Comfy Canines Therapy and Assistance Dog Training

23/01/2024

DOG WALKING SERVICE

Hey everyone! I am offering dog walking around the sunny coast area - particularly Nambour, but most anywhere 😌

Prices are:
30 minutes - $25
1 hour - $40

I can take multiple dogs at a time and I will coordinate for early mornings or evenings when it's hot 🔥

Please note: training sessions are a different service and thus incurr different prices

18/09/2023

Quiet training sessions for Humphrey Bear as he recovers from surgery - much to his dismay 🙈🐶💖

21/01/2023

Training session with Assistance dog in training Humphrey 🐾💕

15/11/2022

What a cutie 🥰

09/11/2022

Free shaping engagement, working on our sit command in a brand new environment, and even free shaping a focused heel 🥰 very proud of how Humphrey is going so far and he's having a blast 😀

09/11/2022

Recruiting a lovely staff member to help Humphrey learn to greet people calmly, and free shaping engagement with his handler 🥰 What a happy puppy!

09/11/2022

Humphrey's first exposure outing at Mitre 10

11/08/2022

Let’s talk about bringing pets into non pet friendly public places. I understand that it may seem harmless. And if anyone can buy a vest that has an assistance dog label then it must be fine , right? Wrong. The reality is that in order for assistance dogs to get to the point in their training where they are legally allowed to enter into a public space is extensive and exhaustive to say the least. Hundreds upon hundreds of hours go into preparing these animals for the job that they do, and furthermore, it (the training) never stops. The vest is NOT what makes the dog an assistance dog. If my assistance dog is non-vested but working, he behaves EXACTLY the same way and performs EXACTLY the same job as he would if he was vested. According to the Disability Discrimination Act, which is the law that protects assistance/service animals, labelling the dog is NOT a legal requirement. I personally have my dog labeled for the sake of the general public and as a courtesy to business owners, however there are times where I work him without it. Let me be very clear here - the vest is not what makes the dog an assistance/service dog. What qualifies the animal to do it’s job is the extensive training it has undergone and that is always maintained and upheld.

Handlers of assistance dogs have serious disabilities that the dogs mitigate, in order to allow the handler to go about their lives safely. A lot of handlers do what is called ‘owner training’, where they are responsible for the raising and training of their dog, usually alongside the guidance of a professional. Living with a disability is hard enough as it is. When you add in the strenuous work of training an assistance dog, it becomes more than a full time job. Even when you receive a fully trained dog from a program, there is still continuous maintenance required to ensure the dogs continue to uphold the public standard behaviour and hygiene requirements outlined in the DDA. For us handlers, this is worth the freedom that these amazing dogs bring. But when someone brings their pet, who does not meet the requirements, and does not provide a life saving service, into a place where pets are not allowed to go, it not only poses a threat to us and our dogs, but it also undermines all the work that we put in on a daily basis. Even though our dogs are trained to ignore distractions, they are still animals, not robots. And an uncontrolled, untrained dog, can cause a service animal to miss an alert, which will put the handler at risk and jeopardise their safety.

I personally know people who dedicated months, even years, to training their dogs in the hopes they would make it and be able to work full time, only to be forced to make the decision to pull the dog from service work due any number of extenuating circumstances , deeming it to be unsuited to the job. These dogs are now pets, and they do not have public access rights. This is a devastating reality for so many teams, but even they must abide by the law, and leave their dogs at home if they need to enter a public space.

I understand that you love your pet dog, and that you want to be able to bring them with you anywhere. But the next time you want to bring them into a non-pet friendly place - you need to think twice. It is not harmless. Assistance dogs are not pets. Do not label your pet as an assistance dog, and do not bring it into a space where it is legally not allowed to go.

I am always open to questions and willing to have a conversation, so please reach out if you want to, and we can talk more about this. Education is crucial.

31/07/2022

Education around what to do and what NOT to do when you see an assistance dog is so important. Please do not approach the dog, do not stare at it, talk or make sounds towards it, call out to it or touch it... Especially while the dog is actively tasking. This will be obvious in some circumstances and in others it will be very subtle. So please, always assume they are too busy and not to be interacted with ... because that is nearly always the truth.

If the dog has an in training patch, it is STILL working and it does not mean the rules are different.

If you feel the handler is in a situation that they may need help - talk to the handler and ignore the dog. If the handler can't respond to you, speak to the person who is with them. Never under any circumstances remove the dog from the handler - these situations are what the dogs are there for. If the dog approaches you WITHOUT its handler - follow the dog as it shows you where the handler is (in this circumstance, the handler will be in some kind of trouble and in need of assistance from a person). Once you reach them - help the person and ignore the dog again.

Assistance dogs are medical equipment, and they have a very serious job to do. Although they are trained to extremely high standards, interacting with them can still be distracting, and that can be detrimental to the handler.

If you have any questions, and the situation is appropriate, ask the handler. I personally love having conversations with people and will take the opportunity to help educate people because after all, we don't know what we don't know. But again, please ignore the dog unless it approaches you without its handler.

I know it can be hard when you see a dog in public , but the next time you see a working dog - ask yourself this. 'Is calling the dog cute, well behaved, or patting the dog for a few seconds, really worth this person's health and safety?'

16/07/2022

The progression of Tekoa’s amazing recall , so proud of him!

If you'd like to work on recall with your dog, contact me today!

15/07/2022

See if you can catch his alert in the middle of the game !

15/07/2022

Pheobes first time learning ‘touch’

15/07/2022

Working really hard on Tekoas loose leash walking - very beneficial when you have an armful of groceries !

07/12/2021