Rockhampton Dog Obedience Club Inc. (RDOC)

31/08/2024

28/08/2024

Vet Nurse Required to join our team :-)

We are looking for an experienced Vet Nurse to join our team. Starting on a casual basis, likely to increase to Permanent Part Time. 1-2 days per week currently, but availability to work 3-4 days per week when required.

We are a fast paced, Small Animal clinic, so we require someone with experience who can easily jump in and help!
Cert IV an advantage, or experienced as a Nurse with at least 2 years experience.

We have a fantastic team of vets and nurses, who all get along, help each other out, and have a great Team Culture.

To enquire or apply confidentially, please email [email protected]

28/08/2024

What is a "Sniffari"?🐶

Sniffaris are dog-led walks! They're a fantastic enrichment activity that can be done in just about any low-traffic area. Not only will this help burn energy, but allowing our dogs to make decisions and think independently can help them build confidence in different situations. It also gives us a chance to stop and take a breath along with them AND allows our pups to do a natural, essential behavior for their mental and physical well-being.💙

28/08/2024

The majority of dog bites (77%) happen with known dogs. This is an intimidating statistic when realizing that most dog bites are often preventable!
As a veterinary behavior clinic, we will emphasize time and time again that education is KEY for everyone with a pet at home. We love our animals and children, so let's be proactive to keep them safe and happy.🐶👶🧒

Here are three essential tips to start:
1. Management is your friend- if there is not an adult in the room ACTIVELY paying attention, your kids and pets should be separated by a physical barrier, like a gate or a playpen
2. Learning dog body language is only one piece, start teaching your children how to read them as well!
3. Teach your children and dogs essential skills like:
-children should be taught how to pet and interact gently, at times when your dog is showing you they want to interact (this also means teaching them not to climb on or grab at dogs)
-teach your children how to tell when a dog is not interested, and teach them what times dogs should be left alone entirely (like when resting or eating)
-teach your dog how to relax on a mat or in their kennel in different situations - dogs laying and relaxing are less likely to be underfoot and this can help show dogs they have a safe space to move away

Child and dog safety: https://www.thefamilydog.com/stop-the-77

Be a tree: https://www.trailblazingtails.com/pages/be-a-tree-training

Board game for kids and adults on dog body language: https://doggonecrazy.ca/doggone-crazy-boardgame/

28/08/2024

27/08/2024

27/08/2024

27/08/2024

What's On At Dogs Queensland Sports Grounds This Week 26 August - 1 September 2024

Tuesday:
Puppy Training for the Sport Dog (QLD Obed State Trials Sub Committee) - 5pm
Trial Training Novice/Open (QLD Obed State Trials Sub Committee) - 2pm

Wednesday:
STCQ All Breeds Show Training (Sporting Terrier Club of QLD) 6.30pm

Thursday:
Border Collie Club of QLD Inc 6th National - Championship Show
Border Collie Club of QLD Inc 6th National - Scent Work - 3pm

Friday:
Border Collie Club of QLD Inc 6th National - Dances With Dogs - 9am
Border Collie Club of QLD Inc 6th National - Trick Dogs - Trial 1 - 8:30am
Border Collie Club of QLD Inc 6th National - Trick Dogs - Trial 2

Saturday:
Border Collie Club of QLD Inc 6th National - Championship Show
Border Collie Club of QLD Inc 6th National - Agility - 8:30am

Sunday:
American Staffordshire Terrier Club of QLD Inc - Weight Pull - POSTPONED
Border Collie Club of QLD Inc 6th National (Rally & Obedience) - Obedience - 8:30

26/08/2024

🐶 Today is International Dog Day - let's see your furry friends in the comments section below. 👇📷

We're taking a moment to say a big THANKS to all the local animal agencies who work with Council to rehome surrendered and lost animals. 💛

Council recently contributed $2,000 through the Community Assistance Program to Capricorn Animal Aid to help with its event, The Dark of the Night Masquerade Ball.

The fundraiser was a big success for Capricorn Animal Aid and raised some much needed funds to help with animal care.

🐾 Don't forget - one week left to pay your dog registrations.

📸 Great Danes, Eva and George

26/08/2024

26/08/2024

"𝙄𝙩'𝙨 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙞𝙣 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙧𝙖𝙞𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢"

Well, no. It really isn't.

Behaviour is a result of a combination of factors and while the training the dog has had (or not) is undoubtedly a huge factor in their behaviour it's not the 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 factor. The environment they are in and their genetics are also hugely influential. Pretending to ourselves that if we just 'raise them right' we can override these can lead us to try to fit a square peg in a round hole.

That doesn't mean that we can't teach dogs new behaviours regardless of their breed or background. But it does mean that we will make life a lot harder for them, and us, if we ask them to be something they inherently aren't.

Handsome Archie is a Šarplaninac cross, a livestock guardian breed. They have been bred to be protective, to work independently and to be suspicious of the unfamiliar. These traits have been bred into dogs like Archie for generations so expecting them just to disappear because he lives as a pet is unrealistic no matter how well he is raised.

Understanding a dog's genetic inheritance can be the key to having realistic expectations, to ensuring their environment is as good a fit for them as possible and to finding ways to teach them effectively by working with them rather than against them.

It's not just nature. It's not just nurture. It's both.

22/08/2024

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=984373217033598&id=100063827851851

Did you know?

Putting your dog's nose to work increases your dog's optimism!

According to a study, allowing dogs to spend more time using their noses through fun nosework activities makes them more optimistic. By allowing dogs more "foraging" time, their welfare is therefore improved.

21/08/2024

Exciting News ...
Upcoming Workshop - This time its all-things tricks

This workshop is aimed to give handlers skills to train and prepare for Dogs Australia Trick Dog
Trials. Topics covered will include using techniques such as shaping to effectively train tricks,
developing effective marking and handler mechanics, training common starters and novice level
tricks, understanding what judges are looking for and developing ring craft for navigating trials.
Trick dog is a Dogs Australia sport that became an official event in January 2020. It is quickly
developing in popularity and requires dogs to achieve qualifications at trials in order to achieve
titles. The handler chooses tricks, from the list of prescribed tricks for each level, to perform in
front of the judge.
Cost
Working spot
$70 per dog
Auditing spots
$30 per person

Email: [email protected] to register

20/08/2024

Listen to the latest episode of the Fenzi Dog Sports Podcast with guest Cb Wing wherever you get your podcasts! https://tinyurl.com/bb5ntke9

🎧 Hosted by Click and Repeat

19/08/2024

Dogs are allowed to say 'No'*.

No to interacting with strange people. No to interacting with strange dogs. No to being petted. No to interacting with or approaching things which worry them. And when they do they aren't being dominant or disobedient or stubborn. They are saying 'no' because that makes them feel safe. In many cases it's not so much the 'no' which is problematic...it's the way the dog says it.

So if your dog does say 'no' to something what should our goal be? To teach them to say 'yes' to it? Possibly...in an ideal world it would be wonderful if we could make everything our dog finds worrying wonderful instead. But that might not always be a realistic goal.

In some situations teaching them a better way to say 'no' might be a more realistic first step.

Sawyer can be wary of new people which can express itself as barking or growling. We don't need to teach him to interact with all & sundry. We don't need to encourage him to interact with strange people. Instead we can teach him that if he focuses on his human good things happen. If he keeps his distance good things happen. If he is calm good things happen. That his human will advocate for him around strangers so that he doesn't have to. That a stranger in his home can be cue for good things to happen. That he will be given the space he needs to feel safe. That no-one will invade his space. That there is as little pressure on him as possible.

Allowing your dog to say 'no' is the first step towards making them feel safer. And it might also be the first step in helping them to say 'yes'.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
* clearly, there are exceptions. Sometimes, just like us, there are things they have no choice in. This post is about areas where they 𝘤𝘢𝘯 be given choice.

16/08/2024

In the age of the internet, we are lucky to have so much information available to us right at our fingertips, and this means that a lot of people choose to forgo in-person training when they feel that they can get the same content from a quick google search. There is no point, they think, in spending the money when they can just figure it out for themselves! 🤷‍♀️

To an extent this is true, you can teach 'sit', 'down' and 'stay' at home if you like, but puppy classes are SO MUCH MORE than that.

🐶 A good puppy class should give you a huge variety of useful information, not just basic training - we cover basic first-aid, nutrition, and confidence-building in our classes (to name but a few).

🐶 The trainer will know you and your puppies as individuals and give ongoing personal support - something that no online video, or google search, can do.

🐶 They will know a wide variety of tricks of the trade from working with so many different dogs on a daily basis. These can be revelations to new, and old dog owners alike.

🐶 The class gives you the opportunity to meet other local puppy owners at the same stage as you, and make friends and a support group for both you and your puppy, for life.

🐶 You can practice behaviours your dog may already know in a distracting but controlled environment - something which is key for 'proofing' cues, whether learned in class or at home.

The fact is good, scientifically endorsed puppy classes have been scientifically proven to have a positive effect on the development of your puppy, something that is not worth missing out on!

You can check out the study mentioned in the graphic for yourself here: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/248578004_Training_engagement_and_the_development_of_behavior_problems_in_the_dog_A_longitudinal_study?fbclid=IwY2xjawEnBhJleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHblod7w60iOKbTUSDIUN6n22ETn3hL3rp6Cy77tyf1tBOSC0h77KsGUEmQ_aem_EJWHXXDuz-X8LCl4GdHB1g

16/08/2024

So you’re at an outing, standing next to your spouse or friend. Someone approaches you with a tray filled with hors d’oeuvres, and offers one to you. You look at the tray, but then say “no, thank you.” The waiter moves away.

Now, imagine if after saying “no, thank you” the waiter didn’t go away. Imagine if the waiter continued to push you to take one, and even your spouse started saying “come on, take one!” So you uncomfortably took and ate one, even though it wasn’t what you wanted. You’d probably be pretty aggravated with your spouse too. But you think it’s a one off and you carry on with the evening.

A few minutes later another waiter approaches with another tray, and the same thing happens. This time you feel yourself get more upset, especially after saying “no” multiple times. But your spouse insists also, even going so far as to take the snack off the tray and try to put it in your mouth. By the end of the interaction, you’re really on edge.

The third or fourth time you see a waiter approach you, you’re feeling either stressed, angry, or both. The waiter hasn’t even gotten all the way over to you yet and you’re ready to yell “no!” You look around for a place to escape to but your spouse/friend has their arm around you and you can’t back away. You end up physically snatching the tray from the waiter and throwing it on the ground, yelling obscenities and getting as quickly out of the room as possible. The guests look at you while your spouse simply says “I don’t know why she’s being so aggressive! They were just wanted to give her a snack!” I’m guessing you would be pretty angry at your spouse/friend by this point too. They aren’t helping support you at all. You can’t trust them OR the waiter.

You see where I’m going with this don’t you?
Try to imagine if your “no thank yous” were ignored. How many times would it take being ignored for you to get angry, get physical, or try to escape, or worse, just shut down completely. Everyone would handle it differently, but we’d all hate it.

Dogs deal with this EVERY DAY. They say “no, thank you” all the time. And we often times are guilty of ignoring that request and trying to convince them otherwise, sometimes even going so far as to force them through something because WE don’t understand. And then we wonder why dogs reach a point of aggressing or avoiding. Whether we are the waiter; trying to push something onto the dog like an interaction, or the spouse/friend not supporting the dog and backing up their request of “no, thank you” we are doing serious harm to the dogs confidence and even more harm to our relationship with them.

Your dog can only use his body language to tell you what he wants, so pay attention. If your dog says no thank you, listen. If they don’t want a stranger to touch them, support them. If they don’t want to meet a strange dog, let it go. If they want to take their time trying something different, let them take their time. I can tell you the more choice they feel they have the more likely they are to actually decide to try when they are ready. Just like you may finally get hungry enough to want a snack from the tray, but on your terms, and one that you get to pick.

Choice and consent matters in ALL species. Respect your dogs “no, thank you” and you’ll get a lot of respect back.

- Helen St. Pierre, No Monkey Business Dog Training. Please if you share give credit.

16/08/2024

16/08/2024

The most important things to know if you have a fearful dog.

14/08/2024

NEW Memberships are NOT available via online services, please print and complete the forms below and email them to [email protected] note: Membership is from January to December each year, renewals open up from November for the up-coming year.

12/08/2024

All classes (basic, fun & competition) EXCEPT PUPPY have been cancelled tonight due to the wet weather. Puppy class will be run under the clubhouse verandah.

05/01/2024

"I adopted your dog today.
The one you left in the shelter.
The one you had for 10 years. That you don't want to keep him anymore.
I adopted your dog today.
Did you know he lost weight?
Did
you know he is terrorized and depressed?
And it seems he has lost all trust?
I adopted your dog today.
He had fleas and suffered from winter.
I guess you don't care what state he is in?
They told me you left him.
I adopted your dog today.
Did you have a baby or did you move? You have at once
a developed allergy? Or there was no reason,
why couldn't he stay with you?
I adopted your dog today.
She’s not playing and barely eating.
I think she is very sad and will take time,
before she gets her trust again.
I adopted your dog today.
And here we will love him.
He found his forever family.
And a warm place to relax.
I adopted your dog today.
And I will give him everything: patience, love, and safety.
So he can forget your cowardice. "
Peace Ever.