Dog training and behaviour, bootcamp programs, groupclasses and online courses!
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21/08/2025
We're back with an episode of She Gets SIT Done.
We're bringing out episodes a bit sporadically because our schedules are so full on - also the reason why Toni isn't joining us for this episode today.
Instead we have Anastasia back from and we discuss a very interesting topic!
How to train your dog with LESS food and get MORE reliable behaviour.
If you have the following issues:
- My dog only listens when I have food in my hand
- My dog only does it for treats
- My dog listens but I have to repeat myself several times
- My dog doesn't take food / isn't food motivated
- My dog listens when he feels like it
then this podcast episode is definitely one you should be listening to.
Currently only on YouTube!
In this episode, we dive into why less is more when it comes to food in training. Learn how to build reliability, keep your dog engaged, and avoid becoming a...
19/08/2025
You can't teach a dog to NOT be afraid of fireworks, as the fireworks go off.
You can't teach a dog to NOT be afraid of the vet, as he's getting stuck with needles.
You can't teach a dog to NOT react to a dog on the street when he's already reacting.
You can't teach a dog to NOT guard his favourite food when he's already in possession of the food.
A lot of problems you have as a dog owner, and we see as dog trainers are all trainable.
All the above examples are all trainable. But not instantly. Not with a quick fix and any trainer that says they can.... mmmm.. I would seriously think about if you want to train with that person.
We need to appreciate and respect the process that is a part of fixing a problem.
See it as learning how to drive a car. You practice for weeks with someone before you're allowed to drive by yourself or sit your driver's exam. You generally don't get into your car the first time and parallel park on the busiest street with success. It would generally mean you fail. Maybe you fluke and you're lucky. But did you really know what you were doing? No.
That's why we have driver instructors or parents that drive with their kids for a good long while. You do practice runs. You learn the dimensions of your car. You might go to a quiet parking lot and try parallel parking there first. Or maybe you parallel park in between cones to get an idea of what you're supposed to be doing.
Then, when you've practiced in a lot of different, easier situations.. that's when you drive to the busiest street during peak traffic and parallel park your car in a gap that only JUST fits. (Maybe you would, I would just find a different park altogether, haha!)
This is all that dog training is. We train in small steps, we train often, and we train in simulated environments. We do practice runs, practice tests, and then finally, we have the actual event and we will have a much higher rate of success.
But see how long that takes? You need to have realistic expectations of your dog, your self and your trainer.
We can't fix your dog in 60 minutes, but we can give you the tools and guidance to do so. Your dog can't fix its feelings or actions without guidance.
So, be kind to yourself. Be kind to your dog.
- Set realistic expectations
- Stop throwing your dog (and yourself!) in the deep end 'hoping it'll work out'.
- Ask for help or find a trainer a few weeks or months BEFORE a certain situation arise
- Try and avoid situations that set your dog off until you're both ready for it through training.
19/08/2025
It's much easier to train your dog BEFORE the baby arrives, because after you'll have your hands full with being a parent.
Here's our list of things that your dog should know that will make your life SO much easier once kids are involved.
I have a Teen Manners class starting August 28th - 6 pm.
5 week course working on everything CALM for these crazy teenage dogs.
Calm greetings, no jumping, calming walking past other dogs, being able to come to a cafe.. Calm, calm, calm!
If you have a dog between 5 months old and 18 months and you'd love for them to find that off button.. come and join class!
Here’s a controversial post that may offend a few people and businesses.
Every week I get emails of new clients that their dog struggles with leash reactivity, barking, lunging on lead. But, not when they’re off lead.
My first question is always: Does your dog go to daycare?
99% of the time the answer is Yes.
Newsflash: Daycare is causing your dog’s leash reactivity.
What? But my dog loves daycare? He loves his friends! He loves being out and about. It’s great.
And I’m sure your dog loves it (most of the time).. but lets have a look at this.
Most daycares (not all of them) are not very structured, for example some No No’s for me:
Dogs get to run around all day long ‘having fun’.
There is no dedicated rest area or ‘forced’ rest time.
It’s a lot of dogs constantly barking all day long.
There are no training moments to learn something new and engage their brain in a different way that full speed ahead all the time.
Puppies are often put with other puppies which seems great but also teaches them nothing because puppies learn manners from older dogs.
Dogs overexcited or hyper behaviour gets rewarded with a lot of play instead of impulse control.
What is actually happening from a training perspective?
Your dog never learns to just be around dogs without needing to interact or ‘go say hi’. Often this is what’s causing the frustration on leash.
Your dog gets overexcited, over aroused and over tired which leads to irritable behaviour.
Your dog learns that seeing other dogs is a free for all to always have ‘fun’ or to feel overwhelmed if your dog is more on the timid side.
Your dog never learns to just ‘Be’. To Relax. To sleep. To be bored. To do nothing.
Where is the connection happening with YOU? After your dog comes home all ‘tired and worn out’, where does the training happening with you to build a connection and a relationship?
Ever since Covid people seem to have the idea that their dogs can’t stay home alone. They CAN. They SHOULD. There is NOTHING wrong with leaving your dog alone for a full work day if it’s not a 6 day a week type of thing.
I am not against daycare for occasional socialisation or a fortnightly fun experience, but going to daycare several times a week is unnecessary and just too much for most dogs.
It’s unhealthy for a dog to constantly be on the go and not learn how to settle. It can create a hyper or neurotic or an anxious dog because he’s lacking sleep and is constantly in overdrive. An adult dog sleeps on average 13.5 hours a day!
An adult dog also DOESN’T NEED FRIENDS. It’s actually quite unnatural for dogs to constantly mingle with dogs outside of their circle/pack. A lot of dogs are actually quite stressed at daycare because there is nowhere to hide, get a break or just chill. So even though you see some fun photo’s of your dog ‘smiling’, that doesn’t mean he’s having fun all day long.
There is nothing wrong, bad or sad about having your dog stay at home whilst you’re at work if they have access to a backyard or some space to walk around.
Even the crate for several hours a day is NOT an issue and not sad or awful IF trained properly.
If you can’t leave your dog alone because he destroys the house then invest in some training and teach him how to be alone (unless its ACTUAL separation anxiety) or invest in a space they can stay in in the house where they can destroy something (like a cardboard box in a bathroom you don’t use).
If you think you can’t leave your dog alone the whole day invest instead in a good dog walker or pack walker so they get structured exercise and some activity and they go to sleep afterwards again.
Honestly, most doggy daycares are marketed as the perfect day out with all your dogs friends and they make you feel bad if you don’t do that to your dog.
You may be surprised but with some dogs you’d do them a favour taking them out.
Sidenote added: If you are looking for a daycare- try look for a homestyle daycare instead of a large commercial daycare.
Try avoid massive daycares that just let the dogs run around all day without structure or rest.
15/08/2025
New course out on Consider The Dog - perfect for people with kids, excepting a lil baby or if you want to add a new puppy to the home.
I created this course with Laura from The French Touch (isnt letting me tag either?) and its so full of helpful information that doesn’t just touch on the useless “bring a baby blanket home for the dog to smell.”
Don’t forget to use code: SANNE for 1 month of CtD for FREE! Lesgooo!
Have a great weekend all!
13/08/2025
It took me a hot minute to try out my new camera because I've been sick but here is the first video with it (I doubt you can see the difference between it atm, because I'm still figuring out settings and modes) but Jen Adams had a cool request for a trick video. Finally felt not sick - so here it is! :D Hope it helps Jen!
Link in comments because FB is having a stroke.
11/08/2025
A friendly dog doesn't equal a well mannered dog.
We all know that person that no one wants to hang out with because they are a 'bit much' or they are a close talker. Or they are wayyy TMI. Or they make themselves comfortable in your house way too easily or are a bit too touchy feely for your taste. (Sorry, I'm not a hugger lol).
They are FRIENDLY, but that doesn't make them well mannered.
Even though they are FRIENDLY their BAD MANNERS will ruffle feathers and probably be a cause for not receiving another invite to your house, your hangout or the party.
It doesn't mean that person is a bad person or not nice or friendly. It just means they can't read the situation and the room and their friendly behaviour is considered rude or 'ICK'.
Dogs are the same. Friendly dogs often have the BEST intentions. But they can be so obnoxious about it that it's actually quite rude
07/08/2025
One of the most common things we hear when we are out and about and a dog comes running at us is 'It's okay he's friendly'.
The response when you say 'I don't care, leave me alone', is often 'Well take your reactive dog elsewhere then'.
I fully disagree with that statement, but I also want to point out that there is MANY reasons why someone may not be interested in hanging out with you/your dog when they're out and about with their dog even if they are in a public place.
Effectively what you're saying when you say 'Well don't go to this public place with your dog then' is:
- Your elderly dog is not allowed to use the beach because my dog has the right to run right up/into him.
- Your small chihuahua isn't allowed in this park unless he's okay to play with my giant German Shepherd and be okay with being trampled because my dog has the right to say hi and play with your dog.
- Your dog who is recovering from surgery and can only do short walks is only allowed to do that on pavement but not in his favourite public park where he can watch the ducks because my dog has the right to say hi and play with your dog.
- You can't come here with your nervous dog to slowly teach him the world isn't so scary because my dog has the right to say hi and play with your dog even if they're not ready for it yet.
People with 'friendly' dogs don't get to decide where you walk your dog.
And before people go on about it: this is about any public space that dogs are allowed in on/off leash but are NOT dedicated fenced (off leash) dog parks.
07/08/2025
Powerbreed Thursday 💪🏼
(Well except for Pepper 🤣).
Mac - Amstaff: needs help with over excitement, people coming to the house and impulse control. Wanna guess how much he weighs?
Wolf - Staffy x bull mastiff: overexcitement , calm greetings, loose leash walking, ecollar recall
Daisy - Rottweiler: ecollar recall
Also walked the pack this morning but didn’t take photos!
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The Complete Canine
Notice the Change in your Dog
Hi!
I’m Sanne (Sah-nah) founder of ‘The Complete Canine’.
The Complete Canine came to be because of my own dogs Lenyx and Zelda, who are proudly displayed in my logo.
Lenyx and Zelda are my inspiration and my passion. Without them, I wouldn’t have taken the step to go into dog training. Lenyx is this old soul and my heart dog. He is really attached to me and loves his family and isn’t necessarily interested in other dogs (or people) around him. He’s friendly, but selective.
When Lenyx was 7 months he broke his toe and became quite reactive and fearful to touch and vet visits. We called in a trainer to help us with his potential aggression with the vet and saw our dog change drastically. I loved our trainer’s work so much, that I decided, that is what I want to do. Help people, help their dogs.
Zelda is a joy. She’s our Herd2Homes rescue Kelpie x Koolie. She is as extrovert as a dog can be. She is the typical working dog and exactly what I wanted in a working dog, to be able to go sheep herding and hopefully end up doing agility competitions with her. She’s full of beans and has a huge (weird) character.
I thank them everyday for being there for me and making my life richer.
Passion
Teaching and helping people is something that comes naturally to me. I have been a full time primary school teacher for 6 years and the switch to dog training feels like a perfect next step to me, although currently I am balancing it with my fulltime job. I have the right amount of people skills, ability to explain, train and teach and the passion and handling skills with dogs. I strive to learn as much as possible and am thankful for trainers such as Jay Jack, Chad Mackin, Tyler Muto and Pat Stuart to continue to educate and share their practices. I am also very lucky to call Ernie Frappa (The Dog Bloke) my mentor.
However my interest doesn’t just stop at obedience and behaviour. As someone who grew up around horses I saw the benefits of osteopaths and massage therapists first hand. Horses that were having issues under the saddle often moved and behaved so much better after a good massage session that for me it was a logical step to have a look at dog massage as well.
I wanted to look at the ‘whole dog’ through Canine (myofunctional therapy) Massage. Dogs benefit from massage in the same way as humans and on top of that it can assist in addressing numeral behavioural issues, which goes perfectly together with dog training and sports.
Qualifications and PD
I completed the NDTF cert 3 in Dog Training and Behaviour.
I’m currently finishing up the NCTM Diploma for Canine Myofunctional Therapy.
Bachelor of Education
Besides my official qualifications I regular attend Seminars to ensure I'm up to date with the most recent training concepts and strategies.
