Dog Charming in Rockingham, Western Australia | Dog trainer

Dog Charming

Locality: Rockingham, Western Australia

Phone: +61 419 905 466

Address: Mobile service all areas: Perth metro, Southern suburbs, Rockingham, Mandurah 6168 Rockingham, WA, Australia

Website: http://dogcharming.com.au/

Likes: 3820

Add/Update information

Reviews

Tags

• Pet service
• Dog trainer

25.01.2022 The Halloween Grinch. Oh, and I lied. There's no tofu.

25.01.2022 Oh the joys of a serene 3 dog house.

24.01.2022 love this Artist: @maki410723 on IG

23.01.2022 Meet Emma, the schnauzer and Tony, the kitten. Their caregiver wanted to give them the best possible chance of cohabiting in a small living area. They had a video consult where I outlined how to introduce them safely, keep them safe when not supervised and how to meet a kitten's/cat's needs to prevent behaviour problems that may arise from inadequate environmental arrangement. An example of an overlooked aspect of cohabiting cats or cats and dogs is litter tray access and mu...ltiple escape routes. It's fine to have high areas for a cat to escape to and survey the world. Not so great if the dog or another cat sits on the ground in front of the only exit from that vantage point. It may then become more like a stake out than a viewing platform. Little did I know they would take all my dot points and design a purpose built area that met Tony's needs. They blew my mind. Well done, guys, well done. See more

23.01.2022 A sneak peak of Bax's consult.This is baseline footage of his behaviour and the context in which it occurs. This problem wasn't going to get brushed under the carpet. It's really important to see what evokes a behaviour and what might be reinforcing it. But that's not my job done and dusted. I then offer suggestions which involve prevention as well as training alternative behaviours in place of the problem behaviour. Each plan is as individual as each dog and family. I think the plan for Bax will be a sweeping success Broom ... I mean Boom!

23.01.2022 Check out this behaviour chain that I taught Scout. A behaviour chain is exactly what it sounds like: a chain of discrete behaviours occurring one after the other when given a single cue. This particular chain is evoked by the cue "go to bed". But note how many behaviours are actually occurring when Scout is asked to "go to bed". Can you spot them all? Have a go at listing them below. Would you like to know how to teach this to your dog? If so, would you prefer a single video tutorial or would you like to follow along live on Facebook as I teach this same task to Willow, the Rhodesian Ridgeback. That could be quite hilarious. She is no labrador, but I'm sure she'll learn it just as well as Scout did. ;-) If I get enough interest, I'll get cracking. https://youtu.be/KcnhbDU3_iA

23.01.2022 Things my dog teaches me. Patience. Understanding. Problem solving. Priorities. Humility. Willow avoided these stairs at the beach. I tried treats but she would not eat when close to them. So I found an entry without stairs the first two times. I must admit, they do look formidable from a dog's view both up and down. On our third visit I stood at the top and waited. Lead loose. Not asking her to do anything with my voice or body language. Just facing the way I was hoping ...we'd go at times. After 10 minutes, a raised paw and cautious sniff, down she went. Same process for up. 1. Patience. What's the point of rushing? It only ruins our quality time together and stresses us both. It looks like time is one of the things she needed. I've got plenty of that. 2. Understanding. There could have been any number of reasons stairs proved to be a barrier: the visible gaps, the shifting sand on top, the gradient, the length, the size of steps, the width or hand rails. No point saying there's nothing to worry about, get over it. Whatever the reason, it's real to her. 3. Problem Solving. What to do when treats don't cut it? Eliminate as much coercion as possible (that includes nagging! ), keep the lead loose, use distance and control as a reinforcer (she is free to move away at any time), be ready to give tactile or verbal reinforcement and follow her lead. Visit with no preconceived time frame. This was the third visit. I was prepared to do many more. 4. Priorities. I was also prepared to do no more if she said no. If there are other entrances and this is the first time in two years we've needed to traverse stairs like this, how important, in the scheme of things, is it? This was important enough for me to try. The more new experiences Willow conquers, the quicker she gets at conquering the next new thing. But it wasn't essential and there was no time line. 5. Humility. I sometimes have to remind myself not to be concerned about what observers (or my inner critic) may think of the dog trainer with the dog who won't use the stairs! But hey, I don't have to worry about this one any more 'coz my dog DOES use stairs. Well, today anyway. See more

23.01.2022 The Willie Wagtails are nesting in the front yard. Every time Willow and I go out the front they go into dive-bombing mode. I've tried to make friends with them before but they usually fly away. Things have changed now that they have babies (motivating operations) and they now come close to get us to move away. I want to change the chattering and pecking behaviour, particularly for poor Willow who has a constant spitfire on her tail. I decided to be the bearer of mealworms ev...ery time Willow and I went outside, so that the Willies came closer for the food rather than to get rid of us. I would put mealworms on the letterbox where I know they frequent, walk away and let them enjoy the buffet. Gradually I would move closer and be able to toss mealworms to them, thus getting them to dive-bomb for food rather than at poor Willow. In this way I might change the aggressive chattering and dive-bombing to evict us. My plan was to document the slow and steady progress of gradually decreasing distance over time and finally being able to throw the worms without scaring them or evoking aggression or escape. I have never been so happy when a plan is foiled. Today was day two and one of the Willies was waiting for me on the letterbox for breakfast. I turned to leave and felt the featherlight weight of two little feet on my back as I went to get more worms. Then he kept landing on my hand, hurrying me to dig out more worms which he either swallowed or took back to the nest. His partner, however, is not so convinced and is keeping her distance and a keen eye on Willow. I'm hoping she will eventually be encouraged by her mate's fearless advances.

22.01.2022 I fixed it so it's PERFECT.

21.01.2022 A bit of dog faming. This crazy wee girl amazes me.

21.01.2022 Meet Frank and Gus. Living together was getting a little hectic with Frank wanting to play and bite Gus a lot more than Gus wanted. (And for once it wasn't the labrador who was the "crazy" one! LOL in joke for all lab lovers out there) Lovely message from the caregivers: "Hi Sonya, amazing difference today with the training techniques now in place. Such calm behaviour just laying and sitting next to each other." I went in, did an assessment of where and when the problem behaviours occurred, what it looked like and we walked through a plan to address it. It was successful during our practice runs but the real test of whether a behaviour change plan is going to work is when I'm not there and caregivers have to implement it. So you can see how encouraging this feedback is. Well done Team Gus and Frank. So proud of you.

21.01.2022 Podcast Part 2. Thanks Zuri. Miss you forever. Thanks Ryan Cartlidge for this collaboration. "This is one of the most tear jerking episodes we've ever done! @ one point both our special guest Sonya Bevan and myself were each dropping tears into our mics! - https://bit.ly/ATA_Sonya_2 Very grateful for the brave learning that occurred where Sonya shared about about life, training & husbandry by supporting and caring for a learner who went through the experience of becoming an... amputee because of cancer! We hope it's content helps others on their own personal journeys! With Love Ryan Cartlidge & Sonya Bevan

21.01.2022 I'm loving mixing it up on our morning walks. Still on the "wait at the curb" theme. I'm changing the rules today and not getting Willow to wait until I return to her each time. Sometimes I'll return and reinforce her for waiting, other times I'll release her to cross the road with the verbal cue "OK". Points to note: 1) I vary the difficulty of each trial. Sometimes I'll ask her to wait and other times I'll see if she can wait automatically upon reaching the curb.... 2) Sometimes I stay close and immediately reinforce her for stopping at the curb. Other times I cross the entire road and release her to come to me. 3) I wait various times before releasing. 4) I don't increase the length of time in a linear fashion. I ping-pong between a longer wait at the curb with a shorter, easier wait. This strategy keeps her in the game by not getting harder and harder each trial. In this way, the difficulty sneaks up on her without her even realising and there's lots of relief in between. Dogs may walk away, start sniffing or looking away if training is predictably increasing in difficulty and the subsequent rate of reinforcement is also declining. And, most importantly, it keeps the training fun for both of us.

21.01.2022 The bed spot and pillow thief giving me side-eye.

21.01.2022 More reasons to love the Treat and Train. Willow home alone on my bed ... well ... you're never alone when you have the Treat and Train by your side #Willow #Treatandtrain #Mannersminder #separationanxiety

20.01.2022 So important to understand what behaviour is conveying. If you don't, you may be inadvertently distressing your "relaxed" bunny.

20.01.2022 I do not mind the mess of strewn toys on the floor at all. It's serious work nudging through the toy box for the toy that suits a particular mood.

19.01.2022 A proactive client.

19.01.2022 Ich hatte nichts anderes erwartet

18.01.2022 Willow has learnt to take her tablets without me hiding them in food. (There are reasons I changed from hiding her pills in food.) I'm testing how strong the behaviour is. "Take it" is the signal to take the pill in her mouth and, hopefully, swallow. Will she come running from a snooze on the couch, away from being snuggled below the heater when she hears that it's pill time? Would you? If you reinforce it, they will come I freakin' love this behaviour stuff. I freakin' love this girl to bitty bits

18.01.2022 I didn't think I'd be able to get a photo of Willow wearing antlers this year. I left it way too late. It's important to me that whenever I take a photo of my dog with a silly hat (or antlers) it is a fun experience for both of us. I don't want to be pushed for time or revert to coercion in order to get that happy snap. Willow gave me the best Christmas gift ever: Our photo shoot took 5 minutes and we both had fun. As our gift to you, here is the video of our photo shoot from go to whoa. We hope it gives you ideas for getting those great photos of your dog (or any other pet). https://youtu.be/-4OJR0pgzAo

17.01.2022 All it takes is a leaf blower to show you that your Great Dane can eat your whole head one bite

17.01.2022 Today's lesson from Willow: Be observant and you might be surprised what your dog is learning. We've been having fun stopping at roadside curbs on our daily walks. Willow showed me that she has generalised the training to a new scenario, not just the road curb. We were walking to the car to go for a drive. I turned to see why she wasn't following me to see her waiting at the edge of the decking. Looks like she is making a connection with a change in surface being a signal to stop. Of course I snapped up this opportunity to spend a few seconds reinforcing this rather clever behaviour. Thanks for today's lesson Willow. You are the best teacher eva

17.01.2022 It's an age-old question - why do dogs eat grass? Tummy trouble? Parasite control? If you've ever wondered WHY your dog does it, then this article is for you. (Spoiler alert: Maybe they just like it.) https://bit.ly/31TwNya

17.01.2022 Very important to watch. When you know dog body language it makes sense. If you don't ... it's very dangerous. How to stress a dog. [Posted by FB.com/reisnervetbehavior] ... This was shared with me and is worth a few comments. Why is the dog reacting this way, and what is the woman doing wrong? A few thoughts. First, the snarl and growl are aggressive. While some dogs do exhibit a raised upper lip as an appeasement signal, appearing to "smile" with the corners of their mouths stretched back, the behavior in this video is a threat. Please keep in mind that the purpose of aggressive behavior -- the purpose of the threat -- is to get the person/dog/vet to go away. To disengage and back off. It is a defensive behavior. Why is the dog being defensive and threatening the woman? Because there is something about the interaction or the situation (probably both) that makes her uncomfortable. It could be that the dog was there first and woman sat down second; it could simply be sharing the sofa and being touched; it could also be the petting around her head, face to face or even the presence of the video/phone. All of these are potential triggers for anxious dogs. There is a great deal of stress associated with this behavior, especially when it's directed to an important human in the dog's life. This particular human doesn't understand what the dog is saying, so she is persisting not only in staying put, but touches the dog over and over again. This is a great example of ambivalent behavior. In other circumstances, the dog might love nothing more than being close. But being close does not equal being stroked, especially when "dog rules" are being violated: face to face proximity, sitting down next to a resting/sleeping dog; touching a resting/sleeping dog. The dog is stuck: 1. "Stop stroking my face and staring at me." (snarls, growls). 2. "Please understand that I am bonded with you and need you in my life. You can stay close." (nudges arm). 3. "Stop stroking my face and staring at me" (snarls, growls). 4. "Please understand that I am bonded with you and need you in my life. You can stay close." (nudges arm). 5. Rinse and repeat. We need to pay attention to what dogs are saying to us if we expect them to be safe, happy family members. This woman is lucky the aggressive behavior is inhibited. This sweet dog is socially appropriate and clear about her intentions. The woman, though? She would benefit from taking a course in Dog as a Second Language. [If you choose to share the above comments, you will need to manually copy and paste them along with the video. Please include attribution to this page: FB.com/reisnervetehavior] #vetbehavior #vetbehaviordogs

16.01.2022 2nd Monday of the MONTH 7-8pm

16.01.2022 Willow's signature morning move. My little ray of sunshine. Especially today. Makes missing Zuri on her 11th birthday a little more bearable. And yes, Willow does have a heavy head

16.01.2022 It feels like an eternity ago. Still get a heavy lump in my heart watching her as well as feeling incredible love.

16.01.2022 Zuri spoiling my attempt at making a tutorial on how to get a dog used to a life vest in incremental stages. Made me so happy.

16.01.2022 I'm disappointed too, Clive Wynne

15.01.2022 If you are a visitor to my house be prepared to help me with training Willow has learnt to take a pill, not hidden in food, when given the cue "take it". But will she choose to stop engaging in an enjoyable activity to take a pill? She loves cuddles/massage and is also getting a treat or two by my helper. I tried 2 ways; 1. First getting her attention with her name which has a strong history of reinforcement. 2. Using the " take it" cue alone. Thanks for the inspiration #kpcttrainingchallenge

15.01.2022 IMPORTANT: Facebook is preventing many pages from being seen in feeds indiscriminately in Australia and blocking some posts entirely: not related solely to the proposed legislation by the Australian Government. For example, videos reviewing headsets! So if you enjoy my free training videos and tips, here are some alternatives in case FB begins blocking more content suddenly: 1. Subscribe to my youtube channel https://m.youtube.com/user/Zurison 2. Subscribe to my email list... to receive free training info straight to your in box http://www.dogcharming.com.au/ 3. Follow DogCharming on Instagram (although that may be the next target if the contentious content moves there) 4. Subscribe to my blog (scroll to the bottom on phones to enter email) http://www.dogcharming.com.au/blog Thanks for following Dog Charming. You are the reason I create this content. See more

15.01.2022 More training out in the front yard with Willow. Recall away from chasing food thrown in front of her. If I can call her away from chasing food it is good preparation for a strong return from chasing other things.

14.01.2022 This week's training challenge from Ken Ramirez was giving medication. It's something I've been working on with Willow. She now runs to get her pills. Or more accurately, the cue "take it" is information there is an opportunity to gain reinforcement by taking a pill. I'm testing if she chooses to stay under the heater snoozing on the couch or comes get her pills. #kpcttrainingchallenge

14.01.2022 Willow using the Treat and Train as a pillow while I'm absent. This makes me happy. She didn't use to be able to eat when I was gone. Now she jumps on the bed when I pick up my keys. She can't wait to see the back of me and get stuck into the treasure hunt.

13.01.2022 Celebrate a first with me: Being a podcast guest. Grab a cuppa and listen to me crap on for a bit about my passion and how I got to do what I love so much (that's dog behaviour and training if you hadn't guessed already) Big shout out to Ryan Cartlidge from Animal Training Academy for the invite. It was a blast. And guess what .... there's a part 2! Once you start me talking, you can't shut me up https://www.animaltrainingacademy.com//traini/sonya-bevan/

13.01.2022 Practising cold trial recalls out on a walk with Willow. On lead today because the reptiles are active. Mr Stumpy Tail crossed the path. I keep the lead slack so I can tell if Willow comes at the verbal cue or because she's hit the end of the leash. If she doesn't come, it's short enough to prevent her getting more than 1m away. If I allow her to sniff a lizard, that could be reinforcing and weaken future recalls. Or create a pattern of sniff-then-come. Not too dangerous wit...h a stumpy but could be deadly with a snake. As an aside, I try to never let Willow walk off the path when off lead no matter what season. In winter the risk of snake bite may be less but I don't feel it's fair to change the rules suddenly in Summer and keep nagging her out of the bush. Consistency is important for strong behaviours and it makes for more harmonious walks as well. See more

11.01.2022 For those lucky enough to live in Perth, Dr Nicole's seminars are a wealth of information.

11.01.2022 Sonya was excellent in identifying our Harry's problem of high level anxiety and developing an ongoing program for us. Our first consultation with Sonya was at ...our place and Harry took nearly forty five minutes to settle his anxiety of a different person coming into the house. After Sonya provided an initial program for us the second consultation occurred one month later and to our surprise Harry anxiety subsided inside fifteen minutes. The ongoing program is seeing Harry continue to improve. Sonya has a unique ability to understand dogs and interpret issues. Her approach is professional and of the highest standard. We look forward to Harry's continued progress and are indebted to Sonya for her assistance See more

10.01.2022 Happy 10th anniversary K9 Care Obedience Training. Here's a great gift of 10 tips for dog training from Nikhil, a neat Perth trainer. https://youtu.be/XQgM-qBhaAY

10.01.2022 Sharing again because only the photo got shared last time. Willow had an echocardiogram this time last year. The news wasn't good but Willow is still here. I do appreciate her persistence

08.01.2022 Love this graphic from Woof Cultr, a company worth supporting. :)

08.01.2022 Great tips from a local trainer.

08.01.2022 Working on Willow's recall is ongoing. If I want us to enjoy off lead walks it's my responsibility to teach her to return when called from a variety of situations. Some of the reasons are: 1. For her safety. 2. Out of courtesy to others who may not like a dog to approach them no matter how friendly or those who are scared of dogs. 3. Out of courtesy to other dogs who may not like strange dogs approaching. 4. Legally the Dog Act states that the person with an off lead dog nee...ds to have "control". Once the foundation training is done, it's time to take training on the road. I do cold trials during our walks where she never knows when I will call. I start easy and get harder depending on what pops up. I always reinforce. Here's today's example of recall from distractions. * Sniffing bushes. * Running towards a lone person on beach (open area). * Two people approaching on path (narrower area). * Suddenly appearing over crest of hill: a pram, kids (noisy, moving eratically) and 2 adults. * Motor equipment being started. * Stationary dog on lead, people sitting facing away. I put Willow on lead for this one since this may be harder for her. If in doubt, use discretion and do not put a dog in a situation that may be unsafe. You will notice I mention number of people, the location, ages and type of movement. All these things matter and are important to consider when training. For instance I would not get this close to an unknown, off lead dog in a narrow, confined area who was running directly toward us. That is not the time to train: it's the time to take evasive action.

07.01.2022 Living and Learning with Animals Wisdom: "Reinforcement is an effect, not a thing."

06.01.2022 It's really important to know where your puppy has come from.

06.01.2022 Waking up to an uncomfortable, heavy dog head. And I love every second. Her signature morning move which disappeared on hot mornings for a while. It's cool this morning so she's ba-ack.

06.01.2022 Enrichment can take many forms. I've had a busy day. At knock off I had errands to run. I'd rather spend time with Willow. Why not combine the two things? She enjoys car rides and I swear she likes to watch the world go by. So we spent two hours together with a trip to the park thrown in for good measure. Watch her eyes and how intently she's observing. When Zuri was sick I used to take her for drives and park with the door open so she could people watch. When Gidget was in her critical period for socialisation and recovering from surgery I did the same on the busy foreshore. No matter what age or what restrictions a dog has, their needs can be met with some creative thinking.

05.01.2022 When you're over 40, it's 8pm & you try to squeeze in a film before bedtime.....

05.01.2022 Teaching Willow to: 1) Stay on her bed out in the front yard when I run away, and 2) Go to her bed and lie down when asked from a distance. When she left the bed I broke the stages down into more easily achievable steps and gradually increased the distance. This was in leui of a walk today as it was too warm and I was too weary. Training is awesome for enriching your dog's life: providing stimulation, exercise and quality time with you.

04.01.2022 Disney versus The Real World

04.01.2022 A year ago today. The news wasn't good but Willow is still here. I do appreciate her persistence

04.01.2022 I love this memory. I did get a lovely video with Scout demonstrating a sustained target in the end

04.01.2022 More lessons from Willow. I opened the pill dispenser to get her medication out. Then got sidetracked watching the TV. Willow started barking at me. OMG she is asking to take her medication. Or, more precisely, the click of the pill dispenser has ALWAYS been followed by "take it" (take your pills) which has been reinforced by cheese. So the pill box noise has become the signal to take pills and then get cheese. So hurry up with those pills woman! This is respondent and operant conditioning working in tandem.

03.01.2022 "After more than 8 years of service at Indianapolis Airport, TSA explosive detection canine TTirado has officially retired. He was adopted by his handler Keith ...Gray and will spend retirement at home with his family. Check out this clip of his final bag search and reward!" - TSA spokesperson Mark Howell See more

03.01.2022 OMG I totally forgot today was the day Willow bounded into my world 2 years ago. A little bandaid for a broken heart. Complete with Kermit the frog face

03.01.2022 Zuri Pink is back. Or technically magenta. My wonderful hair magician reminded me that I brought puppy Zuri in to the salon when I first got her. Slung over my shoulder in her little orange bag. Sure do miss my bud.

03.01.2022 Great memory of speaking at the APDT Australia.

03.01.2022 I would like to thank Sonya for all of her help in training my deaf dog. She made what I thought would have been a difficult job of training a deaf dog so much easier in such a positive way. Thank you again for all of your help! Daisy is doing so much better now.

02.01.2022 Willow has a new bed.

01.01.2022 IN THEIR OWN WORDS: KIKI YABLON & SCOUTTHE ICEMAKER SAGA. [Note from BW: This is the best 4:07 minutes you could possibly spend learning about teaching. Addi...tional discussion is taking place here: https://www.facebook.com/KikiYablonDogTraining/] "For those who have been following the saga of Scout and the ice maker: Her original response was to flee to the bathroom and press herself against the tub. When we attempted to just pair the ice maker with treats, we couldn’t get the intensity of the interaction with the ice maker low enough or the treat to her fast enough (without using a second person to deliver it) for her not to flee in between, and although she began to come back quickly to get the treat with happier body language, it appeared that some flight behavior was getting trained into the response. In retrospect, we could have tried this starting with her farther away, say, already in or towards the bathroom. But because the flight looked somewhat less intense, and she was wagging and approaching again quickly, we instead tried a procedure in which she learned that offering a pretrained stationary behaviorlying down on a matwould produce the pairing. This allowed us to both pair the ice maker with treats and capture behavior with those treats that was incompatible with moving away. Susan Friedman, with whom I have discussed this case, has suggested that letting her turn the ice maker on gave her a different repertoire of control than flight. In video 1 here, her mat is folded in half as a first step toward fading it out. She chooses to lie down on it quickly, and then after hopping up once, she stays on it and looks and wags her tail at mom to produce the ice-treat pairing. The stay is something she recently started offeringit was not requiredand we are capitalizing on it by delivering her treat to the mat instead of in her bowl as we previously did to reset her and see if she wanted to lie down again. In video 2, without the matthis is very interesting. There is some flight behavior, but we also get a loose tail wag and she returns and lies down again pretty quickly to get another rep. I’d like to see control over the behavior that we get with the mat transfer to the broader context, but looks like we’ll need to fade it more gradually to get there. Video 3 is what’s been happening when the ice dispenser is pressed outside of training, when she is in the living room or a bedroom. This is the ultimate goal! So for now, a treat will continue to be delivered when she comes running to the fridge, and when she is in closer proximity, we’ll continue to work on fading the mat." For more awesome demonstrations of clear, creative ABA applications, see https://www.facebook.com/KikiYablonDogTraining/

01.01.2022 There are many dog trainers in Perth. Some are amazing, some are so-so, and let's be honest, some are downright dodgy. Sonya is one of the amazing ones. She is ...patience at all times, English is my second language and I never felt that was a problem. It's a virtue that helped Emma and me (Emma is my dog) learn without feeling like she was getting annoyed with us. Sonya has sense humor, those days where we were not as good/quick, she always kept her sense of humor light-hearted. Creativity and Sonya are the same word, when Emma and I were struggling with the training, she revamp the environment so we could succeed. Sonya is well-equipped, every time we met she had a little bag of treats and clicker, laptop, notebook and other equipment was available according to our training of the day. I can not be more grateful and pleased with her job. 100% recommended. See more

01.01.2022 Happy New Year.

01.01.2022 Sonya provided some excellent advice for working with my little rescue dog Marley who is very aggressive on a lead. The 2 hour initial video consultation was fa...ntastic and I got a lot from it. I highly recommend engaging her services if you want to address problem behaviours with your dog. See more