Engage Veterinary Behaviour and Training

26/05/2026

What a gorgeous little Border Collie! I could have snaffled him back home. So, so smart and so much fun to work with. He just needed some help learning how to cope when people or dogs approached directly while he was on lead, as he was getting a bit overwhelmed.

23/05/2026

One of the biggest lessons I learnt from my years in dog sports was the importance of play and relationship building with your dog.

Play is not just throwing a ball.

In this video, Ava and Louis are both interacting with me very differently because good play is individual.

With Louis, we start with one of my favourite bungee tugs, where we both possess the tug together. There’s movement, interaction, some frustration with chase to build his motivation, and some possession and parading. Later, the interaction changes and I crouch down and it becomes more cuddle time, interspersed with fetch. The fetch is always interactive — it is never simple repetitive retrieving. The toy becomes part of the social interaction between us.

Ava is completely different. She is a working-line German Shepherd bred for highly possessive behaviours. She loves to hold the ball with a strong, calm grip while interacting with me. She does not particularly enjoy body contact except at certain times and in certain ways.

She loves to chase, catch, bite, and control the ball, but she is also a little conflicted about letting go because she enjoys possession so much. However, she has learnt that releasing the ball leads to more fun — another chase, catch, or bite — so letting go works in her favour.

Many dogs naturally love possession, and one of the things I learnt early in dog sports was that part of interactive play becomes teaching the dog that releasing the toy does not mean losing it forever — it means the game continues.

One simple way to think about variations in play is by asking: who has the toy?

The dog can have the toy.
You can have the toy.
You can both have the toy together.
Or sometimes nobody has the toy.

Different dogs enjoy different parts of that interaction, and good play often involves moving fluidly between them.

Good play also requires us to be present. To be playful ourselves. To interact with the dog in the moment rather than absent-mindedly throwing a ball while thinking about something else. Some of the best relationship building happens when we are completely engaged with the dog in front of us and learning what they enjoy most.

06/05/2026

I can't love this post more.

The Massive Misunderstanding That’s Costing Us Connection With Our Dogs

There’s a growing trend in the dog world that, on the surface, makes a lot of sense.

The idea that dogs need more freedom.
More opportunities to sniff.
More decompression walks.
More downtime.
Less structure.
Less intervention.

And I don’t dispute that there is absolutely a place for those things.

Dogs should have opportunities to decompress, sniff, explore, process the world around them, and simply exist without constant direction from us. That matters. It’s healthy, enriching, and an important aspect of a balanced life.

But I do think there’s an important conversation missing from all of this.

Because when this approach becomes the primary form of interaction we have with our dogs — particularly dogs living very normal domestic lives — we can unintentionally create a huge deficit in something many dogs desperately need:

Connection.
Purpose.
Engagement.
Interaction.

And ultimately… relationship.

The Reality of Most Dogs’ Lives

If we think about it honestly, most pet dogs live incredibly repetitive lives.

They wake up.
They wait.
They nap.
They anticipate the highlights of their day.

They often eat the same food, at the same times, walk the same routes, see the same environments, and follow the same routines.

And again — that isn’t criticism. It’s simply the reality of modern life. Most of us are doing the best we can whilst juggling work, responsibilities, family life, stress, exhaustion, and everything else that comes with being human.

But when we really step back and think about it, many dogs — particularly working breeds — are often lacking regular opportunities for meaningful engagement and purposeful interaction.

Not because people don’t love them.
But because modern life doesn’t naturally provide it.

What Is The Dog Learning?

There’s also another really important piece to this conversation.

When a dog spends the entirety of their walk independently engaging with the environment — sniffing, scavenging, self-directing, environmentally scanning, moving from smell to smell — we have to acknowledge what’s reinforcing the dog in that moment.

The environment is.

And that matters.

Because reinforcement drives behaviour.

Dogs very quickly learn where value exists, where excitement exists, and what pays them emotionally, mentally, and biologically.

Now again, this doesn’t mean sniffing is “bad.” Far from it.

But dogs already know the environment is rewarding. That’s natural. Exploring, hunting, searching, tracking scents, moving through environments — these are deeply instinctive behaviours.

The question is: where do you fit into that picture?

Because if every walk becomes entirely about environmental engagement, with very little interaction, play, cooperation, or shared experience with us, we risk becoming background noise in comparison to the world around the dog.

And then later, people understandably struggle with things like:

* Recall
* Focus
* Engagement
* Responsiveness
* Loose lead walking
* Play value
* Motivation around distractions

Not because the dog is “stubborn” or “dominant,” but because the dog has learned over time that the environment consistently holds more value than the human beside them.

That’s why I believe walks shouldn’t just be about allowing the dog to disengage from us — they should also be opportunities to build reasons for the dog to actively engage with us.

We’ve Forgotten What Many Dogs Were Originally Bred For

When we look at breeds like Border Collies, Labradors, Golden Retrievers, Cocker Spaniels, Belgian Malinois, German Shepherds and so many others, these dogs were never designed to simply exist passively beside us.

They were bred to work.
To problem solve.
To use their bodies.
To use their brains.
To cooperate with humans.
To engage for large portions of their day.

For generations, these dogs had purpose woven into their existence.

Then we placed them into domestic homes — often with the very best intentions — but without always recognising just how much fulfilment can come from interaction, training, play, learning, searching, chasing, carrying, retrieving, thinking and engaging with us.

Yesterday, whilst teaching a lesson, I watched someone pull up at the park with a working-line Cocker Spaniel.

The dog hopped out of the car, did a quick lap around the area — probably less than five minutes in total — and then went home again.

Now, to be fair, maybe the owner was in a rush. Maybe that wasn’t the dog’s only exercise that day. Maybe there were circumstances I couldn’t see. I think it’s important we give people grace rather than jump to judgement.

But it did make me reflect on how common it is for dogs to receive very small windows of true engagement in their day.

And for many dogs, particularly high-drive or working-bred dogs, that simply isn’t enough to fulfil what they were genetically designed for.

Sniffy Walks Aren’t The Problem

This isn’t an anti-sniffing post.

Sniffing is enriching.
Exploration matters.
Decompression matters.

But I think the misunderstanding comes when people begin believing that only passive decompression is the gold standard for dog fulfilment.

Because for many dogs, especially dogs bred for cooperation and work, fulfilment also comes through doing things with us.

That relationship piece matters enormously.

The walk is one of the biggest missed opportunities in modern dog ownership.

Not because dogs shouldn’t sniff…

…but because walks can become so much more.

Your Walk Can Become So Much More Than “Exercise”

For me personally, walking my dogs is as much about reconnecting with them as it is about physical exercise.

It’s time together.

Time to engage.
Time to play.
Time to build focus.
Time to create shared experiences.

On a single walk, we might:

* Practice recalls
* Play search games
* Work on impulse control
* Climb uneven surfaces
* Build proprioception
* Improve core strength
* Play with toys
* Practice engagement around distractions
* Do parkour-style movements
* Work on cooperative play
* Reinforce calmness
* Build responsiveness

And none of it feels robotic or forced.

It feels interactive.
It feels fulfilling.
It feels like partnership.

Small Changes Make A Huge Difference

One of the simplest things you can do is take part of your dog’s daily food allocation out on your walk with you.

Use it to reward:

* Recalls
* Check-ins
* Engagement
* Search games
* Play
* Fitness work
* Confidence building
* Calmness
* Learning

Bring a toy.

Hide it.
Use it as a reward.
Create moments of excitement and interaction.

Turn the environment into an opportunity for shared experiences rather than simply a place your dog wanders through independently.

Because ultimately, dogs will always seek ways to fulfil unmet needs.

And often, those needs are deeply connected to what they were bred to do.

If we don’t provide appropriate outlets for engagement, interaction, fulfilment and purpose, dogs will often search for alternatives elsewhere — chasing, scavenging, reactivity, hyper-fixation, environmental obsession, frustration, or disengagement from us altogether.

Be The Centre Of Your Dog’s World

I think one of the greatest gifts we can give our dogs is relevance.

Not control.
Not dependency.
Not micromanagement.

Relevance.

A relationship where the dog genuinely sees us as valuable, engaging, fun, safe, rewarding, and worth interacting with — regardless of the environment around them.

Because when you become meaningful to your dog, everything changes.

Focus improves.
Engagement improves.
Responsiveness improves.
Emotional balance improves.

And most importantly… your relationship deepens.

So yes — let dogs sniff.
Let them decompress.
Let them take in the world.

But don’t forget the incredible power of interaction, engagement, play, learning and shared experiences too.

Because for many dogs, especially those bred to work beside humans, that connection is every bit as important as freedom.

Want The Answers To Creating A More Focused & Engaged Dog?

If you want to learn how to create a dog that is more focused, more engaged, more responsive, and genuinely wants to work with you — irrespective of the lifestyle you live — then join me LIVE all next week for the LOCKED IN series 👊🐾

Across 5 days of LIVE training, I’ll be covering the foundations of engagement, play, focus, motivation, relationship building, and how to become the centre of your dog’s world without conflict or constant correction.

The first LIVE starts Monday 11th May at 8pm GMT.

21/04/2026

It was a busy start of the week for me in Toowoomba.

I saw the lovely big dogs and the stunning Koolie in their homes , and we took the gorgeous German Shepherd out on the quiet streets to practice some leash reactivity skills.

06/04/2026

Husbandry — Nails and Injections
Stationing, Consistent Training, and Predictable Routines to Build Trust
(No Physical Restraint)

One of the advantages of working with larger dogs is that you can’t just hold them down.
So you have to learn to work with them.

Ava is a working-line German Shepherd. She was bred for police work and showed guarding tendencies from puppyhood, along with a strong predisposition to dislike body handling. This was something I worked on deliberately during her first year, and she learned that handling was predictable, brief, and safe.

Louie is a very gentle dog who has always been cautious of strangers, with a successful early technique of ducking away and avoiding them if they looked like they were going to approach or reach to pat him. At nine months old, when he had bilateral shoulder surgery, he was labelled “care will bite” during the hospital stay. He was anxious and painful and wasn’t yet ready for an overwhelming experience with strangers in a scary, unfamiliar environment. You want to protect your body when it hurts.

In these videos, my dogs are stationing themselves on a platform and they have something to focus on — either a container of food just out of reach or food that is available to them. They have a clear focal point and a job to do.
That means they choose to step onto the table and stay there. I don’t need to restrain them.

For many dogs, restraint and loss of choice over their own body is the most aversive part of husbandry handling. Because small dogs are physically easier to restrain, they are often held down to get procedures done. The job gets done, but the dog learns that handling is something to fight, not something to tolerate. Trust can be lost very quickly when a dog feels trapped.

In these videos I’m using two simple techniques.

A. TTT — Touch on, Touch off, Treat.

A brief moment of handling, the handling stops, and then the reward comes. This helps the dog learn that procedures are short and predictable, and they will stop.

You’ll also see a focal bowl in front of the dog. That’s not just for food — it gives useful information. If the dog stops engaging with the bowl or looks away, that’s often one of the earliest signs of discomfort, which is important information for me to decide whether to stop for now, pause briefly, or continue and complete a short procedure safely.

B. The second method is the distraction method, where the dog is engaged with food while a procedure is performed — for example during an injection.

Louis is not a particularly food-motivated dog, and he will often stop eating at the slightest change in circumstance. That’s where practice with the Touch on, Touch off, Treat method becomes especially useful — it helps dogs tolerate some discomfort because they have learned that the handling will be brief and that it will stop. This approach is particularly valuable for dogs like Louie who may not stay engaged with food during procedures.

That learning — built through consistent training and predictable routines — is what allows dogs to tolerate necessary procedures safely. This is particularly important for dogs that require extended grooming, such as poodle and oodles. They cannot be eating food continuously for an hour while being groomed. At some point, they need to be able to tolerate handling calmly, understand what is happening, and trust that the procedure will be completed and will stop.

* This post is not an A to Z of handling. There are many additional techniques and adaptations, particularly for smaller dogs, including being held for husbandry when necessary — and sometimes it is preferable. Some dogs find close contact with a trusted person calming, and the patting and cuddling can help overshadow the procedure being undertaken.

The key principle still applies: restraint should be brief and predictable, not continuous pressure. However, dogs also need to learn to tolerate short periods of human restraint for when they need to be picked up or future emergencies.

I also teach my dogs to understand the boundaries of a lead. In real life, dogs will often be on a lead at the vet or groomer, and sometimes husbandry simply has to happen. In the videos, you’ll see a leash simply attached to a doorknob for those situations.
A lead used briefly to block movement can provide a clearer, more predictable boundary than an owner holding on tight. The key is use any restraint calmly and briefly and not producing continuous pressure.

***Be proactive. Prepare your dog for the handling and procedures that will be part of their life.
Don’t wait until there’s a problem and be left to manage it in the moment.***

22/03/2026

Step 2 of footstep tracking. A short track. With 9yo Ava the GermanShepherd who is experienced and highly food and training motivated,
and Louis the 19mnth Groodle (93% poodle) who is doing his first food track and is not very food motivated nor very training motivated 😊

22/03/2026

First steps of article indication for tracking. The focus bowl. Louis hasn’t done this before, but he does have a required cue to lay down in a sphinx position. This training is done separately to the early tracking training if you teach tracking with food. If you teach tracking with small articles, then the article indication is the first step before you start tracking.
This bowl will gradually be replaced by a small article - I may use small metal washers or bits of leather.

21/03/2026

First step of introductory SCENTPADS for footstep tracking. For fun or competition.
This teaches the dog to track by following crushed ground odour and human scent. For pet dogs it fulfills a motivation to search for food and it promotes concentration and deep sniffing which has a remarkable calming effect.

14/01/2026

Most of the dogs I see have anxiety or fear-based challenges, and many have histories of behaviours like growling, lunging, snapping or biting.

So it’s a real pleasure to work with confident teenage dogs who are enjoying the world, but still need help with life skills, waiting, and self-control.

This little guy on the right is only 16 months old and is full of enthusiasm. He is still learning how to manage big excitement which spills over into persistent loud whining in situations that are overwhelming for him. He’s highly motivated, already has a great foundation, and was lots of fun to work with.

His nervous system is still maturing, and with the right guidance and skills in place, this over arousal doesn’t need to be a long-term issue.

25/12/2025

Merry Christmas from my Louis at Sandgate Beach this morning 🎄🎉🥳