AbiK9 Training Services

24/03/2025

Head on over and ‘like’ Dabble Dog Sports, my new exciting business venture and passion! Share if you can too!

It's finally up and running! After years of umm-ing and ahh-ing about whether to start up a sporting club, I've finally decided to just do it. The Northern Rivers needs more things to do with our dogs, and as the name suggests, we're going to be offering a variety of things for you to 'dabble' in with your dog.

The website (www.dabbledogsports.com.au) is under construction but a lot of the pages are open for you to look at.

All dogs must start with a foundations class, after which you can enrol in anything we offer. At this early stage, that is agility, obedience and rally, and nosework.

In the future, I'm aiming to introduce lure coursing, earthdog (for all the snags and terriers!), bitework (including 'mock' protection for pet dogs), trick training, and whatever else I can think of.

Contact me at [email protected] if you have questions. I'll also be setting up a newsletter you can sign up for to keep up to date about all the happenings at the club :)

The first foundations class is already in the calendar! https://www.dabbledogsports.com.au/bookingpage
Start date: April 10th @ 4:30-5:30pm
Cost: $240/dog
Duration: 6 weeks

08/03/2025

Well, it ended up being pretty anticlimactic at the end there. Lots of rain, still more coming, but we certainly didn’t get the full force of the storm!

07/03/2025

Like I said, good weather for frogs and labs 🤪 Update 1: we are on generator power and have been told by essential energy we might be blacked out for several days (fair enough, I wouldn’t want to be working during a cyclone either!). Update 2: Our main Wi-Fi is down and we’re having to use starlink, which is absolute crap. So if you don’t hear back from me don’t stress. Also, a tip to anyone in SE QLD and NE NSW: If you have pet insurance and have been forced to board your dog during the floods, your boarding bill might be at least partially covered by their policy.

05/03/2025

Everyone’s stocking up on toilet paper and potatoes, but don’t forget about your dogs! Alstonville has a pet shop now in the square, fresh and dry food, treats and toys. Stay safe everyone 💜

We have plenty of stock to get your best mate through the storms!

04/03/2025

A cyclone was not in my 2025 bingo card yet here we are! I’ve canceled all my lessons this week, if I haven’t contacted you I will be today. We’re stocked up on dog food, human food, water and we have a generator. Stay safe out there everyone, let’s hope this is all hype 😅

24/02/2025

Allowed

19/01/2025

We currently have no NBN or reception at home until Thursday. Thankfully we have star link as backup, however it’s not very consistent and only works when I’m right under the dish. I’ll be slow getting back to people - but should be back up and running soon!

24/12/2024

Merry Christmas from the AbiK9 fam! Smitty, Sam, Tato and Bugs wish you all well over the holidays 💕💕

19/12/2024

JESS UPDATE – SUCCESSFULLY ADOPTED
Many thanks to all of you who contacted us, concerned about beautiful 3yo girl ‘Jess’ the working Kelpie.

Jess had developed a deep and quite hostile jealousy of other dogs because when she wasn’t working the cattle she was chained up in the garage looking out at the farms house dog, a Labrador, who received all the love and affection and enjoyed the comforts of home inside the farm house.

After a couple of failed foster attempts – due to her jealousy of other dogs – we felt she needed her very own home as a single dog where she would soak up all her humans love and attention.

Charli and dad Steve, who live in a suburban little coastal village with a well fenced large yard, offered to foster Jess. Within two weeks Jess had settled into her new life where she LOVED being allowed inside and ADORED all the love and affection.

Jess, who had never been to the beach, now visits her local beach twice daily where she thoroughly enjoys rounding up all the other dogs then takes herself for a huge swim and surf in the waves.

Charli and Steve decided to adopt her and we are thrilled to report that Jess is now positively gleeful about her new lifestyle and is very very content 🙌🥰

JESS ADOPTION or FOSTER

4-year-old des*xed female pure Australian Kelpie ‘Jess’ is running out of options. Currently, our shelter is full and we have no available foster-carers. To date, Jess has been a farm dog who has experience with gently running cattle.

Jess is an affectionate sweetheart. She would thrive with a dedicated companion who could provide her with some further training, and some lovin’ ‘n’ fun. She walks well on-leash and loves hanging out indoors with some creature comforts.

She is pretty obedient and comes when called. Socially, she is OK with other dogs, but she is definitely more of a people dog. She becomes possessive of her person and can lash out at other dogs if they steal some of her attention. For this reason she would be best suited to a one-dog household.

Can you help Jess? Please contact Shell on 0458461935.

MC: 982126058255706

18/12/2024

An increasing body of evidence is showing the risks associated with early des*xing. While no one would argue that des*xing should NEVER be done, the standard advice of ‘6 months’ is hugely problematic and contradicts that evidence.

Remember no one is arguing the need for sterilization, it's the surgical technique that should be reevaluated. Hysterectomy and vasectomy achieve the same goal but leave important hormones intact according to science.

"The association between gonadectomy and timing of gonadectomy, and the risk of canine cranial cruciate ligament disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract
Objective - To determine if gonadectomy in dogs is associated with the risk of cranial cruciate ligament disease (CrCLD) and to quantify the magnitude of the association.

Study design - Systematic review and meta-analysis.

Sample population - Comparative studies with gonadectomized and entire dogs, with CrCLD as an outcome measure.

Methods - A systematic search of the primary and gray literature was performed. The effect size of the outcome measure was defined as the OR and 95% CI. Subgroup analysis was performed with s*x, breed, and age at gonadectomy. A pooled OR (95% CI) was generated from meta-analysis of relevant studies. Certainty in the body of evidence was rated with the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) framework.

Results - The literature search yielded 1398 results and 24 relevant studies were included for synthesis. Gonadectomized female (pooled OR = 2.293, 95% CI = 1.768–2.945) and male (pooled OR = 2.117, 95% CI = 1.665–2.691) dogs were both at increased odds of developing CrCLD in comparison with entire female and male dogs, respectively. Subgroup analysis showed that gonadectomy at 1 year or less was consistently associated with an increase in odds of developing CrCLD in both s*xes. Overall certainty in the evidence was rated as moderate. All included studies were observational and no controlled trials were available.

Conclusion - In data with moderate certainty, gonadectomy is associated with increased odds of developing CrCLD in both s*xes, particularly in dogs gonadectomized at 1 year of age or less.

Clinical significance - This study provides an estimate of the true effect size of gonadectomy on the odds of developing CrCLD, which may be useful for clinical decision making surrounding gonadectomy and the timing of gonadectomy."

30/11/2024

There’s always one 😂

19/11/2024

There is very little benefit to using other puppies to teach your puppy how to “dog”. While in the litter, puppies do learn a lot from their litter mates. Afterwards (beyond 8-12wks) - not so much. All puppies want to do is PLAY, which is great! Except if that’s the majority of your puppy’s socialization then they will grow up thinking that all dogs want to play.

*Which causes a lot of obedience and behavioural problems*

While I get Dunbar’s POV - off leash puppy classes creates plenty of opportunities to practice recalls/obedience etc. around things that will later be big distractions - this is the sort of thing you get. Now, in isolation, this isn’t that big of a deal. It’s likely that both puppies were overtired and overstimulated - it does not mean either will be aggressive later on. But I seriously struggle to see the benefits of doing this as opposed to doing large field or controlled socialization with dog-savvy older dogs.

These sorts of puppy classes are just pure chaos 🙃

17/11/2024

Anyone who has wanted to get a treat pouch, stylish hound is having a sale:

Use our dog treat pouches to train and reward your dogs Store your furry friend’s favourite treats in a dog treat pouch you can take on the go. At Stylish Hound, we have specifically designed our dog training treat pouch to be easily accessible and make food storage a breeze. Check out some of the...

12/11/2024

1 spot left in our next Nosework class starting this Friday!

4pm-5:30pm
5 weeks
$300
Suitable for all dogs!
Booking link here: https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=25095256&appointmentType=70076842

11/11/2024

~ Did you know that dogs laugh? ~

It's not a new article, and I have disagreed with Coren articles before (like that dogs tilt their heads because they have a hard time seeing past their snouts... except I've seen countless brachycephalic breeds tilt their heads at *sounds* not sights), however this is not widely known, and also, fascinating:

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/canine-corner/200911/do-dogs-laugh

31/10/2024

Next nosework class begins November 15th! We have two spots available. Sign up here 👉

Schedule your appointment online AbiK9 Training Services

24/10/2024

Nosework - trying again without the distraction of a kid in my ear 😅

OK so the 'try it' day is actually November 10th! I got the days switched in the previous post, but the links reflected the correct dates. If you want to try nosework training with no commitment and no cost, this is for you!

And the drop-in day for existing clients is the 17th. **If you've done a class at any point with me, this is for you. We aren't doing field trips just yet, but we'll be doing search puzzles for the more advanced dogs, and working on any little bits and bobs back in the training room for those that need to catch up a bit.

https://www.abik9dogtraining.com.au/book-now