Above and Beyond Dog Training and Rehabilitation

18/04/2025

17/04/2025

Working here with Hicks and Hudson.
Separation anxiety is such a complex problem when dogs develop this and can take a long time to get the dog's past it. Thankfully, Hudson landed himself in a home with extremely committed owners who have worked tirelessly over the last 1 1/2 years to improve Hudsons situation. In this session, we provided some more info on ways to help continue to improve Hudson and to help Hicks develop into a strong confidence dog on his own. Having two dogs constantly together can create issues of their own, so training and some play on their own is important for development. Thank you Renae and Tony on having great strength in helping your dogs success.

15/04/2025

New Puppy course beginning on Saturday 10th May. 8am start. 5 weeks only $225.
Please contact us for more info.
Course is about building confidence and a relationship.

13/04/2025

I have a feeling that the good folks in the advanced class were secretly trying to out do each other in yesterday's class activities but i reallythink Maisie the donkey won! 😀
But seriously , there was some pretty impressive training being done. Awesome work to you all.

13/04/2025

For some reason my photo's didn't upload last night so here they are.
This is the 1st week of new classes.
Basic and Intermediate.

12/04/2025

Week 4 of puppy school. These little ones are learning that not everything is scary and not everything is full on. We want to get that beautiful happy balanced dog by creating a good relationship.

11/04/2025

Classes are back in action tomorrow.
Puppy as usual
Intermediate commencing tomorrow 9.30am
Basic 8am Sunday
Advance both Sat and Sunday afternoon 4pm.
I am looking forward to meeting all new folks and their dogs.
Part of our training is teaching good leash skills.
Enjoy the rest of your night!

06/04/2025

Today marked the end of another set of basic obedience classes. There are so many improvements over the past 8 weeks. It was such a great journey to watch. Thank you, everyone

05/04/2025

Today was the end of the intermediate class, finishing always with fun. Today, they completed a trick and walked the plank. Learn skills should be fun. Great work to these wonderful dog owners

05/04/2025

There was lots more fun and action in our puppy class this morning. Well done to everyone for really getting into the activities.

04/04/2025

I very recently began working with Hazel, the rescue dog we are working with from Dare Rescue on an odour to help with calming her mind, fulfilment, and help with her OCD type behaviours. She has done extremely good just to keep her mind still on the task at hand. We want to thank The Diesel Foundation for sponsoring Hazels journey with us in her rehabilitation.

27/03/2025

All classes this weekend are cancelled due to weather. We hope to see you all next weekend. Sorry to have to cancel for the 2nd time, but this is not just about our muddy paddock or the noise in our shed it's about the safety of you all on our wet roads. Stay safe

27/03/2025

Today, i got to meet such a delightful boy. Bandit is newly adopted and has landed himself in a gem of a home. His lovely owners Sarah and Craig booked in to get help as soon as they noticed some behaviours were not right, which is very important when you're trying to form a good relationship and set up some good patterns within the household. Well done to this family for taking measures to help such a gentle soul become the best dog!

24/03/2025

Come on out Ramone, we need to do some obedience, but I promise it will be fun!
We are announcing upcoming classes beginning in April.
Basic obedience 6 weeks $270 commencing Sunday 13th April.
Intermediate Saturday 12th April 6 weeks $270. This will only go ahead with numbers. You must have completed basic class to join this.
If you are interested in either of these classes, please message me your email details. Numbers are limited.

23/03/2025

We have had over 40 committed dog owners over the weekend. We thank each of you for staying committed during the sessions week after week. Your training is really showing via your dogs behaviours.

22/03/2025

Week 2 Puppy Class.

21/03/2025

Fear aggression is very real and is often misunderstood. Any dog can show aggression in many different situations. We often experience fear in lots of dogs that leads to them using aggression as a way of coping and often a way to try and create space from the owner, the person walking past, the visitor or another animal when placed under a situation that is stressful. This stressful situation could be something that we take for granted, and that is putting a leash/ harness on.
We also miss warning signs that the dog gives prior, which are signals like head turning, yarning, licking of lips, flattened ears, tail tucked, lowering of body or pulled more to one side in avoidance. The eyes may become bigger, or they could look away and not want to engage with you. We often miss these signs until the next step from the dog that is man handled or cornered is a bite/ air snap/ grab.
Here, we are working with Hazel on muzzle training and a slip leash. Prior Hazel has experienced fear responses in both these situations, but in her case, she has had trauma around her neck, so anyone trying to grab her, leash her, or muzzle her have struggled. Using food has also been an issue as she has had behavioural problems around food.
There can be many different elements to behaviours and as to why dogs do what they do. The dog biting is often due to no escape route or being cornered, and that can be on a leash as well. We have been working on food, pain, muzzle, and leashes being put on and off. When dealing with fear aggression, we also should be looking at the confidence level or the dog, our own body language, including our body stance, and if the dog is feeling threatened by us. We advise that taking your time is critical. Never be in a hurry to achieve. Break down the barriers and be patient. Even before I release the leash, I let it sit loose for 10 seconds and move it slowly over her head to avoid her being startled.

18/03/2025

We recently worked with Charlie, who is almost 3 and adopted 1 year ago. Charlie has a beautiful temperament, but he can be quite intimidating and making some ordinary choices at home. Full credit to his owners for reaching out and learning so much more during our consult. What they did do, during our consult was have fun with Charlie and learn different ways for mental enrichment.

Often, i feel many owners get confused when it comes to teaching dog's structure and boundaries. Understanding that without these, our dogs can veer off course.
Your relationship will strengthen so much more by having structure and boundaries in place as long as we are fair and consistent.

Charlie can growl while on the bed or lounge and can be reactive towards other dogs. He can also react towards buses and utes.
These behaviours can be so relevant to many dogs and their owners, and i get to hear about this in many of our consults.

I personally believe we are missing a link in communication and fulfilment but also not giving dogs what they need as a dog as often all we offer is pats, cuddles, treats, and love.
Our dogs need exercise, mental stimulation, fulfilment, and play. Having many opportunities to find food or their favourite toys.
Time also can hamper what we do, so if we manage to give our dog at least 20 minutes of mental stimulation and fun activities before going to work, would be far more beneficial than a hug and eating their food from a bowl.
On our return home is an equally important time as our dogs have spent so much time alone while you are at work, so again, more time should be allocated to them.
We get a dog for our companionship. To help remove unwanted behaviours, we need to give back to them via our time.