The Smart Dog- Animal Behaviour and Training Centre

07/02/2025

The Smart Service Dogs – Guide Dogs-Difference

Smart Service Dogs – Guide Dogs - knows that every person who is blind is different from the next. So are we. We create a special partnership between each student and their dog guide – and support that partnership throughout their lives together.

We have added a new service to our Assistance Dog program to compliment it.

https://smartservicedog.co.za/guide-dogs/

For more information or application form, feel free to contact us on email: [email protected] or mobile: 0812704672

23/01/2025

This is so sad.

Ricky Gervais is paying tribute to his “beautiful” canine co-star in TV series After Life .

The Office and Extras star revealed on Wednesday (22 January) that the German shepherd who played his on-screen dog Brandy in the Netflix show has died.

Gervais said that he “hit it off straight away” with Vislor Antilly, who made the show his “favourite filming experience of all time”.

Vislor Antilly, also known as Anti, appeared in all 18 episodes of After Life, a show about a man grieving his wife’s death. In the show, Brandy helps Gervais’s suicidal character Tony come to terms with his loss.

Anti also appeared in Hollywood films Edge of Tomorrow and The Midnight Sky, which was directed by and starred George Clooney, as well as British TV shows Doc Martin and The Capture.

But it was After Life her owners considered her crowning achievement, with her bio reading: “Vislor Antilly is an animal actor, stunt performer and charity advocate. She played Brandy in After Life by Ricky Gervais and has a very silly tummy.”

The canine’s owners retired Anti in 2024 after a role in the ITV series Midsomer Murders.

News of Anti’s death was announced on an Instagram page dedicated to the dog, reading: “Vislor Antilly, After Life’s Brandy, has sadly passed away. We already miss her terribly. Sleep well ###

She died peacefully at her home in Oxfordshire at the age of 13.”

Gervais wrote in response: “This is such sad news. Anti was a beautiful soul.” He then shared a photo of himself with Brandy, writing on his social media pages: “Sad News. Anti, who played Brandy in After Life, has died. She was 13 and a very good girl.”

22/01/2025

When most people think of service dogs, they often imagine dogs that assist with tasks like guiding those with visual impairments or providing mobility support. But did you know that a service dog can also be trained to support individuals with emotional or mental health disabilities?
A Psychiatric Service Dog (PSD) is a specially trained service animal that performs tasks to assist with various psychiatric conditions, such as:
• Anxiety Disorders
• Mood Disorders
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
• Schizophrenia
• Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
• Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
• Dissociative Disorders
Are you curious about how a Psychiatric Service Dog can help you? We’ve created a detailed guide to explain their tasks and benefits.
If you believe a PSD could improve your quality of life, you can begin training your dog today to become a certified service animal. Our online Psychiatric Service Dog Training Course is designed to help you train your own dog to assist with your specific needs and meet legal requirements as a service animal.
Take the first step toward transforming your dog into a Psychiatric Service Dog and reclaiming control over your mental health journey.
If you have any questions about service dogs or our training programs, we’re always here to help.

https://www.caninelearningacademy.co.za/f/what-is-a-psychiatric-service-dog

16/01/2025

That's right from Panda's mouth.

We are launching our podcast series from the 1st February 2025.

We will be talking .

1 feb Service Dog
8 Feb Puppies
15 Feb Canine Hoopers.

Follow us for more.

06/01/2025

We have designed an unique hybrid module of training your dog as an Emotional Support Dog.
You will have access to our International Accredited online school.

Watch videos, read articles and support videos from the comfort of your lounge.
With over 1000 videos in our online library, we have a video for that problem as well.
Don’t Forget your dog’s getting Smarter.
Read this article:

https://www.caninelearningacademy.co.za/blog/emotional-support-animals-have-proven-benefit-for-those-with-mental-illness

For more information contact us on [email protected] or mobile 0812704672

05/01/2025

Its with sad news to have heard that one of the leading pioneers in force free training Karen Pryor has passed away. https://thesmartdog.co.za/sad-news-karen-pryor-has-died/

02/01/2025

As we leave 2024 behind us and enter 2025, we want to take a moment and look at our achievements in 2024.

We made new partnerships, relationships, and friends for life.

We train dogs for our clients or in our owner trained programs or even via our online school, from Guide Dogs, Mobility Dogs, Autism Support, Assistance Dogs and Well Being Dogs.

It would not have been possible to complete these journeys without our trainers, volunteers, dogs and our donors.

Thank you to everyone for your support in 2024 as we go into 2025 and lets continue this amazing journey in training Guide Dogs and Assistance Dogs together.

Fully Trained Dogs Available:

We have two amazing dogs available. They will be placed as fully trained assistance dogs that have extensive socialization, public access, task, and alert training. They have been to Durban Trail of Lights, Ushaka Aquarium, Berea Saps Crime Awareness Day, Shopping Centres, children's play grounds, parades, airports, schools etc.

If you are interested in getting a fully trained dog from us in ASAP [email protected]

27/12/2024

13/12/2024

The Smart Service dog team visited the Ushaka Marine World.

Dogs and handlers had an amazing experience agIn at this marine world.

13/12/2024

The Trail of Lights in Durban was amazing. Have you entered our competition?

Bring your families and kids down to this amazing event.

We had such fun last night, meeting new friends, old handlers, and amazing paw pals.