YoPaws

29/08/2026

🎉🐾 Congratulations, Team Bentley! 🐾🎉

A huge congratulations to Team Bentley on successfully completing their Public Access Test today! 💜

And a big thank you to Woofy & Whiskers and Gungahlin Marketplace for welcoming us and giving Team Bentley the opportunity to demonstrate their skills in a real community environment.

A PAT is about much more than ticking boxes. It’s about showing that a dog and handler can safely and confidently navigate the community together, while keeping the dog’s welfare at the centre.

Well done, Team Bentley. You should both be very proud of what you achieved today! 💛🐾

26/08/2026

Do stuff with your dog.

Let them move, make choices, play, have friendships, switch off and maybe even give them a massage. 🤣

Walk, run or hike together. Explore places. Sniff things. Be silly. Have a nap. Have days where nothing productive happens.

Especially with working and assistance dogs, it’s easy for everything to become training. But not every outing needs a goal and not every moment needs to be productive.

All work and no play or downtime makes anyone cranky and unregulated.

Give them a good life, not just a job.

Working dogs are dogs first. 🐾💜

26/08/2026

🐾 Happy International Dog Day! 🐾

To our best friends with paws, all over the world, thank you for loving us so completely and unconditionally.

Thank you for the joy, comfort, laughter, companionship and love you bring into our lives every single day.

We hope we treat you with the same kindness you give us, listen when you communicate with us, respect you for the incredible individuals you are, and keep striving to be better humans for you.

Because you deserve nothing less. ❤️🐾

Happy International Dog Day to every very good dog.

25/08/2026

Movement is life for dogs.

Think about a young dog who has been home most of the day while their human works.

Then we take them outside into a world full of smells, dogs, people and excitement, and expect a respectable heel and perfect focus.

That’s a BIG ask. All that energy has to go somewhere.

Or when a dog starts barking, lunging, staring or becoming overwhelmed, we often respond by asking for even more obedience.

Sit. Heel. Stay. Look at me.

There’s nothing wrong with those skills. But obedience doesn’t automatically change how a dog is feeling. If they’re already highly aroused, worried, frustrated or simply bursting with energy, asking them to hold it all together can sometimes make things harder.

So move first.

Walk faster. Run a little. Play. Let them sniff. Be silly together. Give their body and brain somewhere appropriate to put that energy.

Then ask for the heel. Ask for focus. Ask them to work with you.

Movement isn't the opposite of training. Sometimes movement is what gets you ready for training.

And while you're doing it, something else happens: you become part of the fun.

Your dog learns that being with you isn't just sit, heel, stay and ignoring everything interesting in the world.

You’re interesting too.

That builds connection. And when your dog genuinely enjoys engaging with you, choosing you over the rest of the world becomes a whole lot easier.

Want the focus? Sometimes you need to move first.

22/08/2026

Training should be fun! 🐾💛

Buffy working on her recall, with plenty of running, playing and just being a dog along the way.

Training an assistance dog isn’t always about work. Having opportunities to run, sniff, play and decompress is just as important as learning skills.

These moments help dogs destress, reset and enjoy themselves. And we can still sneak a little recall practice into the fun. 😂

Assistance dogs are dogs first. They deserve time to simply be dogs.

16/08/2026

Bringing this one back because the product is still in daily use. 😂

Still expensive. Still high maintenance. Still the best assistive technology I’ve invested in. 🐕😂

16/08/2026

Assistance dog training isn’t always about doing something. Sometimes the skill is doing absolutely nothing. 🐾

Today’s community training started outside Atlas Café, practising settling around people, dogs, food, noise and movement.

Then we changed gears and headed into Woofy and Whiskers.. A shop full of dog food, treats, toys, smells, people and distractions can be a very challenging environment for a dog.

The goal? Walk with your handler. Don’t sniff everything. Don’t help yourself to the treats. Stop and stay while your human shops. Keep your brain switched on even when the environment is screaming, “DOG STUFF EVERYWHERE!” 😂

Assistance dogs need both ends of the spectrum: the ability to be bored and do nothing, and the ability to think and function when the environment is busy, exciting or stressful.

That’s why we train in the real world. 💜

Thank you Atlas Café Gungahlin and Woofy and Whiskers. for having us!

15/08/2026

How we treat people matters.

Every interaction is an opportunity to listen, understand and do better.

Betrayal hits differently when it comes from something you were supposed to trust.

An institution. A system. A place that was supposed to have your back.

It’s not just the event itself…
it’s the breach of trust that stays with you.

And when you’re still connected to that system, it gets complicated.

You might push it down.
Minimize it.
Tell yourself it wasn’t that bad.

On the outside, it can look like acceptance.

On the inside, it can show up as anxiety, depression, or PTSD.

Because betrayal doesn’t just hurt in the moment.
It changes how safe the world feels after.

13/08/2026

Is your dog reactive? Or is there something else going on?

We are often quick to label a dog as reactive when they bark, lunge, growl, freeze, pull away or struggle in certain situations.

But “reactive” describes what we see. It doesn't necessarily tell us why it is happening.

Maybe your dog is:

• Scared or uncertain
• Overstimulated or over-aroused
• Struggling to regulate
• Frustrated
• Overwhelmed
• Uncomfortable or in pain
• Trying to create distance
• Unsure what they're supposed to do
• Experiencing stress that has been building throughout the day
• Communicating louder because their quieter signals haven't worked.

Or maybe they don't yet trust that you will notice when they're struggling and advocate for them, so they feel they need to handle the situation themselves.

There isn't just one reason why dogs react. This is why learning to read and listen to your dog is such an important part of training.

And don't just notice your dog. Notice what your dog notices.

What are they looking at? What did they hear before you did? What changed in the environment? What made them suddenly slow down, become still, tense up, move closer to you, pull away or become more excited?

Start noticing the world with your dog.

Often, dogs are communicating long before the barking, lunging or pulling begins. The more we recognise those earlier signs, the more opportunity we have to respond before our dog feels they need to shout.

This is also part of building confidence and trust. A confident dog isn't necessarily a dog that is never scared, uncertain or overwhelmed. Confidence can also come from knowing they don't have to handle everything themselves because their handler is paying attention, listening and will advocate for them when needed.

So instead of only asking:

“How do I stop my dog reacting?”

Maybe we also need to ask:

“What is my dog noticing? What are they trying to tell me? What do they need from me?”

Sometimes changing behaviour starts with learning to really listen to the dog in front of you. 🐾