Life Lessons On Leash

13/04/2026

I’ve been extremely busy for the first quarter of the year, hence being very quiet here, but things are finally settling down and I can get back to scheduling one on one clients once again.

I kicked off this weekend with a session with this little sweetheart.
Meet Daisy, a 4.5 month old lab puppy who very quickly won my heart.
Daisy’s human wanted some assistance in setting Daisy up to be the very best version of herself she can. This included some basic manners, helping her to adjust her youthful exuberance to better get along with the young humans in the family, learning options she can do rather than jumping up, and some assistance in how to ignore other dogs/people when out and about.
A lot to take in for a young pup but she did so well and I can’t wait to see her grow into herself.

25/02/2026

Look at that sweet face and those adorable ears!!
Meet Ruby, at roughly 5 months of age her human booked in for some early assistance with working on recall as well as general puppy training tips.

25/01/2026

With the current fires flared and thick smoke everywhere, I thought it a good time to re share this post from 2020.

Smoke and your pets.

I'm going to preface this post with the following - I am not a vet. If your pets are experiencing heath issues regarding smoke, please seek veterinary advice.
This post is general information / ideas only.

If you are experiencing reduced air quality due to smoke in the air, I encourage you to consider the following:

*Bring pets inside wherever possible. If your pet isn't used to being inside, contain them using baby gates, playpens, crates or by being on lead.
If you have multi species pets, separate into safe areas as needed - for example you may have a rabbit contained in an inside crate in one room, a cat in a bedroom, bird in cage in the laundry and a dog in a playpen in the lounge

*Consider moving birds from outside aviaries to inside. If moving them inside is just not possible, they may gain some relief by draping a thin, damp sheet on the outside of the cage to possibly help filter the air particles. These would need to be replaced often and you would want to make sure you are not impacting on their oxygen levels as a whole. Please speak to your vet to get specific advise on this.

*Close all windows and doors. You may experience relief by running air conditioners where possible (note, some air conditioners may offer relief from the smoke but others may actually push the smoke indoors, so please be wary).

*Limit physical activity outside. Keep toilet breaks short and if you must go out walking keep it to more of a short, gentle stroll than running and more demanding exercise.

*Consider inside activities instead of outside walking.
Snuffle mats, Lickimats, Puzzles, training sessions, indoor hide and seek. Teach a new trick, develop a dance routine or practice some scent work. More active breeds might also enjoy adding in physical activity such as an indoor obstacle course, the options are plentiful in keeping your pets busy and happy when inside instead of out. All animals can enjoy training, so this isn't limited to your pet dog - spend some time working with all of your species, your bird, cat, rabbit or even your pet fish will thank you for it.

*If you are really concerned, you might like to consider a dog respirator mask - ones I have seen range in price from $10-$55. Now I don't have personal experience with these or know if they are particularly effective but it may be worth looking at and having in your pet first aid kit.
If you are going to consider these for your pets, please train your dog to wear them happily - this is not something you can just buy and expect your dog to wear. You may like to have a look at The Muzzle Up Project for some hints and tips, as introducing this kind of thing is going to be very similar to introducing a muzzle.

*Provide plenty of fresh clean drinking water. Change this daily if you are able to. Make sure you are thoroughly cleaning the containers as well.

*You may like to wipe over the pets coats with a damp facewasher to help remove the smoke smell. Mix a small amount of pet shampoo in a container of water, dip the facewasher in, wring the excess liquid out, and wipe over your pets coat. Repeat as needed. Finish by wiping over the coat again with a washer dipped in fresh clean water.

Whilst all animals are susceptible to smoke, some are more so than others.
Be particularly mindful of birds, puppies and senior dogs, of animals that have respiratory issues like bronchitis or pneumonia or those Brachycephalic breeds (such as pugs, bulldogs, etc).

If your pet is showing signs of respiratory distress, please head to the vets asap.
Some signs to look out for are:
-Difficulty breathing
-Unusual or excessive coughing, sneezing, vomiting or loss of appetite
-Swelling or inflammation of the mouth, eyes, skin or upper airway
-Open-mouthed breathing (especially in cats)
-Weakness/lethargy
-Uncoordinated walking/unable to stand
-Increased salivation

Once again, stay safe everyone!

10/01/2026

Evacuating with pets.

With the current fire conditions around the state, I thought it was time to talk again, about evacuating with pets and how to make it a little easier.

Do you have emergency procedures in place that include your pets?

Do they have 'go bags' packed and ready?

My dogs 'go bags' contain the following:

- Spare Bowls, 1 per animal plus an extra bowl for water.
- Spare leads.
- Spare collar and harnesses, with tags attached, for each pet.
- Any medications that they are on including a list of what they are, dosages and instructions on use. This includes scripts also.
- Pet first aid kit (speak to your vet about what this should contain).
- A copy of their Pet insurance paperwork if applicable.
- Copies of Medical history / vaccination cards / registration information.
- 2 favourite toys per pet plus a Kong or Lickimat each.
- A couple of long lasting chews.
- Bedding including mats / crates / carriers (I placed this in the car ready to go).
- Poo bags.
- their food, at minimum, enough for a few days in each bag. Having a large car, I also pack my car with as much as I have handy and could fit in the car without a problem.
- ADAPTIL spray and bandannas.
- Through A Dogs Ear and Pet Acoustics music (fully charged and ready to go).
- A printed, up to date, clear photo of each pet. On the back of each photo I include their name, age, breed, s*x, colour, des*xed/entire, my name and mobile number and an emergency backup number, address, council information. I laminated these so they were durable and readily available in case they went missing or we were separated. Copies went into each dogs bag and my bag.

I also recommend placing their everyday collars/harnesses and leads by the door ready to go, along with 2 x 5 litre containers of water.

I have a small esky sitting next to the fridge, with freezer bricks ready in the freezer. If I had time, I would then fill the esky with what perishable foods I needed for the dogs, but only if I had time.

**Identification notes.
- Have spare tags engraved with your dogs name and phone numbers and attach to spare collars.
- Consider using collars / harnesses that have their name and number embroidered onto the collar, or buy light coloured collars and write their name and phone numbers on them using permanent texta or fabric paint (you can include this on leads also).
- Ensure that your contact details are up to date with correct phone numbers with both your council and the microchip database your pets are registered with.
- Check your microchip still scans (your vet can do this).

So my advice is for you to work out what you need to pack into your pets 'go bags' (it might be different to my list), have it ready and easily accessible.
Practice your evacuation procedure including getting everyone and thing needed into the car. Ensure this includes having your pets contained safely in the car either in crates or via seat belts.
On days where you have been notified to be on alert, pre pack your car with what you can.
Have a plan, and a back up plan, of where you will evacuate to and ensure that they are pet friendly.

Stay safe everyone.

*photo of Walter from 2020 because it was too cute not to reshare 😉

04/01/2026

Private consults have kicked off for 2026!
Today saw the start of a return to seeing clients, and look at this sweet face that we started with!

Meet Pippa, a Golden Retriever pup whose human wanted some assistance with a number of things, including appropriate kitten/puppy interactions.

Pippa was an absolute delight, and I can’t wait to see how she develops in the future.

27/10/2025

Do you remember these two? I saw Sarge and Keiko a while back and this weekend went out for a follow up session to help fine tune some behaviours.
They both have the most adorable personalities, and just look at those faces!!

12/10/2025

Today I had to pleasure of meeting and working with Molly (and many of you may recognise big brother Hector all grown up in the photo also).
Molly is a rescue who, thanks to her new human, is gradually working out that the world is a safe place where she is loved and cherished.

10/10/2025

I spent much of last week in Glenelg SA at the APDTA 2025 Conference, surrounded by other like minded individuals and learning from amazing speakers. Chirag Patel, Dr Amber Batson, Laura Ryder and Peta Clarke were our 4 main speakers but we had many others who also spoke and by the end of the 4 days, my head was swimming!
Not only did we have 4 days of learning from the best, but we also had plenty of time for perusing the trade show and of course catching up with old friends as well as cementing new friendships.
This is an event that I absolutely look forward to, not only to ensure I stay up to date with the latest information but for the chance to spend time with my peers and of course, to talk all things training.

13/07/2025

It’s been a busy weekend working with a few new clients but let me introduce you to two of them!
Meet Sarge and Keiko - 2 very sweet Golden Retrievers.
One of the primary behaviours we covered today was door manners, as these guys are very exuberant greeters 😉

09/07/2025

Look at this face 😍
I was fortunate to work with this beautiful girl this week, primarily focusing on loose lead walking and keeping ‘4 on the floor’ rather than jumping up.
She is an absolute sweetheart and I look forward to seeing her progress going forward.

06/07/2025

Who remembers young Master Baasha? Well, today we worked together once again and my goodness hasn’t he grown up?! 😱😍
We worked on a few different things today, including the ‘leave’ cue - where we ask him to leave something that he might otherwise be keen to investigate/eat. If you look carefully in the bottom left corner or this photo (and where Baasha is looking) you will see part of some fairly high value food that we are asking him to leave. He did so well!!