Wise Dog Training

22/03/2025

Every now and again a beautiful dog comes around. This is Dexter (or Dex as she likes to be called). She is incredibly smart and just needs a little nudge in the right direction. I can't wait to work with her again her again.

07/01/2025

New Puppy in the home? Enroll now

Are you interested in giving your new puppy the best start in life? Join The Puppy Club socialisation classes at Kowie Veterinary Clinic.

🌟 Why Puppy Socialisation? 🌟

🐶 Build Confidence: Help your pup feel at ease in a new environment. Socialisation builds confidence and can potentially reduce fears related to novel experiences.

🐾 Build a positive relationship: These classes encourage the bond between you and your puppy and can teach your pup to focus on you and stay as calm as possible around other dogs and people.

🧡 Prevent Behavioral Issues: Early socialisation can help prevent behavioural concerns later on, giving your pup a solid foundation for a happy, well-rounded life.

⭐What to Expect:⭐

👣 Life Skills: While our classes focus mainly on socialisation and guardian education. We also incorporate basic training cues like sit, stay and recall using positive reinforcement and fear free training methods.

💡 Expert Advice: Classes are run by a qualified animal behaviour consultant who will be there to answer all your questions, providing invaluable tips on puppy care, behavior, and training.

🎊 Fun-filled Sessions: Each class will incorporate exciting confidence-building exercises, enrichment and/or gentle obstacle courses. Plenty of tail-wagging and giggles guaranteed.

🐕Who can join? 🐕
Pups between the ages of 10-16 weeks who have had their first two vaccinations are welcome to join.

🐾 The Puppy Club is a Hills sponsored puppy school 🐾

Don't miss out on this opportunity for you and your beloved pup to learn, grow, and potentially create lifelong friendships! Limited spots are available, so book your spot today.

📍 Location: Kowie Vet Clinic
⏰ Schedule: 6 week course
💵 Price: R700
📅 Date: 6th Feb @ 16:30 pm
📞 Contact: 082 851 9521
📬 [email protected]

07/01/2025

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

Changing a rescued dogs name can be a good thing.

If a dog has come from an unpleasant or abusive background, or even an unknown background, they may associate their name with negative experiences.

A previous owner may have shouted their name when doing something unpleasant to them.

Changing a dog’s name can be a fresh, new beginning and can provide an opportunity to rebuild broken trust and build new bonds.

There may be concern that changing a dog’s name will confuse them or may cause some form of emotional distress, but dogs really don’t see their names in the same way that we do.

Dogs really don’t care what we call them, as long as that name is associated with positive experiences it will be a good name.

A dog’s name is more important to us than it is to a dog. A name is really just a cue to get your dog’s attention so they respond.

The way a new name is introduced and taught is important. Care should be taken not to attach any negative associations with the new name.

The new name should always be paired with something positive whenever your dog hears the sound.
Call the new name and every time your dog reacts, responds or looks at you, reward this with a treat, lots of praise, a game or a toy.

Keep repeating this and dogs will quickly begin to associate their new name with something good about to happen and will start responding to the new sound in a positive way.

“It ain't what they call you, it's what you answer to.” - W.C. Fields. This quote sums up the importance of pairing a name with something positive so that it will always be what a dog wants to answer to.

A previous name may always be linked to a traumatic past, but a new name can be the beginning of a happy ever after and forever home.

13/12/2024

DON’T GET A DOG…UNLESS YOU CAN MAKE A COMMITMENT

In an ideal world dogs would be included as a family member and we would commit to sharing our time and life with them in the relatively short time they have on earth.

In an ideal world, we would take the time to learn about how dogs communicate through their body language, their emotions, their needs and keep learning about updated, modern, force free / pain free methods to understand or modify behaviour.

In reality, dogs are so often seen as an item of property, an object, a commodity to be bred and make money from, a cheap, replaceable security system, a garden decoration, a toy to play with when the kids are bored or an accessory that looks good while out walking, running or taking selfies.

Dogs are not objects, just like us they are sentient beings with the capacity to feel a range of emotions.

Dogs are naturally social beings and need to spend time with their human family.

A life spent confined to a backyard or fenced in with little or no human companionship is not a life.

They need love and attention, exercise and mental stimulation. They need routine, consistency and predictable patterns to feel safe and secure in our world.

Having a dog requires commitment, understanding, patience and dedication.

It’s hard work, it’s sometimes messy, dirty and stinky, it costs money and requires changes to our lifestyle.

It’s a decision that shouldn’t be taken lightly or without making a long term commitment, but the rewards of forming a secure bond with another sentient being can bring so much joy and enrichment to both our lives and theirs.

27/11/2024

We've been working with Whisky, a gorgeous 6 month old German Shepherd who is as smart as can be. He had a thing for vacuum cleaners, broom, mops and rakes which we seem to have sorted out.

21/10/2024

Introducing a 62kg Lab to a new puppy can be a daunting task. We did it the right way by taking them to a neutral area for the first meet. Everything worked out great thankfully.

18/10/2024

18/10/2024

ABILITY TO COPE MORE IMPORTANT THAN OBEDIENCE.

🟡In today’s fast-paced world, there’s often too much emphasis on ensuring dogs are obedient, while their ability to cope with an increasingly chaotic environment is overlooked. While being well trained is important, it should be secondary to helping our dogs develop resilience and emotional stability. The modern world presents dogs with constant noise, busy streets, and frequent changes to their environment, which can lead to anxiety or stress if they aren’t prepared to cope with these challenges.

🔴Research supports the idea that emotionally balanced dogs are more adaptable and capable of learning. A 2019 study from the University of Helsinki found that training that focuses on a dog’s emotional state, rather than just their behaviour, leads to a stronger overall ability to handle stress and unfamiliar situations. Dogs that are trained solely for obedience without addressing their mental resilience can often struggle in unpredictable environments, which increases the risk of behavioural issues.

🟢When dogs are allowed to learn to cope first, their ability to navigate a busy world with confidence vastly improves. And more confident dogs respond better to training cues, not out of fear or command alone, but because they trust us and understand how to manage their environment. Building that foundation makes all other training a natural extension, rather than the primary focus.

🟣If we want our dogs to be truly well-adjusted, we must prioritise their emotional well-being and coping abilities. By shifting the focus, we are ensuring that dogs not only follow commands but also feel calm and capable in an ever-busier world.

14/10/2024

A beautiful Great Dane whose name is Kiara. A gangly girl but very smart. A pleasure to work with.

01/09/2024

This is R***r, a 5 year old Belgium Malinois. He is an amazing dog and a pleasure to work with.

09/05/2024

This is 4 month old Forrest, one of the smartest puppies I've worked with. He is also attending puppy socialisation classes with Ashleigh at Kowie Vet and doing very well. It's really nice working with puppies who are right in the middle of their critical learning and socialisation phases. We are going to have some fun.

05/03/2024

Well done all

22/02/2024

A Labradoodle called Lillie. This girl is very smart. We've been working on her recall with a whistle and she responded very quickly. Absolute fun working with her.

10/02/2024

Alaska has a great new home and she is just wonderful to work with. She had her first session with us today, giving us an opportunity to understand her beautiful character and have a lot of fun at the same time.

14/12/2023

RESEARCH REQUIRED!

Choosing a dog just because of the way they look.

We wouldn’t choose a partner or make a commitment to sharing our lives with someone based purely on the way they look – (I suppose there could be exceptions in some cases!)

We would first really get to know them, what kind of personality they have and who they really are before making that sort of commitment.

Yet people continue to choose dogs just because of the way they look.

Maybe they saw a dog like that in a movie that they enjoyed or maybe they just really like the way they look, without having any understanding or thought to learn about what that particular breed was selectively bred to do and what behaviour might be expected.

The way a dog behaves is not always specific to the breed. Dogs are individuals, with their own unique personality and their behaviour is shaped not only by genetics, but by specific life and learning experiences and environment, but problems can happen when the traits of that breed and their specific needs are not taken into account.

Some breeds may just simply not be compatible with a particular person or family’s needs, lifestyle, environment or expectations.

Is it fair or ethical to need to suppress, train out or even punish breed specific tendencies, calling them behaviour problems, when we hold a dog in a captive environment that is unsuitable for them.

First research the breed and learn all you can about potential traits and what to expect before making that choice.