Pups Academy

14/10/2026

The good photos are great BUT the less perfect ones are more iconic 🤭 Do we want an Instagram vs. reality pic for all our graduating puppies from now on??

Congratulations to Zosia , Ruby, Maple and Tia (Tia), Beau, Tama & Cisco for graduating our 6 week Puppy Development Program at West Blacktown Vet Clinic 🧡🩵

Spots still left for our final premium puppy development program for 2026 - contact the clinic on 9621 4984 to book your pups spot today ☎️

10/10/2026

Have you signed? 🚊🐾

A NEW PETITION HAS BEEN POSTED ON THE PARLIAMENT OF NSW WEBSITE

Trial a Pet-Friendly Carriage on Every NSW Train and Metro Service
Closing Date: Wed 04 November 2026

The petition of pet owners brings to the attention of the House that dogs are part of millions of Australian households, yet pet dogs are prohibited on NSW train and Metro services. This forces many responsible dog owners to rely on private cars for journeys to veterinary care, parks, community activities, family, hospitality and tourism destinations.

The restriction particularly disadvantages people who do not own a car, including apartment residents, older Australians, people on lower incomes and some people with disabilities. It increases car dependency, traffic congestion, parking demand, fuel consumption and transport emissions, while limiting access to public transport and participation in community life.

Cities including London, Paris, Berlin, Amsterdam, Auckland and Melbourne already permit dogs to travel on rail services under controlled conditions. A clearly identified pet friendly carriage would preserve passenger choice by allowing people who do not wish to travel near pets to use the remaining pet-free carriages.

The undersigned petitioners therefore ask the Legislative Assembly to call on the NSW Government to conduct a two-year trial of a clearly identified pet friendly carriage on every NSW train and Metro service. The trial should require dogs to remain on a lead or in an approved carrier, establish behaviour, cleanliness and owner-responsibility standards, protect assistance animals, permit the removal of disruptive animals or owners, and be formally reviewed before any permanent implementation.

04/10/2026

🔔‼️ Closed from 2pm Friday the 2nd until 8am Tuesday the 6th Oct ‼️🔔

18/09/2026

𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐒𝐖 𝐏𝐎𝐂𝐓𝐀 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬

Each new fact we uncover makes the Government’s consultation story harder to accept.

We thought it was strange when the PDTA was named in a Government letter to Parliament as one of three organisations consulted on the upcoming POCTA Bill.

Strange because no substantive consultation with the PDTA occurred.

We checked with K9 Sports Illawarra. They confirm the same. Their brief meeting was not meaningful consultation.

Now we know the NEW SOUTH WALES Government invited a VICTORIAN based organisation, which publicly opposes prong collar use, to a video meeting about this NSW Bill.

Meanwhile, the PDTA, based in NEW SOUTH WALES, could not secure a meeting before the Bill was introduced.

Is this handpicking stakeholders to push legislation through?

At Budget Estimates, Rachel Connell said the matter had been available for consultation.

Premier Minns, Minister Hurst and Minister Moriarty have also made it clear that the collar ban is not open for discussion.

So the matter is closed for discussion by the Government before consultation?

A genuine inquiry is now essential.

NSW dog owners, trainers, disability handlers and working dog people deserve a process that listens before it legislates.

This Bill must be referred to an inquiry.

Chris Minns

Scott Barrett MLC

Sarah Mitchell MLC

Wes Fang MLC

Jeremy Buckingham

Felicity Wilson MP

Natalie Ward

30/08/2026

Did you know that working with dog reactive dogs is kind of seasonal for behaviourists and trainers?

It sounds weird right??

In dark evenings and wet weather it’s actually quite tricky to work out training plans and to help dog reactive dogs.

If training in the dark, they are much more on edge and startled more easily.

There are less dogs out to practice around when it’s raining so although my clients are keen to walk and train in the rain, I have a tough time convincing some that actually we won’t see any dogs if we venture out, and then my clients are just paying for an hours walk in the rain as there’s no dogs to practice around 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️
That’s why I postpone working with reactive dogs on days with heavy rain.

But what about my own dogs??

I could use them instead to work with reactive dogs and the answer is yes! I definitely use all 4 dogs to help me with dog reactive dogs BUT my dogs HATE the rain and it’s a very miserable experience for them to do this 4 times a day with up to 4 different dogs😳

Of course I can work with dog reactive dogs during the autumn/winter months but it’s in daylight hours only.

So if you have a dog reactive dog, now is the BEST time to get started working with them around other dogs, don’t wait until the dark winter months when it’s so much harder!!

https://calendly.com/ruthspetbehaviourservices/reactivity-reset-121-support-package

28/08/2026

Who felt it?? 😱

25/08/2026

🔔‼️ Closed until 11am Thursday ‼️🔔