Heartful Hound

02/10/2025

“Blue decided to take a little break from training yesterday to soak up the sea view and feel the wind in his face. How cute is this guy? 🐾🌊💙”

10/09/2025

✨ Puppy Progress ✨

Today we added a little more challenge to Blue’s sit-stay — turning, walking away, returning, and even walking around him. 👏🐾

Blue and his owner absolutely nailed it! 💙 You better believe there were some bloopers along the way, but with patience and perseverance they smashed it. 🌟

Consistency + practice = confident, well-mannered pups! 🐶💪

Hill’s Pet Nutrition

03/09/2025

🐾✨ New Puppy Private Course ✨🐾

Blue and his lovely owner Milan kicked off their training journey today! 💙
This smart little pup nailed his sit, so we moved straight onto sit-stay, which he picked up in no time 👏.
We also worked on some fun socialization to build his confidence, enjoyed a snuffle mat session for some sniffy enrichment 🐽🌿, and of course showed Blue that the leash is for walking… not for eating 😅🐶.

So proud of this team and excited to see them grow together! 💕

Heartful Hound Hill’s Pet Nutrition

14/08/2025

Private lessons available, want to train your puppy, adolescent or adult companion and prefer to do it in private? Reach out and let's start the adventure.

14/08/2025

🚨 Before You Get a Belgian Malinois…

Yes, they’re gorgeous.
Yes, they’re insanely smart.
Yes, they can be the ultimate dog for the right person.

❌ But if you’re not super active, don’t have time for daily training, or have never owned a high-drive working dog…
A Malinois will eat your couch, dig to Australia, and remodel your house — all before lunch. 🐕💨

They need a job, hours of exercise, and mental challenges every single day.
Without it? They get frustrated, destructive, and often end up surrendered. 💔

💛 Be kind — choose a breed that matches your lifestyle.
A Malinois is a partner, not a pet you “fit in” around your life.

Im posting this as awareness, because this is my son's dream dog, but as I explained to him, until the time comes that we live the lifestyle to forfil the needs of a mali, we cannot get one.

13/08/2025

🌟 What an absolute honor to have been nominated and voted for!

🐾 Heartful Hound has been awarded 3rd place for Best Pet Training in Amanzimtoti, South Coast, KZN.

A heartfelt thank you to our amazing pet parents for trusting us with your furry family members. 💛 Your support inspires us to keep doing what we love most – nurturing emotional wellness in pets so they can live happy, balanced lives.

Here’s to many more tail wags, happy hearts, and positive paws! 🐶🐕‍🦺🐾

South Coast Sun thank you for providing people with a vote on services provided.

17/07/2025

Wow! What a lovely surprise to see Heartful Hound got 3rd place for the best of toti 2025.

Thank you so much for nominating and voting for us, we are truly humbled and appreciative of this award!

Looking forward to many more adventures with our clients and pet companions.

Heartful hound is proud to be a Hill’s Pet Nutrition Puppy training school. We will continue to strive for happy canine companions and owners.

Your companions well being, emotionally and physically is our first priority.

12/03/2025

Another great post from COAPE International on desensitizing your dog to cars or bicycles. A lot of dogs display fear when these are in sight (sometimes even just when hearing them). Here's an idea on how you can help your dog manage.

Ethology,Neuroscience,Applied Animal Behaviour,Sentient,Sentient beings,Emotions,Animal Welfare,Dog,Cat,Training,Dog behaviour,Cat behaviour,Animal behaviour,Animal rights,Enrichment,Agility,Dog agility,Cat toys,Dog toys,Animals,Behaviour courses,Behaviour problems,Naughty dog,Naughty cat

25/02/2025

There is never a reason to force your companion to face their fears.

THE FOOLISHNESS OF FLOODING

Using flooding as a behaviour modification technique involves exposing a dog to an intense amount of something they fear with the goal of eliminating that fear / anxiety / emotional response.

This approach is often recommended as a quick fix that achieves fast results.

Some examples of how flooding is used –
A dog fearful of water might be forced into a pool and prevented from escaping.

A reactive dog may be forced into a “sit” near other dogs or people and be punished for any signs of reactivity.

A dog afraid of loud noises might be forced to stay in a room while loud sounds play, with no way of escape.

In flooding theory, once a dog stops reacting, the fear has been cured, but at what cost?

Flooding is traumatic and may cause extreme stress, anxiety and even more long-term fear related problems, increasing negative associations.

Flooding often causes learned helplessness - an emotional coping mechanism that may look like a dog is completely “cured”, but in reality, they have shut down, given up, disengaged, become emotionally numb and detached. There is no other choice because no matter how hard they try there is no longer any point in trying to escape or react.

Flooding can destroy the trust our dogs should have in us. Dogs depend on us to advocate for them, protect them and keep them feeling safe from whatever they’re afraid of.

Flooding prioritises achieving quick fixes over emotional wellbeing and a safe and supportive environment.

Using modern, scientific, effective, ethical and humane modification methods like positive reinforcement, counterconditioning or desensitisation is the answer to achieving positive learning experiences, to build trust, relationship, safety and in turn, long lasting behaviour change.

The harm and negative consequences that flooding causes is certainly not worth it.

“In the soil of the quick fix is the seed to a new problem” …. Wayne Muller

24/02/2025

This is a great resource if you are wanting to introduce your dog to a harness or having a hard time in doing so. COAPE International

Ethology,Neuroscience,Applied Animal Behaviour,Sentient,Sentient beings,Emotions,Animal Welfare,Dog,Cat,Training,Dog behaviour,Cat behaviour,Animal behaviour,Animal rights,Enrichment,Agility,Dog agility,Cat toys,Dog toys,Animals,Behaviour courses,Behaviour problems,Naughty dog,Naughty cat

14/02/2025

Happy Valentines day.

09/01/2025

Emotional saftey is just as important as physical saftey!

There is often a discussion of certain training practices providing "safety" for dogs. Particularly in the use of shock collars, that shock collars provide 'safety' for a dog being off a leashed line. The truth of the matter is that these things fail, often in spectacular, dangerous fashions. But the key that is missed in these discussions is that physical safety is not the only priority in dealing with our dogs. Emotional/Mental safety are JUST as important. Some might argue in many ways they are even more of a priority.

The feeling of being safe, emotionally, reduces reactivity, aggression, distraction, and things like bolting/disappearing/escape. It is not enough that our dogs are just physically safe, we need to ensure they FEEL safe as well. For me my top priority is always; everyone is safe. First and foremost. But in that umbrella I consider the emotional well being of the animals and their human counterparts as just as significant as the physical safety of their dogs. Because when we feel safe, confidence, exploration, bonding, and strong relationships follow.

It is not possible for a living being to feel safe in an environment where physical harm for 'wrong' action is ever-present. That is not how punishment avoidance works. (The brain cannot seek to avoid punishment AND seek reinforcement, it can only do one at a time.) As part of my commitment to Safety First I actively avoid punishment techniques, force and coercion in teaching, because it allows my learners to always feel safe with me.

Safety First: Physical. Emotional/Mental. For everyone involved.