Present Company Inc

01/07/2024

Guys this is SO EXCITING. Freo is getting a fear free Vet clinic!

We are excited to be offering Fear-Free care :) Here are 10 things that make Fear-Free vet visits different. Join us and break the mould of the traditional vet visit xx

26/02/2024

A very useful post explaining what kind of problems can be helped with treatment from a VB. If a behaviour is persistent, frequent, and intense and doesn’t respond to training that can be a good indicator to seek VB input.

24/01/2024

Sonya shares some great training videos as day to day progress. It’s so good to see a very skilled trainer breaking something down into small pieces and doing it in a way that works for all dogs including sensitive dogs. Watch willow learning to go in her bike trailer ☺️

22/01/2024

Wise words from a LEGEND. All dogs. ALL DOGS. Need to sniff.

If I could tell the world one thing, it would be:

LET YOUR DOGS SNIFF

Whilst us humans SEE the world, with vision our primary sense, our dogs SMELL the world. Their olfactory abilities are beyond incredible and they are how they navigate the world.

Imagine wearing blinkers throughout life, that is what it must be like for dogs not being allowed to sniff.

I often relate how, as a shift worker, I would sometimes walk my dogs while it was still dark. I was always looking around me, behind me, a little on edge. Because I couldn’t see very well, I didn’t feel safe.

Dogs can find out sooo much about the world by being allowed to gather that information through their noses. And that allows them to feel safe.

I am aware of recent information in the media where it was advised not to let dogs sniff. I want to be very clear, as a qualified dog trainer who has worked professionally with dogs in a range of disciplines (for over 20 years) my advice is the opposite. Let your dogs sniff. Long sniffy walks are hereby prescribed for ALL dogs. I would love for anyone who does not allow their dogs to sniff to trial a long sniffy walk each day. See how this changes your dog’s arousal levels. See how it improves their behaviour and well being.

This is more important for working dogs - it helps them decompress. I would take my detection dogs for long sniffy walks as often as I could. Let them enjoy the recreation sniffs. If a dog is motivated to do it’s job, it should be able to enjoy all of life’s pleasures, including sniffing. Working dogs deserve this. It is much more important in my opinion to become a better trainer so that your dog does not need to be deprived, in fact their non working lives should be enriched.

Here is a collage of just some of my clients herding breed dogs sniffing. These dogs live very fulfilling lives and compete in a variety of disciplines - tricks, obedience, herding, agility, and being goodest dogs on the couch too. Some are dogs who have worked through behavioural issues where sniffing has played a very important role.

Please, let your dog sniff.

13/10/2023

Fetch is soooo idealised as a way to tire out active dogs. Think about the wear and tear on joints, and the force going into the spine. Look into ball herding games, sniffing games, and low impact sports like hoopers instead. A slow sniffy walk will also tire your dog out whilst not leaving them ‘razzed up’ like fetch does!

28/09/2023

🫶🏽 🐴

03/09/2023

I realised this deserved a place on my grid. This happened 5 days ago and as you can see I was blown away and for a few specific reasons.

I am still buzzing from last night! If you have a dog who struggled in classes (opting out, overwhelmed) you’ll get it! We did our last classes quite a long time ago.

I know sniffing is great for Dukie and he enjoys it but I’ve never held ideas about him being ‘good’ at it. I just wanted him to participate.

I know it’s not a serious competition, but these are brand new environments for him. He ran around in the hall like a puppy, he was so excited AND he put his nose down and searched 👏🏼 👃🏽

His indications were a touch vague but they have improved hugely, enough for me to feel pretty confident to call alert 📢

I was blown away that he found 7 hides as he is quite a slow purposeful boy and tires or gets frustrated easily 🥱 Even with needing to go and kiss Fiona in between each find he managed it! 😘

I can’t say how excited I am and it felt like he was also so very excited!

This is not about him being a ‘talented’ or successful sniffer dog, I know we have some stars in the group, but just the sheer win of him being confident in a new environment, actually searching, and finding multiple hides (I think the most he’s ever done in one search is 3) 🏅 a teal ribbon is like a gold medal to us!

We then went next door and it was a totally different story where he was unsure of the job and found it harder 🤷🏽‍♀️ but that is totally totally fine. Nothing can dampen my pride and excitement.

Our version of a ‘win’ is more about his confidence, learning and progression than it is about anything else and it’s the best feeling. It’s also about our relationship and communication which is still growing despite him being 8 🥹💕

We have been working on it, and we also had a session with Kelby to help indications. It was so valuable to also help me with my body language to let duke know to keep searching etc. that was our difference between 2.5 hides last time, and 7 this time!

Thanks again for the Sniffafun, Doggy Ladies

30/08/2023

75 mins driving
6 mins sniffing
7 hides
1 pretty ribbon
2 cute new dog friends
2 of his Doggy Lady girlfriends

All quality time with my dog 🐶 🩵⭐️

Thank you Full of Beans Dog Training for your help with our indications! Dukie sure showed me what he was finding tonight 🤗

04/08/2023

Me and my boy having fun with sniffs. We did classes with The Doggy Lady starting about 6years ago! We went on a whole journey of pain issues and multiple surgeries, and found our way back! Dukie wasn’t indicating so great but THIS is all that matters. He had a great time and he also did some fab sniffing which showed he felt confident enough to work 💜 thanks Fiona for putting this fun event on

04/07/2023

Yay here it is! So exciting! Showing at 8pm tonight on ABC TV + iview!

06/06/2023

Obedience training doesn’t fix anxiety 💜

Our wild, loud, disobedient dog turned out to be a terrified dog.

06/06/2023

All behavioural problems (as opposed to ‘training’ problems) have underlying emotional causes 💜

There are also lots of myths about what causes separation anxiety, including being too caring or letting your dog sleep on your bed. Just. Not. True.

20/04/2023

For now I will not be taking on training consults or new clients. This will free me up to take on some professional development opportunities while juggling the normal life stuff we all face. I will give a shout when I am opening back up for consultations.
Lauren 😊

19/02/2023

A little bit of understanding about behaviour goes a long way. We need to drop our human concepts of ‘good’ or ‘bad’ when we are working with dogs. That can leave us a little lost on how to proceed, since being ‘good’ is a concept we are very attached to.
If we just start thinking about what behaviour we can reinforce… a whole new world can open up (I’m not even exaggerating, it’s Aladdin- level exciting).
If you need help with this in the Freo area, give me a shout 👋🏽

15/02/2023

Introducing Jacky boy. He is a 5 month old lab. Jacky’s dad Harry is in his early 80’s, and used to train police dogs in Germany as a young man!
We are working on some life skills and how to set Jacky and Harry up for success. Harry has added 2 snuffle mats, 3 kongs, and a mat on the floor, all of which are super valuable for enrichment and calm behaviours.
Today we did hand targeting, using a target stick to practice loose lead, and learning nice calm mat behaviour.
Harry is enjoying learning some clever techniques that make Jacky super keen to do the ‘right’ thing.

24/01/2023

👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

At Swan Valley Vet Centre, we as a team strive towards achieving our goal of 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 certified 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐜, and helping to nurture the human and animal bond. ❤
As such, we do have several clinic policies that are implemented in an aim to reduce the stress, pressure, pain and fear of our pet clients. One very important policy we have is that the wearing of Prong collars and Shock collars is not permitted at all on the clinic grounds. The function of these collars as a training tool is to create a pinch, pressure, pain or shock stimulus on the animal wearing them which is supposed to prevent the animal from engaging in behaviours that the trainer does not desire such as barking, jumping up, pulling on lead and more…”behave or receive bad things”.
The Australian Veterinary Association, qualified veterinary behaviourists and qualified modern animal trainers all agree that this method of training is harmful to our animals mental wellbeing and diminishes the human animal bond.
In our opinion, along with others, positive reinforcement training is the best, safest and most successful training method and the use of aversive collars is unnecessary and risky to your pets wellbeing.
Many countries around the world have 𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐝 the use of such collars and states within Australia are starting to change the laws and make them illegal here too!
This is great news for our pets!
𝐏𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐮𝐬 𝐛𝐲 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐥 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐟𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐬!
If you have been told to use one of these collars by a trainer or well meaning friend , there is never any judgement at Swan Valley Vet. Our trainers can help you learn a better and more effective way of training.
Follow these Links below to learn more about the use of aversive collars and the Australian Veterinary Associations stance on them, as well as finding links to scientific studies that have helped shape our collective views 📝:
https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ava.com.au%2Fmedia-centre%2Fmedia-releases%2Fveterinarians-back-government-move-to-ban-prong-collars-on-dogs%2F%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR2g0kSVaXmD_vhKIVg6sbnDvmnVrbQvznQBR7-8LNFgOsws9akyAerH0V8&h=AT3dmW5VzWlqHbJVfSy4n0T0cJFsdbOIpwyJhANAyyFuJk3trjUSGdMpMiaUqaaD951r4wczd7bMs45Ygjzf7Wzzv9OaPSYrXVijgHBPVNe5JJalFuY21WiIYdMSeij7ct_E&__tn__=-UK-R&c[0]=AT02IRKBDx8JCVwv9OyuIFUa-3jIubybLQA___a5lZ3XUGoHlybp-cWfkR630UFMYsIRe11-vH4fOZStE4zVX7n0WdAhxb1Yj9eT2UBn2sQJlM56-0Av1GncjbMHwRVBrNyavsm8qbwF1P2IGpVh9KV1PXOQ4q1vc9oPVvxOmu1gT7K-tVEwYOoDnBjq-vwt8Aw-el-nOnCS
https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ava.com.au%2Fpolicy-advocacy%2Fpolicies%2Fcompanion-animals-dog-behaviour%2Fuse-of-behaviour-modifying-collars-on-dogs%2F%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR2Y-PXbIDX_sfzTZ9dNkCDPUpvptikGTl4DiiQ70YwjY5xXo02aYIMOzsQ&h=AT1b6ILgQCdLjFXIzfTj3Dh5Aw2izBHl1ODNyveKjF4niFxkKD8woG--Nc8MyZvEWMhqSJ-8odctZK1VJsiiXLrJbT7Ehmk9QFGpmwc_56W8rH_ogmSGqXG1mUjTcgb0ul0Y&__tn__=-UK-R&c[0]=AT02IRKBDx8JCVwv9OyuIFUa-3jIubybLQA___a5lZ3XUGoHlybp-cWfkR630UFMYsIRe11-vH4fOZStE4zVX7n0WdAhxb1Yj9eT2UBn2sQJlM56-0Av1GncjbMHwRVBrNyavsm8qbwF1P2IGpVh9KV1PXOQ4q1vc9oPVvxOmu1gT7K-tVEwYOoDnBjq-vwt8Aw-el-nOnCS

https://fearfreepets.com/

08/01/2023

It can be hard to know how to choose a trainer. There are so many terms thrown around and it’s not always clear what they mean. This post describes my approach. These techniques are based on long standing and researched learning and behaviour theory, and informed by an ethical approach.
We have come a long way in what we understand about dogs and their cognitive and emotional functions, as well as their innate needs and how genetics influence behaviour. No dog needs a heavy hand to learn and in fact this can be a bit counter productive. You want a trainer whose clients’ (dogs and human!) are showing a lot of eagerness, relaxed body language and happy vibes.
Choosing a trainer from register is one way to ensure you are getting a modern and ethical trainer.

05/01/2023

Your most crucial job, as a new dog parent, is to develop a well-adjusted puppy. Here's how to socialize your puppy.