Seek Dogs Australia

24/02/2023

Are dog owners becoming far too anthropomorphic?

While we want to give our dogs all the comforts and advantages to a life with humans, where does one realise boundaries are necessary for a harmonious life for the dogs AND for the people?

I want to ask you a serious question. Do you think that a dog who is allowed absolutely anywhere in the house is happier than one who is restricted? Eg, the dog who is allowed into carpeted rooms and onto beds, vs the dog who is restricted to living areas and has their own dog beds.

There was a recent post publically which suggested it was unimaginable that a dog who was a companion animal could be restricted with where they live in the house.

Personally, as an owner of 6 dogs in whats basically a tiny home, I NEED my own dog free spaces. My dogs adventure every single day which brings them a huge amount of joy through sniffing, rolling, running, playing... but it also brings them a whole lot of dirt and sometimes mud. So do I want to bring that into the space where I sleep? Hell to the no.

Does this make my dogs any less of a companion? I personally think it absolutely doesn't.

We forget that our dogs are animals who had strong purposes before we decided to bring them into our homes. Does that mean we can't love them and give them comforts? Absolutely not..

But it does mean that instictually, for most dogs, their quality of life does not come from snuggling on our beds. They are just as content on their own beds, getting attention from us in other scenarios, and actually working with us.

My dogs are allowed onto our lounge if we let them. Thats important to me, as I want to be able to give them affection when we are just chilling, but I absolutely dont want that ball of filth near my furniture if he's just had the adventure of a lifetime picking up all the treasures of the bush.

I feel that the need for dogs to share our furniture and spaces has come from a place of humanising animals.. suggesting they have the same feelings about what we consider comforts.

My point of view is that its each to their own, and theres so many reasons why people may or not allow these things in their home.

But my itch is the argument that it makes your dog less of a companion if you dont allow them on carpeted areas or furniture....

A companion is more than a snuggle buddy at the end of the day. Some could argue that if thats what you consider affection, you need a soft toy.

26/10/2022

Today we had to drop our older pup to the airport which meant I HAD to endure the big smoke at some point.. I decided to take advantage of it to exposure Clue to the hussle and bussle. She was great!

She's now past the age of critical exposure, but that doesn't mean we dont need to do it! Continued positive experiences in these places is important, especially for dogs like mine who rarely actually experience it. Even a well socialised puppy can become fearful if they then don't see things for months or years.. which is very possible with farm dogs or those who live outside the burbs.

Annoyingly facebook doesnt let businesses post more than one video at a time.. so I've only shown todays little city walk. But yesterday Clue got to walk the streets of Lithgow while I got my car serviced, and accompanied me at a cafe for breakfast, then a ball play at the park, a visit to bunnings and then chilling out in the Toyota lounge while we waited.

Exposure shouldn't end at 16 weeks. Its a lifetime of continued effort to uphold their outlook of the world :)

17/10/2022

Well hey! Its been a while.. I'm sorry for that!

A quick recap why...

When covid shut down our classes, I took it as an opportunity to decompress and focus on my own dogs...

Well, 2 years later I ended up changing industries and working full time as a manager for an amazing local dog friendly cider company.

Thats my hiatus in a nutshell 🤣

But during that time I didn't quit dogs. In fact I feel I've never been so involved!!! But my involvements been with the dogs, not the people.

I've had about 20 puppies (and a couple adults) come through my home in the last couple years for boarding, training, or who I thought might be suitable for my Koolie breeding program. None have stayed yet haha, ive been thick skinned.

While im no longer in a position to want to be involved in taking classes, as my productive hours are well and truly occupied, and I no longer feel qualified with my lack of continued education... I still love to document the progress I make with the dogs I have.. and im slowely stepping back into participating in group training which has allowed me to see some of your faces again recently.

As I begin my slow progression back into the passion of dog training, I will share moments of learning and success with you :)

If you are still following my page, thank you for your support! I will try to deliver again :)

27/10/2020

We had a blast being back at obedience today. We are rusty in all our training right now... So its time to finally get back into gear and get those training goals soaring!!

13/10/2020

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09/09/2020

Runout offer of 'Starter Odour Kits' which container all 4 odours in one kit!
We have a limited number of these kits left, before we transition to individuals odour kits, so this is your last opportunity to get all the odours at once!!
$40 per kit.

Send us a message to order :)

Individual odour kits, as well as odour refills and tins/tubes available as well.

04/06/2020

Odour kits now available!!!!!

Individual odour kits: Birch, Anise or Clove: $50
Combined Odour kits (all 3 odours): $80
Mixed containers; plastic and metal with magnets: $8
Scented cotton tips: $10 per odour
Pure Odour Oil (instructors only): $40 per 15ml dropper.

All prices are plus postage.

To order either send us a private message or send an email to [email protected]

05/05/2020

Stepped up our shell pool feeding game 🌊

29/04/2020

Our fun adventure continues with these beautiful puppies.
From this point forward im able to start purposely providing more enrichment and exposure.. and that excites me 😁
Today the pups went into the outside pen and had their first meal in the shell pool of bottles. I love this idea on so many levels.
It gives you a good idea of how the pups are currently travelling with their confidence and problem solving ability as they need to work out how to get into the pool as well as being confident enough to do it and then push through bottles (and other puppies) to get the food which of course they use their nose to find. So much enrichment in one game!

This afternoon the neighbours came over with their kids to provide love and cuddles too. Was a successful experience for all 👍👍👍

02/04/2020

Love this!

It’s not a secret that I have a lot of dogs. But it may be less known that I am very particular about how puppies in my care interact with those dogs. Since my main focus is to create a good …

16/03/2020

I need to share with you all :) I also feel this is the best place because you all have minds that are constantly thinking about either dog behaviour or dog wellbeing.

My beautiful Smudge comes to work with me 4 days a week. He is off lead and allowed to wander the place as he likes. Only boundary for him is at the main entrance which leads to the major road...so that boundary has been solidly introduced since day 1.

My question to all of you is... How happy would you be to rock up to a 'dog friendly' venue with your on lead dog, to find an off lead dog roaming and saying hello to all the dogs. Would this annoy you? I should add you are welcome to let your dog off lead, however its not completely secure, as they COULD head into the building and out the front door.. but the huge backyard area is fenced well.

I really want to know.. because the venue is dog friendly.. and i love how smudge is able to roam as the resident dog... but if it annoys people, then thats not the goal!!!