AL'S PALS Dog/Puppy Training

AL'S PALS Dog/Puppy Training Dog and Puppy training using majority positive reinforcement methods. Day Training, Puppy Training, Group classes and packages are on offer :D

I am qualified in Behaviour and Training with a Diploma and on going studies to gain a Behaviourist title. AL'S PALS is all about using positive training methods to help make a difference in your dogs life. We offer one on one training for pups as early as 8 weeks old. This will be a personalised course of 4 weeks, one hour each week in your home environment where we will cover the basics and also

cater to what you want focused on. In regards to socailisation, we can go to the beach for pups who are not fully vaccinated as the minerals and salt water contain bacteria killing agents making it less likely for pups to pick up anything where we can target that very important socialisation, loose lead walking and calmness around distractions all in the critical socialisation period. The course is only $380 (depending on location) and you will receive a certificate and puppy pack at the end. Our one on one dog training consultations again uses positive reinforcement methods and have indoor and outdoor packages available. We travel to your home or a local dog friendly area to work closely with owners and help bring about a change in their dogs unwanted behaviour. Our consultations are $190 for 1-1.5 hours and a report. Is your dog destroying the house while you are working hard all day? Do you find it hard on certain days to give them their daily exercise and socialisation? Try our Training walks where we pick your dog up and take them out focusing on targeted areas where training is needed. This is a great way to help maintain your training during a busy life/work schedule. My name is Allison Hiddleston and I have a wealth of experience and knowledge through my work with dogs over the past 9 years. I have a diploma in canine behaviour and training (certificate gained through Unitec), certified in pet first aid through Pet Tech and have a certificate in animal psychology. Not only do I love working with the dogs but I also enjoy meeting new people and working closely with owners. I am very approachable and motivated so when you book your dog through AL'S PALS you can rest assure knowing that you are getting 100% commitment and support. If you are seeking a professional and positive experience for your dog, don't hesitate to contact us!

03/09/2025

*Milos Moments* Weeks 3-5 😊

Milo is now almost 10 weeks old and between 8-10 weeks pups tend to have a spike in stress levels which can be super tricky as 8 weeks is the standard when a pup leaves the litter. I've definitely noticed that to be true in Milo's case as he has found things like being left alone a bit harder, getting over threshold quicker when it comes to chase games, toileting has gone backwards a little and huffing when unsure on things in the environment.

On the flip side to that we have seen him find his confidence in low arousal play with other dogs and our girl Torvi as well. He has been an absolute trooper when getting his second vaccination and meeting a few new people. This includes going to children's bday parties, meeting their dog and being in a busy environment where he did so well. He sleeps so well in the night and his relationship with Torvi continues to blossom.

He is hitting new developmental stages and in his socialization period where he can exhibit some sensitivity to certain triggers and stimulus. All part and parcel.

Now that we have reached over 3x weeks, he has adjusted to the routine of the house. Here is a rough outline of what our day looks like;

•Wake up 630am
Toilet
•Morning meal
•In his pen area with some high value toys
Toilet
•After picking up dogs, he gets some social and training time
•In his pen for lunch meal and nap
Toilet
•Play time after dropping Day Trains off
•Toilet then his pen whilst doing school pick up with high value toys
•Training and play
Toilet
•Dinner time then rest
•Settled behaviour on the couch
Toilet
•Bed time about 930pm

We have been getting him used to being home alone starting with short periods like picking kids up from school (20-30mins) and he can now do about 2.5-3 hours on his own with no mess or chewed up items. Of course starting with building his resilience to being left alone with us at home first has made it a smooth transition. The odd flare up of his neediness but that can also be due to over tiredness.

We have many photos and videos but couldn't resist the cuteness overload with Torvi and Milo 🥰

29/08/2025

Luna had her last day train with us today and we are absolutely thrilled with her progress! She was quite nervous and unsure to start with but over time she has shown she is super relaxed and shows her beautiful smile when she sees us. She has tolerated mr Milo and although I had hope to initiate play between them but she is perfectly fine being around him. She did great to meet Lola and also met Mitchell for the first time today. She can be a bit funny around men but because we took it slow with her not meeting him straight away she took to him so well! Going to miss you Lula you beautiful girl!

Bruno and Evie got a bit of Milo time and both were absolutely wonderful. Bruno was a bit much at the beginning especially when he got zoomies as he was a bit too big and bouncy but Milo took it in his stride and they came to a suitable play style.

After Evie had her fill of chase with Milo and teasing him for play she showed her maternal side by getting low and having some beautiful moments. We have to supervise Evie carefully around other dogs as she can resource guard items like the water bowl and toys so we made sure to set her up for success by removing any chance for resource guarding which led to such a beautiful moment between them 😍

27/08/2025

**AVOIDANCE CUES**

Within context, these simple body postures can be the make or break when it comes to your dogs snapping or starting a scuffle with another dog. I for one am all for dogs correcting other dogs when appropriate. Here is Bandit showing huge avoidance signs to Milo which I wanted to share with you all from today and had one of Oscar from the other day. Oscar even gave Milo a telling off and he processed it and moved away. If he didn't I would've interrupted.

Watch out for these signs of avoidance;

🟡Stiff Body Posture
🔵Ears either back or facing sideways
🟡Paw lift
🔵Turning their head from side or side
🟡Tail up and moving stiffly side to side
🔵Physically moving away
🟡Sniffing the ground
🔵Scratching or nibbling themselves
🟡Whale Eye (they are looking side on where you can see whites of their eyes)

Sometimes with stress signs;
🔵Panting
🟡Yawning
🔵Lip licking
🟡Growling
🔵Lip lifting (usually dogs last resort before a snap)

When piecing these together like a puzzle you'll be able to read how your dogs are feeling and when to intervene. If a dog is not listening to another dogs signs of not wanting to interact and literally trying their best to avoid the dog then remove them immediately. You can also feel the tension as well if you really know your dog.

Meet and greets should be more loose and wiggly in the dogs body language. Their tails may be up and stiff or wagging with hackles raised on their backs but ears may be in a forward position or their bodies may be curved and if you've got 2 dogs sniffing bottoms at the same time with a curve that's a really good sign. They may say hello a few times before they move on or initiate play. I find face sniffing to be a bit tricky where things tend to go wrong. Look at body posture first; stiff vs loose then piece the rest together.

Keep your greetings short and sweet (3 seconds is a good go to) and move them along especially when out for a walk and meeting on lead. If off lead, recall your dog after a few seconds of greeting and then keep moving. Don't stand in one spot. This prompts more low arousal activities such as sniffing and eases spacial pressure to allow room for dogs that were avoiding to feel more comfortable to approach or be approached.

If you also hear your dog or another dog growl or show their teeth in a lip lift, DO NOT correct the dog with a punishment but simply use a higher pitch tone of voice and encourage them to come to you or move on with a Let's Go. This helps them mirror your vibe and we want our dogs to show when they have had enough and are about to go. If we correct them, they will learn not to growl or lip lift and will simply just snap or bite.

Education is a missing link in today's society in my opinion. Reading dog body language is crucial when owning a dog so we are going to do more educational videos like this to show you what your dogs are actually saying.

25/08/2025

Shadow, Storm and Shai were heaps more focused today than on their first day which is normal as the first day is a get to know the place and take it easy. We did lots of engagement work, intro into heel work and then we went to a new location to help set the tone for their engagement work. This helps them to be more interested in us than in the environment.

Lola had an awesome time with her obedience practice and enjoying some time with Milo. She's starting to get the hang of focusing on me more when in new places and not pull towards all the sniffs :D

21/08/2025

10 Years in Business!! 🥂🎉

I cannot believe it has been a whole decade since we began Al's Pals! We are forever grateful for all those that we have had the pleasure to work with and help in training their dogs/puppies.

We have made a wee video to show our gratitude but I'd also like to say a huge thank you to Mitchell Circuitt who's been the backbone of Al's Pals. Through thick and thin he has been my rock and number 1 supporter. You are a legend thank you for everything Xx I'd also like to thank my beautiful children and hope one day they read this 🥰 thank you for putting up with all the pick ups, drop offs, training walks, helping me with puppies, listening when asked to keep away from certain dogs, keeping yourselves busy and well behaved at clients homes and being troopers with the dogs in our care. Mumma is so proud of you both ❤️

We appreciate everyone who has supported us again especially to our long term clients past and present. Without your dedication and commitment, we would not be able to live our dream and continue to do what we love. Thank you. A special shout out and appreciation to Bandit and Baxters family for being our longest client to date! We met them when they were wee 8 week old pups to now 8.5 years old!

We will continue to improve our Home Based Training Facility to keep your eyes peeled on updates to come 😀

20/08/2025

Lula met Lola during today's Training and they both did really well. Lola at one point got the zoomies and wanted to entice Lula to play but she wasn't quite ready and kept avoiding Lola so was good training for Lola to read signals appropriately which she did after a couple of bounces 😆 Lula also got to meet Bandit through the fence and will do this a couple more times before allowing them to properly meet as slow and steady is key for insecure dogs. Lula unfortunately didn't get to go on the weaving poles today as we focused on her social skills but the others had an absolute blast! Baxter most of all as he loves a challenge and to work, Bandit wasn't nearly as enthused but gave it a crack and Lola did well but wanted to loop around the poles at times lol

They all got to have a run around at the field afterwards which helped proof their skills from home 😁

19/08/2025

Lola, Bruno, Fozzie, Oscar, Zoe and Bo all having a blast today. A nice mixture of 1-1 time be it nails, settling on the mat, obedience, heel work, toy play or engagement work before play time! 😁

13/08/2025

*Milo's Moments*

We are 2 weeks into having our wee boy and things have surely come along. We have hit some amazing highs with Torvi and moving their interactions to inside which is where I thought the issues would have been. She has growled at him when sharing space on the bed which is fair and the most important part is he listens!

Another high is us having a couple of full nights sleep! Like having a new born again! 😂

Some of the lows would be a couple of accidents inside but that's us not catching him in time as toileting tends to be human error. Such as this morning with me having a bad headache and not taking him out after eating his breakfast so was left with a poo and wee to clean up 🤦

Another low is that he's an extremely mouthy puppy so was starting to teach him to be gentle with hand contact and allowing some soft nibbles however now I'm going to have to peel it back further. Of course he's in a developmental stage at almost 8 weeks old so I'm not going to allow any more hand contact but instead teach him to not redirect when being handled then work on gentle mouthing when he's better at being touched 👌 over tiredness, over arousal, frustration, potential fulfillment with the bully breed in him where he enjoys the harder mouthing and developmental stages are all key players in puppy biting. We must manage this accordingly in order to prevent bigger issues later down the track.

Milo has done exceptionally well at adjusting to life in his pen area and will happily settle there when put in as he knows the routine and structure of the mornings and afternoons. This is a huge help when it comes to getting kids ready for school or cooking dinner in the evenings and even having dinner without him crying.

Let us know if you're having puppy troubles as it's best to nip these in the bud as practice makes permanence. I'm here to help get it right from the start. It's a lot of work but you'll reap the rewards later on before it goes out the window with adolescence 😅 but this is normal and a chance to build their skills up again to see them through.

Welcome Bruno! He's a beautiful staffy x whose just over 2 years old. He had a really unfortunate incident last year whe...
10/02/2025

Welcome Bruno! He's a beautiful staffy x whose just over 2 years old. He had a really unfortunate incident last year when out for a walk and a dog broke out of their home and attacked poor Bruno. He had severe injuries to his leg as well as punctures to his head. Although he's still happy go lucky at daycare, he is a bit apprehensive and nervous when new dogs approach him when out and about.

We had our first session today and he's an absolute gem! Just needs a bit of help with his foundations so he can learn to refer to us as his safe place. Once we nail these we can work on safe socialisation to help build his confidence around new dogs again :)

Look at that smile! 😁

Only some of our recent pups!😁Some of these cuties were from late last year also! We are so fortunate to do what we love...
28/01/2025

Only some of our recent pups!😁

Some of these cuties were from late last year also! We are so fortunate to do what we love every day. We give our all to help owners with their wee ones, be they first time dog owners or dog savvy folks ☺️

Quality is our prime focus. We want owners to feel that they get as much of our attention as possible or working in small groups so everyone can still feel they get that bit of 1-1 🙂

We'd like to thank all our past and current clients for choosing Al's Pal's to help in your dog's journey regardless of age and life stage. We couldn't do what we love without your support and commitment so thank you from the bottom of our hearts 💕

Feel free to reach out if you have added a New furry family member. Remember we have some new developments happening in the background so continue to watch this space ! 😏

Address

Pokeno
2402

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 4pm
Tuesday 9am - 4pm
Wednesday 9am - 4pm
Thursday 9am - 4pm
Friday 9am - 4pm
Saturday 9am - 4pm

Telephone

+64211810298

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