O'Reilly K9 Training

14/10/2024

Meet Echo! Her owners came to me months ago with a dog that couldn’t walk on a lead without it being a less than pleasant experience due to reactivity with dogs and pulling on the leash, not much desire to play with her owners and if she did play it was just running around with a ball when it suited her and not giving it back which is obviously no good for any interactive play or engagement, no desire to work for her food, no routine or structure in her day to day life mostly due to not being able to do much with her in public because he was a handful anywhere outside and especially around distractions. We swiftly made necessary changes to her routine and equipment and saw big improvements quickly but that’s pretty common. What’s also common is for owners to become disheartened and slacken off when the initial quick improvements start to taper off after a few weeks and more consistent and sometimes tedious and repetitive sessions and outings are needed to successfully change the dogs outlook on the world and fully overcome things like dog reactivity or general overstimulation in public. Echo’s owners have been open minded, taken on all the information I’ve given them and without hesitation made the necessary changes to her life and most importantly have been consistent since the very beginning and their hard work has paid off. Echo plays well everywhere, walks well, is no longer reactive to dogs and is an overall much more pleasant companion to have at home and take into a public area. Her owners understand a lot more about their dog and what she needs and have come a long way with their leash handling skills and overall management with Echo!
Here’s a photo and video of Echo recently away camping 😎

13/10/2024

My beautiful Jaxy 😍

13/10/2024

Due to personal reasons a friend of mine is looking to rehome their male Blue Heeler Bluey and I’d like to help make sure he goes to the right home. Bluey is a sweet boy and will make a fantastic companion one day! He would suit an owner that has had experience with working dogs and has the time and desire to continue developing him to become a great dog. Ideally plenty of space for him to stretch his legs. Bluey is full of beans and needs something to do, so leaving him in a backyard and taking him for a walk once a day isn’t going to cut it. If you’re interested or want more information send me a message.
- 6 months old
- DOB 16.04.2024
- microchip number: 953010100712224
- Has had all vaccinations (documentation can be provided)
- Is not desexed
- Toilet trained
- Crate trained
- Good solid environmental exposure
- Great basic obedience for his age

13/10/2024

Max 😄

13/10/2024

Shadow 😎

18/06/2024

Lina ❤️

16/05/2024

Harley 😍

08/03/2024

Board and train Ebony 😎

08/03/2024

Board and train Malin 😊

12/12/2023

💥PUPPIES💥
It's awesome when I hear from new puppy owners or even better, people who are expecting a puppy and reach out prior to receiving the pup because it tells me these people are wanting the very best start for their new best friend and are willing to do what it takes to get the best out of their dog in the future. It takes time, effort, commitment and an open mind to learn new things about diet and training but in my opinion putting in the work from the start and reaping the rewards in 12 months sounds much better than living a frustrating relationship with your puppy/dog with conflict and confusion and hoping your dog will "grow out of it" which is highly unlikely. If you've got a puppy and you're after some help getting off on the right foot or you're thinking about getting a puppy, reach out to a professional and do your research about not only training, but diet and breed specific needs and whether that works for your situation.

10/07/2023

Confidence building tip for dogs of all ages but more importantly puppies: get them to stand, walk, jump, do obedience etc on anything and everything. The more things your pup realises it can overcome that were initially scary or challenging, the more it will see as normal and achievable! You’ll need good food drive and engagement and some luring skills. Kobee is a 10 month old Staffy staying for a board and train. At first he refused to hop up on the platform and was hesitant to walk on the unstable bridge but within a minute he was bouncing up onto the platform and running across the bridge. This leads to him trying loads of other things with confidence. Give it a go 😎

16/03/2023

Put in the work people! Hoping your young dog is going to end up perfect because your older dog will “teach it” or hoping it will mature and grow out of bad behaviours eventually is not a very solid plan and the outcomes are generally going to be pretty poor. Whenever you’re out and about and you see a well trained dog, neutral around distractions and or engaging/playing with its owner it’s generally because there has been time and effort put into building that relationship.

I can not stress this enough. Especially high drive/hunting/sporting breeds. People……they aren’t born this way. Temperament is bred, but not handle that is EARNED with these breeds.

…🐾…

14/03/2023

Before and after of a leash reactive German Shepherd in the same session. Super common issue amongst pets. Every reactivity case is different. Some worse than others but the most common baseline reason behind reactive dogs is fear and owners not understanding that their dog is uncomfortable until it’s blatantly obvious because it’s barking and lunging.
Focus on building confidence in as many different environments as possible from a young age and build engagement around distractions and other competing motivators such as dogs and people rather than taking your dog to dog parks, dog beaches, allowing your dog to meet every dog on a walk and having lots of dog “friends” and you’ll likely never have a reactive dog.

08/09/2022

Probably the most common thing is see is people having no control over their dog on leash. The problem with having no control over your dog on leash outdoors/in public is that your dog doesn’t understand what is and what isn’t off limits so when your dog wants to go and do something or gets excited by something in the distance, the dog gets over stimulated and then often frustrated because the leash is now tight and stopping it from getting to where or what it wants. This often leads to reactivity as well. Just adding some rules and boundaries, the right equipment and clear communication can make walking with your dog a much more enjoyable experience.

Send me a message if you’d like to change the way you and your dog walk together 😊

12/06/2022

04/06/2022

Time to end the stigma!
Not all dogs need a prong collar but some certainly do and without one some dogs will remain out of control and owners will never be able to have control. Unfortunately I see many lost, confused, emotional and extremely stressed owners that just put up with their dogs behaviours because they don’t understand what to do, have been misguided by trainers, pet shop workers, friends or the internet/social media or “have tried everything out there”. When used correctly they are an extremely helpful training tool that doesn’t cause harm to the dog. Think about it, is a harness someone from a pet shop recommended really going to help communicate with your dog through the leash effectively when you’re dealing with reactivity, aggression etc?

Also just to clarify, I use all training tools including flat collars and slip leashes, not just prong collars. It’s not supposed to be a quick fix, the correct equipment should be used depending on the dog and it’s behaviour as well it’s level of sensitivity. Many dogs do just fine on a flat collar or slip leash. But remember to be open to all tools that will help benefit you and your dog moving forward and dig a little deeper to find out information regarding training, training tools and your dogs diet etc instead of believing the first thing you read on the internet or your friends friend that spoke to old mate at the pet shop one time 😊

29/05/2022

True

📣 ON LEAD MEET & GREETS ARE NOT A THING

💡 Leash pressure(restraint) is a MAJOR trigger for frustration/aggression and it amplifies fear/anxious responses.

🤷🏻‍♂️ Sure! If you can keep both dogs on a loose leash they MAY be okay (if they are generally sociable with all random dogs they meet).

💡 But what if you can’t?

🤷🏻‍♂️ Meeting an unknown dog whilst restrained is a pressure cooker for so many dogs.

💡Only 1 of the 2 needs to feel that pressure for the situation to blow up.

👋🏻 “Nah mate, I’m good thanks!”

18/05/2022

Using a flat collar or harness is a waste of time with a dog like this. No feedback through the leash resulting in no control. It becomes dangerous for the handler, the dog and other people and dogs when you have no control of your dog and it has the ability to drag you to where it wants to go. First using a slip leash we achieved some loose leash walking and calmness by teaching leash pressure and boundaries then using a prong collar we were able to clearly communicate through the leash with minimal pressure or application. Plenty more work to be done but a good first session 😁