The Puppy Coach NZ

01/06/2024

09/05/2024

Henri is now 16 weeks old and growing fast! I’ve been including a lot more play into our training and we’re both loving it. Such a great way to teach the ‘out or drop command,’ and rewarding with the game.
As you can see in the background Apache (blind) is sniffing her way to find any pieces of food that may have dropped to the ground- but notice how Henri is not interested in her but in what I have to offer - in this video clip it’s the ball and the interaction from me to throw it.

06/04/2024

Thank you so much for entrusting me with Henri Grey! He’s such a cool, confident little dude who won’t be so little for much longer! Great working with clients who are on the same page 🐕‍🦺🫶🐶

04/04/2024

I love what I do on all levels and love getting my hair done at the best salon in the Bay! Pearl Hair Studio

19/03/2024

Protecting Our Pups: Avoid Toxic Foods and Supervise Playtime! 🐶 Keep curious puppies safe by watching them closely and keeping harmful foods out of reach. This also applies to cats as well :)

27/02/2024

HALO COLLAR 😇 What a year it’s been so far! My girl Apache had her right eye removed yesterday (Enucleation) her left eye the year before. The Auckland Animal Eye Centre - Vet Peter Collinson is an amazing veterinarian and has done a beautiful job of her stitches and she’s recovering well! She’s an absolute warrior, resilient, strong and adapting well!
Here’s an update one day post surgery. .

12/12/2023

𝐖i𝐬h𝐢n𝐠 𝐞v𝐞r𝐲o𝐧e a s𝐚f𝐞, f𝐮n-f𝐢l𝐥e𝐝, a𝐧d p𝐚w𝐭a𝐬t𝐢c h𝐨l𝐢d𝐚y s𝐞a𝐬o𝐧! 🎄 A heartfelt thank you to those who've welcomed me into their homes for coaching and training sessions with their adorable puppies and dogs. For many, this marks the first Christmas with their furry companions! ❤️Remember to cherish the moments, keep your pups cool and hydrated, and stay committed to their training. ENJOY the festive season! 🐾🎄

30/11/2023

Sunday mornings are with STEFAN & NEK9 - Professional dog training - working alongside the Dogman with his clients and of course my K9 assistant Apache 🙏🏽🐶🐾
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27/11/2023

It's been a real pleasure working with Cooper's family over the last few months and while they were overseas I did a couple of environmental sessions maintenance with my assistant Apache.
I look forward to seeing him and his humans just before Christmas.

31/10/2023

Happy Halloween! 🎃🐾 Let’s keep our furry friends in mind today. What might seem funny or spooky to us can be quite distressing for our dogs. Please refrain from pranks or frightening them, as it can lead to long-term issues. Let’s ensure our pups have a safe and enjoyable Halloween! 🐶❤️

Below is an excerpt from the from the American Veterinary Association …
How can we make Halloween safer for pets?

👻Costumes and masks, lights and decorations, and a constant parade of strangers coming to your door—
Halloween can be a downright spooky experience for pets. You can protect your pets by taking these steps to reduce the risk of them being hurt, poisoned, or lost.

🐶Don't feed pets
Halloween treats. Raisins can cause your pet’s kidneys to fail, and candy may contain substances toxic to pets, such as chocolate or xylitol (a common sugar substitute found in sugar-free candies and gum). Often, you won’t be able to tell what a treat or piece of candy contains just by looking at it.
🐕Make sure your pets have identification (microchip, collar, and ID tag) that will make it easy for someone to contact you and return them home in case they escape through an open door while you're distracted with trick-or-treaters.
🕯️🎃Keep lit candles, jack-o-lanterns, and other Halloween decorations out of reach of pets.
🎃Keep all human costume pieces away from pets, along with glow sticks, decorations, batteries, and other holiday items. When chewed, glow stick items can release liquid that tastes really bad and can make pets drool excessively or act strangely (though it isn’t likely to be harmful). Other costume parts and decorations might cause choking, internal injury, or illness.
🐶If you plan to put a costume on your pet, make sure it follows these guidelines:
Fits properly and is comfortable
Doesn't have any pieces that easily can be chewed off or cause choking
Doesn't block your pet's sight, hearing, breathing, mouth, or movement
💚Take time before Halloween to get your pet accustomed to the costume, and never leave a costumed pet unsupervised.
❤️If your pet is wary of strangers or has a tendency to bite, put them in a room away from the front door during trick-or-treating hours, or provide them with a safe hiding place.
🐶🐕Keep your pet indoors.

12/09/2023

It’s great to see that our dogs and I’m assuming cats (as they mention ‘pets’) are allowed to use public transport with us.
Of course there are conditions i.e. outside of busy hours, large dogs must wear a muzzle, all dogs on a lead.
Exceptions to wearing as muzzle are smaller breeds, assistant and service dogs.
If you do have a larger breed and you’d like to have them travel with you, bows the time to positively introduce the muzzle to your dog. This will take some time - the goal is to have your K9 want to wear the muzzle and not hate it.

Seeing furry friends on your public transport could become a regular occurrence.

06/09/2023

A great couple of hours with NEK9 - Professional dog training Stefan and client Rachel & her 18 month old American Bulldog Pixie. Going over the basic foundations and reinforcing them in her local environment. Of course Apache my girl was the assistant in hand as always.

04/09/2023

𝕄𝕖𝕖𝕥 ℍ𝕒𝕟𝕒 - Absolute cuteness! I had the joy of training an adorable Golden Retriever from 10 to 16 weeks. We covered basics and environmental training with the whole family and one-on-one sessions out in the environment. Excited to witness her growth in the upcoming months.

28/08/2023

ℙ𝕣𝕚𝕠𝕣𝕚𝕥𝕚𝕫𝕖 𝕡𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕥 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕗𝕠𝕠𝕕 𝕤𝕒𝕗𝕖𝕥𝕪 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕪𝕠𝕦𝕣 𝕡𝕖𝕥𝕤. Toxic plants can make dogs sick, with effects varying based on type, quantity eaten, and dog size. Be mindful of harmful plants nearby. Remove them or place them out of reach. Research new plants for toxicity before adding them to your surroundings. This is not an exhaustive list, so feel free to comment below if I've missed anything out! Swipe across for more info for you and your puppy!

21/08/2023

ℙ𝕒𝕨𝕤 𝕒𝕟𝕕 ℤ𝕫𝕫'𝕤: 𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕍𝕚𝕥𝕒𝕝 ℝ𝕠𝕝𝕖 𝕠𝕗 𝕊𝕝𝕖𝕖𝕡 𝕚𝕟 𝕐𝕠𝕦𝕣 ℙ𝕦𝕡𝕡𝕪'𝕤 𝕎𝕖𝕝𝕝-𝔹𝕖𝕚𝕟𝕘 💤🐶Young puppies need a lot of sleep… 16-18 hours of it each day! As they grow older their sleep patterns change too. Swipe across for tips and sleep schedule to get you started!

14/08/2023

I am truly grateful to work with such amazing families, couples and individuals who are truly committed to raising a well-mannered and mentally strong puppy/dog.
In order to start that process, having the whole family on the same page is key to success - rules and boundaries are set from the get-go.
Thank you so much, Anj for allowing me to work with you, Marley and your family.

11/08/2023

It’s always a little tricky to hold the iPhone to film (not drop it), hold the lead and try to speak over the motorway… Shah seems unfazed by it all. Atta boy!

11/08/2023

Not exactly a little puppy but still growing into his fur. Meet this teenager, Shah an 11 month old German Shepherd who I had the pleasure to spend 90 mins with today. We kicked our session off with 3 km walk/ jog on a bike path alongside a busy motorway with intermittent general obedience thrown in. He’s not at all phased by the loud cars, trucks whizzing by or construction noises, bulldozers, bikes or people running.
He really seems like a great natured balanced GSD. We then did some obstacles - climbing a few rocks - he wasn’t too keen in the beginning, but I broke down each exercise - step by step in a slow controlled manner - the way The Dawg Man STEFAN taught me from NEK9 - Professional dog training… and once he did one rock (hind legs shaking - great way to build up strength in the hind legs) huge praise and proceeded to the next rock.
I took it all in a slow manner, let him
build some confidence in himself and trust in me and in doing so by the last rock - he was feeling good with himself and I ended it there on a win - with a free dog and tug time. 🐕🦴

09/08/2023

Meet super Cooper 😍 he’s a 3 month old full of beans and happy go lucky boy. He’s definitely going to grow into one handsome retriever who has an amazing family wanting to give him a great start in life - basic exposure training, making it fun, setting rules and boundaries within the home. It’s awesome that the whole family are working together when it comes to Cooper.

03/08/2023

𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗔𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 | We had done our research looking for an American Bulldog breeder that was recognised as having good hip scores in their dogs and also didn't have a history of hip dysplasia in their breeding lines along with good temperaments.
The breeder was an hour's plane flight away from where we lived, but we invested in two trips to meet the breeder and the puppies. At 3 weeks of age, there isn't much to see as the puppies are stumbling around, their eyes and ears finally opened and they look like little adorable chunks. But you get a feel for the breeder, the environment they're raised in and you meet the mother and father of the puppies. That was very reassuring for us. Then again at 7 weeks of age, we flew back down to decide which one would become part of our family.
Originally we had chosen the puppy with the full mask (that’s her in the middle), but for some reason, I thought she’d been selected by someone else. It wasn't until the last visit that this little girl with the full mask kept following me around and the breeder said, '𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘬 𝘴𝘩𝘦'𝘴 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶.' I’m like '𝘙𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺?' 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘦𝘳...she said 𝘯𝘰, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘨𝘪𝘳𝘭 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘦𝘺𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘴𝘬. With that and a few temperament testing exercises, she flew back with us. We had a few names in mind for a female puppy– Indi, or Roxy, but soon as I realised we had our first pick– the name 𝗔𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱 – 𝗮 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆 𝗼𝗻 𝗔𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻 𝗔𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗕𝘂𝗹𝗹𝗱𝗼𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗲𝘆𝗲𝘀 and 𝗡𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗔𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗔𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗮𝗻.
She flew back with us at 7 weeks old as the breeder's place was in a remote area and we wanted her to settle in before the first fear impact period (they say begins around 8 weeks of age -10 weeks) and to start puppy exposure/socialisation as soon as possible.

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03/08/2023

𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗮𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗽𝘂𝗽𝗽𝘆 𝗯𝘆𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝘂𝗽𝗽𝘆-𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗲, 𝗴𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗴𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗻. All puppies like to explore and investigate with their mouths mainly! This is how they learn by taking hold of anything and everything they can get their mouths on. So it's a lot like having a newly crawling baby who has no idea of what is dangerous or not and everything goes into its mouth.

29/07/2023

SUNDAY MAGIC MOMENTS - a blast from the past. One of my all time favourite pics of Apache and I on Piha Beach.
A bond that has only gotten stronger over the years and continue making memories with her each day! She’s my personal dog who assists me on my appointments🐶.
Get outdoors and enjoy your Sunday with your pup! .

29/07/2023

Are you ready to become a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ puppy parent? Before you get your puppy there are a few things you’ll need to take into consideration. 🐶.

07/07/2023

DON’T LET THE CUTENESS OF YOUR PUPPY DESTROY THE BEHAVIOURS OF YOUR DOG. 🐕🐩🐶❤️ - As cute as all puppies are🐩 you’ve got to remember - you are raising a dog not a puppy.
So today it maybe cute that your little pup gets excited and jumps up on you all the time, but will it be a year from now weighing in at 20-60 kilos, or if your puppy comes in completely muddy and jumps up on your furniture or your Grandmother etc. Remember what you allow your puppy to practice today, tomorrow and the weeks ahead, is reinforcing behaviours that you may want or not. Set rules, boundaries and clear communication from the get go and be consistent. And this also applies for the little pups who grow into little dogs too! E.g., Chihuahuas, Pekingese, Yorkies, Maltese etc.
‘Remember that the training starts as soon as you bring your K9 home and that you’re raising a dog not a puppy.’
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04/07/2023

Throwback Tuesday | 2015 meets Apache (my American Bulldog pictured here at 3 months of age) with her K9 buddy Austin. From the time she followed me around at the breeder's place for two visits - she chose me and was flown up from Blenheim at 8 weeks of age, she has been 'in training.' No formal training (that came a bit later), but training nevertheless...whenever your puppy/dog is with you, you are a dog trainer, whether you like it or not. They watch what you do, and what you allow, and are consistent with. If you have no rules, or boundaries, set in place before the puppy comes home, then you're in trouble. The training starts the second you bring your dog into the home.
Remember you are raising a dog not a puppy.
I'm here to help coach you along.
Barbara James-Bartle