Present Company Inc

01/09/2025

Bunbury and Busselton - we have a rare opportunity. One of our OT's will be travelling your way on the school holidays. This means that on Sunday 28th September we have the opportunity to offer in-person consultations. Specifically these consults would be 'pre-meetings' individuals who are thinking about getting an Assistance Dog but don't know where to start, or have a dog and would like to get it funded (by NDIS) but are not sure about what the process looks like. For individuals on the NDIS looking to have the Assistance Animal Template form completed to request funding for an Assistance Dog, Training and/or maintenance this can also be done. Spots are limited. And please note these are not dog training sessions. So if you are interested in the above, please email: [email protected] ASAP.

28/08/2025

If I could raise awareness about one thing it would be this!

29/07/2025

So what does taking responsibility for your dog look like?

Quite a number of dog owners are unaware of some of their legal responsibilities under W.A. state law.

One of the main responsibilities is having your dog under effective control in public areas.

This means having the dog on a lead and being handled by a responsible adult. Yes, that's right, walking the dog is actually too high of a responsibility for a child under 16.

The only places where dogs are allowed to be off lead, are at designated off lead exercise areas, and within these areas you are still required to have your dog under effective control.

This means that your dog should have a reliable recall, even around distractions, and you should respect other people using the space if they don't want to interact with your dog, and recall your dog away.

This is just a part of your responsibility around taking your dog out into public areas.

Being a responsible Dog owner is not only essential for your own dog's safety, but it also means that other dogs and their humans can use public spaces without concerns about being approached.

The City of Albany is urging owners to take responsibility for their pets following an increase in dog attacks.

There were 121 dog attacks in the 12 months to the end of June, and 14 infringements issued.

While there were 107 from June 2023 to 2024, and 7 infringements issued.

Ranger coordinator Carl Fjastad said the City of Albany takes all dog attacks seriously.

"Many of these sad and unfortunate incidents can be avoided if dog owners take proper responsibility for their animals," he said.

"Several dog owners have been prosecuted this year, with court fines ranging from $6,000 to $10,500, and orders made for the destruction of the attack dogs."

Get the news that matters to you straight from the source. Download the ABC NEWS app: https://ab.co/abcnewsapp

23/07/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/1LvR1FQz9x/?mibextid=wwXIfr

A wave of new scientific research is challenging one of humanity’s oldest beliefs: that consciousness is uniquely human. Studies now suggest that animals, from dolphins and octopuses to bees and even ants, may have forms of awareness and subjective experience. The idea of animals feeling, thinking, or experiencing the world in a meaningful way is forcing scientists to rethink what it means to be “conscious.”

This shift is driven by advances in neuroscience and behavioral science. For example, experiments have shown that bees can learn concepts like “same” and “different,” while octopuses display problem-solving skills and curiosity akin to mammals. Even insects, often dismissed as purely instinct-driven, exhibit behaviors suggesting they might have rudimentary forms of awareness, like making choices that indicate memory, preference, or even emotional-like responses to stress.

The implications of these findings are profound. If more animals possess consciousness than we assumed, it raises ethical questions about how we treat them, from factory farming to wildlife conservation. As the scientific community pushes further into the mysteries of the mind, one thing is becoming clear: the line separating human and animal intelligence is far blurrier than we once believed.
Sources: The Cambridge Declaration on Consciousness (2012), Current Biology, Scientific American

11/06/2025

If you understand these things you're ahead of the game! They are so important but also not widely understood by dog guardians!

09/06/2025

Sometimes we make things a little harder than they need to be. If we can follow these mindset tips we'll be well equipped to handle various behaviour situations. Make sure we are paying well (high value rewards!) and we're putting money in the behaviour piggy bank,

21/04/2025

Considering Dukie turns 10 in a few months I decided to indulge in the AI action figure trend 🩷

I wanted to talk about our successful attendance at fun Scentwork Trial over the weekend.

It's not easy for Duke to attend such an event, you won't necessarily see evidence of this because I do a lot to manage it. I'll describe how I made it work and why inclusive doggy events matter so much.

1. Mobility and Pain
- tweaked pain relief about 6 weeks prior when we needed to and then monitored him to make sure he was up for it
- took his pram to move around the venue without too much weight bearing and so I didn't have to constantly lift him and carry him
- this is where inclusivity helps because the judges and stewards didn't blink an eye at us using the pram

2. Behaviour/reactivity
- brought a light blanket to cover the pram to minimise visual exposure to the rest of the dogs. This also meant I didn't need a huge amount of food to 'manage' the constant triggers
- used our usual known training and management strategies when he did see dogs
- kept up his regular anxiety medication
- parked near friends he knows/trusts

3. Scentwork Practice
- duke is a pretty low drive low stamina dog and actually always has been. He does need stimulation and challenges but has always hated boring, repetitive and drawn out training so I had to keep it fun and motivating for HIM
- worked on our indication and not biting containers. He didn't bite them but he didn't indicate either

4. General
- when we had a long break I popped him in the car with AC on and doors closed to sleep, he needed a break from the barking
- brought water and a chew. He didn't chew and I didn't think he would but it was there if he needed.

5. Inclusivity
- everyone at the event was briefed to keep their dogs away from others and to be respectful of someone asked for space. This made it incredibly smooth for us. I only had to ask once and the person was already backing away cos he had growled.

If you like to train with your dog who is sensitive or reactive, I hope this gave you a sense of what kind of preparation goes into an outing like this that made it successful.

22/03/2025

This is a good outcome.

Whilst this business owner feels personally affected, it is a change that has to happen.

The puppies sold in these stores are from puppy mills.

Duke is from a similar store (10yrs ago). He is not even the breed he was sold as.

Registered ANKC breeders have never sold their puppies in pet shops and still don't.

Owners of stores like this will smile and lie to your face about where your puppy came from and charge you upward of $5k for the pleasure.

Next I'll share some info on how to find a responsible breeder and a puppy with an optimal chance of becoming a healthy, behaviourally sound dog

From May 26, all pet shops selling dogs or puppies will need to have obtained pet shop approval from their local government. https://buff.ly/Vga818D

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.