MEET THE TRAINER

What areas do you service?

• Private Training Consultations & Puppy Home School - Anywhere in the Eastern Suburbs. 

• Puppy School Class - North Randwick Veterinary Clinic & Dogue Bondi Junction

• Group & 1:1 Walk & Train (limited availability) pickup and drop off available in the following suburbs and immediate surrounds: Clovelly, Bronte, Waverly, Queens Park & Bondi Junction.

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How long will it take to ‘fix’ my dog?

I cannot guarantee behaviour. Every dog and owner are different. Some dogs and/or owners understand and respond quickly to training. Others require multiple sessions, trial and error to get things right. Some dogs have had long term practice and success in an undesirable behaviour that it takes time and consistency to change. Just like building strength and fitness requires commitment with a personal trainer, your dog may require many sessions to change behaviour.

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What training methods do you use?

I am a positive reinforcement based trainer who follows the LIMA approach: Least Intrusive, Minimally Aversive. 

https://apdt.com/lima.pdf

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Behaviour is driven by 3 main factors: 

• Genetics

• Past experiences and learning 

• Current environment

 

Much of perceived ‘bad’ dog behaviour is instinctive and successful for the dog in getting the outcome it wants. As owners, we need to understand their needs and set realistic goals.

 

Dogs cannot learn new information when stressed or distracted, much like humans, so it’s important when training new behaviour that we set up the environment so that it is conducive for learning and gradually add distractions.

 

I don’t believe it to be ethical to repeatedly put a dog into situations where they may react with aggression, fear, anxiety or hyper excitement and then "correct" using punishment after a behaviour occurs. The situation is causing them stress and when we punish for communicating how they feel, we further add to their stress. This also leads down a dangerous route. For example, if you “correct” a dog for growling using punishment, he may no longer growl, but will he warn you before he bites? Punishment doesn't address the cause of the problem or how the dog is feeling. Suppressing one behaviour can pop up as another.

 

Will I always have to use food rewards?

When you have completed the teaching and proofing phases with your dog, you can begin to phase out food rewards in the maintenance phase. This however, doesn't mean we stop reinforcing the dog completely. Reinforcement is whatever the dog finds desirable. This includes food, life rewards, pats, praise or games such as fetch or tug of war. 

 

What equipment do you use?

Leash, flat collar, front attaching harness, head halter, long training leash, training pouch, treats, toys.