The Dog Training Lab

17/04/2025

This photo means more than a ribbon.

It was four years ago.

Raven and I placed 2nd in obedience. But that’s not the part that stuck with me.

I’ve competed before. I’ve had dogs that worked for toys like their life depended on it. I could’ve been on fire and they wouldn’t have noticed as long as they had their ball.

But Raven? She is different.

She works for me.

I remember running between two rings that weekend—from obedience to rally-o. I tried to play with her after our test, and she spat out the toy. She didn’t care about the toy. She was just ready to keep going… with me.

She wasn’t perfect. But we were a team. We had fun. She sat on her chair, watched the world go by, and soaked up every “best Malinois here” compliment.

That day made me think hard about what really matters in dog training.

That maybe we overuse rewards and underuse relationship.

That maybe we don’t practice the basics enough—because Raven beat everyone on stays alone (because we actually work on it).

That maybe a little less cueing and a little more connection goes further than we think.

I don’t have it all figured out.

But I do know this—I want more people to feel what I felt that day. To know what it’s like to have your dog choose you.

Every day I try to help more owners and their dogs get there too. Because ribbons are nice. But connection? That’s everything.

03/04/2025

Let's talk about FETCH baby!
Ever feel guilty not doing “enough” with your dog?
This episode will set you free.


Listen on YouTube Here: https://youtu.be/r-OjMU_BaWg
Listen on HelloAudio Here (and skip the ads): https://podcasts.helloaudio.fm/player?episodeId=1cd7fbe6-d8e7-4f43-b958-569430f59c55&code=pBzqSWtyAo¢ered=true

02/04/2025

A year since I published my book "How to Socialise Your Puppy". Have you read it yet? What did you think?

29/01/2025

We are extremely proud of Tyler and little Cooper.

These dogs are a part of our Manners Academy program (it's online) both their owners love their dogs and want to do everything with them. But these boys have struggled with fear and reactivity.

They're very different dogs. Tyler was attacked by a dog and Little Cooper is such an introvert he chooses to go to his crate instead of an outing! Cooper is a character, I tell you!

The thing is, most people with a reactive dog are wanting the dog to change. But both these boys' mums had to learn how to help their dogs instead of focusing on changing their dogs.

And in the process of changing their expectations, beliefs and how they handled situations, their dogs became more confident and less reactive.

Cooper was pretty much petrified of life outside his back yard!

Now being able to attend a group training class may not sound like a big deal to many. But neither of these boys were happy to even be around Raven for many, many sessions. They really struggled.

But this week both of these boys started going to Rally Obedience class!

Tyler's mum had said to the club members that he was reactive and people actually said "is this the reactive dog?" like they didn't believe her! Previously when she went to obedience he was barking and lunging at the other dogs.

If you are struggling with a reactive dog you'll understand why I'm so happy for little Cooper and Tyler and their mums!

I hope this gives you hope and courage that you and your reactive dog can enjoy life together ❤️

10/01/2025

Raven is almost 8... and this is her teeth:

Here's what she gets and doesn't get:

No tennis balls - Kaz and Delta who used to get tennis balls had chipped teeth by 3.

My dogs are fed kibble: Royal Canin

They do get cow hooves, raw and thawed chicken carcasses and beef soup bones.

Toys are generally Kong and Sodapups boredom buster toys (these sometimes have food frozen inside). Oh and their glow in the dark "sticks" from Kmart. They don't get to have toys all the time. And of course, French linen tug toys. I hate squeaky toys!

We do not play toys every day.

Raven had a slab fracture in one of her teeth last year. The vet was surprised I found it because these are difficult to detect, my clues were:
Raven started taking longer to eat bones
Raven started drooling more
Raven's breath started smelling

Vet pulled the problem tooth. And I stopped feeding frozen bones.

Some interesting information on teeth: smaller dogs tend to have more issues with teeth.

12/12/2024

This started as a way to get the girls out of the kitchen way back when Raven was still a puppy and Kaz was there to show her the ropes.

Now it's just a fun trick we do every now and then.

07/12/2024

I dread the day this dog leaves me! There is nothing about her I would change except prevent the injury that damaged her leg.

04/12/2024

Want to know what the answer to NZ Dog problem is?

We've got it!

Why does New Zealand have a dog problem, and why isn’t it getting better? In this episode, Luzelle, The Unconventional Dog Trainer, breaks down the real issu...

28/11/2024

Do you ever just hang out in the car with your dog?

This is a great way to socialise pups and help worried or reactive dogs learn to become more comfortable with a new environment.

Most times our dogs become anxious or reactive because we don't allow enough time for them to see and smell their environment before we expect them to interact with it.

What sets our training apart and why it's so successful is because we do a few things differently:

We believe in slowing down and not only becoming more mindful ourselves but helping our dogs become more mindful too.

We believe every dog is an individual and our dogs are more than "just a dog" if we give them a chance they can be our best friends 🧡

We believe that every dogs behaviour can improve if we can slow down and see our dogs unique strengths and help them develop their weaknesses.

Wouldn't it be awesome if people did that for us? So if we'd appreciate it, our dogs would too!