Barkers In Balance

15/11/2025

More fun times for our reactive dogs in our Reactive Rehab classes, held on Saturday mornings at 9:00am.

15/11/2025

Our Reactive Rehab classes not only provide gentle and gradual exposure to other dogs, but the dogs and humans have a heap of fun participating!

15/11/2025

Ever tested communication with your dog when you’re lying on the ground?
Wait! This is the reactive class, there are other dogs nearby and Aggie’s a reactive dog! What does this mean? A trusting relationship which allows the reactive dog to relax and engage in counter conditioning strategies to help change their negative responses to other dogs.

15/11/2025

Congratulations to our Good Manners Level 1 graduates from Lambton!

We are so incredibly proud of this amazing group and all the hard work you’ve put in over the past six weeks. Watching you and your dogs grow in confidence, skills, and teamwork has been such a joy!

It was an absolute pleasure to meet and teach each of you, and we hope you’ve enjoyed this journey as much as we have. The dedication and progress you’ve shown are truly inspiring, and we can’t wait to see where your training adventures take you next.

Well done, everyone! You and your pups have earned this moment—congratulations! 🎓🐶🐕🎓🐕🎓

11/11/2025

This is really worth reading. It is a very accurate reflection of the goals of our puppy classes. This is our focus, in a safe environment, before the puppy is vaccinated enough to explore the outside world. Follow this link to our website to find our locations and how to book: https://www.barkersinbalance.com.au/our-courses/puppy-school/

"Wow! Is that what it means?"😮
Oh that word!

Socialisation is a word that conjures up visions of cute puppies playing with other dogs and pups. Socialisation "means" interacting with others doesn't it?
Yes and no.

It's not a great word to describe what should be a priority.
Acclimation is a far better term we should all start to use.
Acclimation to wet surfaces, stairs, wind, even standing in the rain.
Yes, it absolutely includes other animals too.

The trap is when people make other dogs or pups the main focus during that very important developmental time in a young puppies life.
We may forget that they haven't seen or heard a bus before.
Crowds of people aren't thought of.
A wheelchair or a scooter can be very unsettling for a young dog if they haven't come across one earlier in life.

Of course we do want our young puppies to interact and play with others.
There's a fine balance here too.
They shouldn't play with all others they come across, they shouldn't meet all others either.
Those experiences with others need well thought out and supervised.
Why?
Acclimation is still the goal. We want them to feel part of the world, but not develop such a strong emotional pull that they must greet and insist on playing with every dog.
Or they can start to physically pull you towards them.
Every dog they see.
Every walk.

If we allow puppies to meet and play with all others, that can be a very short path to a young dog that "insists" they must interact with all others.
That is what they learned when they were younger.

Choose your play partners wisely.

Think of everything this world has to offer and what you encounter everyday.

How can we expose them positively and carefully?
That's the goal.

Not "socialisation".

10/11/2025

Congratulations to our latest Puppy Class graduates at East Maitland you did it!
Big tail wags and happy dances for our latest group of superstar pups (and their awesome humans)!
Over 4 fun-filled weeks, you nailed the basics, built up your focus, and had a blast doing it.

We’ve loved watching your zoomies and your progress and we can’t wait to see you strut your stuff in Good Manners Level 1!

Paws up, team you crushed it!

09/11/2025

🐍SNAKE AVERSION🐍
Our third course for the year brought very positive results and great peace of mind for the humans. During their practice of our graded techniques, the dogs developed increasing self-awareness and independent avoidance of the snake. With our unique follow-up home exercises we are very confident that these dogs will continue to give snakes a very wide berth. Well done to all our participants who showed such commitment and understanding of the process.

07/11/2025

THE ADVENTURES OF CHARLIE: I had an adventure of a different kind this week. I had a lump removed from the back of my neck and another from my bottom. Just as well my humans noticed it because the one on my neck turned out to be a little tumour that could have turned nasty. We’re out of the woods now because Dr Kathryn managed to remove the whole tumour. 👏🏼🏆

06/11/2025

BUTTER’S VACATION: Butter our trusty demo dog is living his best life this week, visiting the “big” attractions on the north coast.

04/11/2025

Congratulations to our Good Manners Level 1 graduates from East Maitland!

What an absolutely amazing group of people (and pups!) 🤗 It’s been such a pleasure to spend the past six weeks with you—watching the growth, connection, and confidence build between you and your dogs has been a real highlight.

Your commitment, kindness, and willingness to learn made every class a joy to teach. We’ve loved seeing each team develop their skills and strengthen their bond. You should all be so proud of the progress you’ve made!

Well done, everyone! 🎓🐶🐕🎓🐕🎓

31/10/2025

MY NAME IS LUKA. I’m a Border Collie and I’m 8 years old. I’m a very well-trained and well-mannered dog but I like my own space. I’ve never really liked people in my personal space. Now that my humans are raising a mini human who has just learned to walk, I find the mini human too invasive and the way he walks is too unpredictable for me. Now, dogs get a bad rap when they growl but it doesn’t necessarily mean we’re dangerous. We’re just warning invaders to back off a bit. In our lesson my humans learnt some strategies to help me relax and trust the mini human a bit more. They also learnt some subtle ways to keep the space around me clearer. I’m sure the mini human and I will grow up to be mates, once we learn each others’ languages.

30/10/2025

BELATED POST! My apologies to the two Anna Bay Good Manners classes that graduated recently and have been patiently waiting to view their photos! Every single dog achieved their own personal bests in more than one area, thanks to the dedication and consistency of their humans. Little sessions of skills practice every day, especially during your walks, will ensure that your dogs continue to understand your expectations in public places. 🎓🎓🎓🎓