Cherokees K9 School

28/02/2025

INT & ADV LEVELS

Excursion tomorrow to Trafalgar Market.
Meeting at 8.30am 😁

27/02/2025

🐾 REACTIVE DOG - PILOT PROGRAM 🐾

Do you have a reactive dog and need help?

Starting soon, Cherokees are running a pilot program specifically designed for reactive dogs.

This program will be run over a period of 6 weeks, during business hours in Trafalgar. It will be heavily discounted as it is a pilot program. Handlers will also receive a free professional treat bag, valued at $40.

🔹 Program Requirements:

• Owners must be open and keen to learn
• Able to commit to weekly training sessions.
• Able to dedicate time to daily homework.

• Your dog should be food motivated and NOT human aggressive.

If you would like to join this program, please message the page with the following details:

• Dogs name and breed
• A brief description of your dogs behaviour around other dogs
• Handlers name, mobile number and email address

Spots are limited! We will only be taking 6 dogs into this program!

When? We will be training either Monday or Wednesday morning, starting either the 11th or 13th of March. This will be decided depending on client availability.

Payment of $280 will be required before the program starts, to secure your spot.

27/02/2025

So proud of little Bentleighs progress since we've been working together.

He has been attacked by off leash dogs twice in the past 6 months and has developed some pretty intense fear aggression as a result.

This has created a lot of anxiety for Bentleighs family as taking him anywhere has become too stressful and frightening.

We have been focusing on building foundations in both Bentleigh and Brenda, in order to develop the necessary skills required to take Bentleigh out and about with a calm state of mind (without shutting down the dogs emotional state). Building a relaxed and confident state of mind has been paramount in their program. Which has led to the terrific progress you now see in this video.

26/02/2025

ARE YOU OUR NEW TEAM MEMBER?

At Cherokees, we pride ourselves on using modern motivational techniques in building beautiful relationships between our clients and their dogs.

We are currently looking for a new awesome person to join our fun and friendly team.

This is an exciting position that will give the right person a great step up in their dog training career. Over the years, we have given trainers the skills and knowledge to open their own dog training businesses and facilities and also train with one of Australia's most prestigious training facilities.

Requirements:

- able to commit to Saturday morning classes in Drouin
- have experience in dog training
- be passionate about building beautiful relationships between clients and their dogs
- be open to learning
- have the confidence to speak to a group.

If you are our next team member, please send your resume to the Page or call for any enquiries 0413 428 692

23/02/2025

What a great turn out we had yesterday at our Drouin classes. Well done to everyone who came.

Can't wait to do it all again next week.

Don't forget your homework now 😁

21/02/2025

REMINDER

Intermediate level starts at 8.30am tomorrow 😁

20/02/2025

Here's an exciting adventure you can have with your dog while supporting a fantastic rescue.

Make like sausage dog at a Bunnings sausage bbq and save the date of the 28th of Feb 5pm.

We are releasing race registrations!

We have a distance to suit any doggo: 2km, 5km, 10km, 20km and 50km.

So paw-lease dash over to race roster as anything is paw-sible with your best fur-riend by your side on trail.

https://raceroster.com/events/2025/100705/barkin-mad-ultra-2025

20/02/2025

Little Bentleigh had some big lessons today 😊

Bentley thinks the kitchen is a great place to hang out. Especially when his folks are preparing meals or loading the dishwasher. Being a small kitchen, it's a bit of a nightmare trying to dodge a small dog under your feet. So one of the things Bentley's family wanted to address in their SILVER Class Program is how to keep the dogs out of the kitchen.

Within a very short time Bentley decided, being out of the kitchen was a much better idea, than in. Even when the cheese made an appearance 🤣

Recall was the last on the list of exercises. Teaching Bentley to come back when called was also a priority for his family. So today's lesson was a really great start in building his Recall foundations.

Great job guys 😁

17/02/2025

Most of you will see my Astro and think how calm and balanced he is. Yes, he is a lovely dog. He’s the apple of my eye. A beautiful soul who is everything I could ask for in a dog.

It hasn’t always been that way however….

I first saw Astro when he popped up on my Facebook timeline. He was in a kill shelter in NSW and had 7 days to go. I knew there was something special about him and I knew we needed each other. So I rang the shelter and asked to purchase him. To cut a long story short, 3 weeks later he came to live with me.

OH MY GOD!!!! What an absolute nightmare. Despite his beautiful looks, he was an absolute nightmare! He was hyper! He dragged me on the leash. He was really reactive to other dogs. He had zero boundaries or discipline. Basically, he was an out of control adolescent, working dog with a LOT of energy.

Whilst I had done a lot of training with dogs myself, this guy was a challenge. So I rang a friend who was a dog trainer and had a school. HEEEEELP!!!!! We started training with her straight away. I was sooooo embarrassed. He would bark and lunge and carry on like a crazy dog. Our critical distance was half a cricket oval from the class. I felt so alone and embarrassed. There were many days I would go home in tears. I felt like a failure. And I also felt like people were laughing at me. I saw the way they looked at him. Nobody liked him.

Everyone knew when Astro was arriving to school. As we were walking towards the check in desk, he would set all the other dogs off. People would say “Astro’s here”. I will never forget the day when a fellow class member said to me “Excuse me, your dog is pi***ng on you!” This happened TWICE!

I knew that beautiful dog was in there. I knew I needed to keep going, keep learning and keep developing my skills as a trainer and handler. He showed improvement in each class. Finally the days came where we could actually be a part of the classes. No longer were we excluded. And slowly but surely, he became the dog I knew he was inside. People also started to look at him differently. They admired him!

What you see now, is a dog who has had a lot of leadership, boundaries and love. I have done the hard yards with him and now I reap the rewards. He is the dog I use when I’m working on socialisation and reactivity and aggression. He is the dog who is now my dream dog. When I tell people our story, they find it hard to believe.

I’m writing this because, as trainers, we come across so many people, through Cherokees, who have out of control dogs and they can’t see the end picture. Therefore MOST people give up. It’s work to get retrain or rehabilitate a dog. But I promise you, if you stick with it and allow us to help you, you WILL get there! I’ve seen so many dogs turn around and become brilliant versions of themselves.

15/02/2025

Well done to everyone who came to our Drouin classes yesterday. We LOVE your commitment when the weather is crappy.

11/02/2025

TREAT BAGS ARE IN STOCK!!!!

Woo hoo!

These will be available tonight at our Trafalgar classes and of course every Saturday at our Drouin classes.

They are absolutely an asset in our training.

10/02/2025

Well done to everyone who come to our Drouin classes on Saturday!

Can't wait to do it all again next weekend.

Don't forget your homework now 😁

08/02/2025

As our dogs and handlers increase their skills to the Intermediate level, we go on regular excursions to bring our training into the real world. Going out with their regular training buddies can give the more insecure dogs a bit of confidence.

This morning we took our senior class to Streetside Csfe in Warragul. After some training and fun in the carpark, we then sat down for a delicious and well earned culpa.

Well done to all the teams 😁

07/02/2025

We still have room in our Puppy Development Program that starts tomorrow at Drouin Secondary College.

If you are looking for a brilliant start for your pup, this is for you. Run by qualified professional trainers, our Puppy Development Program is the best around.

The program runs for 5 weeks and is $180

If you would like to book a spot, message the page with the following information:

- pups name and breed
- handlers mobile number and email address.

02/02/2025

CALLING ALL PUPPIES

Our next Puppy Development Program starts Saturday the 8th of February at Drouin Secondary College. Its $180 for the 5 week program.

If you are wanting to get your puppy off to a brilliant start, heres your chance. It's the BEST program around.

To book your spot, message the page with your pups name and breed plus your mobile number and email address 😀

01/02/2025

ITS A WRAP!!

Well done to these pawesome teams for graduating our Puppy Development Program today. Great dedication and commitment.

We are very excited to help you further on your training journey in your next step, the Foundation Level.

01/02/2025

A very BIG congratulations to Michelle and Kobi for graduating into our Intermediate Level today!

It's so lovely to be a part of their training journey. Michelle has really been working hard with Kobis education as they are preparing for the testing to become a certified therapy dog. What an exciting future.

30/01/2025

Had so much fun helping Robin learn some basics for baby Danes puppy development.

Robin needed some advice on Danes mouthing, toileting and general puppy stuff. So we also had a bit of fun with toys and teaching some some basics in training.

Isnt he just the cutest 😁