Dog Trainer servicing the Sunshine Coast and Hinterland, QLD. Helping humans and their dogs to create great relationships.
11/01/2025
Weโre out of town tor a bit.
Time to rest, recharge and spend some quality time with our own dogs.
Emails and messages will be monitored, please allow for longer than usual response times.
See ya tomorrow NSW!!
Sunny Coast - weโll be back at it from Monday 19th Jan.
09/01/2025
Itโs good to be back!! ๐คฉ
We are fully booked for training in January and are now starting to fill spots in February.
Get in touch and letโs start training towards your goals together ๐
This announcement brought to you by baby Gary ๐ฅบ who turns 9 years old in 2025 - where does the time go?!
06/01/2025
Happy Monday dog people ๐
We've freshened up our website for 2025, including details on some new training options we are excited to offer ๐คฉ
Click the link below and hit me with your feedback.
Dog trainer servicing Sunshine Coast region, Queensland. Qualified and experienced trainers offering flexible training options to meet the needs of every team. Develop real skills as a handler, effect real change in your dogโs behaviour, and enjoy a fulfilling life with your canine companion.
As dog trainers, handlers and enthusiasts, we often face the dilemma of whether to focus on teaching a dog to perform a behaviour or to prevent it from engaging in a particular action. Throughout this presentation and the accompanying practical spots, we will delve into the factors that influence the choice between these two strategies. We will break down how to determine the most effective approach by considering the advantages and disadvantages of each. Our aim is to design a well-rounded training plan rooted in deliberate decision-making, rather than one shaped solely by limited information.
๐Day Two - How Do You Show Up For the Dog?
Modern dog training presents a vast spectrum of methods, approaches, and techniques, all designed to reach our training goals. The initial step is deciding how to show up for the dog. Weโll examine the strengths and weaknesses of various approaches, ranging from a highly mechanical, detached style to being the dogโs most passionate cheerleader. Our focus will be on learning how to choose the most effective form of interaction to achieve the training outcomes weโre aiming for.
Social media is a highlight reel. Mostly what people are sharing are the best bits of their training, life, whatever. Consuming enough of this content is like buying infinite rides on the doom spiral and will quickly have you believing that you and your dog are โless thanโ.
Clearly Iโm still working out how to take a good photo, and Iโm no good at staying on top of my social media. But what I am good at is training dogs and coaching people how to train theirs.
Letโs make 2025 the year your dog becomes the best version of themselves. Get in touch and letโs talk about making your training goals more than just an Insta highlight - letโs make them a reality.
08/12/2024
Love this ๐
The adolescent stage can be a challenge to navigate. Check out Timโs video below for some great tips to help keep your dogโs development on track during this time.
Also how handsome is his Labrador, Sport ๐
02/12/2024
๐ our books are full for December!
๐we are taking some time off over the holidays, from 23 December to 2 January. Any calls, emails or messages received during this time will be attended to when we return on 3rd January.
๐ we have limited spots available for new client bookings in January. Get in touch today for a free phone assessment, to discuss your training needs and book your session.
28/11/2024
We all know that exercise and outdoor activity with our dogs, needs to be restricted to the cooler parts of the day in summer.
But that doesnโt mean we have to do absolutely nothing with our dogs, if we find ourselves with time to train in the hotter part of the day. Itโs just about getting creative!
Rhu and Iโs lunchtime activity today, was searching for her new ball from (watch this space for our review). Rhu is already on multiple odours, so we set this game up totally differently so as to maximise clarity:
- different start line
- different search cue
- no expectation of an indication / trained final response
- different reward event
Keep your eyes on our page for more info on scentwork in 2025 ๐
28/11/2024
Gotta love a reliable down stay for getting those group photos ๐ Who posed better - Team Boy or Team Girl?
๐Team Boy - Gary & Koda at La Balsa today
๐ฉทTeam Girl - Sunni & Misty at Cotton Tree yesterday
20/11/2024
Two empty beaches. Twenty mm of rain. Two sassy herding girls.
This has gotta be top 5 Wednesday mornings ever โค๏ธ
29/10/2024
Always a good time catching up with Team Misty ๐ซ
Little maโam is maturing into an awesome dog. She maintains her spice and sass, but is doing better at controlling her impulses. What a little legend.
Special guest appearance from Sunni, who tagged along to be my trainers helper after her own session this morning. Iโm not sure Iโve got her fully sold on the job role ongoing ๐ but she was a cracker assistant in todayโs session.
22/10/2024
Is it even a trip to Cotton Tree Park if you donโt climb the tree? ๐ค
Itโs been an intense few weeks here at Leading K9 HQ. We are back on deck and all cylinders firing. A reunion with Sunni, cruising in the sun and enjoying our time together, was just what the Dr ordered ๐
Slowly slowly this little lady is convincing me that maybe I should look into getting myself a Labradorkโฆ.๐
29/09/2024
EDIT: Dottie has been found!!
Dottie slipped her leash last night on Bradman Ave and was hit by a car. She ran off and was last seen around Baden Powell / Horton Pde.
Friends in Maroochydore, please contact me asap if you spot her.
This is Dottie.
Dottie is a recent rehome. She arrived a little low in confidence, and with some big feelings about dogs.
I caught up with Team Dottie yesterday for their second session, and it was the kind of lesson that makes your heart sing. Dottie has a wicked game of tug. Sheโs motivated and clear in her obedience, leash communication is strong, markers are established, human is confident in her handling skills.
โRescueโ is not a breed. Itโs not a personality type. And itโs not what defines who your dog will be for the rest of their life.
Itโs truly amazing what can be achieved with consistent application of training. Do the work, get the results.
I am beyond proud of these ladies. Dottie is on the fast track to a big life. Great work Team Dottie ๐ซ
27/09/2024
This is Dottie.
Dottie is a recent rehome. She arrived a little low in confidence, and with some big feelings about dogs.
I caught up with Team Dottie yesterday for their second session, and it was the kind of lesson that makes your heart sing. Dottie has a wicked game of tug. Sheโs motivated and clear in her obedience, leash communication is strong, markers are established, human is confident in her handling skills.
โRescueโ is not a breed. Itโs not a personality type. And itโs not what defines who your dog will be for the rest of their life.
Itโs truly amazing what can be achieved with consistent application of training. Do the work, get the results.
I am beyond proud of these ladies. Dottie is on the fast track to a big life. Great work Team Dottie ๐ซ
22/09/2024
Sunni is here for a staycation whilst her humans are off on an overseas holiday.
I adore this little dog. Sheโs trained with us in class at The Good Dog Project since she was a wee pup and is now in our top level class! Today she was my class helper and she did a wonderful job.
We are very privileged to get to be a part of so many dogโs lives, watching them grow up and having a part in guiding them through their development along the way.
She really is a little ray of sunshine. Love you SunSun โ๏ธ๐
We have recently seen an increase in the amount of new puppy owners taking on littermates or 2 puppies at the same time. As trainers approached by these puppy owners, there is a tough conversation to have.
๐ซฃ The unfortunate reality is that this scenario is fraught with risk; it presents many challenges not only in the short term, but also with regards the ongoing life and development of both dogs.
Our best advice to clients who have brought home littermates is to give one of the puppies back to the breeder, or rehome to another owner. ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฎ๐บ๐ผ๐๐ป๐ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ธ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐พ๐๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐๐ผ ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐๐๐ผ ๐๐ฒ๐น๐น ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฑ๐ผ๐ด๐ ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐บ๐ฒ ๐๐ถ๐บ๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ฏ๐ฒ ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ.
๐ ๐ช๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ป?
Atleast one (if not both) puppies will not develop fully in terms of confidence, resilience, coping skills, independence, and ability to navigate and function successfully in the word. This can contribute to a range of behavioural issues we commonly work with in adult dogs, this is then made more complex to resolve in a littermate situation.
The dogs will become overly bonded to each other. This leads to them taking their cues from each other, rather than from any humans in the household. This can also then lead to a "can't live with you, can't live without you" dynamic - serious aggression and fighting between the dogs, usually beginning in adolescence, is common in these situations.
๐๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ช๐ฆ๐ด ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ช๐จ๐ฏ๐ช๐ง๐ช๐ค๐ข๐ฏ๐ต๐ญ๐บ ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ช๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฑ๐ข๐ณ๐ต, ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฐ๐จ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ
For at least the first 6 months home, but should be in place through to maturity.
This means sleeping in separate crates, separated while you are at work and separate one on one time with family members.
๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ช๐ฆ๐ด ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ค๐ฆ๐ช๐ท๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฑ๐ข๐ณ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต๐ญ๐ฆ๐ต ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ณ๐ข๐ช๐ฏ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ
This means having individual play time with humans, individual training sessions, and individual outings. These need to be happening on a daily basis to make best use of your puppyโs critical socialisation period (3-16 weeks).
๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฑ๐ช๐ฆ๐ด ๐ด๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฑ๐ข๐ณ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ถ๐ด๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฎ๐ข๐ฏ๐ข๐จ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ข๐ต ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฆ, ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ถ๐ฏ๐ด๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ท๐ช๐ด๐ฆ๐ฅ
This means separate crates and play pens or having one outside and one inside. When you are out at work, they should be in separate areas of the house. They should sleep in separate crates. These crates should not be side by side, separate rooms is best.
๐๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ช๐ฐ๐ฅ๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐จ๐ด ๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ๐จ๐ฆ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ, ๐ช๐ฏ๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ๐ข๐ค๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ค๐ข๐ณ๐ฆ๐ง๐ถ๐ญ๐ญ๐บ ๐ด๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ท๐ช๐ด๐ฆ๐ฅ.
You must learn how to step in and stop play on cue to prevent rough play leading to conflict, this will require ongoing practice and careful management through to adulthood.
_________________________________
๐ We want homes to go into this with eyes wide open as often you wonโt see the result of missteps during this developmental period present for 12 -18 months after the puppies comes home. If you have found yourself in the position of having 2 young dogs at the same time, we are always happy to chat about strategy and home set up.
17/09/2024
โThis is my super serious working faceโ
Absolute best start to my day being reunited with Spice ๐ถ๏ธ
I adore this girl (no surprises there ๐), sadly our lessons have been on pause as her human is rehabbing through a pretty gnarly injury which is taking a good while to heal ๐ข
Spice has been doing sessions with the wonderful Salty Pack for a while, and has added in sessions with Woofer Wagon and me, to keep this busy bee working whilst her person recovers.
What an awesome group of boss ladies we have supporting this team right now!
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Videos
Dougal is here for his day of day school. He is 5 months old.
A strong conditioned response to the success marker, is step one in training. If your dog doesnโt respond to their marker like this - start here. Training behaviours can (and should) wait.
Not sure about markers or conditioning? DM me, I can help โ
#leadingk9 #dogtrainer #dogtraining #gsd #puppy #markers #classicalconditioning #sunshinecoastdogs
Every day, we get to decide how we feed our dogs.
โ Free feeding is a missed opportunity
โ Use your dogโs daily food allowance for training activities to:
๐ต Build value in food as a reinforcer
๐ง Mentally challenge and fulfil your dog
๐ Spend fun, quality time together
#leadingk9 #dogtrainer #dogtraining #sunshinecoastdogs #sunshinecoast #nosework #scentwork #trainyourdog #domorewithyourdog
@adaptivek9 this didnโt take long at all ๐
โ๏ธ Weather by SEQLD summer
๐ Leash by @einzweck - my all time fave, the slippy clippy
๐Attire by a middle aged dog trainer who has at this point, entirely given up on looking presentable.
#leadingk9 #dogtrainer #dogtraining #sunshinecoast #rainyday #allweathertraining #traindontcomplain #queensland #summer
โ๏ธWhat to do with a house full of dogs on another scorcher of a summerโs day?
๐ฝReadyโฆ..search!!
We love scentwork for dogs! Hunting and searching is innately reinforcing for our canine companions. Training scent work is also great for developing your dogโs self confidence and independence, building resilience and can foster a clear headed, almost meditative mindsetโฆ..looking at you, drivey working dogs ๐
Scent work is beneficial for every dog. If you are local the Sunshine Coast area, contact @utilitydogk9 or @ultimate_k9 to get started training with your dog.
Featuring:
Gary the Border Collie @leadingk9
Quinn the Border Collie @adaptivek9
Zee the GSD x Staffy @utilitydogk9
Rhu the Border Collie @garyandrhu
#leadingk9 #scentwork #k9nosework #acsw #scenttraining #search #findit #sunshinecoast #dogtrainer #dogtraining #bordercollie #germanshepherd #detectiondog #trainyourdog #domorewithyourdog #dogtrainingaustralia
Our aim at Leading K9 is to help you and your canine companion build an incredible relationship. We provide support at both ends of the lead to ensure your dog-human team gets the absolute best from their training. We will help you and your dog to understand each other, communicate clearly, and achieve awesome things together as a team.
A little about Kirsty, owner and trainer at Leading K9:
I am accredited through the National Dog Trainers Federation of Australia, holding a Certificate III in Dog Training and Behaviour, and I have been training dogs professionally for several years. I absolutely love what I do and I am passionate about helping people to help their dogs.
Back home in my native Scotland I gained my degree in Zoology (BSc, Hons). My biggest area of interest whilst studying was animal behaviour, so it is incredibly fulfilling to now be helping people to understand the behaviour of their dogs better.
There is nothing quite like kicking goals with your dog; it will never cease to amaze me that we can have such incredible connections with another species, and that we can achieve amazing things together.
We look forward to helping you and your dog create an awesome relationship!