K9 FUNdamentals

12/05/2024

Happy Dog Mom's Day 💙🐾

26/03/2024

🐕Join us for group classes starting 6th of April🐕
🐾 Class information:
- Puppy skills (puppies up to 4 months)
- Teenage skills (dogs older than 4 months, with no prior training)

🐾 Classes include:
Socialisation, handling, relationship building, appropriate skills exercises, preventing and managing typical problems, body awareness, confidence building, and much more!
Small class sizes - Limited spaces available.

🐾Contact us:
067 239 2396

14/02/2024

🐾❤️ Happy Valentine's Day ❤️🐾

06/02/2024

Congratulations to the dogs and handlers on achieving their KUSA Elementary Trick Titles:
Ivor and Chanelle
Eden and Chanelle
Breeze and Leslie
Archie and Christian

We are so proud 💙🐾
Looking forward to your Beginners tricks!

24/01/2024

Steer clear of dog trainers promising guaranteed results; such claims often lack empathy and a deep understanding of canine behavior. Dogs are individuals, and training outcomes can't be assured. This approach often overlooks a dog's emotional needs and may rely on outdated or harmful methods, lacking in proper education and respect for the dog's well-being.

05/01/2024

What are your New Year's dog guardian goals for 2024?

Here are 10 ways to be a better guardian this year.
Make 2024 your best year yet 💙🐾

03/01/2024

🐕Join us for group classes starting 20th of January🐕

🐾 Class information:
- Puppy skills (puppies up to 4 months)
- Teenage skills (dogs older than 4 months, with no prior training)
- Life skills (dogs older than 6 months, with prior training)

🐾 Classes include:
Socialisation, handling, relationship building, appropriate skills exercises, preventing and managing typical problems, body awareness, confidence building, and much more!
*Limited spaces available.

🐾Contact us:
067 239 2396

22/12/2023

As we wind down and reflect on the year, we want to thank each of our clients for your support and entrusting us with your fluffy companions! It has been a privilege being part of this journey.
Thank you to PawsPark for your continued partnership and support.

May the holidays be full of the joys of wagging tails, wet noses and lots of licks 💙🐾

Looking forward to seeing you all in 2024!

11/12/2023

Congratulations to these pups and their guardians for graduating from Puppy Skills 🐶
- Olivia (Toy poodle)
- Bonnie (Scottish terrier)
- Chelsea (Labrador)
- Charlie (Biewer terrier)
- Dexter (Biewer terrier)
- Bingo (Malinois)
- Bella (Miniature schnauzer)

We are so proud of their commitment to their pups and the work they have done in setting their pups up for the rest of their lives!

Looking forward to having you back in Life Skills 💙🐾

03/11/2023

'It is really important to understand that each dog is unique, and their behaviour can vary widely, even within the same breed. Dogs use body language, vocalizations, and other forms of communication to express their needs, emotions, and intentions. Understanding a dog's communication cues is essential for interpreting their behaviour.'

Dogs behave the way they do for many reasons. They do NOT do things deliberately to be stubborn or ‘naughty’, nor do they aim to assert control. Outdated mythologies and training methods have detrimental effects on well-being and strain the relationship between a dog and their caregiver.

🧬A dog's breed and genetic makeup can play a significant role in determining certain behavioural traits. Dogs have genetic predispositions and breed-specific tendencies that contribute to their behaviour.
Some breeds are predisposed to specific behaviours, such as herding, hunting, or guarding.

The environment in which a dog is raised and lives can profoundly impact their behaviour. Early socialisation, which involves exposing a puppy to a wide range of people, animals, and environments during their critical developmental period, is crucial for building confidence and shaping a dog's social behaviour to reduce fear or aggression.

Overstimulation can cause all kinds of unwanted behaviours as it overwhelms their senses and can lead to hyperactivity or erratic responses. For example, if a dog is exposed to loud noises, multiple people, and various stimuli all at once, or on a daily basis, they might exhibit excessive excitable behaviour, poor impulse control, become agitated and exhibit behaviours like jumping, barking, or pulling on the leash, as their senses are overwhelmed by the excessive input.

Previous experiences and learning consequences can influence a dog's behaviour. Traumatic experiences, in particular, can lead to fear, anxiety, or aggression.

How a dog is trained and educated by their caregiver or handler can significantly affect their behaviour. Consistent, positive reinforcement-based training can lead to desired behaviours, while harsh or inconsistent methods can result in confusion or fear.

A dog's health, including their physical and mental well-being, can influence their behaviour. Illness, pain, or discomfort can lead to changes in behaviour.

A dog's emotional state, including fear, anxiety, and excitement, can affect their behaviour. For example, a fearful dog may display unpredictable defensive reactive behaviours or might avoid any encounters and run away trying to hide. While a confident dog may exhibit playfulness and a relaxed demeanour.

A dog can become frustrated and destructive if their mental and physical needs are not met. This dog, full of pent-up energy and boredom, may become frustrated and exhibit poor impulse control. In their frustration, they might resort to destructive behaviours, such as chewing furniture, digging up the garden, or incessant barking. This destructive behaviour is often an expression of their frustration and an attempt to alleviate their built-up energy and mental stress.

The type of diet a dog receives can significantly influence their behaviour, with high-quality nutrition promoting better energy levels, mood, and overall well-being, while poor diet choices can lead to issues like irritability, hyperactivity, or digestive problems.

As dogs age, they may experience canine cognitive decline, which can manifest as changes in memory, learning, and behaviour. This condition can lead to increased confusion, disorientation, and altered social interactions in older dogs.

It is really important to understand that each dog is unique, and their behaviour can vary widely, even within the same breed. Dogs use body language, vocalizations, and other forms of communication to express their needs, emotions, and intentions. Understanding a dog's communication cues is essential for interpreting their behaviour.

04/10/2023

🐕Join us for group classes starting 21st of October🐕
🐾 Class information:
- Puppy skills (puppies up to 4 months)
- Teenage skills (dogs older than 4 months, with no prior training)

🐾 Classes include:
Socialisation, handling, relationship building, appropriate skills exercises, preventing and managing typical problems, body awareness, confidence building, and much more!
*Limited spaces available.

🐾Contact us:
067 239 2396

24/09/2023

21/09/2023

These brilliant infographic from Freedogz illustrate how many delicate structures of canine anatomy, nerves, muscles and organs can be affected, even damaged.

Before any effective training takes place, let’s ensure our dogs are comfortable, free of pain and discomfort.

Equipment does matter.

Use the kind stuff.

07/09/2023

🐕Join us for group classes starting 23rd of September🐕

🐾 Class information:
- Puppy skills (puppies up to 4 months)
- Teenage skills (dogs older than 4 months, with no prior training)
- Life skills (dogs older than 4 months, with prior training)

🐾 Classes include:
Socialisation, handling, relationship building, appropriate skills building, preventing and managing typical problems, body awareness, confidence building, and much more!

*Limited spaces available.

🐾Contact us:
067 239 2396
[email protected]

14/08/2023

Congratulations to our recent Life Skills class graduates! These dogs have done phenomenonally well in growing their skills and putting it into practice in public spaces.

We are so proud of their guardian's hard work and dedication to their dog's wellbeing and continued training 💙🐾

09/08/2023

Happy Women's Day.
To all the strong, dedicated, powerful women in our lives - Thank you! 💙🐾

25/07/2023

There is nothing wrong with your dog if they don't love every dog they meet as they become older. In fact, dog selectivity is normal for dogs as they mature!

However there are still several other options for your dog to have a rich, fulfilling life.

Respect and listen your dog's social preferences 💙🐾

A subject which needs to be understood!

Dogs are complex creatures with individual needs, likes, dislikes, agendas ....the list goes on ...and guess what !! Just when you think you KNOW what that list consists of - it can change!

Dogs go through lots of behavioral changes as they go through their developmental stages of life.

Here, at The Barking Lot, we take great care to LISTEN to the dogs - observe the behaviors- create rules and structure to allow safety and security - we lead the dogs into appropriate interaction and play and we extinguish opportunities for questionable or unsafe behaviors.

SOMETIMES dogs reach a point in their development or maturity where they decide they no longer enjoy the environment and interaction styles of a busy daycare - THIS IS NORMAL!!!! And we RESPECT THAT AND WE RESPECT THE DOG!

Please understand .....a dog who has exhibited displeasure with large play groups STILL has A LOT of other avenues of fulfillment !!! Training, hiking, walks, fetch, swimming, a ride in the car, learning a new trick ....the list goes ON AND ON! But please don't despair if your dog is not a fit for daycare - there are MANY THINGS YOU CAN DO TOGETHER to meet his/her needs!! ❤️

17/07/2023

Join us for group classes starting 5 August💙🐾🐕

🐾 Class information:
- Puppy skills (puppies up to 4 months)
- Teenage skills (dogs older than 4 months, with no prior training)
- Life skills (dogs older than 4 months, with prior training)

🐾 Classes include:
Socialisation, handling, improving your relationship, appropriate skills building, preventing and managing typical problems, body awareness, confidence building, and much more!

🐾Contact us:
067 239 2396
[email protected]

18/06/2023

Who's the best dog dad? You are, yes you are! 💙🐾

10/06/2023

Join us for group classes starting 24 June💙🐾🐕
🐾 Class information:
- Puppy skills (puppies up to 4 months)
- Teenage skills (dogs older than 4 months, with no prior training)
- Life skills (dogs older than 4 months, with prior training)

🐾 Classes include:
Socialisation, handling, improving your relationship, appropriate skills building, preventing and managing typical problems, body awareness, confidence building, and much more!

🐾Contact us:
067 239 2396
[email protected]

09/06/2023

Congratulations to our recent puppy class graduates 🎓 💙🐾 We are so very proud of you all! Looking forward to seeing you in Life Skills classes.

14/05/2023

Happy Mother's day dog mums! You are doing an amazing job 💙🐾

26/04/2023

Always connection first 💙 🐾

DO YOU WANT AN OBEDIENT DOG?

CHOOSE TO BUILD CONNECTION INSTEAD OF OBEDIENCE OR CONTROL

Is having an obedient dog that you can control all that society makes it out to be? Do we want a relationship with our dogs or a robot that complies with our every command?

If our dogs are not obedient, are they challenging our power and authority over them? Are they plotting to dominate the human race because they are trying to be the alpha? Are they an embarrassment to us or a bad reflection on our ability to control another living being?

Everyone wants a well-behaved dog, but contrary to popular belief, a well-behaved dog is not the same as a controlled, obedient dog.

What we need to focus on is building connection, relationship and a deeper bond with our dogs.
Focusing on these things is often the answer to many behaviour problems. When this is in place it results in a dog that chooses to do the right thing, wants to be connected to us, feels safe and secure in their environment and builds resilience from having a secure base to rely on.

Take the focus away from control and obedience and instead focus on building a connection with your dog. When we have established connection and built a secure relationship our dogs will automatically be more “obedient’’ not because they are forced to but because they freely choose to.

21/04/2023

🐾 Join us for a 4 week Puppy Skills Crash Course🐾

This course covers skills such as sit, down, leave-it, focus as well as loose-lead walking, handling, relationship and confidence building, socialisation, managing and preventing typical puppy problems and lots of fun!

This course is open to puppies from 9 weeks - 4 months old.
Space is very limited!
Course starts 6 May at Paws Park in Midstream.

🐾Contact us:
067 239 2396
[email protected]

18/04/2023

"How would you like it?"

16/03/2023

Join us for group classes 💙🐾🐕

🐾 Class information:
- Puppy skills (puppies up to 4 months)
- Teenage skills (dogs older than 4 months, with no prior training)
- Life skills (dogs older than 4 months, with prior training)

🐾 Classes include:
Socialisation, handling, improving your relationship, appropriate skills building, preventing and managing typical problems, body awareness, confidence building, and much more!

🐾Contact us:
067 239 2396
[email protected]

14/03/2023

Puppy skills - confidence building fun 💙🐾

22/02/2023

Biting is just one of the challenges of raising a puppy. Remember that puppy biting is normal: puppies use their mouths to explore and play. Their mothers started teaching them bite inhibition when they were with her, but it's up to us to teach them how we do want to play 💙🐾

14/02/2023

Share this valentine's day with someone who truly loves you unconditionally: your dog ❤️🐾 Happy valentine's day!