Raising your dog, your way. Finding what is right for you and your dog…

Just over a month ago I started a facebook group called Dog Lovers Melbourne!! Now with almost 470 members there is constant activity and discussions about everything and anything to do with your dog. Along with this group, and my desire to read and research, it has confirmed how many different ways there are of doing everything when it comes to raising your dog. 

Everywhere you read there is advice about the best and worst foods, treats, training methods, grooming requirements, sleeping areas, dental treatment, etc. And honestly, it is all very overwhelming and confusing. But from all of this I have learnt to just step back, do your research and test things out for yourself. Because in the end owning a dog is just like having a child. It is all about finding what is right for you, your dog and your family.

Training Cooper has been an amazing learning curve for me with all of this. I think back to some of my earlier blog posts, for example, Training your Pup to Walk on the Lead was about teaching puppies the basics and getting them used to the lead.  A Great Method to Stop Your Dog Pulling on the Lead was all about using the Gentle Leader and how great a tool it is. And my latest blog post Are you the Leader of Your Pack was all about not needing gadgets at all and more about the importance of being the pack leader. All of these blog posts explain different techniques and training methods you can use when training your dog to walk nicely on the lead. Reflecting back on these, I don’t think that one method is right or wrong. In our instance we know that Cooper is still not 100% there yet with walking perfectly on the lead. He does walk really nicely around the quiet streets without any distractions. But around other dogs and small children, he is still very excitable. So we are building him up to get better at this but it is a slow process and we need to be patient and persistent. We will just keep testing different methods until we find the best method that works for us. And when we find that method, it doesn’t mean that it is the best and only method, it just means that it works for us. 

If you’re ever unsure of what you are doing, with anything, not just training please make sure to do your research. Ask your dog trainer or your vet or friends and family who have had healthy, long living dogs. Personally, I trust the opinions of both my trainer and my vet. Our vet has a golden retriever who he adores and brings into work with him so I really do value his opinion. If I am unsure on something I will ask him and see what he does for his girl, because I know that he would only do the best for her. The nurses at our vet are also amazing and just love animals and will help us with anything we need. I really think it is about finding someone you trust, like I have my vet, the nurses and our dog trainer. Every time I see any of them, we always get stuck into long conversations about all the different ways you can do things with your dogs – I love picking their brains because I really value their knowledge and opinions. 
     

The idea behind this blog post is just to remind you all that it really is all about finding what's right for you and not getting too overwhelmed and confused by everyone else. There doesn’t need to be a right and wrong but rather about finding what works for you 
and your dog.

Good luck on your journey and as always, I am more than happy to help if anyone has any questions…

Are you the leader of your pack??

After going to the Dog Lover Show in Melbourne a couple of weeks ago I have been inspired by the Dog Listener, Tony Knight. He spoke about the pack mentality and I swear I have seen a big change in Coop already, just after two weeks of implementing his theories.

It is actually pretty simple, you need to start thinking like a dog- because your dog doesn't think like a person. Dogs come from packs and packs need leaders. So if you're not being the leader, your dog will take on that role for you. And it is from this that so many behavioural problems develop in dogs.

Tony believes that good leadership needs no force, gadgets or dependence on exercise to change a dog's mind. Good communication at critical times is what’s required.

You need to constantly be thinking and communicating that you are the boss, you need to believe this so that your dog believes it too.

A few small things we have changed and that I encourage you to change are:

1.    The way you greet your dog when you come home or after extended periods of being apart. When you walk in the door you must ignore your dog- no touch, talk or eye contact. Once your dog has calmed down, has left you alone and found a quiet spot to lie down, give him 5 minutes and then call him over to you and then you can make a fuss and say hello. Don’t go over to him, he needs to come to you. You need to be the one to tell your dog when you want to greet him. No matter how much he nudges- you need to wait until he is calm. The idea behind this is that as the pack leader, you require your own personal space and your dog should respect this and then when you are ready, you greet your dog on your terms. Cooper brings us toys, he rests his head on our laps if we sit down and he tries to lick us. It is cute, but he is not respecting our personal space. He is very quickly learning that if he leaves us alone and gives us the space – he will then be rewarded.

2.    When you leave home. When you leave home, do not make a fuss and say good bye to your dog. Your dog does not understand English and is also not going to know if you have been gone for 5 minutes or for 5 hours. They don’t wear watches. The more of a fuss you make, the more you can actually stress out your dog. If your dog believes he is the pack leader, he can become very stressed out when you leave home. Has your dog dug up your garden, chewed up your furniture or just been destructive when you have left home? This is because your dog believes he is the leader of the pack and is worried about you. Just like a mother worrying where her child has gone. In a pack, when a dog goes out to hunt, there is a possibility that the dog will not return. So this behaviour stems from your dog worrying about you and when you will return. So when you leave, don’t make a fuss, just walk out the door with no touch no talk and no eye contact.

3.    The way you give affection to your dog. How often do you find yourself sitting on the couch stroking your pup? But did you invite him over? No. So the key here is no more patting/ affection unless you invite your dog over for it. It's tough, but it works. You need to put him in his place and it needs to be on your terms.

4.    Feeding time. In the pack, the pack leader will always eat first and then give what’s left over to its pack. I now have dried apricots sitting next to Coopers dog food. I put his food in his bowl, and then I take an apricot and start eating it. To Cooper, this looks like it is coming from his bowl, he watches me eat it and then when I am finished, I give him his food. Try it, it is simple but effective! And it really does help to put him in his place in the pecking order.

5.    When guests enter your home. Again, no touch, no talk, no eye contact. This is so important. People will think your nuts – my friends already think I am nuts but your dog needs to learn to respect peoples personal space. If your dog thinks it is the leader, he can also become protective over you, hence why dogs bark when the doorbell rings, they are trying to notify and protect their pack.

6.    The walk. When a pack leader goes out to hunt he will want to be in front and lead his pack. If your dog pulls on the lead, it’s because it believes it’s your pack leader. So when you walk your dog, he should be by your side, not in front of you. By changing the above few things and asserting yourself as the boss, you will notice that your dog will stop pulling on the lead because he will no longer believe he is the leader.

These changes should be a permanent thing. If you stick to it – pretty quickly, your dog will learn that you are the alpha of the pack and they will start to respect you more and just enjoy life. Dogs are happy being apart of the pack, as long as they know there is a pack leader, they will be happy. But if there is no leader, they will take on that role and this can become quite stressful for the dog and in turn for the owner.

Try it for a couple of weeks and see how you go. I know it will be tough at first but really stick to it and you will see a difference and have a happier more balanced dog.

I have not gone into everything in full details because I could go on and on, so if you want to hear more and you live in Melbourne Australia – Tony is actually coming to do a talk for my facebook group Dog Lovers Melbourne on Tuesday night June 4^th. Join the group for more details - https://www.facebook.com/groups/154099731434125/

Loving my new facebook group 'Dog Lovers Melbourne!!'

Those of you who read my blog regularly already know this, but when my husband, Jase, and I went on Holidays - we left our gorgeous 8 month old Golden Retriever to stay with a girl called Jacqui – and what a great time Coop had with her. We met Jacqui by chance through the breeders. Jacqui is just like me - she loves dogs and her and her husband, Steve, treated Cooper like he was their own.

From this awesome experience I decided that I just had to create a place where dog lovers in Melbourne can help each other out and share experiences like we had with Jacqui.

Thinking of going on a holiday? Why send your dog to a kennel when you can find someone in this group who loves dogs and will take your dog into their home and look after it like it is their own? 

What if you worked all day and wanted someone to take your pooch for a walk 

during the day? Well this group might just be the place to find that someone.



The aim of the group is to grow a community of Dog lovers in Melbourne who can share stories, tips and advice on raising and caring for their beloved dogs.

So please feel free to come and join my new group

https://www.facebook.com/groups/154099731434125/



We have been going for just over a week now and everyone is having an absolute ball with it – sharing stories and posting gorgeous shots of mans best friend. Plus we have already run an awesome competition with Vet Pet Health and given away fantastic dog prize packs! Hopefully in the future there will be more competitions like this too!

Come join this fun dog loving community!! Start sharing your favourite pics of your dogs and let's get this going. Let us know what suburb you live in and if you are looking for anything in particular and hopefully one of our members will be able to help you out!


Please add friends and family who have dogs or who just love dogs!!

Cooper is 9 months old already - can't believe how quickly they grow up!!

A big lesson learnt…

I learnt a big lesson yesterday and I need to share it with you guys…

I took Cooper to go and visit my Aunty and Uncle’s dog, Ollie the Groodle. Ollie is only 1 so between he and Cooper, their energy is pretty crazy and hyper.

Anyway, when I got to my Aunty and Uncle’s house I made, in retrospect, a very dumb decision. I let Cooper off the lead before entering the house. At this time, Cooper’s energy was at extreme excitement. The second my Aunty opened the front door, Cooper went full pelt to what he thought was outside – but actually it was straight into the glass window, head first!!!

Thank goodness he didn’t actually break through the glass and he was ok. It was a loud scary bang and I think it shocked everyone besides Cooper. He is a tough dog. Straight after he was ready and rearing to go and see Ollie. They played and played for the next hour and had an absolute ball together!

Come to think of it, Cooper behaves like that quite often. He enters my parents house in this excited state. We let him off the lead in the park in this excited state. When we go to my other Aunty and Uncle’s house, he get’s just as excited to see Diesel – but thankfully there is a back way to get straight into the garden so he can’t destroy their house! It’s also situations like people entering our house. Realistically, whilst Coop is young and in training, we should make people wait outside until Coop is calm. Then they should enter the house with no touch, talk or eye contact with the dog. And once Coop is quiet, then they can greet him.

The big lesson I have learnt is that Cooper shouldn’t get his way when his energy levels are so heightened. It just creates havoc. Jase and I are going to need to spend the time making him sit, drop and calm down before entering other peoples homes, before going to the park or the beach and the list of places goes on. We will need to be very patient and wait for his body language to tell us that he is in a calm relaxed state before we do any of these things.

I have watched many Dog Whisperer episodes by Cesar Millan and he is all about the energy of the person and the dog. If I am calm, the dog should read my energy. It will take time and patience but after this incident, it will definitely be worthwhile. Coop could have seriously hurt himself!

Cooper and his sister Emma in a relaxed state

Cooper has been getting away with it but now it is time to buckle down and be tough! I will be sure to keep you all posted on our progress.

Cooper's mum and two sisters at our visit to the breeder last week

Cooper and his mum,  Lara