Where You Lead Dog Behaviour and Training

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Wantirna, VIC
Where You Lead Dog Behaviour and Training

WYL is a dog behavioural and training service specialising in fearful behaviour and aggression.

Our trainer is NDTF certified and experienced with dogs of all shapes, sizes and temperaments.

14/09/2025

It was Maggie's 12th birthday Friday. I took Friday and Saturday off to celebrate. Friday we went to a farm and dog cafe.
Saturday we went into the wilderness. Sunday we did cake and presents, including Jax!

25/07/2025

It has been a while between posts! When things get busy, social media has to take a backseat. Time for an update starting with the most important thing – our current foster boy Jax turned four yesterday! Everyone having a birthday in our house must be celebrated so he got some toys, a little puppy ice-cream and, of course, a cake!

Everyone has to share their cake on their birthday of course, though Jax got the biggest piece. It is quite hilarious seeing the difference in how they all attacked their cake. Teddy almost swallowed his whole, while Jax carefully pulled out a ‘carrot candle’ first and ate that, licked off the icing and delicately made his way through the rest.

Note that all three of ours have nailed the ‘puppy dog’ eyes while waiting to be released for their cake.

For the past few months while helping prepare Jax for his new home, we have been continuing our constant learning by consuming online courses, books and journal articles and recently attending a seminar with Josh Moran. Long-time page lurkers would know I have a photo of meeting him many years ago when he last came out to Australia and I was keen to see what new ideas he brought over this time. Outside of that we have had a full house of boarders coming and going, classes, and plenty of in-home consultations. Plus, poor Maggie had to have surgery to have some lumps removed – all benign thankfully!

Safe to say we have been keeping busy, though not keeping the socials updated!

What do you do to celebrate your dog’s birthday? Do they have a favourite cake?

12/05/2025

The page has been quiet for a few months! Regular clients would know I was having my gallbladder removed and recovering from that, then took my dogs bush for a few weeks to completely rest and recover.

Now I'm back to full strength and jumping right back into things! Picking up a foster pup today with dog reactivity and some definite nerves around strangers so I'm very much looking forward to diving in to helping him. For those of you enrolled in classes, remember those start again this week!

Looking forward to getting back into it all and posting some more client updates as we go.

20/02/2025

Part 3 of dealing with off-leash dogs: Things you can carry to help.

Today we are going over some of the tools or objects you can carry with you on your walks to scare away or at least keep another dog at bay long enough for their owner to call them or catch them

Almost all of these are great tools to use while practicing the drop-stay and protect your dog stance mentioned in the last post.

· Get a ‘Pet Convincer’ to carry with you on walks. A Pet Convincer releases a quick burst of condensed air which makes an off-putting hissing noise and is often enough to deter the approaching dog. Condensed air cans such as the ones used to clean a computer or even spray deodorant can work but they often don’t give quite as dramatic a sound as the Pet Convincer. The added benefit of the Pet Convincer is that it is small enough to fit in a pocket and has a ‘lock’ so you don’t accidentally let air out. The downside is initial outlay of cost, how quickly the cannisters run out and the fact that is less convenient than other condensed air cans you may already have around the house.

The initial purchase is a little pricey – generally retailing for $100-140 but it is reusable with replacement cannisters being relatively cheap. There are a few places you can get them online and I have seen them at Mega Pet Warehouse before. The cannisters themselves are cheap to replace though – Varying between $1.50-$4.00.

It’s worth spending the money on a proper branded one if you want to go this route, otherwise a bottle of condensed air from a computer shop would be a better bet than a cheaper version which suggests it does the same thing. It most likely will have lower air pressure and still be more expensive than the computer cleaning air you can get from an office supply store.

The Pet Convincer is designed to startle the other dog or scare them away but it will not harm them in any way. Don’t get mixed up between this and similarly named products which are NOT refillable.

See the small attached clip of my Pet Convincer at work. The first time I try and press it you can see the lock stops it from activating.

· Carry a pop-up umbrella. For best results you want a compact umbrella which extends the length of the handle as well as opening at the push of a button. Carry this with the tie around the top undone and all you will need to do will be push a button while aiming it towards an oncoming dog. This can startle an approaching dog to stop, leave or at least hesitate long enough for the owner to catch them or you to move to safety. It can even work while attached to you by a carabiner or similar if you attach it in the right place, so you won’t need to undo it entirely to use it (saving precious moments!).

This is a good option to pair with a “middle” position for your dog (between your legs) so you can use the umbrella to shield your dog on all sides if the approaching dog keeps coming closer.

You want this to be something you handle easily with one hand on the umbrella – not too heavy for you or stiff – as you will need your other hand on your dog’s leash.

· Carry a plastic jar or bottle of rocks / pebbles which makes a loud noise when thrown towards the feet of the approaching dog. Not my favourite option as it can be heavy to carry and if your throw is not accurate enough you have lost your deterrent. You also want decent aim because you do not want to hit the other dog. Don’t pack the bottle full or the noise will be dampened.

· If you take treats on your walk, grab a big handful and toss them towards the approaching dog. Your own dog will need to know not to lunge towards these treats because sudden movement from them can encourage the other dog to leave the distraction and keep approaching. A solid ‘middle’, ‘drop’ or ‘leave it’ works well here. While I dislike doing this due to the risk of allergy danger for the other dog, you need to prioritise protecting your dog in this situation.

If you can maintain your balance, stand on your dog’s leash even while they are in their obedience position to add double security with this one.

· Citronella spray (like Sprayshield animal deterrent). Pocket sized and can be sprayed at the dog approaching. This can be helpful for particularly persistent dogs as it is unpleasant, not just startling. It is also not toxic so even if it catches in the wind and sprays back on you a bit it will not hurt you or your dog. This relies on not having gusty winds so is also not my first choice but it can be effective where a dog doesn’t care about the sound of the condensed air.

· You can use an Air horn similarly to the above. The loud noise can be unpleasant and frightening enough to scare an approaching dog away.

For all of these items you will want to condition your dog to them before ever taking them out on a walk so they are used to the noise or movement. We absolutely don’t want to frighten your own dog, especially if they are already nervous around other dogs. It’s best if they basically think ‘ah, that thing you do sometimes, weirdo’.

Have you found an alternative deterrent which has worked for you? Do you have any questions about the ones listed here? Keep tuned – there is still more to come in our off-leash dog series!

06/02/2025

Wow! How is it February already? A very busy January with clients, class preparations and even a small seminar means little social media time but never fear - our third post on how to handle off-leash dogs running up to your pup will be up very shortly! In the meantime, stay cool, don’t walk your dogs in this heat and enjoy some of the adorable faces we were helping in January!

24/12/2024

Merry Christmas from us and ours to you and yours! (Yes even from the disgruntled Kelpador who is ready for her holidays to begin!) Have a safe and enjoyable New Year!

Take some time to rest and relax like the gang got to after their photoshoot in their new pool ❤️

23/12/2024

Part 2 of dealing with off-leash dogs: If asking the owner to call their dog doesn’t work and you have nothing on you to help with the situation:

All of these suggestions work best if you have taken the time to practice them before you need to put them into action.

Practice is the best preparation – work on a solid drop at home then proof it on a long-line and in many different environments!

• Do not run. It will almost certainly be your first instinct so you will need to fight it. Running encourages the other dog to follow you. We use running away from a dog as a way to INCREASE their desire to come to you in recall – don’t make that mistake here.

• Avoid picking your dog up unless you are confident you can keep them away from the other dog and the other dog won’t hurt you trying to get to them. Generally, picking your dog up is more likely to encourage jumping or frustration from a non-aggressive dog and can escalate a situation. It also puts you in more danger as you now have your hands full and can’t move as freely.

Instead:

• Loudly bellow, “No” and/or “Sit” – some dogs will listen automatically. Make your voice deep, not high. Practice this on your own so you are better prepared when the situation arises. It’s hard to control your voice when you actually see the dog approaching!

• If you have a really solid drop-stay with your dog, drop them between you and a fence, tree or other barrier and keep your body between them and the other dog. Make yourself bigger and harder to get past by putting your arms out on a forty-five-degree angle downwards like a soccer goalie – your dog is the goal net and the approaching dog is the ball you’re trying to keep away.

As the other dog approaches - Act confident even if you don’t feel it! This will give your dog confidence that you have control of the situation and make them less likely to react or try and take control themselves, as well as making the other dog more likely to pay attention to you.

Stand tall, put your shoulders back and speak with a deeper voice. AVOID making eye contact with the approaching dog. If they are aggressive this can increase the chance of reaction.

Please also note: These actions may work well with dogs who are approaching because they want to greet your dog or out of excitement, but will be less effective for truly aggressive dogs. If you have other tools to scare the dog away, getting your dog dropped somewhere safe with you standing in front is still a good option with an aggressive dog.

• Retreat without running away. If you are near a fence or gate and can get behind it, use it as an additional barrier for you and your dog. Many ovals have gates you can open and close. Get yourself and your dog through by moving towards the gate while maintaining visual on the dog (do not run or turn your back). Get your dog through the gate first and then shut it behind you.

If you are able to pick your dog up you can also put them over a nearby fence for protection while you catch the approaching dog or wait for the other owner to do something. Do NOT let go of the leash if you do this. You still need complete control. If safe to do so, you can tie your dog to the fence while you catch the off-leash dog.

There is always a risk that a dog may potentially be hidden on the other side of a fence or gate. Be careful.

Remember: All of these suggestions are situational and you want to make the choice which is safest for you and your dog.

Practice for the situation in case it arises. Practice so often you don’t second guess yourself when it does happen. Proof your dog so they are comfortable moving with you as you carry out these steps.

A common error I see with proofing a dog’s behaviour is believing a dog your dog has a solid drop-stay, but only ever walking away backwards from the dog while still watching them and making eye contact. You will not be able to do this when you are trying to protect them. Once your dog is confident holding their drop when you are watching them, practice walking away without watching them. A second helper to yell out can be really handy here – otherwise you can set your phone up to show what is behind you and watch your phone as you walk away if you aren’t confident you will be able to sense your dog breaking their position.

This is all general advice. I would love to go into far more detail but it is too hard to do in a Facebook post. Please ask any questions you have to clarify anything I have said.

Our next post in the new year will be full of suggestions of handy items you can carry to help keep the approaching dog away if none of the above works!

16/12/2024

As promised, here are some tips for what to do when an off-leash dog approaches you and your dog when you're just trying to enjoy your walk like Paddy and his owner here. This turned into a bit of a monster of a post so it will be broken up into a few days’ worth of information!

𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐨 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 -𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭- 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐚𝐧 𝐨𝐟𝐟-𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐡 𝐝𝐨𝐠 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡:

First call out to the owner of the dog to recall their dog. You don’t need to be polite here.

“Recall your dog now.” “Get your dog.”

If you get the often-inevitable reply of “He’s friendly” or a half-hearted recall which the owner clearly knows won’t work, you can step it up to, “My dog is contagious.” It is amazing how much faster someone will move when they are worried for their dog instead of you being worried about yours.

You can ask someone to recall their dog even in an off-leash area. In an off-leash area dogs must be under effective voice control and within sight of their owner. There is no requirement for you to allow that dog to approach yours even if they are friendly. In a perfect world, owners would have the courtesy to keep their dogs away from other dogs until they had permission to approach – just like we teach kids when wanting to pat a dog on the street!

If the other owner gets angry with you for saying your dog is sick when they aren’t – remember you are in the right and walk away. The important thing is keeping you and your dog safe!

If asking them to call their dog isn’t working, you will need to move onto stage two which will be posted in the next few days.

28/11/2024

How often have you taken your pup for a nice peaceful walk only to have an off-leash dog come bounding up out of nowhere? An owner is inevitably wandering nearby and will casually call out “he’s friendly” or may not even be watching their dog to see it approach you at all.

This scenario is becoming more frequent. I see clients every day whose dogs have been doing wonderfully with their training – whether it be focus work, loose leash walking or reactivity – until the dreaded off-leash dog barrels up to them. You can almost guarantee a daily post on the community pages on Facebook by fed-up dog walkers experiencing this.

It is incredibly frustrating for the owner as well as being potentially damaging for both the dog on leash AND the off-leash dog.

It is also part of the reason there are more calls to stop areas being available for off-leash dogs, which restricts freedom from those who are able to use it responsibly.

In any area where a dog is allowed to be off-leash, whether enclosed or not, it is the legal obligation that the owner have them under verbal or hand signal control. This means that they can be called away from any distraction when needed. This is the bare minimum many people do not follow.

On top of that the common courtesy of not letting your dog approach another dog without permission is frequently ignored.

Many ‘friendly’ dogs I have come across on my walks are actually displaying behaviours which are really inappropriate for greeting any dog, let alone an anxious or nervous dog. Inevitably the dog who snaps or growls is labelled the “bad” dog in this scenario, even if they are simply trying to say, “hey mate, that’s not cool” as an approaching dog invades their space.

Does this sound familiar to you? Tell us about your experience in the comments! What did you do to keep your pup safe?

In the next week we are going to post some strategies for helping keep you and your dog safe if you are rushed by an off-leash dog.

29/10/2024

Say hi to Paddy - an adorable Beagle in his second session. Our first session was cut short due to bad weather but Paddy had been working hard with his mum to learn how to behave.

Paddy's main issue is loving too much. Jumping on every person and dog he sees, plus walking all over the place following his nose! His owner is a little older so sudden movements can send her head over heels.

We worked on a number of things with Paddy, but the main one was a good walk with 'swap' as a command to go to the other side when things might be more interesting. His owner is keen for him to follow his nose, just not to the point of tripping her up!

We also worked on some free shaping with Paddy and his mum so they have something to keep his clever mind occupied when she might be less able to head out for big walks! As you can see our session sure tired this cute pooch out!

23/10/2024

The most impactful training is often the most boring to watch. This is why great training makes dull TV.

At a glance there doesn't seem to be anything exciting in these photos does there? This is Rollo. He's a beautiful but quite high strung Ridgeback. The first day we started working on his relaxation he took six hours (not joking!) to even drop beside me. He would occasionally sit but generally was standing, moving around and fretting.

Today he lay down as soon as we started our exercise. This is not a commanded exercise, it is all about the dog and learing to relax themself.

In the second photo you can see Rollo in a recent home visit choosing to chill out near the front door - no leash, all of his own accord. Previously he would have either paced, remained standing or at best chosen to lay down on his extremely comfortable bed. Any movement would have had him running around to see what was going on. On this day he settled down multiple times and stayed relaxed while his owners and I moved.

So how does this apply practically? It assists in almost everything in Rollo's life. A calmer mindset will help him feel more settled in the house, on the leash, seeing other dogs and sleeping better.

It may not look exciting - but it is!

11/10/2024

Leia is absolutely gorgeous! It's not a question - just look at her! She is a rescue pup from GSRV and her owners contacted me a little while ago because, as with many rescue pups, she was a bit nervous in her home environment.

They are incredibly dedicated and Leia is utterly gorgeous, repaying them with lots of love! We have been shoring up her obedience, especially with her trust in her humans and working around other dogs while teaching her that she can trust her people to take care of her outside of the home, as well as in!

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Wantirna, VIC
3152

Website

http://www.whereyoulead.com.au/

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Where You Lead is a dog behaviour and training service, specialising in fearful behaviour and fear aggression in dogs. We are also able to offer help for a full range of behavioural and obedience issues! We don’t believe in the word ‘untrainable’ and if we can’t help you, we will find someone who can. Our trainer is NDTF certified and a member of the International Association of Canine Professionals.