Allsorts Dog Training

29/11/2025

ALERT BARKING - it’s a natural behaviour and with a Mastiff it’s a trait humans have purposefully enhanced through genetic selection.

So expecting him to ignore something this novel in his territory would be unrealistic. You might find it a problem, but I like that he tells me. We live rurally and I’m on my own for periods of time, and having a dog with a beefy bark can genuinely make you feel safer.

But do I want him barking endlessly? No.

So we have an ‘end of duty’ cue - “THANK YOU” - he gets a treat or a ball and comes inside.

I don’t see this as a problem behaviour. He’s doing what comes naturally to him. Essentially it’s his job. One day I might really need it. Oh wait - that’s already happened, when people tried stealing the copper from our power line at the top of the drive. It was Wallace’s barking that made them scarper.
I heard them too and was very grateful I had Wallace, as I was on my own.

So before you squash or correct this behaviour, think whether you can shape it to be useful. One day you might need it!

28/11/2025

DEAF DOGS - distance recall can be achieved when your relationship is strong and your dog knows how to hand target.

If you’re unsure you can use a long line or drag lead as a safety back up, there’s no shame in it. We use one regularly in unfamiliar places or where wildlife may be present. Great for a quick pick up.

28/11/2025

Your car is the perfect platform for training and it is really applicable for real life situations, but very few people think of using it that way.

Yet when I point out the benefits for their dog’s safety, it becomes clear that their dog’s lack of impulse control may have been contributed to by racing out of the car when they arrive somewhere.

It seems so easy to just let the dog straight out but here are the problems with doing this:
👉you are building anticipatory arousal
👉this can lead to increased arousal whilst travelling - whining, barking, pacing
👉this can lead to frustration behaviours escalating upon arrival
👉a lack of focus before you walk off
👉pulling on lead
👉more heightened behaviour
👉jumping straight out of the car and potentially into a dangerous situation (traffic, other people, other dogs etc).

So take the time to train some calm behaviours around your car - in it and out of it. It can be super beneficial in creating a good, safe patterns of behaviour that can be applied no matter where you go and in my book that’s worth making it a habit.

26/11/2025

Today we packed in as much as we could with the best weather we’ve had this season. Water featured heavily to keep everyone cool.

Dog trainers are often insatiable about doing stuff with dogs and that includes their own. With 8 dogs all with differing needs I always ensure they each get fulfilled every day. This could be through adventure walks, training, playing, searching or swimming.

They may get one on one time or they may get switched around into smaller groups.

On days like this we really make the most of it as the weather can change quickly. Some days we just chill, if the weather is awful.

But having a multidog home comes with a lot of responsibility so it’s not for the faint hearted. I’ve engineered my life so I can do it. But gone are my days of having more than 8. This current group is enough work and besides I need to leave enough energy to work with other peoples dogs too.

Days off, where the weather is perfect, must be embraced as it might not be like it next time.

24/11/2025

If you’re not making your dogs searching interesting enough you could be diminishing their drive.

23/11/2025

This little ‘STAR’ is looking for a new postcode as she lacks the drive for work and would make a great companion for an active home. In Te Anau, foster/foster to adopt home. Contact details in her advert.

About Star: Star is a large, female, Heading Dog puppy, aged 11 months. Description: Meet Star, 11 month old heading pup, who is unfortunately not going to work out as a working dog. Lovely nature, very loyal, and gets along … Read More

23/11/2025

It’s Louie the Bull Terrier’s Birthday so he came for fun romp around our trails to celebrate.

It’s not often he gets to be off lead so today’s adventure meant a lot to both Louie and his Mum. He checked in beautifully and came when called and had a good old sniff of everything.

It’s always wonderful to see dogs like Louie enjoy the access to our place. It’s a special spot.

22/11/2025

Could be a great opportunity to bring your knowledge and skills to aid canines in need.

🙌🐾 We’re Hiring – Canine Programs Coordinator! 🐾

Are you experienced in dog behaviour and training, rescue rehabilitation, and creating real change for animals in need?

HUHA is looking for a compassionate, organised and experienced Canine Programs Coordinator to lead our dog rescue, care, rehabilitation, behavioural progression and adoption programs.

As part of the HUHA team, you’ll oversee everything from  assessments, training,  progress planning and tracking to adoption success stories, working with our amazing K9 Team and supporting our volunteers, guardians, and also our community outreach initiatives. This role is hands-on, gumboots on,  heart-led, and vital to our mission that every animal matters.

What we’re looking for:

Experience in positive dog training and behavioural deveopment

A passion for animal welfare, shelter operations, kind and patient care.

Great communication, team empowerment and coordination skills

Problem solving in the community

Calm, compassionate and practical under pressure

Organised record keeping and admin savvy

Based at our Haywards HUHA Sanctuary (with travel to rescues, home visits, community outreach and events)
Full-time role (one weekend day), with variety, purpose, and plenty of dog love.

If you’re ready to make a difference and lead with heart, 

Please email a cover letter and CV though to

[email protected]

20/11/2025

HAVE YOU GOT THE WHOLE PICTURE?

When I work with clients and their dogs one of the most common things I ask is “what does your dog do when you’re not there?”.

Some already have cameras installed (which is brilliant), others base their reply on a best guess or the fact the neighbours haven’t said anything.

But the reality can be quite different to what they think. Even if the dog is not exhibiting separation distress, how settled are they?

Are they resting? Are they sleeping? Are they alert? Are they moving around? Are they hyper vigilant?

So why is this important? Well often it indicates a lot more than you think. Many dogs I see with behavioural problems are lacking sufficient sleep. They may feel it’s their duty to be vigilant to any sound or movement whilst you’re gone. They may be restless because they’re uncomfortable or sore. There may be conflict between dogs.
They may be anxious and unsettled.

I want to know how my dogs feel when I’m not there. How may it affect their behaviour when I am home or when we go for a walk. Trigger stacking is a big one and being home alone can be a big contributor, especially if they’re rehearsing barking at things.

So when I watch my dogs in this video I can see that there is some movement. It’s the middle of a warm day so I expect some changing of positions. There’s some looking outside but not excessively, there’s some alertness (contributed to by my phone ringing twice - from which I’m filming them).
In all they seem pretty relaxed. All that is except for one dog. My Luna. She’s my short coated black and white heading dog.
She is moving a lot more than the others. She can’t seem to settle. She rarely gets access to the sofa if the others are in there but still she moves a lot.

What’s important is what we did before I went out. We’d been to the beach, she’d run and swam. She should be tired and resting. But she’s not. I can tell she’s sore. She has an old injury that can inflame at times. She needs more pain relief.

It’s always good to observe them even if you’re not there. It can provide vital information.

18/11/2025

There are many ways to teach a dog HEELWORK but if the dog finds the act excruciatingly boring then they’re unlikely to want to entertain it consistently when asked.

So whilst contact heeling requires lots of precision steps, freestyle or liberty heeling can be a little more loose and dynamic.

You can make it whatever you want it to be. You could add in a side spin here and there or a weave or a middle.

But changing pace and direction can build interest and challenge for the dog. Keeping them on their toes, so to speak. I want them to choose to do it. Don’t worry if it looks a bit messy, nobody’s out there with score cards.

My goal was to keep Hope engaged, but quickly Luna wanted to be involved too. Then Bear, after watching the other two, thought perhaps he should check it out as well. It was all very informal and made up as I went along, but to get their close focus on a beach where there are heaps of distractions was a lovely offering from them all.

17/11/2025

How do we apply and practise the skills our dog teams learn on our Reactive Dog Programs?

To ensure you get a true picture of one of our sessions this is long edited version.

Having a few conditioned responses already established means we can start to build the level of distraction and triggers.

This is where the real skill lies, in public scenario training. It’s always important to coach my dog teams through their sessions.

Rude is worried by dogs and people. He is comfortable with my dog Hope and also looks to her for guidance.

But on this walk we faced 3 people standing together chatting at a distance before splitting up, and then a lady walking 3 dogs on lead (which was a great opportunity to work around). We then had the beach to ourselves and could let our dogs navigate their movements independently for the first time.

It was an awesome session, filled with calmness, observation and connection.