Orana Dog Training and Services

25/08/2026

THIS is what safe off-leash dog ownership looks like.

This photo probably looks uneventful.

My best mate Kayla and I are holding two of the five dogs with us, while the other three had been told “STOP” and “stay with me.”

What you’re actually seeing is five dogs being protected from a situation before it had the chance to happen.

We were on holiday at a designated off-leash dog beach. But being in an off-leash area doesn’t mean switching off your responsibility as an owner.

I’m constantly scanning - who’s approaching, what is their dog communicating, is their body loose or stiff, where is their attention, are they walking calmly or pulling into their harness?

In the distance I spotted a male Roman Nose Terrier approaching on lead.

Before he was anywhere near us, his body language told me enough. His posture, fixation and the way he was pulling into his lead and harness immediately caught my attention.

I told my friends to call their dogs back. Kayla and I restrained the two closest while the other three remained under verbal control.

The owner told us “He’s friendly.”

But I wasn’t willing to take their word over what the dog himself was communicating.

So none of our dogs approached him.

Moments later an older gentleman approached with his Golden Retriever and that same Terrier suddenly lashed out violently towards the Golden.

Thankfully, nobody was hurt.

This is why I preach prevention over reaction.

I didn’t know that dog or his history. I didn’t need to label him aggressive.

I simply listened to what the dog was telling me.

Responsible dog ownership is having control of your dogs, respecting another dog’s space and understanding canine body language.

Sometimes it means saying “No, my dogs aren’t approaching yours” even when you’re assured their dog is friendly.

Because “he’s friendly” isn’t a safety strategy.

Read the dog in front of you. Advocate for yours. Intervene early.

The best dog incident is the one that never gets the chance to happen. 🤍🐾

24/08/2026

Wishing our behind the scenes K9 whisperer, Aisha, a very big happy 20th birthday! 🎉🎉

Any person can buy a dog, but not every person has the natural talent and ability to work with the dogs that we specialise in rehabilitating.

Your input is a blessing ✨

18/08/2026

THIS is what a second chance looks like. 🤍🐾

I want to take a moment to give some recognition to two of the coolest, most committed dog owners I’ve had the pleasure of working with.

Meet Joey & Lady; two Great Danes, both adopted from the pound, both given a second chance at life… and both absolutely thriving well into their senior years.

Joey is 9 years old and genuinely fit as a fiddle.

Lady is 11 YEARS OLD and before anyone tells her she’s an old lady, you might want to watch her casually jump straight into my Kluger completely unassisted. 😂

For a giant breed where we sadly don’t always get enough years with them, seeing these two still moving, adventuring, training and enjoying life the way they do is bloody incredible.

And their condition speaks for itself.

Their coats are phenomenal. Their bodies are in beautiful condition. They’re active, engaged, mobile and still very much living life rather than simply getting old.

That doesn’t happen by accident.

It comes from years of good nutrition, appropriate exercise, veterinary care, enrichment, understanding your dogs and owners who remain committed to their wellbeing through every stage of their lives.

And that’s what I admire so much about their family.These weren’t puppies bought with a perfect history and a clean slate.

They were pound dogs.

Two dogs who, at some point in their lives, needed somebody to choose them.

And somebody did.

Not just for the exciting adoption day.
Not just while they were young.
Not just while life was easy.

They chose them for life.

Now at 9 and 11, Joey and Lady are living proof of just how beautiful a genuine second chance can become when it lands in the right hands.

Their owners should be incredibly proud of the life they’ve created for these two.

Honestly, they’re some of the coolest and most committed owners I’ve worked with in a long time and Joey & Lady are walking, jumping, shiny-coated proof of it. 😂🤍

Pound dogs. Senior Great Danes. Second chances done bloody right. 🐾

10/08/2026

BODHI 🤍

If you’ve followed Bodhi’s journey, you’ll know this one wasn’t a straight line.

When his owner first reached out, she wasn’t just dealing with a reactive, vocal and defiant little dog. She was carrying the trauma of watching Bodhi be viciously attacked at a local dog park.

The attack left Bodhi fighting for his life, thousands in vet bills and emotional scars for them both.

Then came our first session…

Everything was going great — until it was time to leave.

It took me 25 minutes to get a lead back onto this little genius in a fully enclosed park. 😂

That was when I realised Bodhi wasn’t stubborn because he couldn’t do it. He was stubborn because he knew exactly how to get what he wanted.

He’d scream like a puppy, make heartbreaking little noises and push every maternal instinct until his owner gave in. He’d bark at other dogs, challenge boundaries and, more often than not… he’d trained his human.

Bodhi is almost too smart for his own good.

There were times we stripped everything back to basics. There was pushback, frustration and days that felt like one step forward and two back.

But that’s real training.

It’s rebuilding relationships, creating boundaries, restoring balance and helping an owner find confidence again after trauma.

Today, Bodhi is a completely different dog.

The same brilliant brain 👉 now channelled into obedience instead of defiance.
The same personality 👉 with self-control.
The same cheeky spark 👉 but now he genuinely loves to work.

He’s become one of my favourite dogs to train and now outshines some of the smartest dogs I’ve worked with.

But the biggest transformation wasn’t just Bodhi.

It was his owner.

She found her confidence again. She faced fears no dog owner should ever have to experience and trusted the process even when it wasn’t easy.

Progress isn’t always pretty.

Sometimes it takes 25 minutes just to clip a lead on.
Sometimes you have to start over.

But when you refuse to give up, you end up with stories like Bodhi’s.

And that’s exactly why we do what we do.

We’re so bloody proud of you, Bodhi. ❤️

05/08/2026

There are dogs that challenge you… and then there’s Holly. 💙

Back in February, Holly’s owner reached out desperate for help. Due to a combination of my own chronic illness and being booked solid, we didn’t begin working together until June.

By the time I met Holly, she had been labelled.

❌ “Untrainable.”
❌ “Too aggressive.”
❌ Always wearing a muzzle.
❌ Multiple aggressive incidents.
❌ Previous training had set her up for failure.
❌ An ex-partner had convinced her owner there was no hope.

But labels don’t train dogs.

Understanding them does.

The very first consultation, Holly allowed me to remove her muzzle. That wasn’t luck; it was communication, reading her body language, respecting her boundaries and showing her she didn’t need to make decisions through fear.

Since then Miss Holly has continued to prove everyone wrong.

✔️ Trusted off lead.
✔️ Successfully socialising with unfamiliar dogs.
✔️ Comfortable having me inside her home.
✔️ Learning appropriate social skills instead of living in survival mode.
✔️ A happier, more enriched life with clear boundaries and structure.
✔️ Her owner has gained the confidence to walk Holly off lead in new environments, without a muzzle and confidently introduce her to new people with NO AGGRESSION.

And perhaps the biggest transformation…

Watching Holly’s owner realise that she was never failing her dog, she just hadn’t been given the right guidance.

Behaviour rehabilitation is never just about the dog. It’s about building confidence in the human at the other end of the lead.

We’re not quite at graduation yet, but we’re close.

I have no doubt Holly has a bright future ahead of her and I know this won’t be goodbye - it’ll be the beginning of a lifelong friendship.

This is why I do what I do. 🩵🐾

Big shout of to my own cattle dog, Pogo, for role modelling, guiding, correcting and helping Holly throughout this process 🫶🏻

(Side note - I don’t capture the hard yards because I’m focused, but here’s some snaps of the release, the happy moments and a portion of the fun created)

- Nat

15/06/2026

✨ PIPPA’S FAIRYTALE ENDING ✨

Late last year, Pippa, a 1-year-old Great Dane x Wolfhound, came into my care under heartbreaking circumstances.

She came from a busy family with five children and two hardworking parents. Pippa wasn’t neglected or unloved, but she was a young giant whose physical and mental needs weren’t being met. Like many under-stimulated puppies, she became destructive, and punishment became the response.

The day I arrived to collect the dogs for socialisation, I was told, “You need to take her, or she’s going to be shot this weekend.”

So I did.

The dog that arrived wasn’t naughty or bad—she was terrified.

If you raised your hand to pat her, she’d shut down and drop to the ground. She was fearful of men and expected force before kindness. It took four months before she truly believed she was safe.

Slowly, everything changed.

Her confidence grew, her training flourished, and she became safe around dogs of all sizes. She could be trusted off-leash while I trained horses and never strayed. The scared young dog became an incredible companion.

Then fate stepped in.

Last Friday, during a socialisation session at Butler Falls, we met a couple camping for the weekend. To my surprise, Pippa walked straight up to the gentleman for a pat—something completely out of character for her.

We chatted briefly and I mentioned she was available for adoption.

That night they messaged me saying they couldn’t stop thinking about her. It was their first camping trip since losing their beloved 14-year-old dog just three months earlier.

The next day we met again, and Pippa greeted them like old friends.

It felt like the universe had already made the decision.

Since then, they’ve sent daily updates as she settles into her new life, and every photo reminds me why I do what I do.

To this wonderful couple—thank you. Opening your heart again after loss is never easy, yet you chose to take a chance on a dog with a difficult past.

You didn’t just give Pippa a home.

You gave her the life she deserved.

Happy ever after, beautiful girl ❤️🐾

10/03/2026

This video was taken today.

THIS IS RAW. THIS IS IN REAL TIME. THIS IS A SNIPPET OF A VIDEO I SENT TO MY CLIENT.

This is Marley, who graduated from training with me in 2024.

Recently Marley’s owners messaged me about feeling a bit discouraged as she had started pulling and becoming vocal again on walks after another dog lunged and barked at her. Situations like that can trigger instinct in even well trained dogs, and it’s important to remember that training isn’t always a perfectly straight line.

Dogs don’t stop being dogs just because they’ve completed training. When they feel pressure in the environment they will still fall back on instinct — fight, flight or freeze. Our job handling them (ANY DOG; ANY BREED) is to guide them back into the right mindset and remind them to look to us for direction.

Today Marley walked calmly past two golden retrievers sitting outside a café on the main street and handled it beautifully. The owner of those dogs happened to be a professional trainer of assistance dogs for people who are blind, and it was lovely to see calm, well balanced dogs working around each other in a real world environment. Had those dogs been reactive or displayed any signs of unwanted behaviours - we wouldn’t have seized this opportunity.

Moments like this are what training is about.

It’s not about creating a perfect robot dog. It’s about building communication, trust and leadership so when situations arise, your dog knows how to work through them with you.

Marley absolutely nailed it today and I couldn’t be prouder of her progress.

✨ TRUST THE PROCESS ✨

01/02/2026

30/01/2026

Dog Socialisation Isn’t Just About Play — It’s About Communication 🤍

This video shows an important moment between Basil the Rottweiler and Shadow the Labrador.

Basil is being forward and playful — his intention is friendly, but his energy is a little too much. Shadow, on the other hand, is clearly communicating “no thank you” through his body language and hesitation.

This is where appropriate intervention matters.

You’ll see Reg step in calmly and confidently — correcting Basil, protecting Shadow’s boundaries, and then redirecting Basil away from the situation. No chaos. No aggression. Just clear, fair communication.

Reg comes to work with me not just as my dog, but as a teacher.
He helps dogs learn:
• how to read social cues
• when play is welcome — and when it’s not
• how to regulate their energy
• how to interact safely and respectfully

He mitigates tension before it escalates and brings balance into situations that could otherwise go wrong.

I might be biased… but Reg truly is the best dog in the world 🖤
And moments like this are exactly why structured, supervised socialisation is so important.

30/01/2026

Meet Reg 🤍

Five years ago, I received an emergency call from a rescue we had previously contracted to.

A dog.
Adopted two months prior.
Dumped in a backyard in Orange, NSW.

Labelled aggressive.
A “failed” pigging dog.

I grabbed my keys and drove straight there.

When I arrived, Reg was standing in knee-deep grass — scared, confused, traumatised. He barked, growled, and semi-lunged at me. The homeowner was too frightened to even attempt putting a lead on him.

After talking with her, she disclosed that the “owner” had taken Reg pigging, decided he was “no good”, and simply left him there… and never came back.

Reg wasn’t aggressive.
Reg was abandoned.

I had to find a way to gain his trust — fast, but gently. Every time I took two steps toward him, he took five back. He barked, growled, showed all the signs of a dog protecting himself because no one else ever had.

With patience, calm energy, and kindness, I managed to slip a collar and lead on him.

And then…
He walked me to my car.

Once home, Reg met my four other dogs with absolute ease. He showed nothing but submission, respect, and calm communication.

Three weeks later, I was confident he was ready for adoption.

But then something happened that changed everything.

Reg helped me socialise a highly inter-male aggressive Great Dane — a dog who had already punctured my existing dog, Ragnar. In a moment I will never forget, when that Great Dane showed every physical sign he was about to attack, Reg did something extraordinary.

He play bowed.
He showed submission.
He spoke in dog language that said: you’re safe here.

The Great Dane mirrored him… and changed in that moment.

From there, I was able to rehabilitate that dog.

I looked at Reg and knew — he was one in a million.

I adopted him.

Five years later, Reg has helped hundreds of dogs with similar — and often worse — backgrounds. Dogs labelled aggressive. Dogs written off. Dogs terrified of the world.

He models calm.
He teaches safety.
He shows dogs how to be dogs again.

Reg is my soul dog.
And I will be forever grateful that the dog the world gave up on found his way to me. 🖤