Julie Stockton - Canine Coach

11/21/2025

This week has been a bit cold, windy, snowy, then frosty, so Frankie’s been trying out her lovely new sweater and raincoat. She's not yet convinced they work, but we're working on it!

My dog, Benny joined a couple of walks this week to offer his support, plus he's been feeling quite energised by the cold weather! Frankie tends to want to speed up when it’s very windy & cold, so having Benny tag along slows her down because she’ll follow him to smells & likes to stick close to him. Benny finds all the best sniff spots in town! 👃🤤

Frankie visited Homedepot, where she met Santa and Darth Vader! She also enjoys people watching! She got compliments from staff and customers on her calm and polite behavior! A gold star for Frankie! ✨️

We had a frosty walk around a park, where Frankie found some ice in a tub and worked out how to get the ice out! Problem solving, another gold star! ✨️

Frankie also practised settling and we played some fun recall games, which she enjoys - impulse control, another gold star! ✨️ She also calmly greeted some dogs, including a cute little Aussie Shepherd pup! ❤️🐾

Great job Frankie - you've been a star this week! 💖👏👏

11/19/2025

Welcome 'Adelaide' she's a five year old French Bulldog, who is attending some social walks with me.

Adelaide is very well trained by her mom and showed me some of her training knowledge on our walk today. I look forward to getting to know her more on our outings together. 💞🐾

11/17/2025

It's not uncommon for dogs to suddenly become more aware, anxious or nervous of humans in winter time when we are all wrapped up looking like we're in Antarctica!! 🥶🧣🧤

It's much harder for them to read us and we look bigger and more scary! 😱

11/15/2025

A rainy week with one sunny day at the beach where Frankie had a paddle! She'll avoid rainy puddles like the plague and yet seeks out rock pools at the beach! 😆🏝

Frankie wasn't happy about the rain or having to wear her raincoat! So to make the rain a bit more appealing, I got Benny to join two of her walks and we also had some inside play with a little agility. She loves Benny and he doesn't care about the rain! 😍

Frankie calmly greeted a few dogs and some people. She also calmly observed some construction work being carried out and a tractor ploughing a field! She also watched a flag flapping in the wind! Frankie notices anything that's different so I allow her the time she needs to sniff, observe and process before she wants to move on. I will associate the noise, sound or object with a word, so she learns what they are.
[E.g. when I dispose of Frankie's p**p bag, I'll say "Garbage bin" and sometimes Frankie will even walk me to a bin to dispose of the bag now she knows what one is & looks like!]

Frankie is doing so great at regulating her excitement. She is calm around distractions and listens really well. She's a lot of fun & a goofy girl 🤪🩷🐾

11/07/2025

Winters coming! ❄️🧤🧣

We had a bit of rain this week with cooler temps & wind on Thursday & Friday, but the weather is still beautiful for November. Frankie is not a fan of winter coats, but having short fur and being a small breed, she'll feel the cold more! So we did some fun stuff to keep her distracted, moving & warm with some training thrown in. 🙌

Benny tagged along for a short walk and some social time for Frankie. She enjoys his company and he offers support being a calm, confident, bigger dog. 💞🐾

Frankie continues to do really great on our walks and she's doing well at home with the new baby. She gets a little bored sometimes not being top dog currently, but it's great that Frankie's mom recognises this and provides an outlet for her. 🤱🏻🐕

Hope everyone has a great weekend 🤗

11/07/2025

That Friday feeling! 🤩

11/06/2025

11/04/2025

Ducks, especially when they start flapping & quacking get our dog's attention and can trigger excitement, prey drive & stress!

Frankie has only ever shown curiosity around squirrels, birds & ducks in the past, but never wanted to chase them! She got a little triggered by the ducks because of all the noise they were making, but I waited allowing her to make the right choice and look at me instead of getting excited or wanting to chase them! 👀👍

By allowing our dogs to calmly observe things from a safe distance helps them to process the information they need to learn about their environment in a low stress way.

10/29/2025

A rainy start to the week which Frankie isn't a fan of, so I added a few scent games to distract her to make the rainy walk a bit more fun & exciting! Food is always a good distraction & a great motivator! 😋🥩

The pumpkin people festival is on currently, which are dotted around the towns. Frankie displays curiosity when she's seen them previously from a distance. So we decided to greet some of them in person. I think Frankie was dissappointed by their lack of attention to her & found them to be quite rude...but she did get to Hollywood!! ✨️🎃😄

My boy, Benny tagged along to provide a 'buddy walk' for Frankie. Having a calm, confident dog join a walk with a lesser confident dog can offer support & reassurance, putting them more at ease. Frankie follows my dog everywhere and where Benny sniffs, Frankie sniffs. He always finds the best smells! 👃🧠

Wishing everyone a safe & fun Halloween 👻👹👿

10/24/2025

I plan our daily walks & training each day, but sometimes things present themselves as training opportunities, so it was one of those weeks! 🙌

I introduced Frankie to a skateboard! I think it would be a great outlet for her, so we started off by practicing cues for ‘paws on’ & ‘paws off’ to be continued…! 🛹🐕

[When teaching dogs anything new, it’s best to break down the exercise into small steps so that they understand each step fully before putting the whole exercise together. It’s also important to make learning fun and not overload your dog with too much, otherwise they can switch off, become frustrated, stressed or anxious].

It was Frankie’s 2nd birthday on Thursday, so after our walk & training we visited Starbucks to get her a pupcup to celebrate. 🎉🐾🎈2️⃣

We did a street walk around town with lots of distractions and Frankie met a few people and their dogs. There were also lots of loud & noisy roadworks happening (putting in a sidewalk), so Frankie watched a big digger at work (probably inspecting their work knowing Frankie! 🚧🛑🤭).

We also visited a few stores and went through a car wash! 💦🛻 Frankie handled this very well for her first visit.

We also practiced different variations of recall. We visited an off leash trail where Frankie greeted some people & several dogs and enjoyed some playtime with three ‘suitable’ dogs. She was really good at reading the room and took a break when the other dog displayed ‘cut off’ signals; i.e. needed a break.

Frankie received a few compliments this week on her calm & polite greetings! Always a proud moment for a trainer! 👏❤️

It’s been a gorgeous sunny week for October, which we are enjoying. The Fall colors are beautiful with all the different colored leaves. Fallen leaves on the ground provide a leafy snuffle mat for your dog…toss down a small handful of treats and watch their noses at work! 👃🧠🥩

Great job Frankie, you did awesome this week with all the new stimulus! 👏🩷

10/23/2025

Happy Birthday to this cute little lady. Frankie celebrates her 2nd birthday today! 🎉🎈🎂🥩

10/17/2025

Frankie continues to do so awesome on her walks. She is much more confident around unfamilar dogs and calmly greets them. She is self regulating during play and checks in when she needs a break or reassurance from me. 👍🩷

We had some much needed rain this week, which Frankie isn't a big fan of, so we shortened her walk and she hung out with my dog, Benny and they did some brain games & enrichment with some yard play; tossing treats in the leaf piles for the dogs to sniff out. Frankie soon forgot about the rain as she was distracted by how much fun she was having! 🌧

Frankie's recalls are super fast and she understands what it means, so I'm adding different variations of recall to keep it fun & exciting for her! 🤩🐕💨

Good job Frankie 👏🩷