K9 FUNdamentals Limited - Training Services

06/06/2025

Stress relief comes with 4 legs and a tail.

Our Bailee loves a good cuddle and here's how it helps me......

Let’s be real—life can be overwhelming. But guess what? Science shows that hanging out with your fur kid can lower stress hormones (cortisol) and boost serotonin and dopamine, making you feel calmer and happier (Beetz et al., 2012; Kerns et al., 2018).

And it’s not just a cute idea research found that spending time with dogs actually helps your brain relax by increasing alpha wave activity.

On top of that, dogs keep you moving, give you a reason to step outside, and just make everything feel a little brighter. Whether it’s a walk, a cuddle, or play, they’re basically built-in stress relief.

06/06/2025

Bear 🐻

14 months old and loving life. Two of his favourite pastimes are dragging his dad down the road and not coming back when he’s at the beach.

Today we went back to basics with some fun games set to help Bear succeed. Looking forward to seeing Besr again soon.

05/06/2025

Back with Butch.....

The last time I caught with Butch was back in February. This boy is not fan of people outside of his family. Lots of big feelings when Butch is anxious.

It was fantastic to see how far has come with the support of his family. While I was initially greeted by lots of big feelings, Butch's recovery to settle and decompress was so much faster compared to when we first worked together.

Good by Butch!!!

05/06/2025

Happy boy Odin....

Lovely to reconnect with one of the smartest fur kids I've trained with.

Haven't seen this boy for a while but I got the equivalent greeting of "Where have you been???!!" when I arrived.

Lots to catch up on and look forward to seeing the Liam Neeson of GSDs soon.

03/06/2025

We're back (sort of)......

We've had a number of private messages from clients wanting to know when we would be available or why we were so quiet over the past few months.

Truth be told..... here's what's been happening.

For the past 7 months, I put life at home and work on hold. My brother had been diagnosed with terminal cancer. So it was my decision to solely focus on taking full care of him in Sydney. Being with my brother knowing he was coming to end of life is devastating but having our only other brother pass away from cancer 2 years prior was a previous kick in the guts not needed.

So I post this not out of a need for sympathy but rather a thank you to those clients that stuck with us when I told them why I wouldn't be available for a few months.

We look forward to resuming service as usual.....

17/05/2025

Wrote this article a while ago when we were based in Auckland. Thanks to Pet Sitting NZ for publishing it.

If you’re keen to book in a training consult with us, we are now based in Mangawhai and would love to hear from you.🐾🐾

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be a dog trainer? For those interested in taking up a career as a dog trainer or wondering what it might entail, have a read of the below.

11/05/2025

Absolutely nothing to do with dogs, but those of us with cats may find this interesting 🐈‍⬛

Did you know that our cat's belly flaps have nothing to do with fat? 🧐
It is actually loose skin which is called "primordial pouch", and is there as heritage from the felines' ancestors.
The primordial pouch serves three interesting purposes:

1. Protection: This extra skin acts as a shield of protection for vital organs located in this region. And it can be very useful during a fight, especially since cats tend to turn belly-up at some moments in the fight, using their hind legs to kick their opponent.

2. Flexibility: Excess skin in this area allows the belly to stretch more and facilitate the necessary movements during jumps and runs.

3. Abdominal Expansion: The primordial pouch also helps expand the abdomen, allowing cats to store large quantities of food. Of course, this function is more useful in nature for wild cats, where they can stay several days without finding a potential hunt. When they do finally find food, it's better if they are able to ingest large volumes of it. ❤ ❤ ❤

05/05/2025

PUPPIES!!!

We collaborate with Orewa Beach Vet Clinic - Pets and their people trust us, and along with their vet nurse Myf, we run Class #5 of their Pup Course.

We had a few pups missing, but their owners still came along - and we had a couple of pups also.

So cute, lots of learning for both hoomans and pups.

25/04/2025

12/04/2025

Fancy some great looking 💩 bags. Blind & Low Vision NZ are selling them to fundraise.

25/03/2025

Meet Margot.....

Newly adopted in January 2025, this cute, wee little deaf girl is loving her new life with an adoring Mum and Dad.

We're working with the family on the use of sign language and auto check-ins for communicating and learning.

Love the hairdo after Margot got a satisfying head rub!

25/03/2025

Lovely to catch up with Charlie again.

This time around we visited Charlie and family for an in-home consult. Charlie is reactive to different sights and sounds immediately outside of her home.

We talked through various ways to help Charlie reduce the opportunity to bark at triggers. By managing her options to race to different vantage points around the property we've started to disrupt the patterned behaviour.

Have we solved the issue? Nope, we have a way to go but for now we are reducing Charlie's reactivity safely when at home.

Alongside this, we'll be working on different approaches to counter condition Charlies behaviour. We're looking to help her comfortably be less impulsive to want to bark at everything that goes past.