Understanding Canine Dog Training

17/06/2026

Thank you Sue for the interview and for the opportunity to share my work with greyhounds and beyond ❤️

17/06/2026

Beautiful photos from Blue Mountains based Pet Photography of Myx’s runs at her lure coursing trial. She truly is in her element when she gets to chase and “kill” those plastic bags 😅

We can’t ask our dogs not to be dogs - but we can provide outlets for their genetic-driven behaviours, while managing and preventing access to less “appropriate” expressions of these behaviours (like hunting the neighbourhood cats).

It’s important that the outlets we do provide are context specific - so the dog can differentiate between what is accessible to them and what isn’t - and, above all, safe for them to participate in with low risk of injury.

01/06/2026

This is really applicable to rescue greyhounds too!

Have you heard of the 10% rule in Learning Theory? We use this a lot in our work, especially when thinking about providing appropriate challenges for zoo animals and others under human care, and building resilience.

The best challenges, novel stimuli or new behaviours are those that sit just outside an animal's (or human's!) comfort zone: not so easy that they become bored or disengaged, but not so difficult that stress takes over. This is the “learning zone”: the space where an animal can problem-solve, build confidence, and experience success.

By sticking to a 10% margin, the challenge is only slightly beyond current capability, and it creates an opportunity for steady progress. The animal may feel a little uncertainty at first, but with the right support, choice, and reinforcement, that uncertainty can become confidence and a new skill.

If the challenge is too big, however, learning can quickly drop off. Animals may shut down, avoid the task, become frustrated, or disengage altogether. That is why good training, enrichment, and habitat design are not about pushing animals harder or eliminating risk, but focus on carefully shaping opportunities so animals can succeed.

Past zoo environments may have tried to remove more risks than necessary, whether those were safety risks, health risks or the risk of not being able to control the animal. Most modern zoos' approaches now carefully present risks and challenges since they are critical for learning, goal-based behaviour and natural activity budgets i.e. they are also necessary for positive welfare.

What do you think about this concept? Let us know below!

29/05/2026

So so happy for Myrtle and her new family! ❤️❤️❤️

28/05/2026

So many lovely hounds looking for homes at - here we have Goose, Dinka and Pecco! I’ve been loving integrating some photography into my usual behaviour rehabilitation work and getting to capture their unique personalities. It’s also a surprisingly effective way to reduce social pressure on any nervous hounds as I am looking down at my camera viewfinder and observing behaviour rather than looking directly at the dog.

This was very effective for Goose, who can be initially wary of new people, but he was relaxing around me very quickly into our session and approaching when he was ready!

If any of these gorgeous houndies catch your eye, reach out to Greyhound Rescue for details on fostering or adopting! The team is wonderful at matching greyhounds to suitable homes and it’s been such a joy to see so many successful adoptions!

31/01/2026

Come and join us in March for our popular Social Skills for Hounds course - designed to create a safe and fun environment to socialise your sighthound!

This is a 6 week course designed to build confidence in new environments and teach your hound how to be around other dogs!

We work on:
✅Teaching emotional regulation for our dogs, teaching them how to relax around triggers
✅Creating positive associations with other dogs
✅Teaching your dog how to appropriately greet other dogs (if they are able to do so within the 6 week time frame)
✅Teaching you how to handle your reactive or anxious dog and prevent rehearsal of undesirable behaviours
✅Building your hound's confidence in a new environments

Starting March 28th at Kip Alexandria - 11am and 12pm classes available! Limited spots available! Book here:

11am: https://www.understandingcanine.com/service-page/11am-weekend-social-skills-for-hounds-1?referral=service_list_widget

12pm: https://www.understandingcanine.com/service-page/12pm-weekend-social-skills-for-hounds?referral=service_list_widget

23/01/2026

Greyt Recall and Socialisation Workshop out at Centennial Park this morning! Very happy that the weather cleared up for us, too!

Thanks everyone for coming out and learning new skills with your gorgeous hounds!

Well done to Finn, Possum, Lenny, Faye, Zeus and Tigger! 🥳

21/01/2026

❤️❤️❤️❤️ patience is everything with greyhounds