Shan - Aussie Shepherd/Border Collie

21/12/2022

It breaks my heart to announce that Shan passed away at home this afternoon. She will be missed very much.
She drifted into her endless slumber at around 1pm on 21st December.

RIP my cheeky girl

30/03/2017

That Dog Geek

Dog bites can be prevented by learning the body language signals that dogs give off in the lead up to a bite. Dogs generally don't "bite out of nowhere" unless these early signals have been ignored repeatedly or punished.

Here are the signals that a dog will give as they move down the road to a bite, and what they mean:

1) Displacement Signals - "I'll act distracted to take the pressure off"
- Sniffing
- Scratching
- Goofing around

2) Calming Signals - "I'd really like things to calm down"
- Licking lips
- Yawning (often with a squeaking noise)
- Turning head away or moving away
- Moving in slow motion

3) Stress Signals - "I'm really getting scared now"
- Heavy panting
- Sweaty paws
- Trembling
- Big wide eyes (called whale eye or half moon eye)
- Hackles up

4) Preparing for Action / Assessment - "They're not stopping, maybe I'll have to defend myself"
- Stiff, frozen posture (conserving energy)
- Staring wide-eyed without blinking (hard stare)
- Mouth closed

5) Last Warnings - "Please stop and go away, this is your last warning"
- Snarling or lifting lip up vertically
- Growling
- Snapping the air
- Punching with nose (muzzle punch)

6) Attack - "This is the only way to keep myself safe"
- Lunge
- Bite

The earlier you take an exit, the better your chances will be of avoiding a bite! The rule of thumb if you're not sure what to when you think your dog might be heading down the road to a bite is ADD SOME DISTANCE between your dog and whatever is upsetting them. Contact a professional, positive reinforcement based behavioural trainer for further assistance.

If you have a dog with fear or aggression issues, keep an eye out for That Dog Geek's next video, the first in a series on helping fearful or reactive dogs.

27/03/2017

Mornington Peninsula Dog Lovers

;)

Check out this Drama Queen who appears to be way to exhausted to walk back home, but look what happens when she's lead back towards the park 🙄😂

20/03/2017

Dog World

Dog World

Where she ended up every day left everyone in tears....💕❤🐶

13/03/2017

K9 Pro - The K9 Professionals

Zippay is now available on our website! Shop now and pay later www.k9pro.com.au

26/02/2017

;)

Can't afford to buy one of my dragon figures but would love to own one? I found raffle type groups that offer you a chance to own/win products for a fraction of the cost.

Currently available at Handmade Life
Handmade Life
38 dips @ $3 each

08/02/2017

BuzzFeed Animals

BuzzFeed Animals

For anyone who says you shouldn't rescue a dog...

01/01/2017

Zak George

It's finally here!!! Check out my new video with the mind-blowing Sara Carson and Hero!!! 🌟 WATCH HERE: https://youtu.be/e3zTp-D8OgE

In this video, Sara and Hero of The Super Collies will show off some of their most incredible stunts, and we'll show you how you can teach them to YOUR dog!!

24/12/2016

Victoria Stilwell

Victoria Stilwell

I don't want anyone to get bitten by a dog over the holidays, but it's likely that many preventable bites will happen due to the stress and environmental changes that occur this time of year. This article has some critically important information and great visuals to help keep your dog and your family out of potentially precarious situations.

24/12/2016

K9 Pro - The K9 Professionals

A word from Steve...

Well as Christmas is upon us again, I wanted to take a few minutes to connect with our friends, clients and followers and wish you all a very Merry Christmas.

2016 has been an incredible year for K9Pro and Steve Courtney Dog Training, yes we have grown but we grow every year, so what has made this year incredible?

Well basically you have...

This year we have been inundated with people wanting to train with us, board their dogs with us for rehabilitation, clients achieving unbelievable achievements with their dogs in rehab, clients competing at all levels across many dog sports and this year has been a year where you will have seen us sharing more ring wins, more titles and championships than ever before!

People will often email us or message us on Social Media and thank me for working miracles with their dog.

You will see me very quickly re direct that credit back to the dog's owner because, for many years I have KNOWN I can train dogs, I can modify their behaviour, rehabilitate them and teach them anything from simple to intricate tasks, but without the owner of the dog being invested, you can be certain that success will not be easy or even possible.

This year though, you guys have really stepped it up, whether we have been handing back dogs that have stayed with us or me coaching you in private lessons, my god has there been some outstanding results!

People digging in and really doing the work has made my job easy, and I truly want to express my deepest appreciation for helping me, help you.

There are many aspects to our business and like all businesses, some parts can be going well whilst other parts need a boost, again 2016 just has not been like that, all our areas of focus have been showing outstanding results.

Team K9Pro have once again had a record year and brought home more ring wins, titles and accolades than I could ever ask for, these guys never stop trying and supporting each other, I am so lucky to have them.

This year we invested some time into the amazing world of IPO, we formed a club, trained some dogs and ran a trial, with 6 entrants all coached by me achieving 6 passes from 6 entries, we look forward to the future of Semper Fi Dog Sport Club.

Our non for profit totally volunteer driven K9 Angels program has been working miracles behind the scenes with children from "YourTown" and we have been asked to expand this program into a large number of nursing homes across NSW (maybe a bit further too!)

Our Malinois breeding program has had some great results too, dogs we have exported to South Africa and New York are doing incredibly well and two of our pups have had High in Trial passes in IPO (BH) and a number of others with high scores in other dog sports too.

I haven't had much time to travel this year, only running four interstate seminars this year, but those four were really special to me. Tasmania saw me make new friends and we are still connected and have plans to go back.

Next was a couple of weeks in Melbourne and gee we had some great times and worked some great dogs.

Townsville was last and what a great time we all had, I still am getting emails and messages about the success these guys are having, so very proud of all the people I met and worked with.

Promise more of these events soon.

We upgraded our training facility two years ago now and have been working on it constantly since then, our latest projects have been getting our indoor training room fully insulated and air conditioned ready for the summer.

We train all year round and now our clients will be training in our safe and secure, temperature controlled (22 degrees) all year round.

We have almost finished our new super secure exercise yard, this is essential for the type of dogs we rehabilitate here.

Surrounded by a concrete path to stop the dogs running it to mud, covered by a 10m x 8 m shade sail and with lush grass in the middle dogs can run in here free and relax out of their runs.

Surrounded by a 3m steel mesh fence, it may look a little like a prison but, the dogs cannot escape it, by digging, climbing or jumping, security for your dogs is highly important to me.

I could go on and on but as we head towards 2017 I want you to know that we have every intention of making 2017 even bigger and better.

My staff this year have really lifted, they have worked so many extra hours that we can't even count them, working with clients and their dogs, training kennel dogs and training their own dogs in between, they have certainly delivered above and beyond the call, many times.

My family too have been supportive, this is a family business and we pretty much all work here. when people hear how long in advance I am booked out they get some sense of just how busy I am, and it takes a patient and supportive family behind me to make this all work.

I AM working on the work / life balance!

I wanted to finish up by saying thank you, to all those that trust in me to provide the help they need with their dogs, their equipment and for your support, I am very aware that without you, there is no us.

We will be smashing it in 2017, watch this space.

Have a Merry Christmas, love your family which of course includes your dogs.

Steve Courtney

02/12/2016

Starting tomorrow morning .... 3 event appearances coming up this week!
Come along, check out all the stalls and grab yourself a bargain.

Find us at the following events for my special festive prices of up to 50% off all stock on the tables.
25% off all custom orders.

Dec 3 -- 9am to 2pm
Lalor Park Community Hub
38 Heffron Rd, Lalor Park.

Dec 4 -- 3pm to 7pm
Stonecutters Ridge Neighbourhood Centre
Cnr Ashlar Court & Stonecutters Drive, Colebee.

Dec 8 -- 6pm to 9pm
Smart Nutrition Health Club
3/54 Hoyle Drive, Dean Park.

30/11/2016

Come and grab a bargain at any of these events around the Blacktown, NSW area over the next week.

Find us at the following events for my special festive prices of up to 50% off all stock on the tables.
25% off all custom orders.

Dec 3 -- 9am to 2pm
Lalor Park Community Hub
38 Heffron Rd, Lalor Park.

Dec 4 -- 3pm to 7pm
Stonecutters Ridge Neighbourhood Centre
Cnr Ashlar Court & Stonecutters Drive, Colebee.

Dec 8 -- 6pm to 9pm
Smart Nutrition Health Club
3/54 Hoyle Drive, Dean Park.

28/11/2016

K9 Pro - The K9 Professionals

All in a day's work at K9 Pro HQ! These are some of the dogs we have in for board and training, who are all here for dog aggression (among other behaviourial problems). As you can see, they are all progressing really well with their training.

24/11/2016

K9 Pro - The K9 Professionals

K9 Pro - The K9 Professionals

Check it out! Harley the 10 week old Border Collie pup is showing off the "tricks" she has learnt as part of our K9 Pro puppy raising program. She is doing super well!

12/11/2016

Spoil your owner this festive season. ;-)
Mum still makes chainmaille jewellery and accessories. This bracelet is her latest learned design.

Butterfly Bracelet.
Choose your own colours!!
*Display bracelet only*

Custom order your own for only AU$20.
RRP: AU$30

PM or comment for more details.

05/09/2016

K9 Pro - The K9 Professionals

For those who have asked to see our kennel facilities, this is a standard run, it's just under 35 square metres in size, it has a fully insulated roof that covers the complete run and an awning over that to make sure that dogs are comfortable all year round.

They also have a fully insulated kennel that keeps them warm in winter and cool in summer.

Runs are set up so that the dogs cannot see other dogs whilst resting in their runs, this means no fence fighting, fence running or being intimidated or overstimulated by dogs in neighbouring runs.
All runs are fully sealed with epoxy for hygiene and have floor to ceiling mesh so that escape is not an option.

Music is played 24/7 to keep moods positive.

01/09/2016

Steve Courtney's Philosophy on Dog Training - k9protraining

Steve Courtney's Philosophy on Dog Training - k9protraining

09/08/2016

DogTube

DogTube

Even police dogs are catching Pokémon!

Via fb.com/Albertacanine

08/07/2016

K9 Pro - The K9 Professionals

K9 Pro - The K9 Professionals

Steve's latest blog post is live! In this latest post, Steve discusses a very serious problem we have to battle as dog owners.

"...It’s not even funny or giggle worthy really, it’s a major problem and as dog owners we need to get together with some accepted etiquette or at some stage, the restrictions we have with our beloved dogs will most certainly get tighter."

Head to the blog below to read the post in full:

http://blog.k9pro.com.au/dog-etiquette-hes-friendly/

06/06/2016

K9 Pro - The K9 Professionals

K9 Pro - The K9 Professionals

Meet Miley! She's an excitable young German Shepherd who is staying at K9 Pro HQ for some training. Like many young working dogs, she is struggling with impulse control, so is learning some valuable life skills like loose leash walking and place training.

04/06/2016

Victoria Stilwell

Victoria Stilwell

Pet parents often get so caught up in trying to control their dogs that they don't give them the opportunity to make choices. You'll be amazed by the difference when you allow your dogs to think for themselves!

04/06/2016

K9 Pro - The K9 Professionals

K9 Pro - The K9 Professionals

Meet Sargent! He is an 8 year old German Shepherd x that is an extremely bad leash puller and can also be aggressive towards strangers. He is out to prove that older dogs can learn new tricks. Check him out in our latest video!

Reposting as the first version only uploaded 1/2 the video!

31/05/2016

Does your owner love handmade jewellery and accessories?

Check out these new stretchy bracelets made using EPDM Rubber and Aluminium rings. ;-)

Here's a sample of the stretchy bracelet range just added, seeing my shared posts from the sales group don't appear to show the photos of the product for sale.

28/05/2016

Zak George

Zak George

New video! Teaching your dog to come to you is a potentially life saving skill. In this episode, I'll show you how to get your dog to come to you consistently when you call them even when they’re distracted by other things! Enjoy!

Watch here! http://bit.ly/1NUY4Fo

26/05/2016

Victoria Stilwell

Victoria Stilwell

Great tips for anybody with a "frustrated greeter."

19/05/2016

K9 Pro - The K9 Professionals

K9 Pro - The K9 Professionals

A very well done video that every parent should watch!

Credit to stopthe77.com

18/05/2016

K9 Pro - The K9 Professionals

K9 Pro - The K9 Professionals

Time for an update on our newest family member, Rosie Cheeks the Labrador!

18/05/2016

K9 Pro - The K9 Professionals

K9 Pro - The K9 Professionals

Can a Malinois or any other working breed be taught a reliable on/off switch? Bec demonstrates Blaze's on/off switch in this short video taken from one of recent our puppy classes.

17/05/2016

Why exercise may not be the answer to your dog problems

http://blog.k9pro.com.au/exercise-may-not-answer-dog-problems/

Dog Problems often occur because we don't know how to keep our animals balanced, and what works for one may not work for another. Is exercise is the answer?

01/05/2016

Zak George

One of my fav online dog trainers

While it's certainly true that you can get a breakdown of quality dog training methods in just a few weeks, it takes a good 1 year of work to have a really well behaved dog that listens to you in a variety of different situations and circumstances. Be prepared to be really consistent and patient throughout your dog's first year of training.

After posting yesterday's new video (video here: http://bit.ly/24seGs6), it's clear that lots of you have a new dog! Congratulations! You've come to the right place. This set of videos, "How to teach your dog the basics in order" is 100% free (as are all of my dog training videos) and will throughly show you how to teach your dog throughout their first year of training and beyond! Watch the playlist here: http://bit.ly/1QhQft7

Enjoy!

ZakGeorge

13/04/2016

Victoria Stilwell

Victoria Stilwell

If you've ever had a reactive dog, you'll definitely appreciate this! (via Good Dogs & Co.)

26/02/2016

Pics of Shan

25/02/2016

K9 Pro - The K9 Professionals

K9 Pro - The K9 Professionals

Does your dog pull on the leash, jump on people, act aggressively towards other dogs or is simply over excited when they see one? Check out our latest video starring "siblings" Raw and Roxy, who have been training with Bec and Steve at K9 Pro HQ the past week.

We are really pleased with how they are going so far and can't wait to share their progress with you!