Cause and Effect Dog Training - Toowoomba and Darling Downs

05/07/2025

Does you dog love going to the vets? Is he calm and relaxed and happy to sit on the scales without wriggling or do you have to covertly check out the waiting room before you go in? Or do you struggle to keep him undercontrol and/or have trouble just to get him sitting on the scales?
This is such a common issue, so you definately arent alone.

The solution? Your know what Im going to say. Appropriate training in all environments and situations. If your dog gets over excited or anxious going to the vets, he wont improve by himself.

With young puppies and dogs, the first step can be as simple as starting to take him into the vets (in a quiet time to start with) giving him some yummy food and leaving. This way you are building up a postive association with just being there. This method can also avoid anxiety later.

For older dogs, we would use a different approach but its well worth doing and your Vet will definately thank you,

03/07/2025

What is the Best Age to Train a Dog?

This is a common question that many families have and once you understand this one fundamental fact it really answers the question for you.

So what is this secret? From the moment your puppy is born, it is learning. At first, its about survival and instinctual behaviour. Later on, he is learning about rules of living with his litter and mother.

By the time you pick up your new puppy, he has already learnt so much but now a more intense learning happens as he moves in with his new family, away from this litter.
A new chapter of life.

From the moment you pick up your new addition, he starts to learn from you. He is also learning about you, your family, how to communicate with you, what he can and can not do whether that is inside the house, outside in the yard, playing with you or interacting with you in all sorts of ways
You see, training your dog, is not just about obedience training. Don’t get me wrong, obedience training is an integral part of living a harmonious life with your dog, but it isn’t the be all and end all. You can take your dog to obedience classes and have the most obedient dog either on or off lead in class, but once he is not under command…… well that can be a different story.
In every minute of every day he is watching and learning how to live with you. This is why its important to be aware of what you are allowing him to do and not brush off bad behaviours as “he’s just a puppy”. He may be biting, jumping, chewing your best shoes and harassing your other dog because he is a puppy but that doesn’t mean he can’t learn to not do it. Its far easier to teach him the rules of the family right from the start rather than having to backtrack later on when his behaviour becomes a major problem.
At the end of the day, getting an experienced professional dog trainer in to give you a hand before your dogs behaviour gets out of hand is definitely worth the money. Getting you on track to understand your dog better and how to address future issues is something that I focus on because it can avoid more costly training later on.
The longer a behaviour has been happening, generally the more complex it is, the longer will take to address it, the more lessons you will need and therefore the more costly it will be.

30/06/2025

Training a BIG Dog – Just how important is it?

Setting out to train your new puppy or dog is something that most people do in some way. Whether its just toilet training inside, teaching how to sit, walking on a loose lead, coming when called or a myriad of other behaviours. The starting point of it all is clear communication, understanding (on both sides) and follow through.
For your puppy/dog, his size doesn’t really play a part in his picture of life, especially when little, as he has little concept of this, however, for the family, it can have quite severe consequences as a large breed puppy grows, develops and starts to understand his world, his place in his world, and his size.
Lets face it, there are many small dogs who rule the roost. These dogs usually exhibit behaviours like barking at little to nothing, don’t listen to their family, are generally unsettled, can’t walk calmly on a lead, jumping up on people, being reactive to other dogs - you get the picture. Because they are little, they can be largely ignored and left to carry on because the disruption to the family life can be managed.

Now replace this scenario with a large breed puppy. Image you have a 50kg puppy under 12 months old and he is displaying the same behaviours. Now you have a BIG problem. Not only is he very strong, he will learn to use his size and strength to get whatever he wants.
Initially he was doing behaviours that you thought were cute for a puppy so you let it go.
Then you realised that he was getting bigger and so were your problems with his behaviour.
Perhaps you looked on google or got advice to “just ignore him” and give him a treat when he settles. Lets use jumping on you in this example. If your puppy likes jumping up, he finds just doing this, even without any input from you, great fun, he will continue doing it even if you ignore him. Sometimes dogs find the act of doing something they like more rewarding than food, so it isn’t always the answer.
So you took the advice to just ignore him and now you have a 60kg mastiff jumping on you because he likes doing it.
As another example, if you walked into a room and found your toddler drawing with crayons on your wall. Would you (a) ignore him and let him continue and give him a bickie or lolly when he stops, or would you (b) go and take the crayon off him, take him away from the wall and perhaps depending on his age, try and explain why this is not acceptable.

When you ignore your dogs behaviour, you are pretty much giving him the green light to continue. Teaching your dog the meaning of the word No and being able to follow up and stop, block or give him an alternative behaviour is integral in your dog learning how to live with you and you both enjoying your life together,

So if you have a puppy, especially if he is going to grow into a BIG dog, get the right advice and training as soon as possible. It will make your life so much easier and enjoyable.

30/06/2025

🐾 Only 2 Spots Left for Puppy School! 🐾

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For more information visit – First Steps Puppy School - Cause and Effect Dog Training

27/06/2025

This team have come such a long way in such a short time. This big boy is still only 9 months old and when we first met he was an impressive jumper and quickly learning to use his size to get what he wanted.
He still has a way to go, but now his family know how to react and use clear communication to move forward to make him their best boy.

20/06/2025

I love using "human" names for my animals.

18/06/2025

Should you buy 2 puppies together so they can keep eachother company?

There are quite a few things to consider.
1. Cost. Probably the most expensive time in your dogs life is puppyhood. Remember to factor in the cost of veterinary care, appropriate food, training to set the foundations for later learning, leads, collars, parasite treatment, grooming, boarding, holidays etc
2. Raising a puppy well takes alot of time and patience, Double that with 2 puppies. How much time do you have to committ to the task?
3. You also want to build a strong bond with your puppy so you are the most exciting and valuable thing in his world. This is why you have to be aware of how much time 2 puppies are spending together. Too much and that bond will form between them and not with you.
4. Exposure and socialising - again, 2 puppies, double the time this will take
5. If you have different breeds, have you got the capacity to give each the enrichment suitable for their breed characteristics?

There are also alot of other considerations as well, so if you are thinking of buying 2 puppies at the same time, please dont do it from an emotional point of view.

16/06/2025

Winter has arrived. Older dogs and puppies can have difficulty in regulating their body temperatures, so with all the cold weather, it is important that we monitor them and make sure they are comfortable. Many people say that shivering is ok for their outside dog because it is their way of staying warm. An evolutionary body response for sure - but we also shiver when cold in the same way.... but we are still cold. Your dog is no different.

16/06/2025

In our last week of class, we ventured out into the wide world to put some real life skills into practice. Everyone has done so well and have been so committed to the learning and training and it really showed,

11/06/2025

Do you play with your Dog? Do you think its important?

Have you ever thought about why dogs like squeaky toys? Or why they love to rip them open and pull the stuffing out? Well it might not be quite what you thought,

Dogs love to play because it taps into their genetic needs as part of their Prey Drive as a Canine.
Chasing a ball - tapping into the chase part of the dogs prey drive,
Playing Tug - tapping into the capture and struggle part of prey drive
Ripping stuffing out of toys (and other items at times) - tapping into the devouring part of Prey Drive,
Finding the squeaker and squeaking it - its gross but small animals make squeaking sounds when a predator holds them.

My own dog used to catch rats and "squeak" them until they stopped and then she disguard them.

They are still having fun, but they are also practicing something that is hardwired into a canine and because of that, it is a vital part of dog ownership.

Building up a strong game with your dog is not only alot of fun, but it can then be used as a reward in training as well,

10/06/2025

05/06/2025

The Recall. A life saving command. I give the below advice to every client I see but it's also a difficult one to follow. Complacency that your dog will come at home or your puppy knows what "come" means and then expecting it to happen everywhere is a sure way to set your dog up to fail. The recall takes work..alot of work but is well worth it. It may save his life.

Morning Tips !!!

Recall Advice.

A major mistake we make with dogs when it comes to recall, is letting them off the lead when they’re not ready.
If your dogs recall is good 9/10 and it’s off lead you are setting the dog up for failure.

You see 9/10 might be good for you, but that 1/10 the dog doesn’t listen is the problem.

Dogs are opportunistic animals and they also work very much by association. This means if they can ignore you 1/10, they will eventually start 2/10, 3/10 and so forth. You open the door for them to ignore you.
They will also learn that in certain circumstances under certain distractions they can ignore you, which they will start to take advantage of.

Your dog needs to be on a long line, until it’s responding first time, every time and has been tested around a whole multitude of distractions, from kids running and screaming, kites being flown, footballs being kicked, cats, birds, squirrels, live stock, calm dogs, excited dogs, cars, water, woods etc etc and not just once, but multiple times to proof it.

ENCLOSED FIELDS is another big problem that ruined your recall with your dog.

A lot of people who have a dog who has a poor recall, will hire out fields, that are secure, so their dog can have a good run around.

The MISTAKE however is letting that dog off the lead to have a good run around. The field might be safe and secure but you are allowing the dog off lead and giving it access to blow you off.

What the dog learns here is, when there is nothing going on, I ignore you, so why would they listen when there are real world distractions.

Enclosed fields can be great for recall training if you use them correctly. The dog should still be on a long line, you should still be using that to proof recall and to have fun with your dog. This way it won’t hinder your recall and you won’t forever have to use enclosed fields when there is nothing going on.

TAKING YOUR DOG TO THE SAME PARK EVERYDAY

That’s right, something so simple, as the above, hinders recall. Your dog might even listen to you in the same park, but if you’ve not taken the time to proof recall in nee and exciting environments, your dog will always struggle when they go to these new or exciting environments.

You don’t get a good recall by going to the same place over and over again.

Also it’s important to go to new places to practice recall not just for recall sake but for confidence sake, some dogs don’t get nearly enough environmental socialising, so any new place or nee distractions can be overwhelming to them and lead to more serious issues.

So here are some things you can do to improve your recall.

1. Make sure AOA is a lifestyle and you don’t just set aside time to work on it for a few minutes here and there.

2. Hand feeding can help massively. It will improve attention, food drive and all round obedience.

3. Taking a toy with you. If your dog doesn’t have 100 toys indoors that he can go through like a steam train and get bored very quickly (which will result in loss of shoes or kids toys) Toys can be a great thing.
Find that toy your dogs loves, bring it out, play and then put it away. Keep that toy relevant.

Too many toys means the toys lose value. Too many sessions where the dog plays with toys without you, YOU lose value.

4. Teach your dog to walk nicely on a lead. A lot of people don’t realise, if your dog doesn’t listen on a lead, very often it will struggle off a lead. Lead walking done properly allows you to teach the dog to follow you, you start making all the choices, you’re practicing Recall, technically without doing recall.

Regular Structured street walking done properly has so many powerful benefits to yours and your dogs relationship.

5. Keep your dog on a long lead over fields, until your dog is listening in any and all environments. The long lead allows you to remain in control. If the dog IGNORES you, it has a 30ft lead attached to it, which means you can step on it, pick it up and make sure your dog listens.

Puppy owners, don’t be fooled !! Puppies will often have a half decent recall when they are a pup, they’re dependent on you for the best part, cautious and more receptive to listen, but the big mistake is thinking you have a decent recall and letting that pup completely off lead with no long line.
You see ADOLESCENCE is a Bitch !!! That’s when your puppy who has a decent recall, suddenly gives you the middle finger and decides it wants to do things his own way, so puppies should always be on a long line.

6. Talk less !! That’s right, saying the dogs name over and over in a negative, repeating commands over and over, talking to your dog like it’s a human, teaches the dog to drown you out. It makes your voice non existent and damages your relationship and authority.

7. Remember, it’s what you do when nothing is going on, that dictates how the dog will behave when there is something going on.

If your dog IGNORES you indoors, gets away with things indoors, if you fuss fuss fuss but ask for nothing before this, your dog will definitely ignore you when there is something more exciting going on.

So I hope this helps you guys.

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This was a long one, but we’ve not had any morning tips for a while.