Positive Paws

13/11/2025

When dogs react quickly or “without thinking,” it’s not a behavioural choice, it’s an instinctual survival response. In moments of stress, pressure, or uncertainty, the thinking brain switches off and the instinctive brain steps forward. This happens automatically, long before conscious thought kicks in.

Dogs move through three instinctual responses, freeze, flight, and fight. These aren’t learned behaviours; they’re hardwired into the nervous system. Over time, if a dog rehearses them repeatedly, they can become patterned or reinforced, making the reactions feel even more automatic.

So if your dog is dropping into these behaviours really quickly, we need to understand why their system is flipping into instinct so fast. And on the other side of the coin, we want to make sure they’re not practising that state over and over again, because the more they tip over, the easier it becomes.

The goal is gaining clarity around the “why” from then you can map out how to move forward.

09/11/2025

Upcoming IGP Trial — December 6th!

We’re gearing up for our next IGP trial on December 6th, and it’s shaping up to be an awesome day!

If you’ve ever wanted to see what an IGP trial looks like, come along and watch Reba and I hit the field again.

🎟️ We’re also running a super fun raffle on the day!
Prizes include a huge meat package, a beautiful hamper, and even a surprise gift 👀 (I can’t tell you what it is, but it’s a good one!).

With Christmas just around the corner, it’s the perfect chance to win something special, a great gift for someone at just a small fraction of the price it’s actually worth! 🎄

💰 Tickets: $5 each or $20 for 5 — enquire directly to grab yours.
All funds go toward supporting our club and future events.

Whether you’re trialling, spectating, or just curious to see what it’s all about, you’re more than welcome to come along. Bring a friend, cheer the dogs on, and enjoy a great day out.

📅 Date: Friday, 6th December
📍 Location: 10 Hall Avenue, Māngere
🎟️ Raffle Tickets: $5 each or $20 for 5 — message to grab yours

05/11/2025

The word “tool” has almost become a dirty word in dog training.

But when you think about it, everything we use is a tool. A lead, a harness, a crate, a slip, an e-collar, a prong, they’re all tools. They’re simply different ways we communicate and create structure.

It’s not the tool that defines the experience. It’s how and why it’s used.

Somewhere along the way, tools became synonymous with punishment, something harsh or unfair. But the reality is far more nuanced.

There are times when I’ll reach for a tool straight away, like when a dog is chasing stock or has no recall and is putting themselves or other animals in danger. In those moments, it’s about safety first. Even then, I still teach the recall first, but the tool is introduced much faster, so the dog gains clarity before the behaviour becomes more dangerous or rehearsed.

In every other case, preparation comes first.

Before a correction ever happens, the dog is skilled up, they learn what cues mean, how to respond to pressure, how to turn it off, and what “yes” and “no” truly mean. Only then does a correction become fair.

If I tell my son, “Don’t cross the road,” he understands because he’s been taught what that means. When I say it again as he steps forward, he recognises it instantly, no fear, just clarity.

But if a child touches a hot stove without warning, that’s confusion, pain, and mistrust. The same happens when we correct a dog that hasn’t been prepared.

When a dog understands the foundation first, their body knows what to do with that information. The correction doesn’t shut them down, it refines their understanding. It becomes part of the dialogue, not a punishment.

Before I hand a tool over, I always make sure the dog and the owner are ready. Timing, pressure, and reinforcement all matter. Because when done correctly, tools don’t take away a dog’s joy or freedom, they create it.

The issue isn’t the tool itself. It’s when it’s handed over without education or purpose. When people rely on it to stop behaviour without understanding why it’s happening or what they’re communicating. That’s when you see fallout.

So maybe the conversation shouldn’t be “ tools.” Maybe it should be about the clarity, preparation, and intention behind them.

03/11/2025

Another board + train finished. Thank you so much for entrusting us to be part of your journey ❤️

Davina has a natural, intuitive bond with dogs that's fused with her formal training in animal behaviour and years of practical experience.

Our Australian Labradoodle • Baxter • has just spent four weeks with Davina and family, returning to us at the weekends. Baxter's behaviour has transformed from feeling he needed to bark at most other four-legged creatures (and many two-legged ones). We were fearful of busy situations. There was no possibility of letting him off the leash.

Across the arc of four weeks, Davina had Baxter off-leash and returning on command. As his freedom has grown, his happiness has blossomed. He now has clarity on what is expected, and he wants to please. Baxter is on 'Outstanding'. His Mum and Dad are working toward 'Meets Expectations'. However, over the weekends, our skills have grown, and we intend to match Baxter.

Davina's deep behavioural skills with and love of dogs, combined with understanding how to up-skill owners, are top-flight. We highly recommend Davina, Martin & Penny.

03/11/2025

We’ve had a big run lately of dogs coming through that just aren’t coping, not just with training, but with life in general.

Genetics definitely play a part, but what we’re seeing a lot of right now is dogs that haven’t had the chance to experience or process stress in healthy amounts.

Many are being micromanaged, over-handled, over-helped, constantly directed, so they never learn how to sit in small doses of stress or figure things out for themselves.

On the flip side, others are under-managed, left to free-range without enough clarity or structure.

Both ends of that spectrum lead to the same outcome, dogs that can’t regulate when life applies pressure, environmental, social, or handler.

29/10/2025

Reinforcement isn’t simple,it’s layered.

Dogs don’t repeat behaviours because they’re “bad.” They do it because something inside or around them pays them for it.

Our job is to work out what’s fuelling that payment, and then replace it with something functional, clear, and sustainable.

It isn’t just about treats, it’s about chemistry, emotion, and the environment.

Sometimes it’s the thrill, the relief, or even the sound of their own bark that keeps the cycle alive.

Understanding what’s actually paying your dog is where behaviour change really starts.

Because every repetition is being fuelled by something, and it’s rarely as simple as “they just like it.”

25/10/2025

I often get asked how I can run multiple entire dogs together, including entire males and bi***es, without chaos.

The truth?

There is chaos.

It just doesn’t stay chaos, because it’s managed.

Hormones bring energy, emotion, and change. That’s normal. It’s part of development.

When those emotions rise, so does behaviour, but that doesn’t mean something’s wrong.

What’s become normal is for people to see a developing adolescent dog and label it as abnormal.
We’ve lost sight of what healthy development looks like.

Hormones aren’t bad.

They’re essential for growth, bone health, confidence, and emotional maturity.

They help dogs learn to regulate and adapt, and when guided well, they support training rather than derail it.

Of course, there are cases where early desexing is the right call, health reasons, multi-dog households, or when there isn’t enough structure or fulfilment to support that stage.

But removing hormones doesn’t fix a problem.

It might reduce intensity, but it doesn’t teach the dog the skills they were missing in the first place.

Hormones can elevate existing issues, but they don’t cause them.

More often than not, they simply make what’s already there more visible.

So instead of panicking when behaviour changes, recognise it for what it is: development.

Your dog isn’t broken. They’re growing.

And yes, sometimes it’s chaotic, but that’s not failure.

That’s feedback.

When you manage that chaos with structure, guidance, and calm leadership, you don’t just survive the hormones, you use them to build the dog in front of you.

Hormones, emotions, and frustration are all normal parts of growing up. Just like human teenagers with spots and mood swings, it’s a phase.

If you can ride it out safely, ethically, and with good guidance, it does get better

18/10/2025

Dog training isn’t always easy, it asks for patience, consistency, and a calm head when things feel messy. It’s not just about teaching your dog, it’s about building your ability to stay steady when progress feels slow.

There’ll be moments where you think, “We were doing so well, what happened?” That’s normal. Behaviour change isn’t linear, and sometimes the hardest weeks are the ones that lead to the biggest breakthroughs.

Find clarity in the setbacks, and keep moving forward, even when it feels like you’re standing still.

12/10/2025

𝗧𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗣𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗖𝗼𝗽𝗲 𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁

This is my boy Billy.

When he was younger, one of the most valuable lessons we worked on wasn’t a trick or obedience cue. It was learning how to cope with restraint.

And just to be clear, this wasn’t cooperative care. It wasn’t a “choice-based” session.
It was about teaching him that sometimes, in life, things have to happen, vet checks, nail clipping, grooming, or treatment and it’s our responsibility to help dogs cope with that calmly and safely.

If we only ever train for cooperation and never teach tolerance, we set dogs up to struggle when restraint or motivation is unavoidable.
Because here’s the truth: if a dog only complies when food or a toy is on offer and that motivation runs out, they’re likely to turn their frustration toward the person doing the handling.

And obviously, with some dogs, especially large or powerful breeds,it can become dangerous to even start this kind of work once they’re older.
That’s when you may have to look at alternatives like cooperative care, r use food and toys strategically to build positive associations and slowly condition them to accept handling.

But ideally, we shouldn’t needto rely on those methods as a fix . Weshould be laying the groundwork from day one. 
From the moment you bring your puppy home, start with gentle, calm handling and short moments of restraint.
And if you’re lucky enough to have a breeder who’s already done this early exposure, you’re miles ahead you’ll hit the ground running with a dog who already understands what being handled means.

Billy used to find this really hard. He didn’t just squirm,. He'd growl and redirect on anyone else who tried to hold him.
For him, being restrained wasn’t an option,. It triggered a full physiological response. His body would tense, squirm, and say “no, I don’t like this,” even though there was no pain involved.

Over time, he learned that the quicker he relaxed and stopped resisting, the quicker I could get the job done and the sooner he could be released.
It was never about forcing him, it was about teaching him to cope with a feeling of temporary discomfort and trust the process.

11/10/2025

Seeing the Dog in Front of You 

Seeing the dog in front of you sounds simple, but it’s one of the hardest things to actually do.

Every dog learns differently.

Some work through feel, some through rhythm, some by trial and error, and some by quietly processing in the background until it all clicks.

The more dogs I work with, the more I realise the magic isn’t in the method,it’s in understanding how that individual dog thinks.
Because once you see that, the whole picture changes.
This is why I’m so passionate about what I do and why I’ll always stand by the belief that there’s no one-size-fits-all approach in dog training or behaviour work. Every dog learns, feels, and processes the world differently. The real art lies in reading the dog in front of you, adjusting, communicating, and meeting them where they are.
You can hand two trainers the same “method,” but it’s how they apply it, how they observe, adapt, and connect, that shapes the outcome.
That’s where the magic truly happens.

Here are a few of the thinking styles I see most often 

The Intuitives

These are the dogs that just get it.
They link ideas quickly, fill in gaps naturally, and seem to carry lessons from one environment to the next with ease.
Training with them feels effortless, like they’re one step ahead of you the whole time.

The Processors

The quiet thinkers.
You might swear nothing’s sinking in, and then the next day, they walk out and perform like they’ve been practicing all night.
They need space and time to absorb, not repetition, but reflection.

The Interpreters

For these dogs, context is everything.
“Sit” in the kitchen doesn’t mean “sit” at the park.
They need clear, consistent communication across different spaces.
Once the pattern connects, their reliability is unmatched.

The Analysts

Your deep thinkers.
They like to figure things out on their own.
Too much repetition bores them, but challenge fuels them.
When curiosity meets clarity, they come alive.

The Firecrackers

All heart, all energy.
Their enthusiasm can run ahead of their understanding, but that spark is gold when you learn to channel it.
They don’t need less drive. They need better direction.

06/10/2025

Weekend Learning with Michael Ellis!!

This weekend I had the incredible opportunity to learn from one of the greats!!! Michael Ellis, an internationally renowned dog trainer, competitor, and educator whose influence has shaped the modern landscape of balanced training and dog sports worldwide.

I was lucky enough not only to watch him work but also to have a working spot with Reba, which made the experience even more valuable. Seeing the way he breaks down communication, motivation, timing, and precision and how he reads both handler and dog, was inspiring on every level.

For those who may not know, Michael has spent decades immersed in competitive dog sports such as Mondioring and IGP, and runs one of the most respected training schools in the world, the Michael Ellis School for Dog Trainers in California. His approach blends technical skill with relationship, clarity, and purpose.

What I enjoyed most was realising how closely his philosophy aligns with my own, the way he works, communicates, and balances structure with drive felt incredibly familiar and refreshing. It was a reminder that good training transcends trends and always comes back to understanding the dog in front of you.

A huge thank you to my clients for your patience while I was away over the weekend, it was absolutely worth it. I can’t wait to bring these insights back into our training sessions.