K9 Coach

01/09/2024

How cute is Gucci in her new hat, hand crocheted by the amazing Abbey 🩷

31/08/2024

Hey gang
Tomorrow we'll meet at Frogs Hollow 9.30am. See you there 🐕 🩷

24/08/2024

Hey gang
Tomorrow we're meeting at 210 Matron Porter Dr Narrawallee.
Wear bush walking shoes, I'll bring the scent containers.
See you there 🐕🩷

18/08/2024

Yesterday I took Gucci to Orchard Hills for The Dobermann Club of NSW scent work trial and the little legend came 1st in interiors with a time of 4.06 seconds.

17/08/2024

Hey gang
Training tomorrow at the Showground 9.30am.
See you there 🐕🩷

06/08/2024

27/07/2024

Hey gang
Showground tomorrow at 9.30.
Don't forget your scent containers 🐕🩷

26/07/2024

21/07/2024

Fantastic obedience finished off with some scent work. Everyone is doing so well 🩷

20/07/2024

Hopefully the wind eases up for tomorrow.
See you at the Showground from 9.30 🐕😊

19/07/2024

Today we ventured back up to Sydney for another scent trial. Gucci gained two passes and came 3rd 😮
She's such a little gun 🩷
Thanks again to Carolyn for trekking up with us 😊.

18/07/2024

Gucci and I attended a Scent work trial in Sydney yesterday and the little legend came away with 2 passes.

16/07/2024

⚠️ “𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘀𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝘃𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱?!”

😅 I can not tell you how many times over the past 5 weeks a random member of the public has stopped me to inform me that my puppy is not fully vaccinated. I mean, I book the appointments, so really you’d think I should know 😉

😏 Let me tell you why I don’t really care.

🧠 A puppy’s first critical learning window is from the age of 3-16 weeks. During this time, they are making rapid and lasting associations between themselves and the big wide world around them.

❗️It is vitally important that we expose our puppy to a variety of novel sights/sounds/situations within this window of development in a fun and positive manner.

😱 For puppies that have negative experiences at this age, the lesson learnt will most likely be permanent and have an impact on future behaviour.

➡️ The best way to create confidence and avoid teaching your puppy to be overly excited by everyone around them, is to practice indirect exposure.

👀 This means going places where they can watch people and other dogs without meeting them face to face.

✅ As they watch the things going on around them you should be marking and rewarding them for calm behaviour.

🎈 The best experiences involve brief positive exposure to something new - sound/place/sight/sensation etc.

🏠 You don’t always have to leave your house to practice positive exposure.

💡You can set up a puppy safe obstacle in your backyard.

🎶 Play the soundproof puppy app during play and/or meal times.

🕵🏻‍♂️Have a friend or family member dress up in something strange.

👉🏽 You’re only limited to your imagination, but remember to keep these experiences brief and positive.

🎥 I have shared a stack of Maggie’s exposure experiences.

😬 At all of the places we have gone, my puppy was not riddled with canine cough or parvovirus.

🦠 One of the main reasons people avoid taking their puppy out until it has had its final vaccinations, is due to the fear that the puppy will contract a deadly disease.

💉 Don’t get me wrong, disease prevention should be a serious consideration, but when we act with common sense these risks can be managed.

✅ 𝘚𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘷𝘦𝘵

Your vet will be the one that is on top of outbreaks in your area. Ask them directly if they know of any suburbs that are best avoided at that time.

✅ 𝘈𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘥 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩 𝘥𝘰𝘨 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘧𝘧𝘪𝘤 𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴

The dog park is an obvious one, but many public parks and ovals are probably being regularly used by dog owners. Depending on the local conditions, parvovirus can live in soiled areas for anywhere from a few months to a year.

✅ 𝘍𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘷𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘰𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘴

Ensure your puppy receives the appropriate vaccinations at the right times for their development. If unsure, consult with your vet.

✅ 𝘐𝘧 𝘪𝘯 𝘥𝘰𝘶𝘣𝘵, 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘺 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘺.

Your puppy can still have valuable experiences from your arms. If you are out with your puppy and unsure whether it is safe, carry them.

🤒 While physical health may seem a more immediate concern for our puppies, we cannot forget that long term behaviour problems can also wind up having deadly consequences for some dogs.

👉🏽 Early positive exposure training during a puppy’s critical period is very important for their developing minds and future behaviour.

𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 - 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗶𝘁 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁.

➡️ The word socialisation gets thrown around a lot when talking about puppies.

🐕🐕 For many pet owners it conjures images of dogs playing with other dogs. For this reason I generally refer to early critical training as positive exposure experiences instead.

🙅🏽‍♀️ In all the places we visited, not once did I encourage Maggie to interact with other random dogs we encountered.

🐩 She has only ever met familiar dogs that we know and can control.

🤕 Not only are there big risks for disease transmission from dog to dog, but there is also the potential that your puppy could have a negative social experience.

🏠 When your puppy first comes home there should be a heavy focus on creating new and novel experiences, including taking them to places where they can safely view the world and all of the weird and wonderful things in it.

💪🏽 Bolstering our dogs genetically inherited traits with good training is super important.

🧠 We should be considering the effects of nature and nurture, rather than constantly asking ourselves which of the two is more important.

🙌🏽 Giving your puppy a variety of early positive experiences gives them the best chance at developing into an adult that will have the kind of mental resiliency to navigate the human world with minimal stress.

#𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐠𝐢𝐞

13/07/2024

Sorry for the late notice gang.
We're meeting tomorrow at the Milton Showground on Croobyar Rd at 9.30am for some scent work and obedience.
See you there 🐕

06/07/2024

Hey gang
We're meeting tomorrow at the Milton Showground on Croobyar Rd at 9.30am for some scent work and obedience.
See you there 🐕

29/06/2024

Hey gang
We're meeting tomorrow at the Milton Showground on Croobyar Rd at 9.30am for some scent work.
See you there 🐕

25/06/2024

Danger noodles still out and about 🐍

22/06/2024

Hey gang
We're meeting at the Ulladulla wildflower reserve tomorrow, see you at 10am 🐕

★★★★★ · Nature preserve

14/06/2024

This explains a lot.

30/05/2024

💔 The dog I euthanised for behavioural reasons

My second Great Dane, a handsome black boy, he was 18 months old when I adopted him from a family home after he was involved in an incident at a dog park and had to be moved out of council range.

I wasn’t told the truth about this dog, if I had, I would never had adopted him.

🔥 He was both human and dog aggressive.

He would attack without much warning because he had been punched in the head for giving warnings in his previous home.

I worked with one positive trainer and one balanced trainer for a considerable amount of time and a vet behaviourist. He was also medicated in the end. None of these actions saved him, he was euthanised for behavioural reasons after he attacked me for the last time after redirecting aggression when seeing a dog in the far distance.

With each dog, I believe we learn valuable lessons. I learned with this boy that his problems were outside of my scope as a pet parent, even one who tried my hardest to work with professionals to help him. He taught me that I will never knowingly put myself in the position to take an aggressive dog again. In fact I ended up with a foster dog over a year ago who was aggressive that I didn’t know when I agreed to take him - I sent him back, I’m not a professional trainer and I certainly do not have the skills to rehab an aggressive dog.

I remember at the time, I was given a hard time when I euthanised this black boy, people telling me I didn’t try hard enough, or I didn’t try this trainer or that trainer or this technique or that technique or that I should have simply rehomed him.

I see comments made on rehome pages in relation to dogs like my old boy - that people shouldn’t euthanise, that they should rehome….who earth would willingly adopt such a dog? Why would they want to? Do they have the skills to deal with them or are they simply a bleeding heart? These dogs are dangerous in society especially large and giant breed dogs. If you knowingly rehome an aggressive dog then you could be legally liable if something happens.

I don’t believe most cases of behavioural euthanasia are made lightly so before you are quick to judge, ask yourself what you would have done? Because contrary to popular belief, love and time does not heal unstable dogs.

I highly recommend no family knowingly adopt an aggressive dog no matter how big, small, cute or whatever the back story is unless you have considerable skill, money, a professional team to support you and the knowing you may end up euthanising but not because it’s easier for you going forward but because keeping a dog alive in such an unstable frame of mind is not fair to them.

So many families are held in emotional and financial hostage situations by their mentally unstable dogs because society can’t bare to accept behavioural euthanasia as an acceptable outcome.

25/05/2024

Hey gang
Tomorrow there is a dog event at the Lions Park, let's meet around the back parking area 🐕🩷

https://maps.app.goo.gl/Nk7Uht8syEBdUYUu6

19/05/2024

Today I took my little angel Lola - Wynwhisper Running With Wolves to Wilton for a RATG trial hosted by the Hungarian Vizsla Club and she came first with a score of 91😲 and gained her title.
She's such an awesome little girl 🩷

11/05/2024

Today I took Gucci to freezing Sutton, near Canberra for a Nosework trial, she passed birch, clove and anise, and got her ORT title.
She was allowed to wear her coat in the trial which is great because she was still cold with it on.
She's a little superstar 🩷

11/05/2024

Hey gang,
We're cancelling tomorrow, it's too wet everywhere and all sport grounds are closed.
🐕🩷

08/05/2024

Enjoyed a delicious breakfast at Angels Bayside Huskisson this morning, we might need to do another Husky walk 🐕😋

27/04/2024

Ares debuting in his first movie 😮

27/04/2024

Hey gang
We're meeting at Sussex tomorrow, see you at 10am 🐕

★★★★★ · Nature preserve

20/04/2024

Hey gang
Let's meet at the Lighthouse oval tomorrow at 10am.
See you there 🐕

★★★★★ · Sports complex