CHAMP UPDATE NO. 2
Champ is only with us for another week, but he has come leaps and bounds already!
From a dog that couldn't pass another dog on the street without lunging and screaming, to finally having some good, calm interactions. He's learning how to properly relax with distractions around, and his confidence and tolerance for stress - which used to be non-existent - is growing with each challenge overcome!
Overcoming stress, builds confidence and calm. If your dog finds something particularly stressful, make sure you don't just avoid it, but instead learn to deal with it!
And, his nails are finally returning to a normal length 😁
Great work Champ 🏆
#vikingdogtrainer #vikingdogs #beautifulbeasts #dogtraining #melbournedogtraining #melbournedogtrainer #balanceddogtrainer #balanceddogtraining #yesandno #amstaff #amstafflove #staffie #behaviourmodification #ecollar #ecollartrainer
CHAMP UPDATE
Champ had been with us for about 10 days now and he has come a very long way. From constant stress panting and anxiousness, to slowly learning how to deal with uncomfortable situations, his state or mind is much calmer overall.
He's getting some good, neutral dog interactions with my boys, and he is learning to control his arousal better. He still gets quite overexcited out and about, but that's to be expected (he has been practising that behaviour for over 2.5 years).
Onwards and upwards, Champs Elysses!
#vikingdogtrainer #vikingdogs #beautifulbeasts #dogtraining #melbournedogtraining #melbournedogtrainer #balanceddogtrainer #balanceddogtraining #yesandno #ecollar #ecollartrainer #behaviourmodification #amstaff #Americanstaffiesofinstagram
Just #maligator things...
#livingwithdragons #agnarrmalinois #malinois #maligators #malinoislovers #malinoisofinstagram #malinoisworld #malinoisofaustralia
WHEN CAN I STOP USING THE E-COLLAR?
Good question. Here's my simple answer.
#vikingdogtrainer #vikingdogs #beautifulbeasts #dogtraining #melbournedogtraining #melbournedogtrainer #balanceddogtrainer #balanceddogtraining #yesandno #ecollar #ecollartrainer #ecollartraining
@ecollartechnologies
SNAKE AVOIDANCE TRAINING
We live in Australia. It's probably the most dangerous place on the planet.
We're coming into Summer, when slithery snakes warm up and begin to hunt.
We're going to the bush. That's where most of the snakes live.
Yes, I am going to make my dogs feel a brief moment of discomfort in order to save their lives!
The Animal Justice Party wants to ban e-collars in Victoria. Will they take responsibility for the thousands of dogs that will die? Of course not!
There is no other proven way of making dogs safe around snakes.
Help us fight the e-collar ban!
And contact Frankie to help keep your dog safe! 🐍
@franksdogtraining
#vikingdogtrainer #vikingdogs #beautifulbeasts #dogtraining #melbournedogtraining #melbournedogtrainer #valhalla #balanceddogtrainer #balanceddogtraining #yesandno #snakes #australiansnakes #aussiesnakes #snakeavoidancetraining #snakeavoidance #dogsandsnakes #dogsafe #f**kajp #animaljusticeparty
PUPPY CLASSES STILL AVAILABLE!
It was a very hot day for Sly the #canecorsopuppy to learn new things. But, at the end of the day, learning how to train your dog is for you, not your puppy!
We still have a few puppy class spots available, so sign up today! Here are some of the things you'll learn:
👉 Basic obedience
👉 Recall
👉 Proper socialisation
👉 How to play with your puppy
👉 Confidence building
👉 Food training
👉 Appropriate dog interaction
👉 Dealing with problem behaviours
And...
👉 Why you should NEVER take your puppy to the dog park!
Visit our website to sign up 🐶
#vikingdogtrainer #vikingdogs #beautifulbeasts #dogtraining #melbournedogtraining #melbournedogtrainer #valhalla #balanceddogtrainer #balanceddogtraining #yesandno #puppy #puppydevelopment #puppyinteraction #puppyobedience
SAVED BY BALANCED TRAINING
The dark dog in the video is Aya, and there is quite a story to tell about her.
A roughly 5 year old #kelpiecross Aya began displaying severe reactivity towards other dogs around the age of 10 months. At roughly 3 years, she attacked a dog so badly, it required nearly $10k worth of surgeries. Aya's owner was required by the council to undertake training.
They went to a #forcefree trainer for 8 months, and saw little to no progress in Aya's reactivity. After those 8 months of "training" Aya saw a dog through a window in her home, launched through it and caused severe damage to herself in the process, slicing open her neck and belly. That's when her owner realised force free training was nonsense.
Aya's owner contacted us at Beautiful Beasts and our very good friends at @teamk9training
We provided lots of information on where this behaviour was likely coming from and how to start approaching the issue. They then signed up for lessons with TeamK9.
Aya learned about negative reinforcement through a slip leash and consequences for severe behaviours. She learned how to control her impulses, prey drive and arousal levels. Aya realised that she wasn't constantly under threat and that she could begin to relax and enjoy life.
This is roughly a year after we first heard about Aya, and she is learning how to be a social pack animal. She is interacting with other dogs, not trying to kill them. She is a little insecure, but learning that play and boundary setting is okay.
Aya was deprived of proper opportunity to learn, until her owner found balanced training. She was kept in a constant state of stress and fear, because no one would correct her mindset. She kept attempting to attack dogs, because no one punished her for those dangerous behaviours.
And here, ladies and gentlemen, is unedited video proof that balanced training is far superior to #forcefreetraining
Awesome work everyone!
#vikingdogtrainer #vikingdogs #beautifulbeasts #dog
BRAVERY DESERVES ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Listening to the latest episode of @thecanineparadigm where they speak with Sam from @therapy_dogs_australia is quite heartbreaking.
People who simply want to do good, to help dogs and people, are being harassed, abused and shunned, because they don't falter to the #forcefree fanaticism. It is obscene and heinous behaviour by people who claim to "only do positive reinforcement."
I've been harassed by the same people, but I refuse to be silenced, and I'll always speak up against them. I've been threatened, I've had other trainers encourage all their followers to attack me.
All because I use aversives in my training.
One of Sam's last requests on the podcast was to "not leave her hanging, and show your happy dogs that have been trained with aversives."
You know what Sammy and Sonny? That you deserve! Here's a snippet of my training session with my boy Agnarr today, while he was wearing an #ecollar
I dare anyone tell me he is unhappy, fearful, shut down or whatever the most recent catch phrase is.
Keep up the awesome work both TCP and TDA, we'll back you whenever we can.
🤘 S
#vikingdogtrainer #vikingdogs #beautifulbeasts #dogtraining #melbournedogtraining #melbournedogtrainer #valhalla #balanceddogtrainer #balanceddogtraining #yesandno #agnarrmalinois #maliaggs #malinoispuppy #highdrivepuppy #maligator #belgianmalinois #malinoisofinstagram #malinoisofaustralia #aggventures #therapydog
BANDIT - A SUCCESS STORY
Sorry there haven't been much posting recently, I am absolutely swamped. But I received an awesome message the other day, and I thought I'd share it with you all.
The lighter coloured #germanshepherd in this video is Bandit. I net Bandit when he was 1.5 years old, roughly one year ago. His owners were struggling with his reactivity towards other dogs - not uncommon for Shepherds.
What was a little unusual, was that they had been training him regularly, for more than 8 months, with a big training company here in Victoria, and his reactivity was getting worse.
I asked what they were being told to do, and they said: "be more exciting, reinforce more, move further away, distract him with food." But it simply wasn't working. His reactivity increased to a point where they started getting worried about walking him.
His owners were already excellent positive reinforcement trainers by the time I met them, but they were missing one huge piece of the puzzle: pressure.
We introduced Bandit to a slip leash, taught him to follow it properly, then we went for a walk. The second he laid eyes on two other dogs, he exploded into the leash, barking frantically. To not bring him over threshold was not an option, as his critical distance was as far as he could see!
That's when I corrected him. Firmly, once.
His owners looked in disbelief as Bandit simply sat there, looking at the other dogs and chilling out. I explained that we had broken the behavioural cycle he had taught himself, so now I could begin rewarding an alternative.
This video is Bandit being a bestest older foster brother. That's right, he lived with another dog for several weeks and had the time of his life!
Keeping a dog in a constant state of stress and overarousal, is not more "fair" to the dog than bringing that chaotic mindset down. In fact, it is less LIMA in my opinion.
Be clear with your dogs. Be firm with them, but also reward greatly, and your dog will have freedom, joy an
NEXT LOT OF GROUP CLASSES NOW UP FOR SALE
Look at these gorgeous doggos working on their loose leash walking and neutrality!
Sign up today!
- Puppy class - spots available
- Obedience class - spots available
Reactive dog class - booked out!
#vikingdogtrainer #vikingdogs #beautifulbeasts #dogtraining #melbournedogtraining #melbournedogtrainer #valhalla #balanceddogtrainer #balanceddogtraining #yesandno
FIRST TIME EVER ON A SLAT MILL!
@dogfit.com.au happened to be in our area yesterday, and we jumped on and booked a session immediately!
Slat mills are a treadmill designed specifically for dogs. You put a harness on the dog and hook them up with several clips to make sure they don't fall off.
Now, the first time a dog experiences the ground moving beneath them, most will freak out a little and lie down. But the goal is to get them up and standing, so they can learn that they control the speed of the mill. And if they stop moving, the mill stops as well.
Slat mills are great for so many reasons:
🫀 excellent cardio training for your dog, especially if you have a high drive and high energy one
🧠 good mental exercise, as your dog needs to learn a new skill, and focus on where they're putting their feet
🤟 great confidence building, as it pushes the dog through a bit of a stressful activity
Can't wait for the next run!
FOLLOW US FOR DOG TRAINING AND BEHAVIOUR TIPS AND TRICKS!
#vikingdogtrainer #vikingdogs #beautifulbeasts #dogtraining #melbournedogtraining #melbournedogtrainer #valhalla #balanceddogtrainer #balanceddogtraining #yesandno #agnarrmalinois #maliaggs #malinoispuppy #highdrivepuppy #maligator #belgianmalinois #malinoisofinstagram #malinoisofaustralia #aggventures
NEMESIS FENCES
Most dogs have them. That one fence, where there is always dogs barking at them, and they freak out.
That was the case for Cosmo, the 3 year old #groodle
Cosmo has had some general #reactivity issues after covid lockdowns, primarily rooted in overarousal. We worked through these issues by giving him some more firm and chest guidance on the leash.
One of his biggest triggers though, was this particular nemesis fence. He would pull and bark before he even got to the fence, as so very often happens.
What do you do when your dog reacts to a fence? Well, most people freak out and drag the dog away! This is a very natural response.
However, what this is actually doing is rewarding the bad behaviour. If you remove your dog from the trigger, while they're displaying aggressive behaviour, they now think displaying that behaviour is how they get relief from the stressful situation. This is negative reinforcement, through removal of stimulus.
So... what should we do instead?
We stop the reactive behaviour through a correction, then we wait for our dog to settle down. We give them some time to desensitise, before rewarding big and walking them away.
Now, we are stopping chaos and rewarding calm.
FOLLOW US FOR DOG TRAINING AND BEHAVIOUR TIPS AND TRICKS!
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GROUP CLASSES COMMENCING 11TH NOVEMBER
The next lot of classes are now posted up on our website.
If you're raising a puppy, upskilling your current dog, or dealing with some reactivity, jump on and book your spot today!
#vikingdogtrainer #vikingdogs #beautifulbeasts #dogtraining #melbournedogtraining #melbournedogtrainer #valhalla #balanceddogtrainer #balanceddogtraining #yesandno
STOPPING CAR CHASING
Here's a short clip from a session today. Billie is a 12 month old #bordercollie who likes chasing cars. This is very dangerous and needs to be dealt with asap!
It doesn't have to take months of work like some trainers say. Most of the time, these dogs need to understand #leashpressure and help getting their arousal levels decreased. Now, the dog is in a much clearer state of mind, and rushing behaviours should decrease immediately.
Then we teach substitute skills - through working for their food and structured play - to alleviate the dog's natural #preydrive
Not rocket surgery, just #dogtraining
FOLLOW US FOR DOG TRAINING AND BEHAVIOUR TIPS AND TRICKS!
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BACK HOME AND READY TO WORK!
I arrived back home at 12.30am last night and Agnarr couldn't believe his two braincells when he saw me 🤣
I really enjoyed my trip to Norway, but I'm ready to get back to work (and so is Agnarr!)
I'm so excited about this year - multiple workshops, classes, student graduations, and so many more dogs and people to meet. While I have tried staying on top of emails and messages, I do have a lot of catching up to do. Thanks for your patience.
Now, enjoy some pure #belgianmalinois love ❤️
#agnarrmalinois #maliaggs #malinoispuppy #highdrivepuppy #maligator #belgianmalinois #malinoisofinstagram #malinoisofaustralia #aggventures
