Western Suburbs Dog Training in Homebush, New South Wales, Australia | Community organisation

Western Suburbs Dog Training

Locality: Homebush, New South Wales, Australia

Address: Bressington Park, Underwood Rd 2140 Homebush, NSW, Australia

Website: http://www.westernsuburbsdogtraining.com

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• Non-profit organisation
• Community organisation
• Dog trainer

24.01.2022 Just a little warning regarding the Xmas treat many stores are now starting to stock for dogs at xmas. Many of these so called treats end up with the dog "enjoy...ing" some time in a veterinary surgery over Christmas. The vast majority of these rawhide products and treats come from China. The chews are made from cattle or horse hides and their journey starts with the hides being soaked in a toxic sodium sulphide to remove the hair and fat. More chemicals are used in order to split the hide into layers which is then washed with hydrogen peroxide to give the white "pure" look and remove the rancid smell. Now comes the pretty festive colours and the glue to form cute shapes. On testing, these chews have shown traces of arsenic, mercury, chromium and formaldehyde. If that wasn't bad enough, they regularly cause intestinal blockages, poisoning from chemical residue and choking. The chews go slippery when wet and are near impossible to get hold of to save a choking dog. Leave them in the shop where they belong or if some well meaning person buys them for your dog put them safely away for later, then dispatch in the bin! Please be safe with your dogs!

24.01.2022 Need to enlarge to read this but very interesting, particularly the comments about weight/size ratio!

23.01.2022 Those who still advocate harsh, dominating and force based methods of dog training could learn something from this video. No prong collars or electric (training) collars on these rats --they have been trained for their essential humanitarian work using positive reward based methods--so why can't everyone use these same methods to teach pups not to jump up, dig, stop barking and all the other behaviours for which some people resort to punishment. Sorry for this rant --I have been reading some posts on other breed based groups and some owners are proudly recommending 'a few zaps with an electric collar' for a 5 month old puppy!

23.01.2022 I want a cuddle...

21.01.2022 Lifting and carrying. To lift or carry a dog, start at their level with their side to the front of you, with one arm supporting their rump, and another arm sup...porting their chest, lift with your knees with the dog comfortably against your chest. Being able to do this, takes conditioning a dog to being held this way. 1: Start with just your hand against their chest and reward them for increasing durations of this hold. 2: Once the dog comfortable with having your hand on their chest, you can move your other arm behind their legs, and reward them for being comfortable with you doing that. 3: Now that you can have one arm on their chest and another supporting their rump, move both hands towards the front of the dog and securely pull them into your chest, sort of like a open hug. Once you are able to do these first 3 steps, you can then move on to practicing lifting. Squat down on the side of your dog, engage the practiced hold, and lift with your knees, supporting them with both arms, and securing against your chest. How long it takes each individual dog to be comfortable with each progressive step, is solely dependent on the dog. The more you, the human, practices this hold, the better you will be at performing it with the dog’s consent. Practice, repeat, reinforce, and reward. See more

20.01.2022 Dogs, lives are short, too short, but you know that going in. You know the pain is coming, you're going to lose a dog, and there's going to be great anguish, s...o you live fully in the moment with her, never fail to share her joy or delight in her innocence, because you can't support the illusion that a dog can be your lifelong companion. There's such beauty in the hard honesty of that, in accepting and giving love while always aware that it comes with an unbearable price. Maybe loving dogs is a way we do penance for all the other illusions we allow ourselves and the mistakes we make because of those illusions. Dean Koontz - The Darkest Evening of the Year. Amy Kathrine Browning - Lime Tree Shade,1913.

19.01.2022 Listen to Cruz FM online here: http://www.cruzfm.com/listenlive.php

16.01.2022 Some of these brands are not available locally but the suggestions can be adapted to look for the equivalents.

12.01.2022 GRASS SEEDS - Need to be feared We are experiencing a fabulous season for the farmers and our gardens but as a result the grass is literallly growing li...ke a weed. We have seen a recent spike in the numbers of pets and livestock presenting with issues due to grass seeds. These invasive little critters will get anywhere and migrate through the body, causing grief to pets, vets and owners alike. The most common areas we find grass seeds are paws and lower limbs, ears and eyes but also up the nose, abscesses over the face and body, in the chest (after being inhaled) and even in the bladder (see the black and white photo below- ultrasound of bladder with grass seed inside). The photo with Dr Anita’s finger next to it was pulled from the nose of a medium sized dog this week . This dog presented sneezing with discharge out of one nostril. The biggest issue we find is because they migrate and by the time the animal presents, we don’t always find the seed first go. The earlier the animal presents, the better our chance of finding the culprit. Symptoms in our patients are dependent on the site of seed entry and include: - ears head tilt and shaking head - eyes red inflamed eyes with squinting and increased tearing - paws lameness, licking at paws and discharge between toes - nose sneezing A LOT - face or body pain and swelling of affected area which may be associated with lethargy, reduced appetance and fever - chest - coughing and increased breathing rate Prevention of issues with grass seeds: - only walk your pet in areas with short or slashed grass or keep to bare and sealed areas - keep your lawn well mowed - clip long haired dog coats during grass seed season to prevent seed lodging in the coat - check your pets coat every day and remove any seeds that have hitchhiked on the coat. Remain vigilant while grass seeds are about and if you suspect your animal is affected seek veterinary attention ASAP.

11.01.2022 Whoever came up with the idea to use a muffin tin for a frozen treat, you’re awesome! I filled 6 spots with a couple blueberries and water mixed with a little applesauce. It’s been keeping him busy for 20 minutes now!

11.01.2022 Who’s the pretty boy in the reflection?

10.01.2022 4.99 bath mat from B&M + some doggy peanut butter = some very happy dogs!! Makeshift lick-mat that suctions onto the kitchen cupboards!

10.01.2022 I always thought, when it came to my dog, I needed to do more. When my first dog had behavioral issues I thought he needed more exercise... More training More mental stimulation More interactive toys. What I never realized was He was really good at DOING things. But the skill he lacked The one that got us in trouble ALLTHETIME Was the skill of doing NOTHING. He didn’t know how relax. And all I did was keep him busy. Listen I don’t care if your dog is reactive, or if you have a dog that you are competing with in dog sports Teach them how to do nothing. Teach them how to chill out How to relax And for the really busy dogs Make them practice it often. Your sanity and theirs will thank you

08.01.2022 Amy Brastad at age 92 wins Excellent JWW at the Santa Clara DTC agility trial. Thank you Silvina and Agility in Motion for the video!

05.01.2022 https://people.com//joe-biden-german-shepherd-major-first/

04.01.2022 There are a series of these videos, all very useful.

03.01.2022 While supervised off leash play with other dogs is a crucial part of socialising a young puppy, it is also very important to teach a new puppy that there are do...gs that they DON’T get to meet. Many new puppy owners, either fretting about socialising their puppy to enough dogs in their sensitive socialisation window, or just wanting their new pup to have fun with other dogs, make the mistake of trying to introduce their puppy to every dog they see. Though the thinking behind this action is well-meaning, it often causes the puppy to grow up expecting that they’ll get to meet almost every dog they encounter. As the puppy gets bigger and the owners’ thoughts turn to teaching the puppy to walk on lead without pulling, suddenly the puppy is expected to walk past another dog without pulling towards them. Understandably, this leads to a very frustrated puppy What do you mean, ignore the dog? I ALWAYS get to meet the dog! To avoid this issue, don’t forget to teach your puppy that good things happen around other dogs even if they don’t get to meet them. This will be beneficial for both their socialisation and obedience training. That Dog Geek’s general rule is to completely avoid on-leash greetings with unknown dogs when out on a walk, especially with a young dog. Dogs communicate through their body language, and tight leashes can cause miscommunications that lead to altercations. We prefer to save our dogs’ playtime for when they’re off leash, and when on a walk our focus is on quality time between us and the dog, exploring and enjoying each other’s company. To our professional trainer followers, what is your policy on letting your dog meet other dogs on leash when out on a walk? We’d love to hear your views. Happy training Dog Geeks! https://www.beacondogtraining.com.au/thatdoggeek

03.01.2022 Many times every week I tell owners of reactive dogs the same thing: Please stop worrying about taking your dog for exercise walks. Maybe it is time to stop wal...ks for a while. And here is why. . If your dog crosses his threshold reliably when you walk him - whether that is because he reacts intensely to every dog in the neighborhood or he is highly anxious about traffic noises or he cannot be around people at this point - then every time you expose him to his trigger in a high intensity HIS REACTIONS WILL GET WORSE. . Stress responses rarely disappear into thin air one day. Rather, the dog goes through a cycle of encountering his trigger - being stressed - reacting intensely - and becoming EVEN MORE LIKELY to react badly the next time. . What you might be doing by continuously walking your reactive dog in an environment that’s full of trigger is to actually ingrain and strengthen his reactive response. . Now, I am all for exercising dogs both physically and mentally. But we need to look at this in the bigger picture. What good does it do if your dog had a 2 mile walk but he flipped out 10 times during it? Is this really the level of adrenaline you want him to associate with a stroll around the neighborhood? Should we not weigh the dog’s longterm mental wellbeing against the benefits of physical exercise through walking? (By the way - an on-leash walk is not actually tiring physical exercise for most healthy adult dogs anyway) . For most dogs with reactivity problems, we need to cease all random exposure to triggers and work on them in isolated, well-planned out settings. This could mean not walking your dog in your neighborhood at 7pm when everyone else is out. Or maybe not at all in your neighborhood - and instead in a less busy area nearby. Or maybe it means finding other forms of exercising his mind and body for a while. Please do not feel like you need to walk your dog in the presence of his triggers daily. . You know your own dog best. Does he seem highly stressed after his walks because he encountered a dozen scary and difficult situations? Then that walk is probably not worth it. . Be your dog’s advocate - if you listen to your intuition you probably already know if he should be walked or not. See more

02.01.2022 My husband and I played Hide and Go Seek with our German Shepard Dog Shade last night at the Farm and Home Store. This is a game we normally play at home, but ...it was raining so hard that we needed to get out of the house (and we needed to buy dog food.) How it works at home: one of us distracts Shade and the other one goes and hides. Then the one hiding calls her name once and she starts looking. Sometimes we call her name again for a hint. When she finds us we give lots of praise and say You found me!! While she was looking, the other one hides, and once we hear You found me! We wait a second or two and then call her name. How it worked at the store: One of us was practicing commands with her while the other one walks away and goes to a different part of the store. Then we say Go find Mom or Go Find Dad! And follow her on a loose leash till she finds us. Note: We often say go find.... at home, which is definitely a primer for doing this in public. She was exhausted from the mental stimulation afterwards