Better Dog School in Wahroonga, New South Wales, Australia | Dog trainer

Better Dog School

Locality: Wahroonga, New South Wales, Australia

Phone: +61 414 560 646

Address: 71C Hampden Ave 2076 Wahroonga, NSW, Australia

Website: http://www.betterdogs.com.au/

Likes: 65

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• Pet service
• Dog trainer

19.01.2022 All over, red Rover. The second traffic-light colour we use with behaviour is red. Red is Rover's way of saying "I'm scared!!!" and is at his emotional limit.... A couple of things happen in red zone: - Rover stops listening and stops taking food. - He can't respond to requests or learn from us. - He feels intense emotions, like fear. - Everything he does is automatic. It's like another dog is in control, and the Rover we know has taken a back seat. The best thing to do when Rover is red is end the situation and take him away to calm down. Why does red happen? Well if there's genuine danger around, red is normal and Rover's will respond in one of three ways: 1. Flight. Meaning, run away!!! 2. Freeze. e.g. playing possum. 3. Fight. Fronting up, showing aggression. Red can happen in everyday life, but it should be rare. If you think you see red more often, that's something we can help with so give us a call. What kind of body language goes with red? Who can give some examples? :) And what about this picture, do we think it's red? Or is it just play? (Hint: No Beagles were harmed in the taking of this pic :D)

13.01.2022 Speaking of amazing clients and dogs, meet Sasha, a bee-yoo-tee-ful German Shorthaired Pointer who's also getting help from Vet Behaviour Team. She started out really anxious around all kinds of noises but her owners have helped her make such incredible progress. In this week's breakthrough it now just takes a "Yes!" to distract her from barking at something startling and bring her running for a treat to help her recover quickly. Doesn't she look regal! :)

12.01.2022 Does your dog fiddle? Yes they do! Every dog does, and so do humans in fact. Fiddles are stress behaviours that dogs show if they feel worked up, including when they're anxious or frustrated. If emotions are like traffic lights, we use the colour "orange" to describe the emotions that go with fiddles. Orange usually means "Slow down! Please stop!", that the dog is worried and doesn't want to continue.... Trainers describe fiddles as looking "odd" or "out of context", and actually that's one way to spot them. It means that if you're dog does something and you can't spot a need for it, it's probably a fiddle. Examples of common fiddles in dogs: - Licking their lips, without any food around - Panting heavily even though they haven't run - Yawning! Even though they're totally awake and good to go - Leaning on you even though their own legs work just fine - Licking you even though you're not dripping in honey (truly, you're not that tasty without it... :) ) Plus dozens more behaviours ranging from the obvious to the subtle. Do you think you can spot the fiddle? Try this photo. (It's a slightly harder example). If you think your dog fiddles lots and want to know more about why, get in touch with us for info.

12.01.2022 All over, red Rover. The second traffic-light colour we use with behaviour is red. Red is Rover's way of saying "I'm scared!!!" and is at his emotional limit.... A couple of things happen in red zone: - Rover stops listening and stops taking food. - He can't respond to requests or learn from us. - He feels intense emotions, like fear. - Everything he does is automatic. It's like another dog is in control, and the Rover we know has taken a back seat. The best thing to do when Rover is red is end the situation and take him away to calm down. Why does red happen? Well if there's genuine danger around, red is normal and Rover's will respond in one of three ways: 1. Flight. Meaning, run away!!! 2. Freeze. e.g. playing possum. 3. Fight. Fronting up, showing aggression. Red can happen in everyday life, but it should be rare. If you think you see red more often, that's something we can help with so give us a call. What kind of body language goes with red? Who can give some examples? :) And what about this picture, do we think it's red? Or is it just play? (Hint: No Beagles were harmed in the taking of this pic :D)

11.01.2022 September update Thrilled to share I'm now able to offer even more time to dog behaviour problems as I focus almost all my work on being a specialist rehabilitation trainer for dogs receiving vet behaviour treatment. It's wonderful work and a big shout-out to all my fantastic clients and their amazing furry companions, it's awesome to be working with you! I won't be able to run group classes for a while at least, but that's okay - I do home visits instead for all kinds of behaviour help, and also training for assistance & therapy dogs, so just shout out. Meanwhile, I couldn't resist sharing this pic of my girl Ashi, who's showing not only her natural talent for supreme comfort, but also her 'sheer excitement' at today's news :D Ah well, at 13 sleep should come first, shouldn't it? :)

10.01.2022 Does your dog fiddle? Yes they do! Every dog does, and so do humans in fact. Fiddles are stress behaviours that dogs show if they feel worked up, including when they're anxious or frustrated. If emotions are like traffic lights, we use the colour "orange" to describe the emotions that go with fiddles. Orange usually means "Slow down! Please stop!", that the dog is worried and doesn't want to continue.... Trainers describe fiddles as looking "odd" or "out of context", and actually that's one way to spot them. It means that if you're dog does something and you can't spot a need for it, it's probably a fiddle. Examples of common fiddles in dogs: - Licking their lips, without any food around - Panting heavily even though they haven't run - Yawning! Even though they're totally awake and good to go - Leaning on you even though their own legs work just fine - Licking you even though you're not dripping in honey (truly, you're not that tasty without it... :) ) Plus dozens more behaviours ranging from the obvious to the subtle. Do you think you can spot the fiddle? Try this photo. (It's a slightly harder example). If you think your dog fiddles lots and want to know more about why, get in touch with us for info.

08.01.2022 Keeping Cool! How many dogs can you fit in a server room? Well that depends how hot it is outside... ;) Hope everyone in Sydney is finding relief from the weather today. It's over 39C here and the dogs are at work with me so magically found the coolest place in the office ...right below the air con.... How do your dogs keep cool? Here's some tips for hot days: - Many buckets of water in shady places. One isn't enough. - Clam shell pools to dive into, they can always dry off later. - Offer wet towels to lie on in their usual places. - Make sure there's 100% shade, e.g. a fully insulated roof or along the south side of a tall building. - Scatter ice blocks to play with or freeze large Kongs to lick. - Run a misting sprinkler on a timer, you can get these from Bunnings. Check Water Wise Rules in your area first. - Or bring them inside to sit with you - you'd be hot outside too! And remember, don't exercise in the heat - you can always wait till tomorrow.

03.01.2022 September update Thrilled to share I'm now able to offer even more time to dog behaviour problems as I focus almost all my work on being a specialist rehabilitation trainer for dogs receiving vet behaviour treatment. It's wonderful work and a big shout-out to all my fantastic clients and their amazing furry companions, it's awesome to be working with you! I won't be able to run group classes for a while at least, but that's okay - I do home visits instead for all kinds of behaviour help, and also training for assistance & therapy dogs, so just shout out. Meanwhile, I couldn't resist sharing this pic of my girl Ashi, who's showing not only her natural talent for supreme comfort, but also her 'sheer excitement' at today's news :D Ah well, at 13 sleep should come first, shouldn't it? :)

03.01.2022 Speaking of amazing clients and dogs, meet Sasha, a bee-yoo-tee-ful German Shorthaired Pointer who's also getting help from Vet Behaviour Team. She started out really anxious around all kinds of noises but her owners have helped her make such incredible progress. In this week's breakthrough it now just takes a "Yes!" to distract her from barking at something startling and bring her running for a treat to help her recover quickly. Doesn't she look regal! :)

02.01.2022 Keeping Cool! How many dogs can you fit in a server room? Well that depends how hot it is outside... ;) Hope everyone in Sydney is finding relief from the weather today. It's over 39C here and the dogs are at work with me so magically found the coolest place in the office ...right below the air con.... How do your dogs keep cool? Here's some tips for hot days: - Many buckets of water in shady places. One isn't enough. - Clam shell pools to dive into, they can always dry off later. - Offer wet towels to lie on in their usual places. - Make sure there's 100% shade, e.g. a fully insulated roof or along the south side of a tall building. - Scatter ice blocks to play with or freeze large Kongs to lick. - Run a misting sprinkler on a timer, you can get these from Bunnings. Check Water Wise Rules in your area first. - Or bring them inside to sit with you - you'd be hot outside too! And remember, don't exercise in the heat - you can always wait till tomorrow.