Eureka Dog Services

13/07/2025

🐾 Regression in training 🐾

🧠 "It was all going great til the hormones kicked in, then the brain went out the window".
Yip. Sounds about right.

🐶 Hormones in young dogs mess with the brain big time. They go from innocent little darlings into "i'm gonna just do what i want, cos that's what i want" teenagers.
What can we do during this time to make things easier on them & us? -

* Keep training sessions short & highly motivating.

* Allow for more exploratory time & throw some engagement sessions in every now & then.

* Balance out frustration by utilizing play that is engaging for them.

* Utilize long lines more to allow for some freedom but not all the freedom. Help them to understand that rules still apply.

* Maintain a good routine.

* Identify when your dog has checked out & do something else or put them away to rest & try again later.

🤯😎 It can be frustrating for both your dog & you during this time but understand with careful management & patience - "it too shall pass".

10/07/2025

😎 Nothing like a good impulse control, "leave it", flirtpole session on this average winter day.

09/07/2025

Matt has been a good mate for many years & this would have been really hard for him to ask but sometimes people just have to allow for extra help.

Anyone in the industry knows how much work it is looking after hard dogs & with costs mounting these days every little bit counts. He works long hours, overtime & rarely ever says "No" to taking a hard dog or helping someone. But that isn't sustainable long term with more & more dogs needing help. He also has a young son who needs Dad time to grow into the next trainer for Matt's Pack.

If you are in a position to help out a good guy that we all need, please do.🙏

Matt’s Pack needs your help

08/07/2025

🙌 What day is it? Whattttt day is it? Hump day !🙌

07/07/2025

👀 "What the helly! is exactly what it is" 👀

We've had this convo way too much lately.
🤔 What made you think your dog should be doing that?

🤷‍♀️ It's pretty simple - They either can or cannot.

* Being offleash - If your dog doesn't have a good recall, it should not be offleash until it does.

* Fence fighting & reactivity - If your dog is fence fighting, it should not be outside unsupervised to keep practicing it. Boosting up & down the fence every day, then moaning about a ramping up of reactive behavior is just silly.

* Dog's that eat everything - If your dog is a chewer or a garbage disposal, it should not be roaming around ingesting whatever it can get. There are only so many obstructive surgeries 1 dog can handle.

* Handler aggression - If your dog is using aggressive tactics towards you, it should not be just allowed to just roam around for some "free time", get up on the couch, get up on your bed, because you want to have "hang out" time & feel sorry for it. This 1 ESPECIALLY needs to be taken way more seriously. Some things need to be earnt with a really good history of earning.

* Resource Guarding Toys - Pick up the damn toys. Stop leaving them lying around to create a problem. It's not hard.

* Interdog aggression - Why the helly are the dogs that are fighting still being left out in the yard together, free roaming to have worse fights 🤯 Your dogs will survive in separate runs until you get back home.

🤔 Before you allow something really think "Is this beneficial or detrimental to me with my dog/s?". It'll either be a "Yes" or "No" answer.

Nothing gets better by allowing the stuff that creates the opposite of better.

04/07/2025

Who has been the bestest boy with his off leash & recall skills? FELIX that's who! Such a super boy 🙌

01/07/2025

Nixie: "Everyone act normal".
Cc: "Nothin' to see here"
Zeus.....😂😂😂😂😂

30/06/2025

🧠 It's not something that's just going to "go away". 🧠

🐶 When we look at things a dog does, that we deem as simply "a behavior problem that needs to be trained out", we do a disservice to the dog who may actually have a serious health issue. A dog must have a quality of life that is comfortable & safe for itself & others.

👀 While obvious behavioral & structural issues are great clues that something isn't quite right, there can be subtle signs that can easily be missed.

- Odd toned vocalizing outside of their "normal".
- Odd breathing patterns.
- Superstitious type behaviors that don't seem to have a particular trigger.
- Seizure like activity that isn't like what we would blatantly be able to see is a seizure.
- Glazing over of eyes or zoning out.
- Superstitious type behaviors that don't seem to have a particular trigger.
- Over adrenalizing without much stimulation, frothing at the mouth, tipping into extreme bursts of aggressive episodes, followed by confusion.
- Suddenly attacking anything or anyone from deep sleep.

🐶Outside of these times, the dog appears to be just a "normal dog" doing "normal dog things". This is the hardest part for owners when they have to make a decision on what to do.

💰Imaging.
💰Assessments.
💰Trialling medications.
⏰+ risk. Management. How are we safely going to manage this dog?
🤔 Holidays & Emergencies - Who can handle this dog if we want a holiday or in times of emergency?

🤷‍♀️ This is are the reality of having a dog with serious neurological issues. It can be incredibly exhausting & frustrating to have the threat of constant attack on yourself, other dogs/animals, as well as not truely knowing the level of pain the dog is going through. Let alone costly with specialist appointments. Emotional factors need to put to the side when we are looking at the seriousness of these cases.
Facts are facts & risk is risk.
How much are you willing to live with?

25/06/2025

🤔 What's that dog about? 🤔

It's always interesting to think about the nature of dogs. The differing levels of sociability, natural play instincts, the natural drives to herd or chase, to possess or protect, differing levels of confidence, nerve, aggression, curiosity etc. All the things that make the spectrum of dogs, dogs.
It's also very easy to overlook these things when we are in the thick of frustrating behavioral issues. We just want them to behave & stop doing the things!

🐶 Puppies are learning.
🐶 Teenagers can be incredibly frustrating.
🐶Adults are a combo of many things.
🐶 Seniors fluctuate between acting like puppies & not giving a toss because they've paid their dues.

🤷‍♀️ But at the end of the day they are fundamentally dogs, that you just need to dissect the nature of as individuals to know what is best for each individual. Dog's do not ever stay the same their whole life & they shouldn't be expected to.

⭐ How do we utilize what's infront of us?
⭐ What do we allow & not allow?
⭐ What are our current restrictions - age, injury, situation?
⭐ Is this a season or a reason?

23/06/2025

Noone is safe from Wrastles when Ted's around 😂 What a great little terrier.

23/06/2025

🐾 The Snugz Club 🐾
It's not a problem unless it's a problem.

💓 We all like a good snug. Dora would live up in your soul if she could 😂 However, she does not resource guard us, she doesn't bark & lunge at dogs or people to push them away, she doesn't do anything that would warrant us to remove said snug privileges.

🐶 If you have a nervous dog, an immature dog or a dog that is too confident in themselves without any self control, the worst thing you can do is reward that behavior by allowing them to be pushing into your physical space & given affection because they demand it. You are not helping by telling them "it's ok" because they can't discern between the emotion & the behavior. It is especially prevalent in dogs that have a nervous disposition because they can't live with or without you in the same space without being on a emotional pendulum.

🐶 Unless your dog is a purpose bred guarding dog & had a good level of training & control for guarding work, this behavior is a no-no. You should be teaching your dog when affection is given & not just because they are demanding it.

- No backing up into you & growling or glaring at anyone or anything coming towards you. Teach them to lay down beside you. Then they can get a pat for doing that, because we'd rather they be doing that.

- Teach them to go to a bed & be tethered as a back up where necessary. Existing in their own space is highly necessary for emotional stability. Periodically do this during the day so they understand that it is just part of life.

- Absolutely no lunging or attempting to bite anything or anyone. This warrants serious help.

- Reserve affection times in safe windows. Where there is not alot of stimulation, where there isn't an opportunity to rehearse "the keep away game".

- Get help for an accurate assessment on where this behavior is stemming from.

Nothing is a problem unless it's a problem.

19/06/2025

What's better than 1 Leo? 2 Fin reckons 😂