The Dog Project

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Australia
Wollongong, NSW
The Dog Project

The Dog Project was founded in 2010 to provide the local community with easily accessible dog training classes and advice.
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The Dog Project provides dog training classes & individual consultations for puppies and adult dogs, behaviour modification solutions for common problems, and guidance and assistance with any dog related behaviour enquiries. We work throughout Wollongong and the Illawarra. The Dog Project's mission is to help Australian dog owners better communicate with their dogs so that they can live happily to

gether. We focus on developing a great relationship between owner and dog, balancing obedience and calm with lots of fun. We use positive rewards-based training methods which are fun, but most importantly, effective.

23/08/2024

20/08/2024

Travis is uber-cute, both in looks & personality, & clever to boot. He's off to Level 2 Dog Skills!

19/08/2024

Mantrailing is the talk of the town at the moment & we're lucky to have someone local, & qualified, to introduce us to the sport/game :) See details below of a workshop in Wilton in a couple of weeks, from our friends at Serenity Scent Work

🐕 Mantrailing Workshops with Jess from Serenity Scent Work! 🐕
Join Jess, an experienced Mantrailing instructor, for an engaging 3-hour workshop that will keep your dog’s nose busy and their tails wagging! Perfect for dogs of all ages and breeds. 🐶
📅 September 7 , 2024 at9am
📍 Wilton
Don’t miss out – share this with fellow dog guardians!

16/08/2024

Dog Skills movers & shakers.
Alfie to Level 4 & Freya to Level 3.
Awesome job you super stars ♡♡

09/08/2024

We're excited to partner with another wonderful local vet, Kiama Veterinary Hospital to provide Puppy Preschool classes. Our inaugural course kicks off this coming Tues 13th August, 7pm. First lesson is a live-online theory session, followed by 4 weeks of fun & learning.
Register here: https://thedogproject.dogbizpro.com/public/registration/index.aspx?schedule=1878

08/08/2024

This week's stunning puppies 🤩
Congratulations to Bear, Bear, Emilio, Rome, Tex, Ruckus & Honey on graduating puppy preschool. Fun & learning ♡

Our next available puppy schools kick off this Sat 10th August at 9am in Gwynneville, Mon 12 Aug at 615pm in Dapto & Tues 13 Aug at 7pm in Kiama. Details on our website 😊

31/07/2024

PUPPIES!

Congratulations to last week's graduate super stars: Daisy, Luna, Shadow & Remi ♡

Our next available puppy preschools kick off Sat 10 Aug (Gwynneville) & Mon 12 Aug (Dapto).

26/07/2024

It is incredible what can be achieved through nose work. Of course every dog is unique, however overwhelmingly they love nose work! And it absolutely has positive roll-on effects.
Thanks for the great image Canberra Nosework Training

It's time to reshare this. This is the magic of Nose Work ♥

25/07/2024

As always: check, double-check & triple-check your breeder.
Even leaving out the knowledge that adult dogs can live in appalling conditions, there is evidence that puppies from puppy farms can exhibit more problematic behaviours later in life. Investment in a reputable breeder, or supporting a reputable rescue group, will pay off in the long run, & not allow the cycle to continue. See a couple of reports ⬇️

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-07-23/tasmanian-labradoodles-shuts-down-250-dogs-needing-a-home/104127300

A couple of scientific papers on the topic:
"dogs sold through pet stores and/or born in high-volume CBEs have an increased frequency of a variety of undesirable adulthood behaviors compared with dogs from other sources, particularly noncommercial breeders."
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1558787817300102
&
"Dogs from puppy farms have worse behavioral scores on 11 of 14 C-BARQ(s) subscales"
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0168159118302697

More than 250 labradoodles have been surrendered following the closure of one of Tasmania's largest dog breeders, with the RSPCA saying it has been "overwhelmed" by the public's response to the problem of finding new homes for the animals.

19/07/2024

Louie, Hugo & Rex all recently moved to Level 2 Dog Skills: great jobs boys!

Term 3 kicks off this coming Tuesday 23rd.
Existing clients can re-enrol via a package: https://thedogproject.dogbizpro.com/Public/Registration/Packages.aspx
New clients jump into a Welcome class first: https://thedogproject.dogbizpro.com/public/registration/index.aspx

Full details: https://thedogproject.com.au/dog-skills/

18/07/2024

Congratulations to Mabel, Jasper, Ollie & Axel, Saturday's Puppy Preschool graduates 😍

05/07/2024

Congratulations to Monday night's Puppy Preschool graduates 🎓❤️

Thanks for all the fun Peppa, Bingo, Titan & Frankie!

Our next available course kicks off Sat 13th July, 9am in Gwynneville. https://thedogproject.com.au/puppy-training/

01/07/2024

Gorgeous Tazzie is heading to Level 2 Dog Skills. 🤩

24/06/2024

This is a fabulous one to jump into! Free for paid PPGA members, or only $20 for the general public.
Topic is "Real-Life Dog Reactivity Transformation Strategies for Your Toolkit (From the Biggest Pet Behaviour Referral Clinic in the UK!)"

WEBINAR 25TH JULY - Dr. Tom Mitchell is a Veterinarian, Dog Trainer and best-selling author, but he is first and foremost, a Clinical Animal Behaviourist who is passionate about equipping dog lovers around the world with the skills they need to transform
their dog’s behaviour. Founder of Behavet (the world’s largest remote Behaviour practice) and Help! My Dog, he can’t wait to share the science behind dog behaviour, to help you to add more behavioural skills to your toolbox.

If you're a dog guardian or dog lover, dog trainer, veterinarian or veterinary nurse, dog groomer, or canine care professional, then this webinar is exactly the place that you need to be to help dogs who are struggling with reactivity. For only $20 this webinar offers great value for everyone!

The webinar is sure to be packed full of information. Dr. Tom will be talking about how reactivity on walks to other dogs, people or something else entirely represents the most common struggle dogs present to a trainer or veterinary behaviourist for. With a considerable learning gap in the training world right now for solutions that are transformational, practical and able to be implemented in real-life situations rather than purely theoretical, Dr. Tom will dive into his top 3 reward-based, games-based, real-life strategies that get the kinds of transformations that he, Help! My Dog and Behavet have become known for around the world. Always entertaining, Dr. Tom will share practical strategies to help you help reactive dogs.

We expect places in this webinar to fill up quickly so don't wait to register. Click this link now to reserve your place https://www.ppgaustralia.net.au/event-5741561

24/06/2024

Thank you SO MUCH to Sutherland Shire Raw for sharing their space with us for a K9 Nose Work adventure yesterday! More pics to come but first of all check out the joy in Willow's body language as she works out there is birch hidden in HER shop 😍

16/06/2024

Emerging from a fabulous few days of learning & fun at the Conference. Practical workshops, including Barbara Buchmayer as a Border Collie 😆, & Presentation days with lots of great research, games, practical ideas & inspiration. Plus a little shopping from the great companies supporting the event. Feel refreshed & motivated, & looking forward to sharing it all ❤️

13/06/2024

PUPPIES!!
Congratulations to our recent graduates: Buddy, Cali, Bam Bam, Maisy, Kobe, Enzo, Twiggy, Patsy, Marshall & Pip ❤️ 🧡 💛 💚 💙 💜

06/06/2024

Our Dog Skills and Ongoing K9 Nose Work classes are on as normal this weekend.
Saturday is looking like "a shower or two" so hopefully we'll be all systems go :)

20/05/2024

We got mostly nice weather on Saturday (until I opened my big mouth to gloat!), & little Islay moved up to Level 2. Great job!

20/05/2024

Kim & Milly's Cords 4 Paws is arranging an Aussie shipment in 2 days time, so if you have a hankering for any products, jump on their website now! I've got my eyes on the ball key chain...

15/05/2024

Theo, Ruby, Frank & Bella are all headed to Level 2 Dog Skills. Great job!

14/05/2024

A long line is a fabulous tool. There are some things to watch for (not tripping you or others up, having both hands available to reel in/out, probably one dog at a time.) Get started practicing on a field or open space & soon you'll be a pro.

10/05/2024

PUPPIES!!
Congratulations to this week's graduates. Raffy Teddy, Daisy, Bluebell, Ember & Clover. ❤️

08/05/2024

Welcome to Level 4 Luna!
You slipped into the group so smoothly last night. Our biggest challenge was getting a photo of a black dog on a dark, rainy night 🤪
Congratulations to you & your human on your work getting here x

04/05/2024

What do you get when you cross a Whippet with a Swiss Shepherd? ... Level 1 Dog Skills today! 😁
Level 1 definitely bore the brunt of the heavier rain so huge kudos to Tazzie, Odin & their owners for braving it! Although we definitely understand those who missed it. Catch you next week!
Also shout out to the other levels which were basically full lists. Love keen humans & happy fulfilled dogs ♡

02/05/2024

It's a catchy title 🤪 but nice to see research showing dogs trained in scent detection perform better at cognitive tasks. Nose work is such a fun activity for our dogs & we see loads of benefits from celebrating their awesome olfactory abilities!

Scent training could make pet dogs better behaved, suggests a study by Aberystwyth University academics published in Animals.

01/05/2024

We were lucky to have a special visitor at Dog Skills last night. 😍 All the way from Melbourne, Lacey is back visiting her old hood & she & her humans dropped in on a class. New venue but she rolled with it & I think remembered the format quickly despite the 3 year gap! So good to see you & your humans ♡

29/04/2024

These super star puppies graduated Puppy Preschool last week 🌟

Congratulations Mango, Henry, Ginny & Leila!

16/04/2024

Congratulations to our recent Beginners K9 Nose Work graduates! Darbi, Dizzi, Dexter, Bonny, Spike, Lunar Bear, Chester & Betty all grew in confidence & searching skills 🙂
We've just opened up a NEW TIME for Beginners this coming term: 830am Saturday from 18 May. Register here: https://thedogproject.dogbizpro.com/public/registration/index.aspx?schedule=1756

Address

Wollongong, NSW
2519

Website

http://www.thedogproject.com.au/, http://www.youtube.com/user/TheDogProjectAU, http://twitter.com/#!/TheDogProject

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Videos

Our Monday lunchtime Intro to Birch class are smashing it. Half way through & all definitely know birch is relevant 🤩 #nosework #k9nosework #scentwork

Recently I saw a trainer using a prong collar on a Labrador at Stuart Park. Prong collars are banned in Victoria, Queensland & Tasmania, and are illegal to import into Australia. If you'd like to see what one looks like, check out this article: https://kb.rspca.org.au/knowledge-base/are-pronged-collars-harmful-to-my-dog/ I asked them (politely) why they were using it. They gave me a number of reasons, and over the coming weeks I'm going to offer facts to challenge each & every one of those. First up, they said "harnesses teach a dog to pull". Dogs don't need a harness to pull. If an animal wants to head in a certain direction and is frustrated in their attempt, they are likely to first of all increase their force to try & counter the resistance. Some harnesses enable this force, and can make it tricky to handle a big, strong dog (or even a small strong dog!). However there are many harnesses that don't enable this: they work to counter that increased force attempt, but without inflicting pain. Search for "front-attach harness" or "front range harness" in a search engine and loads of different styles will pop up. There are even ones that help with dogs who can slip out of a harness. There's no need to inflict pain to reduce a behaviour when there are viable options to get the same result. This training walk video with Tucker isn't perfect, but we're focusing on reinforcing desired behaviour, and limiting unwanted behaviour via a front-attach harness. He's an incredibly strong dog.

Plus Red's super-cute roll over 🤩

I love this 'take a bow' cue 😍 Whippy in Dog Skills this week.

Some "can your dog read" fun in Dog Skills on Saturday. New skills can be tricky under distractions! A good party trick once fine-tuned 😊

Loose lead walking PROGRESS. Learning is never linear. It's wriggly up & down, but these guys are showing lovely recognition of the reinforcement zone. No harsh equipment required thank you 🥰 Dog Skills Level 2.

How do you teach loose lead walking without force? We focus on two elements: one is an 'enjoyable walk' (don't have to be in heel position - totally fine to explore & sniff as long as human's should is intact!) & the other is 'heel' (close to you - for short distances & to navigate busy spaces etc). And by working on 'heel' with engagement & cooperation from our dog, they start to offer it spontaneously more & more <3 Zali here is demonstrating one of the fun heel-work games we play in class: a couple of steps forward, marking & rewarding for position, then 'hey - chase me!' A lovely exercise to build engagement & value in that zone. #forcefreedogtraining

At 10 months old Flash is displaying many typical adolescent behaviours. Curious & confident, but then momentarily spooked by something, even if he's experienced it before (we were here a couple of weeks ago & he just trotted happily along 😜). It's normal & pups who've had lots of positive life experiences typically recover quickly. Flash finished his pier experience with much less startle body language & lots of curiosity. Perfect.

Remember it's OK to reassure your dog if they're scared. It's Flash's first storm so we're pairing thunder with food (& games). Ignore sound, trying to film, cook dinner & behaviour modify at the same time 😆

When life gives you mud we set up a semi-submerged hide 😁 #k9nosework #novascotiaducktollingretriever #toller #birch

We were talking puppy "busy-ness" in puppy class last night & I mentioned @flash_a_beagle doesn't really have a bowl (very occassionally, possibly for sloppy stuff). This is how breakfast came today. It's food in a box, inside another box. Loads of easy ideas to make at home. #canineenrichment #puppytraining #busypuppy #problemsolving

We've been habituating @flash_a_beagle to the vacuum. We started with more distance & shorter bursts, but basically vacuum = food on his bed. He's being super comfy with the noise & not chasing the vacuum which makes cleaning easier! 😆 And you can teach an old dog new tricks: just start slow (presence of vacuum but no noise = food on bed). #beaglepuppy #smartdogtraining #forcefreedogtraining #dogsandvacuums #13weeksold #positivereinforcementdogtraining

Kim loves her K9 Nose Work classes <3 Want an awesome all-weather activity that is inclusive of all dogs? We've got a couple of Beginners K9 Nose Work classes coming up to start your journey with this fun sport. No prior training experience necessary - just a dog with a nose ;) https://thedogproject.com.au/k9-nose-workr/