Total Dog Mid Coast / Hastings | Businesses

Total Dog Mid Coast / Hastings

Phone: +61 403 779 336

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22.01.2022 Today we had the pleasure of hosting staff from Pampaw'd Pets as well as other industry professional from Sydney Dogs and Cats Home, Forbes Council, Hills Shire Council and Lane Cove Council for our Safe Dog Handling Workshop. Bodo is getting slower in his old age and takes a while to warm up but he still loves his work and laps up all the attention.

22.01.2022 Our Sydney course last night.

22.01.2022 I'm re-sharing this post from last month as this is happening more and more; dog owners employing industry operatives incapable or not prepared to do the work f...or which they are retained. I often hear calls from people within the industry that regulation is needed; I agree. I also believe many of those making these calls are the ones from whom the industry needs regulation. Today I witnessed the outcome of many months of behaviour modification training from a self proclaimed behaviour specialist from the "Cesar Milan" school knowledge, who has had no formal training in behaviour and holds no industry qualifications. His training report and subsequent temperament assessment begs belief. His strategies did not address the issues of the dog and his recommendation were based on abstinence seemingly borne of a total lack of knowledge. The dog was only walked in quite times to avoid interaction with people and other dogs and was locked away when people came to the house. Needless to say the dogs' behaviour was deteriorating. The "behaviour specialist" believed this was sufficient for Council to revoke a Menacing Dog Order and provided a report to Council even though the dog still had severe aggression issues. I should not have been surprised with what I saw when I went to assess the dog today. YES, THE INDUSTRY NEEDS TO BE REGULATED FROM THESE PEOPLE. On the flip side we have the industry operatives from the Delta Society / Pet Professional Guild Australia school of knowledge who are totally incapable of dealing with serious behaviour issues yet take the moral high ground touting their emotive propaganda "yummy treats and a cocktail of drugs will fix all"; right up until the dog is euthanised. YES, THE INDUSTRY NEEDS TO BE REGULATED FROM THESE PEOPLE. Do your homework people before employing a trainer for a dog with behaviour issues. Ask for references from former clients with similar issues ..... DON'T GET FLEECED BY UNSCRUPULOUS OPERATIVES.

21.01.2022 I recently had a client who was confused about what he had been reading on dog safety and warning signs of aggression. Many organisations post dog safety awareness tips. Much of the advice given is great, practical and concise advice. Messages can start to get confusing when totalitarian statements are made about more complex types of canine body language such as appeasement gestures. No one visual indicator is a definitive sign of a dogs’ mindset. So let’s add a bit of clari...ty. Appeasement gestures signify stress or anxiety in a dog but can often be hard to interpret because they may be normal behaviours but occur out of context. It is also of note that appeasement gestures may be borne of both good and bad stress. Common appeasement gestures are tongue flicking and yawning. These are normal behaviours but may indicate stress when observed out of context to the situation. Appeasement gestures do not necessarily signify fear or aggression in a dog; they indicate stress which may be borne of negative or positive situations. For example if your child is playing ball with your dog, the dog may display appeasing gestures while waiting for the ball to be thrown; he’s excited. If your child is ‘play’ wrestling with your dog and the dog is flicking his tongue and appears detached from the interaction; the dog is stressed and outside his comfort zone. In conclusion, the whole situation needs to be observed in totality to determine safe interactions, and even then err on the side of caution. I use this video to demonstrate appeasement gestures and how they may be misinterpreted to students on their Cert III in Dog Training and Behaviour.

20.01.2022 "What refutes science: Better science". Or when the "science" fails when tested !!! Testing an hypothesis is at the core of science. This is seemingly forgotten by many in the dog industry. If the evidence does not support the science, like the quoted study, it is just another unsubstantiated hypothesis. The copied post is from the president of the propaganda mill, the Pet Professional Guild Australia.... No quality operative in the dog industry would state punishment is more effective than reward; 95% of training would be based on positive reinforcement. But, it is difficult to communicate to the dog, among other things, desired and undesired behaviours without the use of some form of punishment; punishment can be as simple as a conditioned verbal marker such as no. I had a client a few years ago who had a seven month old dog who was biting the owner when playing or when excited. There was no aggression involved but the dog was leaving nasty bruises on the owner. At the time the owner was attending classes with trainer who subscribes only to positive reinforcement training. After a number of lessons the behaviour and injuries were continuing to get worse. When the trainer could not modify the behaviour her solution was simply He’ll grow out of it. IF & WHEN ??? The reason I use this example is that the solution was so simple; marking the behaviour with a verbal no and ceasing all play and interaction. This trainer still maintains you should never say no to a dog, the dog should have the choice and saying no to a dog may have detrimental effects on a dogs’ mental state. This is nothing short of absurd. To infer that a purely positive approach is just as effective or even better to a more balanced approach where all quadrants are employed is just fanciful! What happens when purely positive methods fail? Put simply the veterinary behaviourists that conduct these propaganda studies tend to benefit. There’s a reason why studies aren’t commissioned between the effectiveness of purely positive training as compared to a more balanced approach. I’ve posted numerous articles over the years on the short comings of the mainstream veterinary behaviourist industry and I’m not going to rehash it here. Don’t be fooled by emotive idealism that set dogs and their owners up for failure, often at great expense. The proof of the pudding is in the eating!

20.01.2022 11th November, Remembrance Day May we remember: those who paid the ultimate sacrifice, those who served, those who suffer, the families of all and those providi...ng support for all. A prayer for those currently serving overseas and all members of our Defence Force. We remember our Infantry Tracker Dogs, the Engineer EDD's, RAAF MWD's, Army MPD's and Special Operation Dogs. They serve and have served and we remember those who also paid the ultimate sacrifice. Lest we never forget today or any other day.

19.01.2022 EXPRESSION OF INTEREST - SAFE DOG HANDLING, APPREHENSION & BITE PREVENTION WORKSHOPS. Since the state government announced the relaxing of some Covid 19 restrictions, I have had a number of inquiries regarding safe dog handling workshops. It is my intention to recommence courses only on an expression of interest basis from mid June and subject to current hygiene and distance protocols. Only minor curriculum changes will be made.... Workshops are designed for dog industry professionals and cover: i. Canine behaviour, ii. Visual indicators to a dog’s mindset, iii. Body language and hormonal release, iv. Approaching unfamiliar dogs, v. Correct utilisation of protective equipment, vi. Correct utilisation of poles, snares, muzzles and leads, vii. Defensive tactics for attacking dogs, viii. Apprehending aggressive dogs, ix. Injured dogs. x. Bite Stick utilisation (optional) To register your interest or for more information I may be contacted via this page, email [email protected] or on 0403 779 336

18.01.2022 IS YOUR DOG PREPARED FOR A ROUTINE CHANGE WHEN YOU RETURN TO WORK ? There is now a light at the end of the tunnel to resuming some form of normality to our daily lives in the coming weeks. It is important to remember if your daily routine at home has been altered by the Covid restrictions, you may have conditioned a new habitual routine for your dog. Dogs are creatures of habit and some don’t cope well with changes to routines; especially if separation stress or property dest...ruction has been a problem in the past. Now is the time to act if there is any chance that your dog may have developed a high level of dependence on your continual presence at home. Conditioning separation coping skills is an ongoing process; allowing your dog to continually shadow you is not going to be conducive to a well adjusted dog when you return to work. Resting on his/her own bed whilst you are watching TV, containment in a separate area while eating a chew and alone time in the backyard or another room is all important. This does not mean the dog is deprived of sufficient exercise, play, stimulation and quality family time. Desensitising to triggers that you are leaving the house will also be of great value. When you finally do go back to work remember exercise and stimulation is very important. A long walk or run every morning before departing for work is a necessity. Sniffing and foraging outside your property provides stimulation and tires the dog mentally. Boredom buster slow release toys may also be utilised. If in doubt seek advice BEFORE an issue arises. Separation issues will be a lot harder to address once you have returned to work.

18.01.2022 ** We Now Have Limited Training Vacancies for Obedience and Behaviour Modification ** From Friday 30 November until Thursday 5 December we have numerous vacancies for training and behaviour modification. From 9 December we’ll be on the road delivering safe dog handling workshops in Sydney and regionally. From the second week in December we’ll be back to taking normal bookings. So if you want that perfectly trained dog (well, almost perfect) for Christmas, get in early! We wil...l also be conducting group obedience training classes (possibly specialty classes) in Taree after Christmas. Details to follow. Contact us for more information.

17.01.2022 ** Expression of Interest ** It is Total Dog's intention to conduct a training and behaviour workshop in Taree during July / August. The workshop will cover principles of training, basic obedience, establishing structure & boundaries, modification of common nuisance & behaviour problems and some safe handling an bite prevention protocols. ... This will be a whole day workshop (on a Saturday or Sunday) and open to a limited number of working positions (training conducted with your own dog) and auditor positions. All working positions will be considered upon application. This will be a community event but a small nominal fee will be charged to cover venue and incidental costs. To assist with planning (required venue size etc.) we are asking people to expression their interest by emailing [email protected] . Confirmation of venue and registration will be promulgated in the next two weeks.

17.01.2022 Roxy is one of our Mid North Coast customers. She’s a six year old rescue dog who has been re-homed half a dozen times; most recently in late September for the ...final time thanks to the dedication of her new owners. Roxy is a loving dog to her family but she is not an easy dog; she has a number of issues. She is extremely unconfident around unknown people and uses aggression as a defensive mechanism. She has aggression issues towards other dogs whilst on lead and she displays intrasex aggression towards the other two female dogs in the household; she’s interacts well with the male dog in the household. Last Friday week I did a home consult with Roxy and her new family. We covered a lot of foundation work; implementing structure, desensitising to aversive stimuli and communicating to Roxy desired and undesired behaviour. Her family have been continuing this work over the last week. Yesterday I got a pleasing update on Roxy’s progression. She was able to maintain much calmer and controlled behaviour during a teenage birthday party last weekend with many unknown people entering the house. On Sunday a potential dog fight with her housemate Bella was averted by verbal direction alone. Many years of heavily reinforced behaviours can’t be addressed overnight but the first step to modify Roxy’s behaviour has now been taken. Roxy is a shining example of how real improvement in behaviour can be achieved in a relatively short period when a dedicated family apply sound methodology to address the emotional response of a dog. There is still a long way to go and I look forward to more positive updates in the coming weeks.

16.01.2022 This is in Sydney if anyone is interested.

16.01.2022 Happy Birthday to my best mate and business partner, Bodo. 11 years old today and still going strong!

14.01.2022 Since announcing the latest Menacing / Dangerous Dog Behaviour Modification program, I’ve had an influx of people enquiring as to the revocation of MDO / DDO. A few of these people had already commenced behaviour modification training and some had submitted an unsuccessful application to Council. There appears to be a lot of confusion surrounding the process of having these Orders revoked. If you are seeking revocation of an Order, the first step of the process is to approac...h Council and ascertain what they require before any application is made; whether the dog is to undergo formal behaviour modification training, a formal assessment of temperament or both. This will save a lot of heartache and money, and, the process dragging on for months longer than it should. If a temperament assessment is all that is required by Council, make sure you retain a trainer that: (a) Has formal qualifications in training and behaviour, (b) Has an extensive background in aggression issues, and (c) Is familiar with what areas of behaviour need to be tested in the assessment. Ask the trainer what is involved in the assessment and if your dog is likely to fail any part of the assessment, seek further training. If Council require behaviour modification training, ensure the trainer you retain understands what the training is for and that you will require a training report to submit to Council. Training should focus on modifying the behaviour that lead to the Order being served and any other behaviour which may be considered a risk to community safety. The training report will need to include a detailed account of the training outcomes. If the dog still reacts towards other dogs/people or still attempts to chase cyclists and skateboarders after the completion of training then your application for revocation is likely to be denied. Any antisocial behaviour needs to be modified prior to applying for a revocation! Some trainers fail to understand this and seemingly believe that the result of the training is unimportant. Generally, all Council need to see in an application is that the dog is not an unacceptable risk to community safety. Ask questions before retaining a trainer. If they are unfamiliar with the process for revocation and what would be required of them, then don’t retain them. It will save you a lot of heartache, time and money.

13.01.2022 For those interested in reasonably priced dog friendly accommodation. NRMA have a number of this parks throughout New South Wales.

13.01.2022 I posted this photo in 2013 warning of the dangers of having a a 60kg+ dog on a lead with a cheap (or maybe not so cheap in some cases) die-cast metal clip. The dog lunged at another dog, the handler redirected, and ended up with no dog on the end of his lead; narrowly avoiding a catastrophe. The same thing happened to a new client of mine last week but this time a catastrophe was not avoided. Be very aware that most of the leash clips sold in the pet shops have never been te...sted to a safe working load (nor are there any Australian standards for leads). Likewise plastic buckles / clips on collars are not suitable for large, powerful dogs. Just because they are branded and fetch a hefty price doesn't mean they are good quality. V x W = P. A big dog lunging places a hell of a lot of strain on a clip. Do yourself a favour if you have a powerful dog, buy quality equipment with stainless steel or brass fittings.

09.01.2022 What has been the most unusual year is coming to a close. Despite the most recent setback, which I'm sure is just an isolated incident, we can look to the futur...e with optimism for more stable times. Bodo, Lilith and I would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and prosperity in the year ahead.

07.01.2022 Happy Australia Day!!! We're spending Australia Day by the pool and playing ball.

05.01.2022 SAYING "NO DOESN'T WORK" HAS AS MUCH VALIDITY AS SAYING "YES", "GOOD" OR A CLICKER DOESN'T WORK! Saying "no", "yes", "good" or using a clicker is one in the sam...e; communicating with the dog using conditioned markers. This sort of rubbish as illustrated in this post does a huge disservice to the dog owning community. Every week I have to deal with a new client with an out of control dog who has been fed this tripe. The analogy used in this post has about as much validity as the veterinary behaviourist's catch cry "you can't train a dog out of a behaviour problem". Confusion is avoided and time and frustration is saved by effectively communicating with your dog desired and undesired behaviours. The proof of the pudding is in the eating.

05.01.2022 This is something I aim to condition in most dogs I work with; especially those with hyper-arousal issues and stress related behaviour. It is so important in addressing numerous behaviour problems.

04.01.2022 Those that follow this page will know I have posted many times over the years on the failings of certain veterinary behaviourists and operatives and organisatio...ns from the emotive, propaganda mongering dark side of the dog world. Unfortunately this is another of those failings. I generally don’t post videos of my home consults but today I made an exception as this dog has been failed by industry operatives who have shallow skill sets, charge exorbitant fees and who are totally incapable of modifying a behaviour which is in essence relatively simple to address. Oliver gets extremely hyper-aroused by external stimuli such as people, cars, birds and certain sounds; he will bark uncontrollably. Oliver was first treated by his vet and prescribed fluoxetine (Lovan) and trazadone without a behaviour modification plan. Then his first trainer tried to address the issue by teaching a focus exercise and luring Oliver with treats away from the stimulus when barking. THIS WAS A CATASTROPHIC FAILURE OF BOTH THE TREATING VET AND THE TRAINER! Drugs should never be prescribed in lieu of knowledge and the trainer was in effect rewarding Oliver when he barked. Reinforcement increases that behaviour and extinction will not occur if the behaviour is being reinforced; that is a fact! Unfortunately this is not the end of this sad story. Oliver was subsequently treated by a veterinary behaviourist. When Oliver’s barking continued, dosages were upped. Most recently he was prescribed clonidine (Catapres). I’m not going to get into the pitfalls of SSRI’s and other behaviour medication but these are covered in a previous post https://www.facebook.com/totaldog1/posts/3459260354100061 . Again, this was a catastrophic failure by the veterinary behaviorist; prescribing scheduled poisons and upping dosages seemingly without any sound reason other than a shallow skill set. Today we achieved more within a couple of hours than has previously been achieved in 12 months. Oliver is not fixed but meaningful foundations have been laid for the modification of the behavior. Don’t fall for the propaganda of the dark side of the industry. The proof of the pudding is in the eating, not the propaganda of a self serving industry!

02.01.2022 A great story. https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au//man-and-dog-tread-water-

02.01.2022 I've had a request to run an additional Safe Dog Handling, Apprehension and Bite Prevention Workshop as the remaining two workshops for the year are fully booke...d. If anyone is interested in attending this workshop in the third week of December (in Sydney's North Shore most likely on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday), please contact me at [email protected]. The workshop will cover: i. Canine behaviour drives, ii. Visual indicators to a dog’s mindset, iii. Body language and hormonal release, iv. Approaching unfamiliar dogs, v. Correct utilisation of protective equipment, vi. Correct utilisation of poles, snares, muzzles and bite sticks, vii. Defensive tactics for potentially aggressive and attacking dogs, viii. Apprehending aggressive dogs,

01.01.2022 Happy New Year to all! 2020 has been an unusual and difficult year and the recent Co-vid outbreaks continue to confront us all. I'm sure we all hope and look forward to less challenging times ahead in 2021. This is a shared post from last year but the message is timeless; early intervention of behaviour problems can avoid much heartache, property destruction, injury and expense. ... We will be back from the Christmas break offering full services (Co-vid restrictions pending) from 11 January. Stay safe and we wish everyone peace and prosperity in the year ahead.