Connected Companions

07/02/2024

Sometimes, training isn't flash. Sometimes, it's boring, and it's repetitive. Too often, we forget about going back to basics. Too often, we try to be flashy, to show amazing training, or we are constantly on the go. But there are transformational shifts that happen when you hold a down stay until the dog looks like it's about to go to sleep... then very calmly release one dog at a time. It is just as important for dogs to slow down, as it is for us. It's about being... not doing.

"The times are urgent, let us slow down" & "Let us make sanctuary" - Bayo Akomolafe
.. some may call this slowing the mind
.. some may call this meditation
.. some may call this sanctuary
.. some may call it impulse control
.. some may just call it down stays

24/12/2023

Meri Kirihimete 🥰
Whatever this season/this day represents to you, may your hearts be full today. May you cherish the blessings you have in your life right now, and may you be truly present and Connected with your Companions!

07/11/2023

Sean O'shea always sums it up perfectly 💯!

Be the person your dog needs you to be!!!

Dogs are afraid of many things. The fact that they’re afraid doesn’t mean anything negative has transpired, it simply means they’re… afraid. This typically comes from weak genetics, and/or lack of familiarity/exposure.

We humans love (and need) a good story. We see a dog’s reactions to things and construct a narrative which makes us feel like saviors/heroes, or grants us attention, or just resolves the tension which arises from an unexplainable/unpleasant reaction… even if this narrative negatively impacts the dogs or owners.

Think about who dogs predominantly interact with in shelters, rescues, foster care. It’s rarely men. Along with that, men tend to also have more assertive characteristics (deeper voice, larger physique, less fluid movements, and a more assertive presentation in general). If a dog is unfamiliar with men, and/or has weak nerves, it’s fairly easy to understand why they react to men in the negative fashion they often do.

Instead of burdening a dog with the abuse story, and saddling them with all the guilt, permissiveness, and coddling it engenders, how about we create a hero story where we work our dogs through their challenges (however they present) and treat them like creatures who are resilient, capable, and eager to transform—and then watch them grow and flourish through sharing strength, rather than unhelpful weakness?

Of course that means prioritizing the dog’s needs over your own, but that’s no issue for someone who professes to truly love dogs… right? Right?

02/11/2023

Food for thought

14/08/2023

Pet Owners Survey – A Chance to win $200 Prezzy card!

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*To be eligible for the $200 prezzy card, please complete the survey by 20th August 2023.”

Link: https://forms.office.com/r/UxgMs2pX0L

07/06/2023

Devastated to hear today that darling Lacey who we rescued through the TV show Purina Pound Pups to Dog Stars was put to sleep today. Her amazing family made the tough decision to not let her suffer any more... she had been through so much! They provided an amazingly loving home and they made the ultimate sacrifice today to allow Lacey to rest. She was one of those dogs that nearly joined my pack. We had a journey Lacey! One i will never forget! You were the sweetest little lady. Forever in my heart! 💔🕊 My thoughts are with you Kat & Warren Marsh and family.

15/05/2023

03/03/2023

Luna completed a Board and Train years ago. But just because she did the training back then, her owner's are under no delusion that the work stops there. I like to think of training as just part of what life with a dog is. So I continue to work with her weekly (as I do with all the dogs that come on my pack training days). Keeping their brains engaged and ensuring weekly support for the dogs and their owners. We do a variety of things including beach and forest adventures, but what I often forget to show is the little trips we do to wonderful dog friendly places like and the likes. We worked on our loose lead walking, met a dog, disengaged from a dog ("leave it"), met plenty of people, did sit and down stays and dealt with all the noises like a champ! The staff were so wonderfully helpful today... plus I think Luna was quite a hit, even earned herself a special bandana. 😍
Thank you Mitre10

..then we went for an adventure to run, play, sniff and decompress for a few hours 😁

27/01/2023

With the flood waters around Auckland tonight... please ensure your pets have fresh water. Surface flooding can bring with it lots of nasty toxins and bacteria including leptospirosis which is carried by rats in waterways. Hopefully the majority of you have your dogs vaccinated, but I still don't like to take chances. So please be mindful. If anyone needs help with pets from the floods, please do message me. I will try to help where I can. 💜

23/01/2023

Who multi-tasks while walking the dog? Take a phone call? Read an email... or even just looking at your phone or chatting to your friends? If you're multi-tasking... do you think your dog picks up on that? If you're distracted... does that mean you're potentially missing behaviours? How can we be good trainers/leaders/mentors/dog parents if we are not present and connected to our dogs?

I'm often asked how I get the dogs to sit still, or get them all to be so good... well... its pretty simple... it takes PRACTICE, a tone of PATIENCE and being truly PRESENT for the dogs!!!

13/01/2023

Do what makes your soul sing...

Photo # 1. Sweet little Jess came into my care 2 days before Christmas as her owner was dieing and the family had nowhere for her to go (days before Christmas) so had no option, and had booked for her to be put to sleep. She was slightly malsocialised (her previous owner had been in a wheelchair and had obviously not socialised her with many dogs). So while in my care she got some intesive training and her reactiveness to new dogs decreased dramatically. Today she left on a trial with a very loving and understanding couple. It breaks my heart to see her go. But at the same time my heart is overflowing.

Photo # 2. This stunning big boy Luka, was rescued from a not so nice situation by a wonderfully generous and caring woman. The first time I met him he showed some pretty serious signs of human oriented aggression. Lunging up at my face etc, to the point I was undecided if he was a dog we should be putting so much effort into. Following my guidance, Leesa (his guardian angel) has worked so hard and has given so much to this boy! I've seen some big improvements in his behaviour and Leesa has turned him from a malnourished skeleton with skin issues to this stunning boy with that big beautiful smile. We still have a way to go with him, but seeing what I saw today I'm pretty confident we've done the right thing. 🥰

It is a privilege to work with these 4-legged beings and to help the odd one transition into loving homes. It feels so good doing what makes my soul smile. ❤️

This is my biggest reward!

04/01/2023

UPDATE

Jess has gone on trial as of today. She was very happy and relaxed as she departed with the wonderfully caring and loving couple. 🥰🙌👏

FOREVER HOME REQUIRED

Jess's owner unfortunately is nearing the end of his life and is no longer able to have his companion with him. She is currently in my care in Auckland, so initial contact is best to me via email: [email protected]

Jess is a 7 year old spayed female staffy cross (possibly Ridgeback) she is a medium sized dog and an absolute sweetheart! She has previously lived with cats and hasn't paid any attention to birds on the beach or shown any prey drive during our walks, however I have not yet seen her around stock. Full vet records since she was a puppy are available.

As her owner was in a wheelchair, Jess has missed a few things and is lacking a little bit of training and exposure. However, Jess's desire to please means that she is fully willing to learn and simply wants to find her person and be loved.

05/12/2022

💯
In the dog training world we always hear... "my last dog was so easy..." or "I never had these issues with my last dog..."
It doesn't matter if you've gone with the same breed... every dog is different. They all have their individual characteristics that make them unique.

It’s fascinating that this concept is still not more clearly understood. Yes, breed traits should absolutely be factored in—what are you *likely* to be getting yourself into with the breed or breed mixes in the dog you’re thinking about? Do these traits work with my life, personality, and goals?

Cool, that’s a first step, but if your basis for deciding on which dog to get stops there, you’re making a very big decision based on incredibly incomplete and optimistic information. You’re hoping the dog you get not only adheres precisely to their breed(s) traits and brings those traits forward in the best way, but also, and to me, far more importantly, has a great personality/temperament as well.

This last part is actually the most important to me. I’ve seen countless dogs who according to their breed should be one way or another, but aren’t. And this goes both ways—dogs who don’t embody their breed expectations, and dogs who seemingly shouldn’t have certain traits…that do.

This is a controversial position, but that’s why you follow me. 😉 When I’m looking at a dog to possibly bring into my life, I’m aware of breed tendencies, but they’re way far back in my mind. All I’m looking for is who is the specific, individual dog in front of me? I’ve seen pitties who are rock solid with any dogs or critters, goldens who would bite your hand off, mals who are shockingly chill, rotties who are cupcakes, and chihuahuas that are laid back and couldn’t care about guest/“intruders”.

Give me a 3 year old, fully mature dog, whatever the breed, and let me spend some time. By this age they’re going to show you who they truly are, and you can decide if you like the personality/temperament.

Breed is often important, but it’s also often misleading. At the end of the day, regardless of breed, the individual dog is the only true “tell” about what you’ve got. And I’m my book, it trumps blanket assumptions and expectations.

My recommendation is to assess/factor the breed components, but then prioritize the actual dog and see what you got. Many, many dogs don’t fit neatly into breed boxes, which is why all my dogs are chosen depending upon
who they are, not who they are supposed to be.

18/11/2022

I love dog behaviour...

What do you think is going on here? 🤣

18/11/2022

UPDATE:
By coincidence a lady flagged me down on my way to the vet and said she thought I had her dog. She had been to the Westgate security and had searched the video tapes, so saw me load him into my van then recognized my van as she drove to the closest vet - her next stop was going to be the police. 😄 So he has been happily reunited with his whanau. 🥰

If you're visiting your local shopping centre, please leave your dog securely at home. This family, although had the right intention with leaving the windows down, had obviously left a bit too big a gap and our little buddy squeezed out the window.

FOUND:

Anyone missing this happy chilled super friendly young boy? Found wandering around (and into) Westgate Shopping Center. I offered to take him and look for the owner as I think the security guy was just going to call the pound. Will take to the vet shortly to scan for a chip.

11/11/2022

🤔😉

16/09/2022

So great to be back in NZ hanging out with the dogs again. The dogs and I enjoyed going off the beaten track and discovering different paths around our favourite spots. Checking in and ensuring we are balancing physical, spiritual, mental and whanau aspects of life.

30/08/2022

If pulling on the leash gets you to move faster and to where a dog wants to go, they’ll do it. If barking from the crate gets them out, they’ll do it. If jumping on people gets them pets, they’ll do it. If growling moves you away from a prized toy, bone, or space, they’ll do it. If exploding at another dog on a walk “makes the other dog go away”, or simply gives a rewarding adrenaline dump, they’ll do it. If “screaming” at you as you approach makes you stop approaching, they’ll do it. If barking at the window for hours feels good, they’ll do it.

We love to make things overly complicated, but dogs are extremely simple. They do what works to get them what they want.

Your job is to decide what truly works best for you and your dog, and then ensure that’s what occurs. In other words, your job is to be smarter than your dog, and ensure that that which is unwanted, unhealthy, unpleasant, or dangerous, doesn’t work.

07/08/2022

Sitting here tonight with tears trying to write this. I was absolutely devastated to hear the news.

💞Krista💞 was a phenomenal woman and an absolute rock for so many! She was always so full of life and had a tireless dedication to the dog world. Always such an awesome person to bounce ideas around with and get inspiration from. Krista was one of the first people I turned to when I first went out on my own and started Connected Companions, and her encouragement and support was exactly what I needed. We bashed around ideas of owner/dog activities - one of which I still want to do one day - maybe I'll name it in her honor? Our last messages to eachother discussing the impacts of covid and how she really wanted another catch up to "talk s**t" again. - Little did I know. 😥

Krista you were a one in a million! 🌟 The dog world has lost one of the greats!

🤍🐾🕊🐾🤍

19/07/2022

Oh I love this!!!

05/07/2022

Still a few beautiful girls to find homes in this litter. I know this breeder personally and stand by the quality of her litters and her breeding ethics. So if you know anyone looking for a stunning pure bred Rhodesian Ridgeback... contact Lee Askew 🥰

23/06/2022

Brilliantly said!!!

13/06/2022

How awesome is this!?!