Tails Will Wag Dog Training

20/11/2024

Hi all!
For those that are new, here’s a bit about me!
My name is Alice!
I am a Karen Pryor Academy certified training partner, through completion of the dog trainers professional course in 2023. Which led me to founding Tails Will Wag Dog Training, named affectionately after one of my dogs’, Chloe.

I have worked in the force free dog world over the past 2 years as a certified force free trainer, prior to that as dog walker, doing group dog adventures 🐾 As well as an indoor daycare attendant managing and training dogs in a larger group setting.

I have learnt basic canine first aid as well
as husbandry and handling at TAFESA through the Certificate III in Companion Animal Services.

I also have 3 canine family members at home that I love teaching new things to and learning from! Flicka, a 4 year old Australian Kelpie who loves fetch and couch snuggles. Rosie, 6 year old Australian cattle dog x Australian kelpie, who loves a chat and a good nap! And Chloe, a 4 year old Australian cattle dog x Corgi who loves food and trick training…and of course wagging her tail!

15/11/2024

URGENT WARNING TO DOG & PUPPY OWNERS !!

Multiple outbreaks of Canine Parvovirus—a highly contagious and lethal virus affecting dogs and puppies—have been reported in the northern and western suburbs.

We strongly urge all dog owners to:
- Ensure your pets are up to date with their vaccinations.
- Seek immediate veterinary assistance if you notice any signs of the virus.

The signs to look out for:

-Lethargy: Unusual tiredness or lack of energy
-Loss of Appetite: Sudden disinterest in food
-Severe or Repeated Vomiting: Persistent vomiting episodes
-Diarrhoea: Often accompanied by blood in the stool

For more information, please read our media release here: https://brnw.ch/21wOC5i

15/10/2024

Snoop
Miniature Dachshund 1yr

Reactivity
Difficult on lead

I completely fell in love with little Snoop (and her sister Luna) last weekend when I met with her and her family!

Snoop has a hard time out and about on the lead, is worried about encountering other dogs and needs some help building confidence on the lead.

With Snoop’s family we went through the basics of clicker training and how it is such an efficient way of teaching dogs new things as well as building their confidence through positive reinforcement.

We worked on a default sit, reinforcing calm and quiet behaviour as I talked with Snoop’s family. Snoop was a quick study in the treat distraction game, understanding promptly that engaging with the person working with her instead of outside world distractions, is a very good idea!

I am excited to see Snoop’s progress in her walk and train sessions with me, as her family practise their new training repertoire regularly!

15/10/2024

Sabi
Australian Shepherd 9months

Overexcited
Not settled indoors
Counter surfing
Reactivity on leash

It was such a joy to work with Sabi and his Family last weekend! Sabi likes being the start of the show, which he certainly was with his adorable smile!

Sabi caught on so quickly to clicker training and really enjoyed working for treats! We established that eye contact means good things happen, in the form of reinforcement (yummy treats).

With Sabi’s family, we discussed several management strategies for Sabi’s excitement and overstimulation indoors. It’s is such a novelty and exciting time to be indoors with his family, but we went over how marking and reinforcing calm behaviour will lead to Sabi offering these behaviours increasingly.

We also talked through practising engraving and disengaging with triggers when out in public and Changi the setting of Sabi’s walks to set him up for success!

I am fortunate enough to get to see the beautiful Sabi again soon for his first walk and train session, which I think we are all looking forward to!

04/10/2024

Keiko
Doberman

Recovering from injury
Pulls on the lead
Recall
Confidence building

This week I had the pleasure of meeting Keiko and her mum!

We went through the basics of clicker training, which Keiko caught on to very quickly! Teaching Keiko that good things happen when she looks at the person at the other end of the lead!

Keiko is recovering from a leg injury, so we worked on building her confidence with a ramp to help her into the car. Keiko was quite wary of the ramp, so we built her confidence around it using shaping to begin.

Keiko and her mum will continue to work with the ramp for the next couple of weeks until I meet back with them to continue expanding Keiko’s training!

20/09/2024

I'm not sure when growling became so vilified.

When did we decide that dogs weren't allowed to have an opinion unless it aligned with our own?

That they weren't allowed to express their displeasure, their fear, or their anger? That they just always had to agree with what we were asking of them?

When did our expectations become "put on a happy face?" And "grin and bear it, dog?"

Let me tell you this, IT IS FINE IF A DOG GROWLS. Growling is just a form of communication. Communication is ALWAYS a good thing. It's when communication stops that we are all in trouble. (And if we know they are feeling a particular way, we are better positioned to help them).

IT IS OKAY TO VALIDATE YOUR DOG'S FEELINGS. Any feelings. Their happy ones, sad ones, and yes, their angry ones, fearful ones, anxious ones, or worried ones. And growling can happen in all of those situations, too.

If your dog growls, THEY ARE TELLING YOU SOMETHING: "That thing is scary," "I don't want to be touched right now," "I need space," "I hurt," "I am worried," "That startled me."

And while you might say, "my old dog never growled at me," know that some dogs use growling to communicate more than others. They are not bad dogs, they are good communicators!

19/09/2024

Chilli 🌶️ & Squid 🦑
Kelpie & koolie

Jumping up
Over excitement
Reactivity to strange dogs

Today with Chilli, Squid and their family we revisited the principles of clicker training and talked about how it’s the most efficient way of training! Positive reinforcement training builds the confidence of dogs, builds relationship with their handler and creates long lasting reliability in behaviours taught using positive reinforcement paired with a marker such as a clicker.

Chilli and squid were both very enthusiastic upon my arrival but quickly caught on to the ‘default sit’ behaviour. In waiting for them to offer a sit before they revived reinforcement or attention they began to opt for a sitting position on their own rather than jumping up.

We also went over the basics of engaging and disengaging with reactivity triggers, which for Chilli and Squid is most commonly strange dogs.

I have high hopes for these two and their family in their training endeavours and look forward to seeing them in future!

26/08/2024

Happy international dog day!! Here’s to our canine family members and all the joy they bring us and lessons they teach us! Forever grateful for my doggos at home and my extended family of client dogs whom I love like my own!

26/08/2024

17/08/2024

Koda
8months Siberian Husky

Jumping up
Pulling on the lead
Reactive to certain dogs

This week I had the pleasure of meeting Koda and his family (including his older fur sibling Bear)! We talked through the basics of clicker training and introduced Koda and his family to training with ‘yes’ as a marker word.

Koda is such a clever cookie and caught on so quickly! Koda excelled in the engagement activities and did a great job of giving us all eye contact (being highly food motivated was a big help!)

We also practiced some recall and loose lead walking and added those exercises into Kodas new repertoire of training activities.

I’m looking forward to seeing more of Koda in the future!

10/08/2024

Had a lovely Session with the little Henry and his mum at his place! Henry is a very nervous dog who struggles to interact with anyone who isn’t ‘his person’. We helped Henry build his confidence out on the property, with his first time wearing a harness and walking on lead with it on. Henry managed to walk with me on the lead and was happy to take treat with his mum present! Even this is a big step for Henry! Very proud of his bravery!

08/08/2024

Giovanni & JJ
Border collie 4yrs Kelpie 7yrs

Reactivity towards strange dogs
Jumping up
Excitement around new people
Pulling on the lead

I had an absolute blast having my heart won over by these two beauties today! With their family already having an understanding of clicker training we were off to a great start!!

We went through the basics of some engagement exercises which both dogs caught on to very quickly. Along with chatting through engaging and disengaging with reactivity triggers.

Finally we went through the foundations of loose lead walking with Gio being a great demo dog!

Fortuneately for me I’ll be seeing both pups in the near future for some walk and train sessions!

07/08/2024

Consults Available Now!
Book your in-home consult today to get a kick start on communicating effectively and positively with your canine companions!

06/08/2024

Boris
Boxer 1yrs

Reactive towards male dogs
Over excited
Overstimulated by other pets
Jumping up

I had an absolutely lovely consult with Boris and his mum this afternoon! Boris is so full of life and energy but gets a little bit carried away sometimes!

Due to some negative experiences with another entire male dog as a puppy Boris gets quite worked up around them. We worked on engaging and disengaging with his reactivity triggers and built up the value in remaining neutral around anything that might be a stressor for Boris.

Boris impressed us with his quick thinking skills in catching on to default sitting and giving eye contact very quickly!

Off on the right foot now I look forward to hearing of all of Boris’ success. Boris was a pleasure to work with and I can’t wait to head back and have more fun with it him soon!

06/08/2024

Benny
Australian Cobberdog 1.5yrs

Waiting at thresholds
Distracted in new environments
Loose lead walking

I had the pleasure of working with Benny and his mum this week. We went over the basics of clicker training and Benny had lots of fun!

Benny worked out that very good things happen when he pays attention and engages with the person on the other end of the lead! Benny thought that earning treats for giving eye contact was the best game ever.

We went through practising Benny’s new repertoire of exercises around increasing distractions and in new environments. This helps to generalise all these behaviours to ensure Benny is able to understand the cues in any situation!

I’ll be seeing Benny again for a few walk and train sessions in the coming weeks!