The dog trainer with dreads

Home
Australia
Ballarat, VIC
The dog trainer with dreads

Hi, I’m Grace! A qualified NDTF dog trainer in Ballarat & surrounds. I help with everything from, pet dog and puppy basics to reactivity & aggression.

DM or email to chat about your dog 🐾

22/10/2026

Nail cutting day is probably one of our least favourite days 🙃

But there’s always a little underlying feeling of pride because of how difficult this used to be.

We’re definitely not the quickest at it, or the best at it, and it’s still very much a “one nail at a time” kind of job. But we can do it, and honestly, I don’t care about those things. I’m just happy we can do it.

Sometimes progress doesn’t look like your dog happily handing over all four feet for a pedicure. Sometimes it just looks like getting the job done with a little less stress than last time. ❤️

How does your dog go with getting their nails trimmed?

20/10/2026

Dog lovers festival is done and dusted and gosh I'm proud of this dude!

After recovering from an injury to his hip flexor I wasn't too sure how he would go, but he is back!

Rick did so well handling such a big weekend and the comp environment as always, and brought home some incredible scores in his Big air coming 3rd in the senior division with a 19ft jump, and speed retrieve with 8.2 seconds.

Old boys still got it!
Huge thank you to our sponsors Dock Dogs Victoria Kurgo ANZ for putting on such a great event and David Graham for your fantastic commentary of Rick's jumps 😂

13/10/2026

Meet Munga! 🐾

Munga is the cutest little camp dog there ever was. ❤️

She’s been lucky enough to travel around Australia with her owners and see everything this country has to offer.

Unfortunately, somewhere along the way she also discovered that chasing kangaroos is pretty bloody fun, and that other dogs deserve a full Staffy scream, lunging and barking. 🫠😂

So, we had a few things to work on!

Across our sessions we worked on communication, engagement, recall and, of course, helping Munga and her brother Frank the Cattle Dog (not pictured) feel a little more comfortable around other dogs.

And the progress was SO good.

These two went from screaming, lunging and barking at dogs to being able to see a dog, check in with their owners and actually remain calm and collected.

Even the wildest of Ricks was an easy challenge. 😂

Rick and I had an absolute blast working with Munga and Frank, and it was so cool seeing how much they both progressed. 🐾❤️

07/10/2026

“My dog’s not food motivated” is something I hear all the time.

And to be fair, some of the dogs I start working with aren’t particularly interested in food. But that doesn’t mean they can’t become food motivated. 👀

My own dog, Kira, was SO hard when it came to food motivation when she was younger. I found that the more fun I made the food, the more motivated she became by it. 💃

And that’s where a lot of my learning started.

Over time, I’ve found that conditioning our marker word and, most importantly, PLAYING with our food can make a huge difference when it comes to building food motivation.

Food doesn’t always have to just be something your dog eats, it can become part of the game. 🎾

So, is your dog food motivated? 👇

06/10/2026

Are you wanting to try out a new sport with your pooch? Or want to finetune some of your dock diving skills?
Nows your chance!

Private dockdiving coaching availabilities on the 22nd of November!
Sessions held at our sanctioned facility that dog place in Smyth's Creek!

Reach out for more details and to secure your spot!

05/10/2026

I'm back and feeling refreshed after some time away, and looking back at my photos folder I'm trying to understand why these are the only videos and photos I got 😂

03/10/2026

I'm super excited for Dock season to start 🥳

There's going to be some super fun training days coming up!
I'm so excited to help some new teams get into the sport, or even just sharpen some skills all while having fun with their dogs 🤸‍♀️

My goal this year is to make the most of the summer months, doing something I love doing.
Playing with my dog, and teaching others cool ways to play with their dog 🐾🐕

If you're interested in dockdiving, or just need a hand with some training head to the form on my linktree 😁

20/09/2026

SOLD OUT ❤️

Thank you so much to everyone who booked in! 🐾
All coaching spots for these sessions are now fully booked.

Thinking about giving dock diving a go with your dog?

Or maybe you’re already doing dock diving and want to work on your skills and fine tune your dog’s technique?

I have a few private coaching spots available on the 25th of October and 1st of November.

Sessions are held at our sanctioned facility, That Dog Place in Smythes Creek.

Sessions can be tailored to you and your dog, whether you’re wanting to try dock diving for the first time, work on specific skills, or even just get your dog more confident and comfortable in the water with a private swimming lesson.

Reach out for more details and to secure your spot!

26/08/2026

These quiet lounge room shaping sessions are some of my favourite sessions. ❤️

Minimal words, no timeframe, just small steps.

This is something Kira and I have been working on for a while, building it up in tiny increments, and we’re finally having some real success.

Proof you can teach an old dog new tricks 😂🐾

Shaping is honestly one of my favourite ways to teach tricks like this. Instead of expecting the finished behaviour straight away, we reward each little bit of progress until, eventually, those tiny pieces come together to create the whole picture.

And watching Kira figure it out herself is the best part. 🥰

Address

Ballarat, VIC
3350

Website

https://instagram.com/thedogtrainer_with_dreads?utm_medium=copy_link

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when The dog trainer with dreads posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.