely successful session as Maui was much more interested in playing the games than he was at barking at the youngest child or hiding from me. Maui can become overwhelmed when his five year old human brother starts playing or is upset, which is causing challenges in the house. It is amazing that both child and dog were able to interact in an appropriate way and start repairing their relationship.
While my social media has been quiet, my house has been far fromā¦ over the weekend we had a special arrival. Little Nacho is an 18 week old Staffy mix who was originally from up north and then has been passed from on rescue to another. Heās a happy little dude but can get himself quite worried in some situations so is going to need some support and training before finding a forever home. Stay tuned for plenty of puppy spam over the coming weeks!
It is a pleasure to be part of this amazing program once again next term.
Places are open for BARK, Patricia Giles Centre for Non-Violence's FREE animal assisted group therapy program for children aged 7-12 years who have been exposed to family and domestic violence. š¾š¶
š For more information, please call 08 9300 0340 or email [email protected].
Last week I met the lovely Paddington and Ishka, a pair of Flat Coat Retrievers. Paddington (light brown) is 10 months old and a typical adolescent boy who is getting very excited by the world. We worked on loose lead walking and engagement while lucky Ishka got some peace and quiet at home without her little brother (and a big š¦“). The first step was switching Paddington from a slip lead to a harness where he felt comfortable to sniff but also made an active choice to check in with his human. It can be tricky in multi-dog households but itās important to do individual training with each dog when learning a new skill, before expecting them to be able to do it together. Iām looking forward to some ongoing sessions and watching a Paddington blossom.
Today was a big day for Moolah who had his first vet visit in some time. As a Declared Dangerous Dog who can be uncomfortable with people getting too much in his space, there are additional logistical challenges we had to consider. It was decided that a sedation was the least stressful option for him, as well as safest for all involved. We were successfully able to sedate him, give him his vaccination, a full physical examination and well deserved nail trim. A big thank you to the wonderful Dr Zoe from Morley Vetcentre did an amazing job.
The joys of dog training - spending your Sunday morning standing in the rain while running a class. Iām super impressed with everyone who stuck it out, but also proud of those people who left early because their dogs were not comfortable in the weather.
Northern Suburbs Training & Obedience Dog Club Inc.
I am proud to now be recognised as a certified Fear Free Animal Trainer! To find out more about what this means head over to their website or have a look at the pledge in the comment section).
Finn and I had a great night attending another Girl Guide unit to talk about safe relationships between kids and dogs. We discussed dog body language, how to interact with dogs in public, and how to respect our dogs at home. There were heaps of great questions and lots of dog stories to share!
Big boy Maui has severe anxiety around people being in his house which typical looks like pacing, hiding and in some instances barking at people. During our session he did an amazing job being able to settle and rest not too far from me. I let him set the pace 100% of the time, making sure he knows he can always move away if heās uncomfortable.
Dogs like Maui donāt need to be forced to interact with people and āget overā their fear, instead they need to feel safe and itās our job to slowly build his confidence. His owners are incredibly patient and are committed to putting in the time to help support him to live his best life possible š¾ā¤ļø
This has been one of those weeks where I question why I am a dog trainer. Imposter syndrome is so common amongst (good) dog trainers and we double guess ourselves all the time. All we want to do is the best by our clients - both human and dog - but sometimes things donāt go as planned and we beat ourselves up for it. People often say that being a dog trainer must be the best job in the world because we get to to play with dogs and cuddle puppies all day. Yes, I do get to hang out with some really cool dogs and I am lucky to have so many amazing clients. But this week I have spent too much time in crisis management due to irresponsible and ignorant people. In every job things can go wrong, but for us even something small going wrong can be catastrophic for dogs and their owners.
Being a dog trainer is hard. Owning a reactive dog is hard. Dealing with people is hard. And often as dog trainers we are dealing with it on our own because we work independently and donāt have work colleagues.
All I want is for people to be kind to each other, be kind to their dogs and be kind to themselves. Striving for this kindness is why I will continue to do what I do, even when things go wrong.
No photo can do Harleyās size justice! He is meant to be a German Shepherd X Bull Mastiff, but he looks very much like a Rottweiler. He is an incredibly friendly boy but due to him weighing almost 50kg his mum has no control over him when he is excited and wants to say hi to someone. We spent todayās session working on engagement and calmness while in public, as well as adjusting expectations of what a āfriendlyā dog should look like. He is such a cool dog and I am confident will show good progress with some consistency and time.
Weekends are for adventures š¾ Letās see what you and your pups have been up to, whether thatās getting out between the storms or bunking down and staying warm!
There is no such thing as a serious photo with this dog š Rubble is such a character and never fails to amuse me during our sessions. He was particularly silly today after being cooped up in the wet weather which made for an extra ~entertaining~ session.
Last week Moolah had his follow up appointment with the wonderful Dr Zoe from Animal Sense - Perth Behaviour Veterinarian. As a dog with significant trauma, it has been amazing seeing his progress since starting on medication to support him on his journey. He is such a gorgeous, yet misunderstood dog who deserves nothing but love and patience.
Kmart Australia with accurate labelling š„°
Today I had the pleasure of catching up with an old client and taking Blaze out for a beautiful session. In true lab fashion, he led the walk with his nose to the ground, loving taking in a new environment.
I normally stay out of debates on dog training methodology and focus on educating my clients, however outright lying to clients on the way that you are training is appalling. This company is the largest āK9 Bootcampā in Perth and I have seen many dogs come out of there far worse than when they went in. On their website they state they use positive reinforcement techniques, not punishment or negative reinforcement. Yet on their own promo videos they have dogs on slip leads. Today I had a clients who sent their dog their recently after calling them and outright asking how they train, and being told they use positive reinforcement. When they picked their dog up and had their handover session the trainer was using the incredibly outdated technique of throwing chains on the ground when the dog reacted. This broke the owners heart and they could not follow through on the training. Thatās $1,745 they spent based on false advertising, even asking all the right questions.
Either this company has no understanding of the absolute basics of dog training and methodology, or they are outright lying to clients. Personally Iām not sure which is more concerning.
Today was a big day with lots of little wins!
š¾ Miss Milly did a beautiful job keeping her composure and letting me manage the situation when she was rushed by an off lead dog.
š¾ Jack was able to stay home all by himself for a short period of time.
š¾ Diesel had a lovely walk and chose to engage in training.
š¾ Rocky had a vet visit for his vaccinations and handled it like a champ.
š¾ Moolah was just the goodest boy like always.
What might seem insignificant for one dog could be a massive victory for another. There is no template for training and every person has their own goals so please never compare you and your dogs progress with someone else who is on a different training journey.
A beautiful morning for instructing at Northern Suburbs Training & Obedience Dog Club Inc. Itās always nice doing the occasional session with the higher level classes where we can really focus on refining skills and adding some twists to the normal āobedienceā skills.
For those in the northern suburbs. Parvo is something to take seriously.
A Perth council is warning dog owners over a reported detection of a highly contagious and potentially fatal virus at two parks.
Today I met this lovely lady Lotta. As you can probably tell from the photo she has severe anxiety about the world. This can come out as reactivity towards dogs and some people. Her situation is particularly complex as her owners are likely moving back to Switzerland next year where all staffy and bully breeds are restricted breeds. If Lotta were to go with her family (which they absolutely want to do) she would have to undergo an extensive behavioural assessment. The reality is that at this point Lotta would not pass.
We are going to try our best to set Lotta up for success with as much training as possible and by getting a Vet Behaviourist on board. Itās going to be a journey but her mum is committed to doing what she can to avoid the heartbreaking decision to leave her behind.
Letās see what adventures everyone has gotten up to with their dogs over the weekend! Arlo got some special 1:1 time playing frisbee and exploring a new park š„
Building reliable recall with big boy Diesel šļø when he hesitated before coming with me after the recall it was because he spotted another off lead dog and wanted to go play. Instead he made the right choice in coming to play tug with me like the good boy that he is!
Rubble is ab amazingly family dog who wants nothing more than to hang out with his people. However this can be challenging when heās on walks with the kids because he is continually on edge looking for where they are if they go to play on a playground. We have been working on reducing his frantic behaviours and teaching him calmness, even when heās favourite little humans are around.
Perth, WA
6061
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Every walk is special with miss Helena š§” the world can be big and scary for this little lady sometimes, so we often spend time just watching and processing. #dogtraining #sniffywalk #fearfreetraining #walkies
Look at that strut! Moolah seems to be feeling about himself since his big vet visit. #dogtraining #positivereinforcement #fearfreetraining #IMDT #happydogs
He may sleep 98% of the time but when the zoomies hit Coco forgets that heās 15 and meant to be slowing down! šļø #dogtraining #zoomies #seniordog #happydogs
Sometimes the moments that excite me the most are the ones where nothing interesting is happening. Here Moolah is going for a sniffy walk. For a lot of dogs this is just an every day outing, but for Moolah it is a luxury. For him to be able to go for a calm walk, not being bothered by people or other dogs, and able to lead the way, it is a beautiful experience. #dogtraining #dangerousdog #sniffywalks
Itās the first rainy day here in Perth so hereās a simple activity to keep your puppy busy if theyāre stuck inside. #rainydays #enrichmentfordogs #dogtraining #happydogs
Bowie needs to go to the vet later today and is likely going to be having some invasive things done with her bottom. She can be a bit uncomfortable with handling at the vet sometimes and is probably going to be feeling a bit ~sensitive~ about whatās going to happen (as anyone would!!!), so Iām going to have her muzzled during examination as a precaution. She is already muzzle trained (or āsnootā trained as we call it), but Iāve made a point of reconditioning a strong positive association with the muzzle prior to us going. The muzzle is a tool to make it safer and less stressful for all involved, and allow her to get proper treatment, however Iām not going to force it on her and cause additional stress.
The week we had a Christmas themed puppy kindy graduation and each family got a little doggy bag to take home. The bags were not meant to actually include a dog, but little Chewie decided it was a perfect place to hang out with his new chewy ball.
Doggy Day Care and Holiday Home
Sweansea Street
Wolfies Dog Training & Rehabilitation
Glenelg Avenue
