Helping people and their dogs with emotional stability for happier lives and healthy relationships
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Bondi Behaviourist is a Sydney based dog behavioural and training company working across a wide range of dog behaviourial and training issues
Today we celebrate the joy that is the dogs in our lives on international dog day 🐶🐕🐕🦺
We bring them into our lives so that we can experience the love that only a dog can bring!!
Give your dog an extra pat, treat, swim or whatever it is that they love today ❤️
Join us as we present this months webinar for the PPGA on Sleep, Rest & Recovery for anxious and stressed dogs. This is great one for both trainers and your clients, so please share it to your networks 🙏♥
For our anxious, reactive or stressed dogs training and behaviour work is essential. But it’s just one piece of the puzzle.
Trying to train dogs that are mentally and emotionally exhausted is often futile and it’s these foundations that need to be set before we start getting stuck into the nitty gritty of training and behaviour change. Learn how to know if your dog needs more rest, why it's important, how much is enough and how you can ensure they are getting enough.
Review time!!
Pups inevitably change as they develop and we are here to help you every step of the way
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Introducing our friends 🐶🌟
Do you find it challenging to verbally advocate for your dogs need for space?
📢 Let Cheeky Furriends leash wraps do the talking for you!!
These stylish accessories allow you to easily communicate your dogs needs and are such a great management tool for any training plan!
They come in a variety of different colours and statements or create your own custom statement specific to your dogs needs.
Check out their website for more!
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Meet Rex!
Believe it or not Rex is a Mini Labradoodle 😅
We met this super chill pup today to work on his ability to be left home alone and reduce his reactive behaviour towards other dogs.
Thanks to his guardians great foundation skills like crate training and recall, we are able to use these skills to our advantage to simplify the training plan.
👉 Hard work early on in your pups life can really pay off down the track.
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Every dog is perfectly imperfect just like ourselves
And they will display unwanted behaviours
💥 Its how we respond that matters and the more proactivd we are the better
Keep these key fundamentals of communication in mind next time you're training or just interacting with your dog in daily life
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Meet Billy!!
Settling into a new home can be challenging. Our dogs dont necessarily know that this place is safe and secure.
There's a chance their nervous system is firing on all cylinders as they are absorbing all the new sounds, rountines and places while learning whether its a threat or not.
This may result in attention seeking and unsettled behaviour, which is what Billy has been exhibiting. But remember these are symptoms of the bigger issue.
Rather than trying to shut these behaviours down we look at how we can manage the environment to help him feel safe, what enrichment to bring in to help build confidence in independent behaviours and how the way we interact can encourage more sleep and a healthy rountine.
Billys family are already making progress in just a few short days. They will continue to work with trainer Abbey and work towards building more confidence and overal emotional stability.
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Review time!!
Lauren has loved working with Koko and her family in weekly EEE sessions and absolutely kicking goals each session!
Check out our EEE (Engage-Erich-Empower) program for extra ongoing support with your training needs.
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Pillar #4 - Exercise
Enrichment needs of our dogs can be complex and exercise falls pretty far down the priority list, compared to a dog’s sense of safety and social connection, however its still forms a small part of their fulfillment needs.
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Review time!!
We're love working with clients like Gemma and Sandy! Getting them ready for their growing family is a real pleasure and seeing Sandy improve in all aspects of life is so rewarding.
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Meet Deebo the pocket bully 😍
We’re helping with destructive chewing in the home and building confidence in leaving the home to go for walks.
However, these unwanted behaviours that clients call us to help them with are symptoms of the real underlying issues.
🌟 Our goal... meet the needs at both ends of the leash and ensure the 5 pillars of emotional health are at the forefront of the training plan
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Pillar #3 Diet and Eating Patterns
These are all traits that if you see, perhaps consider reaching out to a trainer and asking for a professional opinion as to whether or not it is something to be concerned about.
* We're not dieticians and so cannot comment on what to feed your dogs. Seek this advice from a certified canine nutritionist or a holistic vet.
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Review time!!
Raven has come such a long way in her training and we cannot wait to see what goals she reaches next!
thank you for this lovely review. Its always such a pleasure to work with such a passionate dog guardian.
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It’s nearly here! Time is running out to register for the upcoming summit, Decoding Your Canine June 2024 Summit: Discover the secrets to having the pawfect dog. The Masterclass Series covering training, health and well-being, which starts on June 17 Australian time (make sure you check the timezone in your location though!) and will run for 5 days.
The complimentary summit will feature 25+ top experts and influencers discussing training, behavioural issues, and more.
Whether it’s dog aggression or reactivity, separation anxiety, emotional responses, health, diet or fitness, there’s sure to be something you won’t want to miss.
And, of course, Ian will be speaking on his favourite topic, Enrichment for Reactive Cases!!
Here’s what to expect:
🐾 25+ dog professionals, trainers & behavior consultants
🐾 Reactivity
🐾 Loose lead walking & recall
🐾 Wholistic Health
🐾 Resolving problematic behavior
🐾 Understanding trauma, nervous dogs, enrichment
and so much more …
Register now - https://summit.decodingyourcanine.com/ian
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Well, we are all excited!
Ian has been asked to speak at the upcoming summit, Decoding Your Canine June 2024 Summit: Discover the secrets to having the pawfect dog. The Masterclass Series covering training, health and well-being.
Ness Jones has brought together 25+ top experts and specialists for this complimentary training series on all things dog.
The summit runs for 5 days starting on June 17 Australian time (make sure you check the timezone in your location though!) and all you have to do is click this link to sign up for this training series.
Register now - https://summit.decodingyourcanine.com/ian
(Link also in bio)
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Review time!
Do you want your pup to grow in confidence, build social skills and learn the things that really matter?
Puppy school starts next week!
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Thank you so much to for this lovely review!
Pillar #2 - Sleep, Rest and Recovery
How many hours of sleep does your dog get each day?
If you need help learning how to meet your dogs sleep and recovery needs...
💻visit our website or check out our free e-book
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Want your dog to live its best life possible?
✅️ Then you should sign up for the Decoding Your Canine June 2024 Summit: Discover the secrets to having the pawfect dog. The Masterclass Series covering training, health and well-being.
My friend Ness Jones has brought together 25+ top experts and influencers for this complimentary training series on all things dog.
You will hear from some amazing trainers & behaviourists, as well as get information on canine health and keeping your dog fit and well.
Not just that … you will also hear from yours truly talking about one of my favourite things...
Enrichment Needs for Reactive Cases!!
📢 Sign up now - https://summit.decodingyourcanine.com/ian
Pillar #1 Enrichment
What are we trying to achive?
We want you to start thinking about your dogs needs. How can you start enriching, fulfilling your dog and most importantly helping them feel safe .
If you need help learning how to meet your dogs enrichment needs...
💻visit our website or check out our free e-book
⬆️ link in bio
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Why is Nelly in a muzzle? 😷
If you pay close attention to our social media you might recognise sweet Nelly from our walk&train program as well as the recent graduation pics from our group manners class.
Now, you may ask yourself - how is it that a dog who looked so stoked in her group manner class graduation pictures now needs to wear a muzzle???
Well basically - it’s not Nelly, it’s you 😅😂
Nelly is an absolutely gorgeous dog who just needs a little extra personal space when out walking. She has progressed so much that her trainer Abbey is now able to walk her in busy environments like Manly!
BUT - unfortunately much of the general population still think it’s ok to:
🙅♀️ Try to pat dogs they don’t know without asking the handler and then the dog.
🚫 Let their dog go up to any random dog in public spaces without asking.
🤦🏻 Walk their dog off leash in on leash areas.
So, for these reasons when walking Nelly in a busy area like Manly Beach we make sure to protect her personal space, feelings of safety and MAJOR training progress by utilising a muzzle, a give me space vest and a bright colour harness&leash set so you really can’t miss this dear girl and she projects LEAVE ME BE from every angle.
Remember that public spaces are there for everyone to use and enjoy 🥰 From the most confident to the extra cautious canines and everyone in between.
Long leashes are a staple in our work with our clients.
They help enhance, enrich and empower the walks our clients have with their dogs every day.
🐶 How has a long leash helped you and your dog?
Long leashes come in various lengths, materials, and styles to suit different training needs and preferences. Find the one that best fits your training needs, handling abilities and comfort.
And as always safety is always a priority so it is important you learn how to use a long line safely.
Dogs often communicate in subtle ways that can be missed or misunderstood.
Dogs will communicate when they are stressed or uncomfortable way before a growl or bite occurs.
If we learn to read these early warning signs we can help to advocate for our dogs and ensure everyone stays safe.
💡Remember
- Look at the dogs whole body
- Always look at the context
- Every dog is an individual
Other signals:
- Ground sniffing or digging
- Scratching
- Shaking off
- Zoomies
- Pacing
- Panting and drooling
- Cowering or hiding
Want to know how you can advocate for your dog?
Check out our free E-book!!
YOU CANNOT TRAIN A NEED OUT OF A DOG
I am a fan of training in general – which shouldn’t surprise anyone, because after all I am a “dog trainer”. In fact, I begin some sort of training with my dogs from the time they come home as little pups and I continue right into old age.
But perhaps that is because I view training as a way of building connection and providing enrichment, rather than a way of achieving control and “obedience”. Training is an activity that my dogs love and it is an opportunity to connect and do fun things together. Stopping training as they age, would be taking away an enrichment activity that they thrive on, so we keep going, simply adjusting to what they can cope with and what they particularly enjoy.
However, I am also a behaviour practitioner. I have been educated to view animals, not just as operant machines, but as creatures with rich emotional lives. I recognise the fact that behaviour is the expression of a need and the outpouring of an emotion. I believe that having this perspective and deeper knowledge of what drives behaviour makes me a better trainer, because I am aware that there is so much more than just observable behaviour to consider when working with any animal.
Unfortunately, people often use training as a way of making things look better, without actually making them any better on a deeper level – kind of like painting over the cracks in a house when its foundations are crumbling. It might look better for a while, but the entire structure is still unstable and at some point, it is bound to collapse.
Except it is far worse than a crumbling house, because dogs are sentient beings that deserve better than having their underlying emotions ignored. Trying to cover up signs of anxiety, frustration or deprivation by teaching polite behaviours is incredibly cruel and selfish.
Too often I see posts in positive reinforcement-based training groups where people are seeking advice to address a “problem” behaviour and, despite the very obvious signs that the dog in the post is struggling because a fundamental need is not being met, the advice given always focuses purely on training away the behaviour, rather than addressing the underlying need.
I find it incredibly sad and actually quite distressing, that so many dogs are desperately trying to communicate what they need and all supposedly knowledgeable people can focus on is how to stop them expressing that need – even if it is in a “nice” way.
Let me be clear, no amount of “training” is going to stop a dog from showing some signs of extreme boredom or distress, if you leave them alone daily for 8 – 10 hours. Dogs are social animals and you cannot train this out of them. A dog getting overexcited when they interact with you, if they spend hours separated from you outdoors or stuck in a crate, is NOT a training issue – it is a welfare issue. Long periods of confinement and isolation are detrimental to dogs – they were not built for this and trying to train them to accept it is fundamentally unfair. You also cannot expect a dog that never has any freedom of movement when out and about to walk “to heel” all the time. Dogs need to move, to run and to explore and expecting them to spend every walk on a 1 metre leash at your side with no tension on that lead as a means of exercise is completely absurd.
Dogs have fundamental needs for companionship, security, freedom of movement and exploration, among other things. You cannot train these needs out of them and trying to do so is incredibly unfair. Meeting your dogs’ emotional needs is how you go about building a strong foundation for their emotional and behavioural wellbeing, as well as your relationship with them. Training should be a means of enhancing and making that well-built foundation shine – not a way of covering up its cracks.
🧠 Enrichment is what is required to meet our dogs needs so that they can be physically, behaviourally and emotionally happy.
☹️ Without enrichment, an individual’s fundamental needs are not being met and their behaviour will be reflective of this.
🐕 There are different aspects of enrichment - chews, toys and exercise are the ones that are commonly known. However, there are many other ways that our dogs' lives can, and must be enriched for them to live a healthy life.
• The perception of feeling safe
• Calm and Relaxation
• Health & Veterinary
• Diet, Nutrition & General Hygiene
• Physical Exercise
• Sensory Stimulation
• Social Interaction, Exploration & Foraging
• Mental Exercise & Independence
🎉 What are we trying to achieve?
We want people to think about their dog’s needs and ways that they can feel enriched, fulfilled, content and most of all… safe.
If you need help learning how to meet your dogs enrichment needs, DM us or visit the link in our bio for your very own free e-book!!
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It can be tricky socialising your dog out in the real world! You never know if the other dog in the park is going to be too rough, teach bad habits, aggressive or just not a good influence on your pup. It’s also tricky when you’re not sure what good and bad play looks like, when to keep your dog on leash, when to let them off and how/when to step in and interrupt a game. That’s why we’ve created our socialisation classes. A class in which we focus solely on this There are lots of classes out there that focus on obedience, recall and all of that traditional stuff. And they’re great… but this is different. In these classes we’ll teach you: ✅ how to how handle a leash for on leash introductions ✅ how to regulate play and step in when necessary ✅ what good and bad play looks like ✅ about the best way to socialise YOUR individual dog If you want to learn how to socialise your pup… head to the link in the comments
Picking things up with with their mouths is normal for dogs Ingesting non edible items isn’t, especially if it keeps happening If it is, then it’s worth looking into why. Two common factors we see are: 1. Poor gut health 2. Frustration We often see when the gut health of the dog improves this behaviour decreases. When it comes to frustration, we often see people panic when their dog starts doing this and begin to withhold and restrain the dog from natural behaviours. We see people not leave anything out for the dog to chew at all, snatch things out of their mouth, hold them on tight leashes when walking and never letting them off leash, each exasperating the frustration further. The more frustrated the dogs get, the more this behaviour increases and we see things get worse. So instead, we what we can do is supervise them chewing items we know are safe, ensure we don’t give them access to things they can pick up that they shouldn’t (📢 pick up your socks people), watch where they’re walking and teach them to look at you and reward them when walking past things they might scavenge and use a long leash in safe places to allow for freedom of movement. Port Gut Health + Frustration = Poor Mental & Emotional Health = Unwanted Behaviours If we reverse this, we will see the unwanted behaviours decrease by addressing the underlying cause.
Will your dog rest when they’re tired? We see a lot of dogs that “won’t stop playing” or “will just keep chasing the ball as long as we throw it” And this isn’t necessarily an issue Unless, we acknowledge that this dog needs help to settle and relax and that help isn’t provided If we have a dog in our care like this, we will probably have to facilitate environments and situations for them to be able to rest, decompress and recover quite deliberately rather than relying them on just doing so when they’ve had enough Our modern world is stimulating and can be OVER stimulating to many dogs Learning to rest, decompress and relax is a behaviour that can be trained just like any other. Think of it like skills in our life that help us decompress like meditation or reading, it’s possible, we just need to first of all acknowledge it’s necessary and then practice it
Giving our dog physical and mental stimulation and exercise is really important As is time to rest, decompress and recoverToo much exercise will cause stress & exhaustionToo much decompression will cause frustration Both are essential and it’s our role to be aware of what our dog needs are at the time Routine and patterns are great for predictability but sticking to them too rigidly may cause us to do things because “it’s what we always do” rather than what the dog actually needed
Do our dogs need jobs? It’s something that is preached far and wide and many dogs were bred for working purposes! But what do people mean when they say this? Does the type of job matter? Do all dogs need jobs? Do any? Tune into the latest episode of Unleashed & Unhinged where I talk with Dom from @canine_caregivers again The links in the bio to listen 🎧
@sitpretty.training joined me on the latest episode of the Unleashed & Unhinged podcast to talk about her area of expertise… Reactivity! If you don’t follow Vanessa on social media then you’re missing out! Her content is always fun and informative and the pod was awesome too (even if I do say so myself) The link is in the bio to listen in!
🎙️ The latest episode of Unleashed & Unhinged is out now 🎙️ In this episode we had the legend that is Tim Sampson from @allearsnz come on and share his experience of living with a reactive dog! Tim is one of my favourite people in this awesome industry and each time we catch up it feels like we could have kept talking for hours! The links in the bio for this awesome episode so tune in and let us know what you think!
A fantastic day at @santapawseventaus today! We got to talk training and behaviour with lots of people, appear on a morning segment for @sunriseon7 and judge some really fun competitions. How amazing was this routine by @maple_the_border_collie Watching these two have so much fun and be in sync was a real highlight! A big thank you to @kikibermudezteam for putting together a great event ❤️🎅🏻🐕
When is the right time to get a dog? Is there a right time get a dog? A wrong time? I was joined on the latest episode of the Unleashed & Unhinged podcast by friend Mel from @cooperandkids for this episode which is out right now! Dive into the link in bio to listen 🎙️
Constant vigilance, over exercise and distraction will lead to adrenal fatigue and behavioural fallout We see it in city life with people’s dogs time and time again
Is your dog bored or agitated? They symptoms of both can look similar. Mishandling it can exasperate issues Doing more with a dog that’s already agitated can compound adrenal fatigue Trying to reduce activity for a bored dog will compound boredom So if you’re looking at excessive barking, attention seeking and destruction in the home, make sure to identify why these are happening first and foremost
Getting the balance right between keeping and keeping them entertained and affording them chances to relax means constantly assessing and adapting to our dogs and what life throws at them. Routines are great but shouldn’t be so rigid that our dogs become brittle.Exercise and entertaining them is great but not to the point of exhaustion and adrenal fatigue. Rest and recovery is great but not to the point of boredom.Each dog is different and each day our dogs have different needs.
Is my dog bored or agitated?The symptoms of both can look similar:- Restlessness- Excessive barking- Destruction- Digging - Attention seeking Before jumping to a conclusion look at when the behaviours in question are happening and what else do they have going on in their life?Context matters So does how you handle it because if you try to settle a bored dog down with relaxation then you’ll exasperate frustrationIf you try to “do more” with a dog that’s already stressed and can’t settle you’ll compound adrenal fatigue
🎙️🌈 NEW EPISODE OF UNLEASHED & UNHINGED OUT NOW 🎙️🌈 In this episode I was joined by @bobbiebhambree_dogtrainer to talk all about the resilience and the resilience rainbow Bobbie and her colleagues have created the resilience rainbow as a framework for people and professionals to help build our dogs resilience. This is such an important asset for our dogs to have, this world can throw so many things their way and the ability to bounce back is underrated. Don’t forget to check out the L.E.G.S. In Motion Conference 2023 (link in the show notes) where Bobbie is the key note speaker! As always, the links in the bio to listen so go check it out 🤙🏻
🎙️ NEW EPISODE 🎙️ Should overstimulated dogs be in dog parks? Head to the link in bio to find out
🎙️ The latest episode of Unleashed & Unhinged is out right now 🎙️ This week Dr Findy Wills from @letstalkpaws joined us to talk emotional regulation and it’s role in our dogs lives and training Tune in to the link in the bio to listen
Dogs that have been branded “reactive” are typically not in a good place in regards to their emotional regulation. The reactions they’re showing are them having moments of dysregulation. A key goal when helping a reactive dog is get to that happy healthy place. Ensuring they have their overarching enrichment needs is essential. Too much focus on working with their triggers can result in increase of stress, never getting a chance to actually enjoy each others company and compounding and hyper focus on all of the negative things. Make sure you enjoy your reactive dog as much as possible even if there are times where it’s incredibly hard work.
Did you know it can take 72 hours to a week for our dogs body’s to clear excess adrenaline and cortisol out of their system if they have a large reaction? Rest, recovery and time for reflection are essential parts of a training plan when working with reactivity. Help your dogs by working with them under threshold. Avoid over stimulating and triggering their nervous system where possible. Afford appropriate breaks after sessions.
No reaction to any stimulus is the definition of ‘dead’. So we don’t want our dogs to just ‘not respond’ to what they usually react to. They will still react, we just want them to react more appropriately. Like anyone trying to overcome something or change their typical response to something, it doesn’t happen over night, we don’t respond the exact same way every time and it takes time and practice. The goal is to see gradual improvement and change in a desirable direction. Typically we see two things ladder up until we get to the end goal of socially appropriate reactions. We see their recovery time improve first. Then we see their intensity and response itself change. These two get better and better over time.
When working with reactivity we’re not focussing on suppressing the reactivity itself. We’re trying to create new behaviours. We’re trying to teach the dog new skills that they can use as coping skills. The dogs reactivity in the first place is a response to something they’re triggered by. What we’re trying to do is reduce their sensitivity while teaching them alternative coping skills if they do feel like it’s getting too much.
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Bondi Behaviourist is a Sydney based team, working with dog behaviour and training working across a wide range of dog behaviourial issues with in home consultations, training courses, puppy schools and walk and training options.
