24/12/2024
From me, to you - Steve
Just (barely) getting this message out before a Christmas.
We have been so super busy leading up to Christmas, it has been hard to grab a minute to thank you all and wish you a Merry Christmas, but I do feel that it is a very important opportunity to reach out and share some of my thoughts and wrap up this year to let all of our fans out their know what we have been up to.
We have been a little quite here of late, but I want to remind you of some facts.
Our business is not social media marketing, its training dogs, so quiet here means wickedly busy doing the real stuff!
When we are travelling through August most years, we begin running short of time to fit clients in before the end of the year.
Those last few months of every year catch up on us so quick, the calendar for the year fills before we know it.
But as the weeks pass, we get asked to help those in need with very serious problems and we have managed to find the time to help those who need us, but it pretty much means every minute of every day is full to the brim.
This year seems to have more emergencies than most other years with people desperate for help calling every day.
There has been a really high number of dogs biting and attacking their owners this last few months, and these cases are really challenging to work with.
Rebuilding correct behaviour patterns in dogs and rebuilding the owners trust in their dogs.
As this year wraps up, we have finished all of our consults and rehab programs for the year and as much as there has been many challenges, the owners of these dogs have almost universally given their all.
And I have to say, this makes the overall situation so much better.
Yes, we can work with any dog, we can get any dog behaving better for sure, but for long term success, we need the owner committed to the program.
Thank you to all of you who trusted us with your dogs and kept up your end of the bargain, we all appreciate you so much here at K9Pro.
A couple of weeks ago, we posted a video of my performance team, Team K9Pro’s competition successes this year.
When I watched that video, I was stunned just how well these guys have done.
What’s more amazing is their off the trial field results.
Whilst my team reels in many wins and podium finishes, the private team page is filled with all of the members who are making memories, achieving milestones, raising puppies, building big wins out of many small daily wins, helping each other and enjoying every moment of it.
Team, like the past 15 or so years, you nailed it once again, making this year amazing for me to coach you all again.
For many people, this article will be nothing new, for some others you may get a better insight to who we are.
K9Pro.com.au points to our online store. As many would know we have thousands of different products for dogs, handlers, trainers, Police, Military, Correctional Services and dog owners.
One thing to know is that we focus on quality not numbers.
We do not sell cheap, poor-quality gear as a rule. We test every product we sell and must feel that when used correctly, that item is valuable.
Some people know that I have a leather leash that I have been using commercially as a professional dog trainer for nearly 30 years!
We’re still using the same leather and techniques to make these leashes today.
Clients come to see me and still have the same leather leash they bought 15 -20 years ago.
They have never oiled it, protected it, just used it.
And it still feels like velvet in the hand.
There is no better product guarantee than 30 years commercial use and still going!
So, you buy from us and you know it’s quality.
That always was, and still is my personal goal.
Although it’s an online store, we still offer advice and selection help on our phone lines all day everyday Monday to Friday, I believe the personalised service, expertise and product knowledge is second to none.
We have a small shop for fitting we invite you to visit us too.
We have a dedicated team of experienced staff to take, process, fill and ship your order right to you anywhere in the world. Or of course you can come collect your order and say hello.
K9prodogtraining.com.au points to our dedicated training website.
It a new website actually that we will be adding too over time.
It lists our services to you so you can see how best we can help you, no matter where you are or what your problem is. But we provide customised services really, no two clients or their dogs are the same, so we adjust to your needs.
All the amazing dogs you will see on our website are our dogs or clients dogs, we have so many amazing dogs and clients, no need for stock images when you have been a trainer for this long!
You will see my BIO and beliefs are on there so you know when it comes to training dogs and modifying their behaviour, I am only interested in getting you the best results.
My highest priority is helping the dog feel, perform and behave best.
I have never hidden the fact that results are my highest priority, without results, what would be the point…
This means I assess what programs, methods, tools, systems I use to get the best possible results.
I make no apologies for these ideals including the tools I use as I truly believe the tools I recommend offer the best chances of success.
The relationships I develop with dogs I am training confirm just how much they align with me by the love, affection, warmth and care they show me.
I am Results Based, that’s it.
My senior trainer at K9Pro is Rebecca Chin.
I have been mentoring Bec for probably 15 years now, and she would the first to tell you that I am a hard task master.
To work as my senior trainer, you need to be on your game. And Bec is.
All the staff here know their jobs, understand that failure is not an option, know that we will do anything to help people with dogs, there are no limits.
In fact, people often say working at K9Pro would be a dream.
Well… look.
I started with the aim of setting the highest standards and not settling for less.
That’s not easy to achieve, or consistently achieve.
And it’s even harder to maintain.
I say, if you walked into K9Pro and bumped into any staff member, they ALL know every dog staying with us.
It can start with enquiries and Candace is often the first point of contact, she can help you find the very best way we can help you, from training to equipment, she is the one.
Brooke is my kennel bookings manager, and she keeps every moment booked efficiently so we can do the best for as many as we can.
She liaises with people whose dogs are coming for rehab and gets us all the information we need to know this dogs full, detailed history, diet, health, behaviour,
E V E R Y thing.
Kylie looks after the boarding dogs, feeds, medications, exercise, hygiene, health checks. She watches every dog for us so carefully to make sure they are doing well.
Henna works a lot of dogs in rehab and handovers, learning each dogs program is a lot!
Addy is our Assistance Dog Consultant and also works with our rehab dogs and puppies. Assistance Dogs provide so much help and support to their people, this is an important part of K9Pro.
Kaylea takes care of our kennels on the weekend making sure the dogs are all taken care of.
Working here means your expected to deliver YOUR BEST, EVERY DAY.
Few can do this, so my team is small. Quality over quantity, remember?
Many of the dogs that come here are very, very aggressive.
Often with long bite histories and no impulse control.
Big 40, 50, 80 plus kilo dogs that have experience biting and attacking humans.
We rarely get bit, rarely, not never, but that’s part of this job too.
We have people arrive in crisis and those ringing who have been attacked.
So yeah, whilst it’s MY dream, it may not be yours if you knew the levels of risk and difficulty.
It’s far from all roses, fun, playing with puppies all day.
But I can say, no matter what your dog has or hasn’t done or how aggressive your dog is, we can work with your dog.
If your scared, anxious, stressed, unhappy or living with fear, we will help you.
I believe that people and dogs need training when they come to see me, so some of the time is dog training, but more of it is people training.
We do this in mostly one on one consultations in our indoor training room.
I built this room to be a space where dogs and handlers can thrive.
Soundproofed, no windows or distracting outside views, air conditioned, brightly lit 30 x 20 metre private room with wall mounted mirrors for better observation of dog and handler.
This is an amazing space for dogs to get started, but know we also have 7 private acres of lawn to move to field work.
Also on site is our specialty boarding / rehabilitation kennel.
Purpose built with safety, security, relaxation, sanitation and rehabilitation in mind.
Whilst we primarily use our kennel for our world-renowned rehab programs, but we also board dogs here in small numbers to house dogs that often will not be accepted at most boarding kennels.
If you can’t board your dog due to his or her behaviour, think again, we got you on this one.
Clients who come to stay with us for a week at a time such as those here for high intensity
People often ask about Team K9Pro.
Whilst some of my staff are on Team K9Pro, Team K9Pro are not employed by me.
They were clients, often struggling clients that pushed past, overcame, adapted and improvised their way to success.
They wanted more, they wanted to go deeper down the rabbit hole and find successes they never dreamt of.
They are friend, family, teacher and idols to me.
It’s an invitation only team based on personality not ability.
I give them the tools; help them develop the ability.
The very best part of K9pro though, is, has, and always will be our supporters.
Clients who trust us with their dogs, customers who love to buy our gear, those who refer to us and recommend us all over the place, I often see you referring people to me, thank you.
Now it is time to wrap up this long winded thank you to all of you that love and support us, because without you, there would be no us.
I never forget this fact.
From me to you, I hope you have the very best Christmas with your dogs, whether they be by your side or in your memories, like my dog’s past and present, they are always in my heart.
Take care of you and yours, we will be slaying in 2025 once again (I used the term slaying to amuse my daughters).
I have added some pics that mean something to me this year :)
Steve Courtney
