Paws & Effect

12/04/2025

Does your dog have the skills to be off leash?

All dogs would benefit being off their leashes so they could sniff and move freely. However, too many dogs here in Broome, do not have the skills to cope with for this kind of freedom. Freedom skills are a must so our dogs don’t become a danger or nuisance to others.

Before the lead comes off, first get calm behaviour and work on some focus skills. A nice sit and stay before unleashed. Then a calm “off you go”.

SO HOW CAN WE DO THIS

1. Engage
Because things can go pear shaped very quickly, especially in a dog park or beach, we as owners must have our attention ON our dog at all times. You need to be able to assess situations before they escalate. Get off the phone, talk with your mates while watching your dog, make sure your dog is not being a pest. What’s a pest? A dog bullying for play, rounding up dogs not wanting to play, play that is too rough for the other dog, pinning other dogs down are a few examples.

2. Risk Assessment
Is this the best environment for your dog? You are the carer of your dog. If they can’t cope with too many dogs this is not the place to be. They are likely to become reactive in this situation. Get them to a quieter place with less dogs. Too many bully breed ratios? Dogs have different play styles. Make sure the match is right for your dog.

3. Equipment
By law, we must have control over our dogs at all times and this means being able to call your dog back from any situation. Long leads are great if you have not got a reliable recall yet. Recalls are only reliable if they are trained and practiced in all situations not just at home.

4. Focus
Reward your dog for checking in with you ALWAYS. Checking in is dog looking at you or coming back to your side. ALWAYS reward your dog for coming back to you. REWARD=something great to eat!!!! I would not leave something I loved to do and come to you with out expecting something a whole lot better. Plain and simple, WHATS IN IT FOR ME!

Not all dogs are ready for this experience. It might be too challenging for them to cope. If they are snapping at other dogs, cowering around you or dogs it is best not to go. Look for private beach areas, quiet park areas and use long lines so your dog doesn’t run away. Then you and your dog will have a great experience together.

19/03/2025

K9 Kindy is now 27th of April. Please contact us for information and registration forms.

09/03/2025

It’s a Dogs World
DITCH THE DOMINANCE THEORY
We have come along way in this world of ours and need to keep up to date with new methods of working with our dogs.
Dominance is such an outdated concept in dog training and is associated with using aversive techniques in training. Why do we need to scare our dogs to do what we ask of them. Why do we need prong collars, choke chains, electrical zappers when we can use no force, high reward training. Ditch this outdated theory and enjoy your dog.

28/01/2025

I was walking my dog Tonka in the park when a small dog approached on a lead. We knew that this dog did not like close encounters with dogs so we made a large arc around it. This made the owner and the dog more comfortable. I have seen, in the past, owners being judged verbally for their dogs anxiety reaction of lunging, snarling and barking at a person or dog walking by.
This judgement can make the owner feel ashamed and very embarrassed.

You can certainly tell these people that pass verbal and non verbal comments have never experienced ownership of a dog who is reactive. They have never had to wake up at the crack of dawn or late at night to walk their dog to avoid meeting people. Never felt hopelessness and frustration when it all goes pear shaped again. Never felt the dread of hearing AGAIN, it’s okay my dog is friendly when it comes charging in to meet you. Never had the pressure to correct the dog for just being fearful so it looks like you are doing something.

Owning a fearful dog is very stressful on the person at the other end of the leash. For those in that situation, take a deep breath, move on, never compare dogs, they are all individuals. Forget shame! You own a beautiful being that needs you. YOU ARE NOT ALONE!

19/01/2025

DID YOU KNOW

Some dogs just don’t want to be touched by strangers. Pushing the dog to meet someone can backfire and create too much pressure that causes your dog to be very uncomfortable, feel unsafe and unsecured.
If pushed, anxiety and fear is the result and can lead to defensive behaviours like lunging, biting or at the very least just avoidance.

Every single time your dog says “NO” it is a very valid choice made by them. Reinforce their right to feel secure. If any dog shows signs they do not want to interact, walk away.

21/12/2024

Merry Christmas to all our friends. Keep healthy and happy. We will see you in the new year.🐾🐾

27/10/2024

26/09/2024

This is so important

DISTRACTED DOG WALKERS

The distracted dog walker is commonly seen chatting on their cell phone, wearing headphones or socializing with other people while oblivious to what their dog is doing, how their dog is feeling or what is going on in the environment.

This may not sound like a problem to some, but it is something that many people have a problem with, even more so if you have a reactive dog.

I compare walking a dog to driving a car. It’s not so much about our driving skills, but having to constantly be aware of the driving skills of others – trying to predict what they will do, which rules of the road they will ignore and how distracted they are. This is especially true in the country I live in, where driving can be a stressful experience.

I understand that we often need to multi task – there simply doesn’t seem to be enough time in our day to accomplish everything we need to, but walking our dogs should not be one of these times.

Some people might say – “but my dog is really friendly, well socialized, gets on well with everyone, is well trained, knows this environment well etc. and I hear that.

But another dog might not be – maybe they need space, are reactive, are not sociable, are recovering from an illness, might be terrified of another dog racing straight towards them chasing a ball thrown from a ball launcher etc.

If distracted dog walkers have no regard for other dogs or other people, they should at least have regard for their own dogs. Walking your dog should be a time of bonding, of relationship, of seeing the environment through the eyes of your dog, of reinforcing and teaching wanted behaviours, of keeping them safe and protected from the unknown.

Our dogs need us to be focused, to pay attention, to be aware and attentive.

Our dogs depend on us to advocate for them.

16/08/2024

Our next K9 Manners course will start on October 20th at 8 am. This is a 4 week course and you do need to register for it. Just contact us and we will send you the information and registration forms.
“Nothing better than a well behaved dog”
🐾🐾Kim

08/08/2024

K9 Kindy starts this Sunday at 8 am. It goes for 4 consecutive weeks. Get in fast as we have only a few spots left.

24/06/2024

Everyone who is thinking of getting dogs should read this because you need to understand this reality:

***I am a 21st century dog.***
-I'm a Malinois.
Overskilled among dogs, I excel in all disciplines and I'm always ready to work: I NEED to work.
But nowadays I get asked to chill on the couch all day everyday.

-I am an Akita Inu.
My ancestors were selected for fighting bears.
Today I get asked to be tolerant and I get scolded for my reactivity when another approaches me.

-I am a Beagle.
When I chase my prey, I raise my voice so the hunters could follow.
Today they put an electric collar on me to shut up, and you make me come back to you - no running - with a snap of your fingers.

-I am a Yorkshire Terrier.
I was a terrifying rat hunter in English mines.
Today they think I can't use my legs and they always hold me in their arms.

-I'm a Labrador Retriever.
My vision of happiness is a dive into a pond to bring back the duck he shot to my master.
Today you forget I'm a walking, running, swimming dog; as a result I'm fat, made to stay indoors, and to babysit.

-I am a Jack Russell.
I can take on a fox, a mean badger, and a rat bigger than me in his den.
Today I get scolded for my character and high energy, and forced to turn into a quiet living room dog.

-I am a Siberian Husky.
Experienced the great, wide open spaces of Northern Europe, where I could drag sleds for long distances at impressive speeds.
Today I only have the walls of the house or small garden as a horizon, and the holes I dig in the ground just to release energy and frustration, trying to stay sane.

-I am a border collie
I was made to work hours a day in partnershipwith my master, and I am an unmistakable artist of working with the herd.
Today they are mad at me because, for lack of sheep, I try to check bikes, cars, children in the house and everything in motion.

I am ...
I am a 21st century dog.
I'm pretty, I'm alert, I'm obedient, I stay in a bag...but I'm also an individual who, from centuries of training, needs to express my instincts, and I am *not* suited for the sedentary life you'd want me to lead.
Spending eight hours a day alone in the house or in the garden - with no work and no one to play or run with, seeing you for a short time in the evening when you get home, and only getting a small toilet walk will make me deeply unhappy.
I'll express it by barking all day, turning your yard into a minefield, doing my needs indoors, being unmanageable the rare times I'll find myself outside, and sometimes spending my days sunk, sad, lonely, and depressed, on my pillow.
You may think that I should be happy to be able to enjoy all this comfort while you go to work, but actually I’ll be exhausted and frustrated, because this is absolutely NOT what I'm meant to do, or what I need to be doing.
If you love me, if you've always dreamed of me, if my beautiful blue eyes or my athletic look make you want me, but you can't give me a real dog's life, a life that's really worth living according to my breed, and if you can't offer me the job that my genes are asking, DO NOT buy or adopt me!
If you like the way I look but aren't willing to accept my temperament, gifts, and traits derived from long genetic selection, and you think you can change them with only your good will, then DO NOT BUY OR ADOPT ME.
I’m a dog from the 21st century, yes, but deep inside me, the one who fought, the one who hunted, the one who pulled sleds, the one who guided and protected a herd still lives within.
So think **very** carefully before you choose your dog. And think about getting two, rather than one, so I won't be so very lonely waiting for you all day. Eight or ten hours is just a workday to you, but it's an eternity for me to be alone.

Like David Attenborough Fans for more.

04/03/2024

Please, when you see a dog on a leash, recall your dog to you.
There is a reason they are on a leash.