FAQs

As a rough guide, 5-15 minutes is a good amount of time in each training session. We recommend around 2-5 training sessions per day. For some dogs and people, the sessions may be longer depending on the stage they are at with the training.

We find a balanced diet of a good quality kibble, raw food and high quality treats is a good overall diet as a general rule. Focus on the main ingredients you are giving your dogs.

No matter the diet, we want the dogs coat, teeth, and overall appearance to be looking great. We want firm, small, normal smelling poo. It shouldn’t be sloppy, overly smelly or slimy looking. Excess gas is also a indication of a bad diet.    

Advice on the internet (including ours), should be followed up with multiple examples, reliable results and should respect the dog for the animal that is it (a predator and not a human).

Avoid advice telling you things that don’t make sense, don’t work, or advice that cannot demonstrated with real world results. Other progressive catchwords such as “science based”, “force free”, “positive only” and “fear free” usually announce a one size fits all method that sounds fantastic but has very little real world application.    

We consider ourselves to be balanced trainers. That is to say that we use positive reinforcement in conjunction with consequences for unwanted behaviours to teach the dog what we do and don’t want.

The majority of our training is positive reinforcement, so showing the dog exactly what we do want through consistent rewards,  however, to discourage unwanted behaviour, we recommend the use of fair and proportionate punishment to show the dog what we don’t want.

As each dog is different in terms of temperament, motivation and genetics, it is important to tailor your dog training to each individual dog as one size fits all dog training methods are often ineffective at modifying behaviour.

As a general rule, avoid working and hunting breed dogs unless you are happy to spend a lot of time hunting, working, training and exercising them. Avoid a breed you will not be able to physically lift up onto a table and be able hold on to if it wants to pull you over when it is on leash. Good family pets can be a number of different breeds but the most common ones we can recommend are golden retrievers, labradors, greyhounds, whippets and Bernese mountain dogs.

Don’t get us wrong, spaniels, shepherds, terriers, heelers and collies are fantastic dogs, however, they are much more high maintenance and require a higher input from you. Unless you can dedicate time and effort to the genetic fulfillment of these breeds, you are better off not getting one.

Genetics are very important when selecting a dog and training it. Some dogs have been selectively bred for hundreds of years to display certain characteristics such as guarding or hunting behaviour.

In our opinion it is unethical to get a dog and not allow it to express its genetic potential. That is to say, buying a dog and not letting it display the behaviours it has been bred to display (a border collie not being allowed to run off leash for example) goes against the genetic nature of the animal and will invariably lead to behavioural problems if not properly trained (chasing its tail, destructive behaviour etc).

Some dogs are very easy to live with in a family and social setting because they have been bred to do so. Other dogs, such as working protection style dogs can cause a lot of issues without proper training and development from an young puppy. The dogs genetic history should be the primary consideration when purchasing or training any dog.

In 99% of cases it is something that the human is doing and is not the dog. A good place to start training a dog that doesn’t listen is our engagement video series.

In 99% of cases it is something that the human is doing and is not the dog. A good place to start is our engagement series and reliable recall video series.

It is important with all exercises that we teach our dogs, that we slowly incorporate higher distractions for them to cope with. The dog will listen in places where you practice, so try practicing in the environments that you need them to listen to you in.

If you are still not having success outside of the home, in many cases, you may need to consider consequences for them ignoring you. Our videos will discuss the most suitable times to incorporate these consequences to you training and discuss when you may need some more one on one help to guide you through the training.

This is a common problem in many families. In an ideal world, all members of the family are consistent with all the rules to help your dog understand what we want from them.

Unless there is a safety issue, often all you can do is be the example, stay consistent with your dog and make sure that whilst the dogs behaviour might not be good for other family members, you can give them the structure and consistency to reliably listen to you.   

As soon as possible. We like breeders who start training and socialisation around 6 weeks old.

This is a typical behaviour for many dogs. This is usually due to a big hit of energy from their food, being overtired from the day’s activities and/or is usually the time of day when most wildlife is active. 

It depends entirely on a range of issues such as the age, breed and temperament of the dog but we prefer to focus on mental stimulation rather than physical exhaustion. Physical exercise is crucial but not as important as self-control, clear training and a relaxed state of mind.

In most cases no. In our 14 years of dog training, we would have recommended medication be considered for maybe 6 dogs in total. Respecting the dog and treating it as the animal it is (a predator and not a human) is in the vast majority of cases the best place to get started with behavioural modification.

You should only consider a second dog if your current dog is well behaved and will be able to be a role model for the newer dog. Do not get a puppy for an elderly dog to deal with unless they can be regularly separated to give the old dog time away from the puppy. Do not leave it up to your old dog to regularly discipline the puppy. Do not get another dog to keep your current dog entertained in lieu of training, exercise and healthy interaction. 

Without supervision at least 13. With supervision, kids can train dogs from about 7 years old, very roughly speaking.