Tails Up Dog Training

25/02/2025

Food fanatics will do anything to get to the table!
This little devil knows no bounds and will go far and beyond for her morning tea. An activity great for nose work as well. Best part is the colours, You can do all orange one day and yellow the next etc and at the end of the week toss it into the washing machine. Sax is 14 so interactive toys are great mind games as well.

24/12/2024

24/12/2024

Great Christmas and New Year wishes going to all the people who appreciate how great it is to have a dog or two in your family.

18/11/2024

Dog crates! They may not be pretty but they are one of the best tools for dog owners.
If you don’t like the idea of a crate consider the many reasons why you should get one and train your dog to like it.
A crate is not a wire pen but literally a crate, a wire box with doors. This confined space can be a life saver or a game changer.
What is the fastest, safest and most hygienic way to toilet train a puppy or a rescue? A crate.
What is the easiest way to stop mouthing or jumping up? A crate.
What should be one of your first buys when getting a dog? A crate.
Crates offer a sense of security to a dog as it becomes there go-to place, their little home, a sanctuary away from a world they don’t understand or feel uncertain in.
If you consider a puppy in the house there is the toilet training, down-time when the pup is over excited or darn right bitty and more importantly the ‘cot’ for resting and growth time. An 8 week old puppy is just the same as a baby. Babies needs long periods of sleep to grow their body and brain and your pup is the same. The use of the crate to monitor growth, promote calm behaviours and to act as a correction centre using positive punishment (especially if the crate is the feeding place) cannot be beaten.
They have lifetime uses: recovery from ops or injury, preventing toddlers or the elderly from being harassed or knocked over, over excitement when guests arrive, prevent jumping up, excessive barking or nightly zoomies. Other uses could involve resource guarding over food or bones. People who work from home can use them to prevent separation anxiety and they are a good way to manage dogs worried about being left on their own.
The idea that a crate is cruel is unfounded. Used well and trained early a dog does not see a crate (prison) but a happy place. Peoples’ negative thoughts about crates is in our heads.
In our dog’s world it is their castle.

13/11/2024

How did we get to the modern dog breeds we know today?
Most modern dog breeds are genetically engineered and this has been happening for centuries. As mentioned in an earlier post the Victorians, in England, made a sport out of this by select features in one animal that were desirable and matching them to another animal. This practice, it is believed started many, many centuries ago.
The Royal Agriculture Show, NSW featured dog competitions early in the history of the Show, the first recorded occurring in 1869. Breeds listed as classes that year were: Bloodhounds, Newfoundlands, Retrievers, Pointers, Setters, Spaniels, King Charles Spaniels, Greyhounds, Italian Greyhounds, Kangaroo Dogs, Skye Terriers, English Terriers, Terriers, Bull Terriers, Bulldogs, Sheepdogs, St Bernards and Beagles. (copied from the history of the RAS)
This extensive list of breeds is quiet amazing considering free settlers started arriving only 50 years prior to the first exhibit of dogs in the RAS of NSW.
The iconic kelpie was not one of the sheepdogs at the 1869 show. The genetic cross breeding of the kelpie appears to go back to 1872 in Victoria while the boarder collie did not come to Australia until after Federation in1901.
Another genetic cross breeding is the Oodle. Oddles are now a recognised breed. They have had an enormous impact around the world. In Australia, oddles have been recognised since 2009. Today, the various oddle breeds make up over 20% of registered dog in Australia.
What may be the next big craze?

05/11/2024

Did you know that a dog's default behaviour is to sit? What is happening when your dog sits and looks at you is them asking you "What is going on,?" So many people are excited to tell you that they have taught their puppy to sit, but in fact all they needed to do was to reward the sit from day one, start putting a hand signal with it and in about a week start saying 'sit'. Not hard at all. Sit is a life saver for an owner of a dog that likes to jump, either to jump up or to jump onto your leg. Ask for the sit before they get excited and want to jump.

26/10/2024

Dogs and cats can be enemies or best mates.These two creatures get fed together, play together and enjoy each others company.
Happy animals make for a happy home.

24/10/2024

How old is your dog breed?
Do you know that German Shepherds, as a breed as we know them today, is 105 years old. Amazing really but this tells us the story of breeding dogs to be useful to humans compared to breeding them to look good or to look the part. Charles Darwin and his evolution of the species had a lot to do with this change. His ideas about selection really sent Victorian crazy and started the drive towards breeding of dogs as we know it today. Historical records tell us that dog domestication likely started in Asia and got to the ‘western’ world by the crossing of the Bering Strait. There is an idea that very early breeds were most likely hairless and we know several Chinese dogs were hairless and are some of the oldest breeds. The Mexican Xoloitzcuintle and Peruvian Viringo dog are examples of these ancient dogs.
The Indian pariah breed goes back 4500 years. The Pug is described in Chinese literature in 400BC and the Iranian Sarabi about the same. Compared to this the Papillon was included in paintings in Italy in the 1500 (true or not Marie Antoinette was said to be carrying a Papillon as she walked to the guillotine). The Bulldog appears in paint and literature in England in the early 1600 and so called because bulls were tied up and the fighting dogs let loose on it – the first to grab the bull’s nose and fell it was the winner!

21/10/2024

"A rose by any other name would smell so sweet", coined in Romeo and Juliet caused many women around the world to be called Rose.
But what is in a name? Ask your dog. Some have fairly ordinary names like Barry or Bruce while others have much grander names that come from the Kennel; Midnight Biccardi Greenglades! A name is important when we want to identify our dog but most people have already chosen the name of their pet before it has arrived. Dogs have personalities just like us and probably deserve to have name that may reflect aspects of their personality, breed or behaviour. SO, what is a good name for a dog. One place to look is the breed itself. A great dane called Speedy compared to Tangles might be a way of looking at it while a JR called Ferritt, or a Beagle called Nosey might suit well. We often hate our own names so maybe our dogs do too.

17/10/2024

How much stimulation is your dog getting each day? If it only involves the same old, same old walk or 30 minutes at the dog park maybe it is not enough to make you the most important target in their life. That is what you want. If you are the provider and the source of all that happens your dog will look to you to see what is happening today.
Find ways to interact throughout the day. A minute game of 'find it', a quick race around the yard or a few minutes tug-a-war or hind and seek around the garden or in the house is all it takes to get your dog to find you interesting.

16/10/2024

If only they could stack and unpack!

Not sure about their drying method; the licking seems a bit sporadic.

15/10/2024

Dog Food and what You should know and understand..........
Is my dog hungry? Only feed kibble the answer is most likely YES!
Is my dog healthy? Only feed kibble the answer is most likely NO!
Is your puppy getting enough protein? From kibble…NO!

The human digestive track is 9 metres long (30 feet) and this length is needed because as humans we ferment our food to pass it through our bowel. Humans take about 36 hours from food to poo.
A dog’s digestive system is anywhere from 30cm (Jack Russell) to 1m (Great Dane). Dogs do not ferment their food. It’s about 8 to 12 hours from food to poo.
What sort of an animal is a dog?
Sounds easy so let’s look at it. Think of a sheep or horse and how they eat with their squarish teeth and a jaw that moves sideways grinding it food. They have no sharp, pointy teeth because they eat seeds, grasses, berries and the like. These animals are herbivores.
Australia has a few animals that have sharp teeth and grinding teeth as well. This means their jaws can go side-to-side and up and down. A bilby is an example of an omnivore along with the most important, US! Humans are omnivores.
Dog food companies (and some vets) want dog owners to believe dogs are omnivores.
In reality, and scientifically, they are classes as Carnivorous.
Carnivores have the shortest digestive tracks of all animals. Carnivores are protein driven and their diet is animal based. Their teeth are sharp and jagged, not flat or squarish (molars). Needle sharp teeth, like a dog’s, enable carnivores to tear animal hides and animal flesh apart.
Most commercial dog food is about 65% carbohydrate. Adult humans should have about 20-25% carbs a day. Most dog foods are around 65% carbohydrates!!
For dogs carbohydrates are not essential so they should be used sparingly. Simple carbs are sugars while complex carbs are fibre (put simply) so 65% of most dog foods contain simple carbs and that is sugars and that is obesity.
www.dogfoodreviews.com.au is a good way to check up on what you are feeding your dog.

03/10/2024

Another happy customer at Tails Up!
It has been an absolute pleasure to share the training of our Lucy with other dog lovers. Edna and Margaret have planned structured training steps with supporting learning material and lots of help.
Their training programs are based on a deep knowledge of how dogs behave, what they understand, what they hear and what they look for from us. Such valuable information when training your pet.
Eleanor and John

02/10/2024

What makes puppies angry? Owners who don't take them to Tails Up Dog Training socialisation. Why? Because that is where they start to get good dog manners and meet other puppies who they can play with.

23/09/2024

Who said I was a woolly cow?
I am not a wooly cow, but I am ready for a visit to the groomers.
Groomers really appreciate a dog owner who has taught their dog to stand. Vets are pretty happy with this behaviour as well.
As owners we spend a very large amount of time on training ‘sit’ when all of our work is not needed as sit is a dog’s default position. All that is need is to put a sound with the movement and we will soon have a dog that understands sit.
Stand, naturally, comes after a sit so it is really easy to teach getting up from a sit as ‘stand’.
At the groomers or vets the need to stand, and stand for a reasonable amount of time, is very important. If you want to have a go at teaching this make up a hand signal and when they understand the hand signal for stand you can work on the idea of remaining in this position.
If you have been to a dog show you will be familiar with dogs being on tables. Using this idea, you can work on getting your dog to remain upright for longer periods of time. Rewards are necessary and if you use a clicker incorporate that into the time extension.

21/09/2024

Some great tips if you are looking to get a puppy this season
1. Investigate the seller. I use 'seller’ because all sellers are not breeders! Breeders know from experience how to start to socialise your newborn puppy right from the start.
2. If possible, go to the home of the breeder and see the parents and the litter. Ask for a good look around.
3. If you choose a puppy then and there ask to nurse it for a while so it gets your scent.
4. Send an item of clothing back to the breeder to go in the whelping box a few days before you pick up the puppy so it knows you from the start.
5. If you can’t do 1 or 2 you should look somewhere else to get your puppy as there is something doggie going on above (distance may prevent 1 & 2 so ask for some videos of the place and dogs and search the breeder on social media).
6. Use a crate (wire crate not a pen) from day 1.

27/08/2024

It is puppy season which is exciting for most people as it is so joyful to see young animals, especially puppies jumping and tumbling around the place. Naturally enough, it is good for business if you are a dog trainer! But there are some things you can do to prepare beforehand. A great idea is to send some of your socks to the breeder and ask them to put them in the whelping box so your puppy will know your smells from day of taking them home. If you are picking them up take something like a clothes basket with an old jumper or two so they are comfortable and the ‘bin’ feels a bit like the whelping box. If you want more hints on how to settle in a new pup get in touch and don’t forget that a puppy should start being socialised from week 8 if you want to catch the narrow window when pups get to understand their new world. Ring 0411162242, Edna for more info.

22/05/2024

Tails Up is starting a new Advanced Obedience class this Sunday. There will be 5 dogs in the class and all of them are already well advanced. This week they will be starting to learn to run away from the scent of a snake.