Canine by Design

28/07/2024

Me and Seven are shattered, a long weekend of comps, stepped up into Novice B in Rally Obedience and had 2x 2nd's and a 3rd place in Obedience in a very stacked field with some bloody talented dogs and handlers.

Overall super stoked with his heel work and his overall focus.

Still lots to work on though!

06/05/2024

Another good comp, Waikato Obedience Champs, well run comp and lovely grounds, Norwest Team rocking it....

10/03/2024

Awesome run comp run by North Shore Dog Training Club.

Perfect dog, questionable handler!

03/07/2023

Yes it's horrible weather out there, but what you gonna do - dogs still gotta be walked!

Obedience training with the ball in the mud, strength training in the stream, then Obedience training at home - just another day!

18/04/2023

24/01/2022

I had the pleasure of starting work with this little girl today, Circie, who is currently available for adoption from the Humane Society of New Zealand inc.

What an absolutely stunning girl, high energy, but lovely nature, very intelligent.

You can read more about her on the link below.
http://humanesociety.org.nz/adoption/circie/

I will happily donate 2 free training sessions with the new owner to help transition this girl into her new forever home.

04/01/2022

Using toys for rewards, this boy loves balls, so that's his reward.

10/12/2021

Roses are Red
Violets are Blue
JUST TRAIN YOUR DOG!

12/08/2021

Between working horrible shifts, changing jobs, training the Pitbull puppy, training other peoples dogs, and being winter and dark when I get home...... I kinda neglected my poor girl training-wise. We need to sharpen up now, first training session with her for ages!

30/07/2021

OK.... I admit it, Chihuahua's can be cool dogs too! Love you too Molly (and Max)!

I'm always amazed by the people who run rescues, they put in so much work for very little reward except the knowledge that they are saving dogs (and cats) lives.

Keep up the great work Tina Matthews.....

22/06/2021

Doing some heal\rear end awareness work. He's a boofhead but he's coming along.

17/04/2021

Helping out the Shelter.....

Lots of people getting their cuddles, what a great event to get these pups in front of people....

10/04/2021

CGC assessments in horrible weather, but my little girl did well.

17/03/2021

Yep - that's what harness's are designed for.

19/01/2021

Introducing new client Kiwi to old client Serge and my 2..... Kiwi needs to be introduced to some nice stable dogs and Serge is absolutely one of those.

12/12/2020

Ollie\Seven's first session doing heel work\loose lead walking.

10/12/2020

A little donation to the Henderson Animal Shelter..... some jackets for the Doggos.

07/12/2020

”One of the First questions I ask clients who come to me for advice on behavior or training for obedience is, “Why did you Choose this breed?”
So many times the answer is, “Because they are really cool dogs!”
This, of course, is not a valid reason for choosing one breed over another.
When you see a dog doing what he was bred to do, harkening back to his ancestors whispering into their ears, telling them exactly how they should perform the task....well, it can make you weep.
EVERY dog needs a job, a purpose to validate them. A job that makes them stand proud and causes his tail to wag and his heart to smile.
Dogs were bred to work alongside humans, and they consider that a high calling.....along with educating us.....
And if one does not have sheep for a Collie or rabbits for a Beagle, or rats for a Terrier, there are still other functions for them to perform within their households. Our job is to find that activity, introduce it to the dog, and enjoy the companionship.

There's a woman that jogs with her GSD every day by the Indiana K9 Learning Center. She puts a prong collar on her huge working dog and off they go. We had a nice visit over the fence the other day. I complimented her on her dog's manners. I stood about six feet from her when we initially met and he was relaxed and unconcerned. (And no, I didn't ask if I could pet him). That's when I find out what a mean owner she is.

Her large GSD carries a doggy style backpack with water in it and she's been told that's mean.

She stopped at a yard sale, bought some books, put them in the backpack and she was told that's mean.

She's been chastised for running her dog with her because running a dog is mean.

I'm not sure why someone would feel that a 100 pound working breed isn't capable of carrying 10 pounds of books but someone did. I'd say that person has never looked up what a GSD was bred for. It's bred for work!

I know a Canadian that has huge herds of sheep free ranging on hundreds of acres. He has two border collies that he sends out as a team to round them up and bring them in to be counted. They'd go out before the sun was up and by mid afternoon they'd have them gathered in a large pen for him. He'd do a head count, open the gate and off they'd go. Imagine the intelligence and duration those dogs have to do that seven days a week! Now take those dogs and put them in an apartment. Yowza!

How about the frustrated woman who brought her German Short Haired Pointer in for classes...AKC's website said the breed is "easy to train" so she got one. She's a white collar wife with a young son who lives in a suburban neighborhood. That breed may be easy to train for a hunter or someone that is experienced with independent, strong willed breeds but she was really struggling with him. His energy level, strong personality and tenacity is a requirement for the job he was bred to do but a typical owner will really struggle with this breed.

Can we all agree on something right here, right now? Every dog that is in a home, in a shelter, in the show ring, or anywhere else comes from someone that was breeding dogs for a purpose. It may be way back in the dog's pedigree but it's there. Hunting, fighting, chasing, pulling, retrieving, protecting, patrolling, killing...your dog laying at your feet right now has ancestors that did at least one of those tasks very, very well. Those instincts don't disappear when they walk through your front door and become your family pet.

There's a reason terriers are tough! Because you have to be a tenacious little s**t to go down a hole after a rodent bigger than you knowing you're likely to get bitten.

There's a reason you can't get your beagle's nose off the ground during agility classes. Watch a youtube video of beagles in the field!

There's a reason your whippet wants to chase every squirrel in the yard. Watch a youtube video of sighthounds lure coursing!

There's a reason that cattle dogs go in low and nip anything moving. Watch a youtube video of them working cattle!

Here's the kicker...a cattle dog that goes in low and nips is probably the result of someone's responsible breeding. Same with the beagle, the whippet and the border collie. Those are desirable behaviors in each breed.

Understanding the propensity of certain behaviors in breeds and mixes will help owners understand where the behavior is coming from. It doesn't mean the dog gets a free pass for the behavior, but someone looking for an agility dog may not want to go with a bloodhound "because I just love their ears" or a herding breed "because I want a dog to lay around all weekend with."

All of us in the dog industry, including shelters and rescues, have a responsibility to the dogs we're in charge of and the people that want to add them to their family. We're responsible to educate the uneducated.”

- Michelle Steigmeyer, Indiana K9 Learning Center

Book reference: Encyclopedia of Dog Breeds by Caroline Coile, PHD.

07/12/2020

Ollies first real training session.

For a week now I've just let him settle into his new home and get familiar with his new environment - now the training begins!

Starting very simple, following my hand, luring him, capturing the behaviours I want to see more often and rewarding those behaviours.

Please keep checking in and watch his progress over the coming weeks and months, let's show the world what Pitbull's can be like when given the correct guidance, love and leadership.

07/12/2020

Thank you to all the amazing people who took my foster babies this year and choose them to be part of your family and your lives. Every one of these dogs is now in a loving home living the life they deserve. Pippa and I will continue to catch up with each and every one of you as often as we can. We miss all of you! It's a privilege to be able to do this, saving lives one dog at a time!

29/11/2020

29/11/2020

My new foster from ARAN rescue has arrived, meet Ollie, a red nose American Pitbull Terrier.

Probably the most demonized breed in the world but one that I love. I would love everyone to share his journey far and wide as I train this pup to be a solid well-rounded doggo and maybe help change a few people's perceptions of this breed.

Let's get to work Ollie boy!

26/11/2020

21/11/2020

Training treats for the babies.... real meat! Thanks for the steaks Phieng.

21/11/2020

Pretty exciting news coming - can't say much at this point but watch this space!

18/11/2020

How cute is this girl! Meet Mouse, we are doing some minor behavior adjustments..... very sweet little girl.

12/11/2020

06/11/2020

1st training session

02/11/2020

Guy Fawkes is here, we can either
A) whinge about banning Fireworks or
B) train our dogs to handle them.......

I like option B personally.

02/11/2020

New foster coming on board for some pre adoption training on behalf of Chained Dog Rehoming and Rehabilitation.

Meet Curtis everyone.