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Dog Matters: Training and Behaviour Solutions shared with plenty of fun. We use balanced training but all kind people who want to learn are welcome.

Dog Matters is owned and run by Tenille Williams, a Certified Dog Trainer. Here at Dog Matters, we teach dogs both yes and no so that training is clear and your dog knows both what you want them to do and what you don't want them to do. If that sounds like a good fit for you, we'd love to have you join us. Dog Matters offers an online community for dog owners everywhere and a training service base

d in Bundaberg, Qld, Australia. Does your dog need some training? Whether it be a behavioural problem or obedience skills, Dog Matters can help. And we come to you. We offer:

In home / private dog training lessons
Puppy training
Online dog training
Online educational blogs and videos

14/03/2026

Training is essential for any dog. In fact, every dog who lives with people is being trained all the time they are with you. They are always observing and learning something from every interaction. It’s up to us to make sure that works to the advantage of all involved.

Purposeful training and having your dog being able to understand you and obey commands is not just for the sake of being able to tell our dog what to do, but to actually keep them safe.

Dogs who don’t know any commands and have no structure can be much more anxious not knowing what comes next in life. Not only that, but they can even put their life and the lives of others at risk if they have no training, such as no recall in public, or even knocking someone over while being too friendly. A dog doesn’t need to be aggressive to cause serious damage by accident.

Dogs were bred to live with humans so that we can enjoy their company. Training enhances this and makes your dog happier too.

Life is easier when you and your dog understand each other.

If you’d like more training from me, I would love to help you.

11/03/2026

Most dogs that aren’t listening are confused and don’t truly understand what the owner wants. I see it alllllll the time and usually the owner thinks the dog should understand certain instructions or unspoken rules (like don’t chew the couch or you can’t p*e here), when it has never actually been taught.

The next time you ask your dog to do something and they don’t get it, ask yourself, have we spent some time in training for this skill? If yes, have we spent time proofing it in this environment and with this level of distraction?

If you find you haven’t, it may be time to put the leash back on, train with a long line, and do some purposeful training to show your dog what you want.

At any time that you aren’t sure why your dog isn’t listening to you, ask yourself, do they truly
understand what I want in this context?

08/03/2026

When it comes to teaching our dogs that each word has a clear meaning, we need to make sure that part of that clear meaning is that they should listen the first time. Think about it this way - how many times do you want to have to say a command before your dog listens? If the answer is once, then practice saying it once, then making it happen, from the get go.

27/02/2026

While we need to make our words and their meanings clear if we want our dog to be able to do anything with them, we also don’t want to stand there like a silent statue, leaving our dogs

wondering if they’re doing right or not. Too much silence can create confusion. So give your dog some feedback along the way. A keep going word as simple as, “good,” can make a big difference to your dog knowing when they are on the right track.

24/02/2026

Dogs are like aliens that are trying to understand us and don’t know our language. To learn singular words and tones is hard enough, but to learn full sentences that change all the time just won’t work.

I’m not saying don’t talk to your dog - but when you want them to understand and do something (or stop doing something) based on what you say, clear words and clear meanings are best.

21/02/2026

Clear Communication - The Key To Successful Relationships

They say communication is the most important part of a relationship and it’s the same with the relationship with your dog. You must have clear communication and trust.

If your dog can understand you effectively, they will trust you more and your bond will be closer.

On top of that, life will be easier as you will have a dog who knows how to listen!

Most dogs who are misbehaving are doing so because they don’t know any different or are confused.

I also see a lot of owners assume that the dog knows the behaviour is wrong and can’t understand why they keep doing it. In reality, the dog has no idea the behaviour is, “wrong,” and they’ve never truly been shown otherwise.

Some ways people commonly confuse their dogs:

Talking too much or too little
Repeating commands over and over just hoping the dog eventually gets it
Asking the dog to perform a cue that hasn’t been taught

Need help finding the right balance? Book a lesson or take our Virtual Dog School program to learn how to create a harmonious relationship with your dog through clear communication. Link in bio.

20/02/2026

Waiting To Go Through The Door/Gate

Here’s another opportunity to teach self control and focus in exchange for something that the dog wants and receives in everyday life anyway - access through doors and gates.

This works with any door or gate, but if you have a difficult gate that jams it will be easier to start with one that flows smoothly.

This is actually the same concept as waiting for the food bowl except the dog is getting access to the other side of the door instead of access to food. It’s still something that he wants!

I suggest starting with your dog leashed for this, but think of the leash only as a backup - you should not create any tension on the leash or control your dog with the leash at all for this exercise.

Stand with your dog at the door. Start to open the door. As soon as your dog makes any sort of movement towards the door’s opening, shut the door quickly. Move it fast so that the dog thinks it could shut at any time and it’s safer to give it some space.

Repeat this until your dog stops trying to go towards the door. Don’t use any commands during this exercise until you get to the release. You may find your dog offers a sit voluntarily.

When your dog has waited for the door to open without trying to rush through, give your dog a calm walk or heel command and walk them through.

Simple as that!

If you’re skeptical, give these exercises a go and have patience - you might be surprised how well your dog actually does.
Within a few goes, your dog will quickly know what to do.

11/02/2026

Part 2 of teaching your dog to wait for permission to eat:

The Full Progression (Step-by-Step):
Get a Sit (The Starting Position): Hold the bowl up over your dog’s head; this will naturally encourage them to sit. (You don't need to say "sit"-focus on your movements, as your dog watches those most closely.)
Lower the Bowl: Once your dog is sitting, slowly start to lower the bowl toward the ground.

Raise It Up: If your dog breaks the sit or moves toward the bowl, quickly raise it back up to your starting position.
Achieve Ground Contact: Repeat until your dog stays seated while you lower the bowl completely onto the ground.

The Release: Once the bowl is fully on the ground and your dog is waiting, say your chosen release word (e.g., free, eat, okay, release, break) and allow them to eat.
Build Duration: Repeat this process to increase the length of time your dog waits.
Add Eye Contact (Advanced): Once your dog is proficient, you can wait for, or specifically ask for, eye contact before giving the release word each time.
Pro Training Tip: Dog training is all about small, achievable increments. If you want more practice sessions from one meal, put only a spoonful of food in the bowl at a time. Complete the wait-and-release process, then repeat with the next spoonful until the meal is finished.

Choosing Your Release Word:

Choose a word you like, but make sure it doesn't clash with other words you use often (e.g., 'okay' is common) or sound similar to a known command (e.g., 'go' sounding like 'no').

10/02/2026

Teaching your dog to wait for permission to eat is a powerful way to build self-control and focus on you. Seeing you as the valuable source of good things is an essential skill you want your dog to learn.

The Goal: Your dog learns that focusing on you, rather than just the food, is what leads to eating.

How to Start (For Beginners):
Start putting the food bowl down.
If your dog moves toward the bowl, quickly pick it back up.
Repeat this process-putting the bowl down and picking it up when the dog moves-until your dog understands that trying to get the food makes it disappear. That's it!
A Note on Time: You might think this will take forever, but based on training hundreds of dogs, it rarely takes more than a couple of short 5-10 minute sessions to get the initial concept.

Part 2 on the next post 🐾

03/02/2026

Learning self control
Can you imagine how hectic life would be if we all acted immediately on our impulses like our dogs do? Perhaps you actually know someone who does that. It can be stressful.

Without being taught, dogs simply don’t know that there’s a time and a place, and that in this human world, they need to have some self control at times.

Thankfully we can teach them. And the more they practice self control, the more they understand it as a general concept and the calmer and more focused they can become around distractions.

There’s many self control exercises we can teach your dog together. Private lessons (in person or via video call) and self paced courses are available now on the website.

02/02/2026

Can we remove the reason?

Behaviour: Barking at passers by
Reason: The dog is protecting his territory and warding off intruders. For all he knows, that postman was on his way to murder the whole family but thanks to his barking, the postman left! Lucky you have him.

What we can remove: We can’t stop passersby or the postman from leaving when the dog barks. So in this case we need to teach the dog to quietly accept that people come and go as a normal and everyday part of life and show the dog that the outcome is not what they thought - that they don’t have to bark and everything is still fine. Thus, removing the association.

If your dog is performing a behaviour, remember, there is always a reason. Knowing that reason can help us solve the problem.

23/01/2026

Can we remove the reason? Behaviour: Pulling on the lead

Reason: In the dog’s mind, pulling on the lead gets her to where she wants to go, and faster. She doesn’t realise that you will lead the way and still get to go where she wants. Plus she can SEE that it works, because when pulls, she gets to move forward in the direction she wants. WINNING!

What we can remove: The number one rule to stop leash pulling is to never follow the dog when the leash is tight!

Remember: The big key parts to stopping a behaviour you don’t want: Removing rewards, preventing practice, rewarding an alternative incompatible behaviour

If you’re looking for more support, there are private lessons and online programs available right now via the link in bio that will leave you saying, “they’re like a different dog!”

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