Our beloved pooches can develop guarding behaviours around any resource they value. This could be their food, favourite toys, favourite sleeping spot, their owner, anything. There are a number of factors to consider when your dog is showing resource guarding behaviour. Management is vital. When we are working on a behaviour modification program to reduce resource guarding behaviours, we want to initially set up safe and controlled environments. If situations…
Toilet training your new puppy..... First of all, congratulations! It is such an exciting time welcoming a new puppy into your family. However it can also be a challenging time when you are faced with so much differing knowledge and opinions on how best to raise a new puppy - especially if this is the first time you have owned a baby puppy. One of the biggest challenges for many…
The recall is easily the most important behaviours to teach your dog, and also the most common reason dog owners will want to attend a dog training class or get a dog trainer out to their home. Most dog owners will say that their dog comes when they call them at home, or when they have food, or 'when their dog feels like it'. So how do we teach our…
Mouthing, nipping, tugging at your clothes? Sounding familiar? It is a very normal behaviour for puppies, but one that is important to address, and quickly. Puppies teach each other how to have a soft bite by yelping when the teeth clench a little too painfully hard. Following this they will stop playing with their sibling and the biter will learn next time to not bite so hard in order to keep the…
So often toileting issues can come up in adult dogs too. Bolton had recently moved into a new house with his Mum and understandably, everyone was nervous about any toilet issues arising given it was a new rental with new carpet put in. Up to this point, Bolton had been a super star with his toileting behaviour. He had been trained to use a wee mat in the home, and…
Teaching your dog that an open door isn't a cue to bolt for freedom is something many dog owners struggle with. Having a reliable ‘wait’ and 'release' cue before going through any doorways, crossing the road, jumping out of the car, and many other scenarios, is critical for your dog’s safety. Building an association between open doors and waiting to be invited to go through is one way to ensure…
What is motivating your dog? It’s important to think outside the box when training your dog with positive rewards-based training techniques. To see positive and desirable changes in your dog's behaviour, we must first identify what your dog truly finds rewarding. It is also vital to identify what is motivating for your dog at particular moments in time and allow that to inform how we respond to their behaviour. It…
The dog training and behaviour industry has grown exponentially over recent decades as more and more families welcome dogs into their homes and hearts as a much loved family member and an integral part of daily life. Our pet dogs have had to adapt to our modern and busy lifestyles, and in many instances pet dog owners are needing to seek the services of dog training and behaviour consultants for…
