The Pooch Project

02/10/2022

Please don't expect your current dog to act just as your others/last one did 😔

A super common mistake I see owners make is they base their expectations of their new dogs on the ways of their old dog. Please don't dwell on the fact that your last dog was an angel and this dog is not - you are setting them up for failure from the get go. Just work with what's in front of you 🙋🏼‍♀️

Please remember that everyone (including animals) are individuals and have their own personalities. Yes, a certain amount of attributes can be assigned based on breed BUT at the end of the day, not one dog will be the same as the next 🥸

01/10/2022

Happy Saturday!
Make sure your take some time to relax and unwind 😎

30/09/2022

The question is, "Father's Day".

Okay, the actual question is, what is the one line I find myself saying most often in behavioural consults and dog training sessions?

“It’s all relative!”

Sometimes fixing one thing you think may not be related, can fix everything!

Our Connection online course is perfect for establishing those strong foundations that are guaranteed to make EVERYTHING easier.

Go check it out - link in bio 🧐

28/04/2022

Are they detrimental to your dog's body and mind?
Let me share the opinion of a vet nurse, dog trainer and dog walker with you...

Head on over to our blog to have a read.
Link in bio.

28/04/2022

24/04/2022

🇳🇿 ❤️ 🇦🇺

24/04/2022

Should we do a "How to make your dog insta-famous" course?!

I vote YES! 🤣🤣

23/04/2022

Just watch a dog bounding along joyfully through a park and you will have an idea of what it is to live here and now.
The past is the past and the future is unknown; so make the best of what you have right now 😎🤗

15/04/2022

Happy Easter! 🐣🐰

Remember to keep the chocolate and hot cross buns all to yourself this weekend 🤤

If you are doing an Easter egg hunt, Make sure your dogs are either away or don't have access to the hunting zone. And another wee tip is to count the choco eggs you put out so you can make sure your dogs don't join in on the hunt if any are missed.

I know those puppy dog eyes are hard to resist but keep them up high, out of doggo reach and don't share with them.
🐣🐰

13/04/2022

Really looking forward to getting stuck into putting together more courses for you all over the next month.

What course are you in need of?

12/04/2022

Dogs are generally extremely stoic.

Some dogs can still wag their tails and seem extremely happy, whilst enduring a significant amount of pain.

Tune into little things like how your dog is moving and/or how they are acting; do they seem more unsettled than usual, are they less tolerant of certain things, do they no longer jump up on places they would have normally, etc.
These can all be signs of things they don't feel the need to tell us.

Particularly as they get older, stay in tune with them and make sure to get them checked up if you feel like they maybe aren't quite 100% themselves in any way.

22/03/2022

“Oh the places you’ll go”
- Dr. Seuss

This is a friendly reminder to take your pooch somewhere new this week! 👏 🗺🧭

Tanzi loves exploring new places and is quite fond of water so when we came across some on this walk she went straight to the deep end 😆

21/03/2022

While we’re dealing with our pandemic, the doggies are having their own little outbreak....

Here’s a few little tidbits of info and what to be mindful of (this has become so much easier to explain since Covid has been around!!) surrounding Kennel cough

- Kennel cough/Canine cough is a respiratory infection that can be caused by both bacteria and a virus; the doggy version of bronchitis. It is passed on via airborne particles from an infected dog or surfaces where these particles may have come into contact.

- The name is very misleading; it is not caught exclusively at kennels - it can be caught anywhere where they could come into contact with another dog or in dog-common areas such as dog parks, doggy daycares, even just parks where dogs commonly pass through.

- Vaccination doesn’t completely prevent chance of infection but it lessen symptoms and their chances of contracting the virus. Some doggies can get quite sick and unvaccinated dogs and young puppies are most at risk.

- The most obvious symptoms include coughing and lethargy. This isn’t just any regular cough, however, and is very distinctive. Majority of the time it starts off as more of a hack, like they are trying to bring something up. It can then quickly move on to what is best described as a cough that sounds like a ‘goose honk’.

- If your dog has these symptoms or you are concerned, get in touch with your vet. Some dogs require antibiotics but all will need to isolate from contact with other dogs for at least a week.

- If your dog has kennel cough or has similar symptoms, please let your dog walker/daycare/kennels aware so they can do the cleaning required to prevent further spread.

18/03/2022

Anyone else feeling anxious?
Each day, I'm waking up and wondering if today's the day Dave or I get covid (or if any of my team get covid) and all of the things we will have to reschedule/cancel/miss out on when it does happen....
I don't know about you guys but I AM EXHAUSTED and very much over feeling this way.

BUT, this global pandemic is out of our control.
And as a dog trainer, I'm always harping on about "stop worrying about the things that are out of our controls and instead focus on what we can" 🧐

So moral of the story; I guess I better listen to my own advice and relax and bit with the anxiety inducing, forward-thinking and just focus on all the oodles of positives. You should try it too 😉

16/03/2022

Ever noticed that when you are feeling down, your dog will comfort you with a wet nose kiss or a gentle nudge?

Showing someone you care doesn't have to be about grand gestures - sometimes, just being there is enough 🥰

09/03/2022

Our vizsla pals come from the hunting group and are known for their amazing scenting abilities 👃

New Zealand's only certified penguin detector dog is a Hungarian vizsla named Mena.
Mena and her handler Alistair work together to locate individual penguins, nests, and roosting/moulting sites on the Kaikōura coastline. Their work is crucial to the tracking of the species and the threat of predators.

Ka pai, Mena 👏🏼

08/03/2022

Meet Dave. He's the man behind the camera.

But he's also listened to me go on and on about dogs for over a decade now so (whether he likes it or not), he's pretty much also a dog trainer too 🤣

He is a freelance content creator; making videos, taking photos and telling stories for over five years now. His work is a real mixed bag but he loves filming music, events, people who love doing what they're doing and of course, dogs!

The Pooch Project is a hybrid of our passions - dogs and videography.

Creating our courses together have been fun. Does he get frustrated at me and how much I ramble on when filming, yes. But so far, it's been a fun journey and we are looking forward to creating sooo much more for you all to enjoy.

03/03/2022

Want to work on your dog's recall?

Here's what we cover in our 14 day Recall course!

What's stopping you, sign up now - link in bio 😉

02/03/2022

Meet The Pooch Project models:

Say hi to Leo 👋
Where do I even begin with this guy....

When Leo was about five months old, he came home with me very unexpectedly one day when his owner fell ill. I already had a relationship with him by this stage and knew he was a sensitive soul so I knew I was the only other person he would feel safe with.
After that, he quickly became my third foster dog and not long after that, he became my first foster fail.

Beneath the eyes that can easily melt your heart was an absolute, anxious mess. This guy was terrified of everyone, everything and anything that moved.
He was also so anxious in the car, he would vomit after a couple of minutes (found that one out the ultimate hard way).

And let's not forget about the separation anxiety that left us with a very long and very expensive list of destroyed items.

BUT, he had so much love to give and was always a snuggler, even with his littermates who spent most of their time picking on him.

Leo and I built up a bond where he trusted me to guide him and let him know he was okay when we encountered scary things and his sister (from another mister), Tanzi, helped him build up his confidence even more.

Nowadays, Leo is super social; he's an absolute superstar with other dogs and loves saying hello to people and getting all the attention. He happily rides in the car with no issues and is regularly seen tagging along with me when I walk other dogs.

He's far from perfect though and always gives us something to improve on but we still love him and his goofy ways dearly ❤️

01/03/2022

- B. F. Skinner

Setting your pooch up for success.
If I had a dollar for every time I said that phrase...... 🤑🤑

25/02/2022

They seems like a fantastic idea, right - you don’t get a sore arm from the pulling and you’re dog gets the freedom to move around as they wish…

Yes, both of those things are great BUT let's think about what the retractable option may be teaching them:

It teaches them that they can walk at any pace they want to, zig zag from side to side to access anything that they want to, they learn that constant tension on lead is fine but the most important (bad) thing that it teaches them is that they can essentially detach themselves from you and spend the walks just doing what they want to do.

There is a time and a place for retractable leads, yes, but if you want to achieve loose lead walking, just stick to your standard fixed lead.

Looooooads of tips and tricks for loose lead walking coming soon in our lead walking course.

25/02/2022

Woohoo it's the weekend!

I hope it is full of sunshine and doggy adventures 🌞🐕

22/02/2022

Do you trust your dog? 🧐

- Trust them to respond in the right way when you ask them to sit, stay, drop?
- Trust them to not run away when you’ve asked them to come to you?
- Trust them to not destroy the house when you’re gone?
- Trust them to behave in the company of visitors?

If not, building trust can be a simple task; building a strong bond through training 🦮

If you would like to start trusting your dog, what are you waiting for?

The Connection course is designed for exactly that 🤗

Link in bio

17/02/2022

Ever spotted a husky out on a sunny day and felt instantly worried for it? Yeah, me too. But don't stress - their coats keep them warm, yes, but also do a pretty good job and keeping them ventilated and cool too.

Huskies have a double coat, meaning they have two different types of fur to help them stay warm in the wintery conditions they were bred for ❄️

The top coat is a long, quite coarse coat which acts as a shield, repelling water, protecting them from sunlight and allowing breathability.
The undercoat is shorter, fuzzier and curlier and down-like.

Surprisingly this coat does quite well in keeping them cool also; think about a well insulated house - generally this helps retain heat in winter but also keep some heat out in summer ☀️

However in temperatures of late 20 degrees upwards, these guys are susceptible to overheating, just like any other dog 🥵

15/02/2022

Do you let your doggies on the couch? 🧐

There's no right or wrong answer here - it simply comes down to personal preference.

If you do have your dog's on the couch, though, maybe make sure you have some kind of boundaries around it such as 'they need to sit and ask permission' and/or 'invite only basis'.

It doesn't take much time to enforce and it means they have respect when it comes to spaces like this ✔️

And if you wanted to know our answer to this question. It's a big YES from us 🥰🥰

14/02/2022

💜🧡💛

13/02/2022

We've got a few new followers so I thought it might be a good time to introduce myself...

I'm Nicole 🙋‍♀️
I'm often seen pulling faces like this (because i'm always so stoked to be hanging out with such dudes like little Charlie here), being super awkward and messing up my words on camera 🎥

I have been working with animals for over 13 years now 🤯
I'm a qualified Vet Nurse with about 6.5 years of clinical experience, I have a Bachelor of Science with a major in Biology and minor in Psychology.
I also have a few dog specific qualifications such as a Certificate in Puppy Training and a Diploma in Canine Behaviour and Psychology.
Past the paperwork, and amongst other work, I have owned my own mobile pet care business in Christchurch for the last six years, in which I do dog walking, canine behavioural consulting, dog training, mobile vet nursing and almost everything in between ()

Fair to say, I have a good old bank of knowledge, ready to share with you 😉

12/02/2022

We live in a crazy world...

Make sure to take time to stop and cuddle a dog ❤️
(And then maybe your loved ones after that 😉)

11/02/2022

What does your weekend happy dance look like? 💃🐾

P.S. Tricksmaster course available online now

10/02/2022

As a dog trainer, I will be able to provide you with tools and advice of how and what - stocking your dog training inventory with fun and easy commands and informing you what to do, and when. 🧐

But, the MOST important part is you putting those tools to action.
Again and again and again and, you guessed it, again! 🛠

Just watching videos online or turning up to a training session once a week is simply not enough. You need to arm yourself with the knowledge and tools so you can guide them to do the 'right thing' in any given circumstance.

Our Connection course arms you with the core tools and knowledge to tackle any situation you want to get on top of.

Link in bio 🐾