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Monday 7:30am - 2pm Tuesday 9am - 5pm Wednesday 9am - 5pm Thursday 12pm - 5pm Saturday 8am - 5pm

A Dog's Choice Training Services, Eatons Hill (2026)

02/09/2026

🏡 HOME FROM TOWNSVILLE! 🐾💙

A huge shout-out to all the wonderful teams I caught up with — Teams Harley, Mia, Roxy, Val, Sheila and Poppy, and the new kids on the block 😂 Teams Herbie and Axel!

It was fantastic catching up, sharing tips and advice, and showing you some new equipment and ideas to help along the way.

A massive thank you to Dave (Team Harley) for being my chauffeur and basically at my disposal! 😂🚗 Very much appreciated!

And of course, Mike — the Dogfather of Training! It was great catching up and discussing some exciting things we can do to continue supporting the Townsville teams.

I have enormous respect for the beautiful trainers I’m lucky enough to call friends — Linda in Cairns and Mike in Townsville. Your support makes such a difference to the teams, and to me as well. ❤️🐾

I’m looking forward to heading north again early next year — although with more Townsville teams coming through, I have a feeling I’ll be over there a few more times! 😉🐕‍🦺

Thanks everyone for a wonderful visit! 💙

01/09/2026

❤️🐾 CONGRATULATIONS TEAM VAL — PAT PASSED! 🐾❤️

The gorgeous Val — Valentine ❤️ — officially passed his Public Access Test with his lovely handler, Maree!

This little fellow certainly has some swagger 😂, but he also knows exactly what his job is and, most importantly, who he is there for. Val provides Maree with the support she needs to remain calm and confident and to get out and about in the community. 🐕‍🦺💜

There are a few areas I’ve recommended they continue to tweak and refine, but assessment days can bring a few extra butterflies for handlers — while Val seemed quite happy to bring his usual confidence and swagger! 😂

A PAT is also only one part of the overall picture. Throughout the program, teams submit training logs and videos demonstrating their progress and the tasks that mitigate their handler’s disability, along with completing a theory assessment covering training, rights and responsibilities.

All of this helps ensure an assessment reflects the team as a whole — not just one moment on one day.

🎉 Congratulations Maree and Valentine on passing your PAT! ❤️🐾

Well done to you both — Val has definitely earned a little extra swagger in his step! 😂🐕‍🦺

01/09/2026

🐾 SUCCESSFUL PAT RENEWAL — TEAM ROXY 🐾

A huge congratulations to Team Roxy on successfully completing their Public Access Test (PAT) renewal today! 🎉🐕‍🦺

Roxy was an absolute pleasure to assess. She demonstrated a beautifully calm and stable temperament throughout the assessment and was consistently attentive and responsive to her handler, following through with what was asked of her even amongst the everyday distractions of a busy public environment.

It was also wonderful to see some of Roxy’s task work demonstrated and how those skills translate into practical support in everyday life. This included confidently picking up dropped items and providing a brace task, along with other examples of the support she provides her handler.

As with every assessment, there are always opportunities to continue developing and refining skills, and we discussed a few recommendations for further training to strengthen and improve some of Roxy’s existing tasks.

Overall, Roxy presented as a wonderfully settled, capable and reliable Assistance Dog, and I had absolutely no hesitation in renewing this team’s PAT certification for a further two years. 💜

Well done, Team Roxy — a fantastic result and a credit to the work that has gone into maintaining such a lovely partnership. 🐾🐕‍🦺

29/08/2026

✈️ Townsville Bound! 🌴

I’m heading off to Townsville on Monday and am really looking forward to catching up with everyone—including some familiar faces and a few wonderful new teams!

It will be a busy couple of days, with one team completing their PAT renewal and another undertaking their full Public Access Test.

I also have two lovely group sessions planned, giving me the opportunity to catch up with Townsville teams, see how everyone is progressing and enjoy some training together.

Of course, we’ll also have the usual breakfast get-together before I head home. I’m looking forward to catching up with Mike the Dogfather over lunch for a meeting and a good chat too!

The bags are nearly packed, the itinerary is organised, and naturally, the most important piece of luggage has been securely labelled and is ready to go… 😂🪵🐕‍🦺

See you soon, Townsville!

29/08/2026

🌞 A Fantastic Morning at Frank Nichols Reserve! 🐾

I didn’t get a chance to take any photos this morning because I was so busy assisting and working with our marvellous crew!

The park was incredibly busy, with two birthday parties happening and lots of children and families enjoying the beautiful sunshine. There were bikes, skateboards and plenty of activity—all providing fantastic real-life stimulation and distractions for our teams, who handled it so well.

A huge well done to Teams Wh***ey, Campbell, Cuddles, Jari, Zoe and Eva! 👏

This morning, we worked on loose-leash walking exercises and settling around distractions. It was also a valuable opportunity to discuss service dog etiquette and handler responsibilities, which are just as important as practical training skills. I also introduced some new equipment for the teams to try.

I absolutely love these sessions—especially watching the teams network, encourage and help one another.

Fantastic work this morning, everyone! 🐕‍🦺💙

18/08/2026

What a great morning of training at SCHUB in Samford yesterday🐾💙

I had a fantastic little group, with Teams Cooper, Campbell, Eva and Duke coming along for a morning of learning, practising and putting some important Service Dog skills into action.

A big focus of the morning was the responsibility that comes with having a Service Dog. It's not simply about where you can take your dog — it's also about understanding your responsibility as a handler and showing respect for businesses, other people and the spaces you are entering.

Rather than just talking about it, I had the teams work through some simulation exercises to put these concepts into practice. We worked on things such as understanding personal space, positioning themselves appropriately around others, navigating entrances and considering how a Service Dog team should move through busy public environments without unnecessarily impacting other people.

I also put the teams through exercises covering:

- Best practice when entering shopping centres and other public spaces
- Loose-leash walking and positioning
- Awareness of people, dogs and distractions around them
- Settling calmly in place
- Some good old-fashioned basic obedience to finish off the morning!

SCHUB was a great environment because there are always plenty of natural distractions happening around us. It gave the teams the opportunity to practise in situations that were much closer to what they will encounter in real life rather than trying to create a perfectly controlled training environment.

And that is exactly what this training is about — preparing both ends of the leash for the real world. 🐕‍🦺

Beautiful work from all four teams this morning. I am very proud to have these awesome teams out and about representing A Dog's Choice and to see their dogs doing such a wonderful job supporting their people.

Well done Teams Cooper, Campbell, Eva and Duke! 👏🐾💙

12/08/2026

What a wonderful way to finish my trip in beautiful Cairns! 💙🐾

Before heading home, I had the pleasure of completing an In Training Jacket assessment with Team Diesel — and what a fantastic team they are!

Diesel was absolutely on point. Focused, responsive and beautifully connected with his handler throughout the assessment. The bond between these two is so evident, and he is an absolutely gorgeous dog to watch working. 💙

There was really only one little tweak from me — remembering not to let the leash gradually drift out. Loose leash doesn’t mean a long leash! For public access, I want that leash relaxed and loose, but Diesel still nice and close to his handler. A very minor adjustment for an otherwise fantastic assessment.

So pleased with this team and their progress, and it was a lovely way to wrap up another Cairns visit.

And of course, I couldn’t leave Cairns without a huge thank you to Linda. Not only for her love and friendship, but for the massive amount of support she gives me and my teams in Cairns. Having someone I trust there to help support and encourage my teams between my visits means more than I can say. 💙

Well done Team Diesel — a very well-earned In Training Jacket! 🐾👏

12/08/2026

☀️ A gorgeous Cairns catch-up! 🐾💙

What a lovely get-together with a few of my teams here in beautiful Cairns, on an absolutely gorgeous day at The Esplanade.

Teams Chewie, Mooch, Bailey and Bingo came together for a chat, a check-in and, of course, a good catch-up! All four teams are PAT qualified, and I am incredibly proud of them. It is always wonderful to see these dogs out and about and to see just how evident the work they do in supporting their handlers is. 💙🐾

I also loved being able to catch up alongside one of my favourite people and trainer extraordinaire, Linda, who helps me enormously in supporting my Cairns teams. Having that local support and another experienced set of eyes on the ground is something I really value.

Afterwards, Linda and I headed across to the RSL with Team Mooch for a very welcome — and very delicious — lunch! 😋

Then it was back to work, heading out to Bunnings at Smithfield to conduct a reassessment with Team Indi for their In Training Jacket. It was lovely to see the progress this team has made, with Indi doing really well throughout the reassessment and successfully meeting the requirements. 🐕‍🦺👏

A beautiful Cairns day, great company, some very special dogs, a successful reassessment and a lovely opportunity to spend time with some of my teams. 💙🐾

11/08/2026

🐾 PAT RENEWAL SUCCESS – TEAM HARLEY, CAIRNS! ❤️

Another successful PAT Renewal while I’m here in Cairns – congratulations to Team Harley!

This team gave a beautiful demonstration of what strong foundation training looks like. Harley’s basic commands were sharp, responsive and on point, with great communication between dog and handler throughout the practical assessment.

They also demonstrated their trained service tasks confidently and clearly, showing the consistency and teamwork I’m looking for at PAT Renewal.

With both the practical and theory components successfully completed, I’m very happy to sign Team Harley off for another two years of PAT certification! 🎉🐾

And yes… for those wondering why Harley isn’t wearing my signature royal blue jacket – there’s a very good reason! ❤️

Harley’s handler does performance work and has a signature red performance outfit. As Harley accompanies and supports her during this work, she requested a red assistance dog jacket to complement her performance attire – and I was more than happy to accommodate the request. Hence Harley gets to stand out from the crowd in her fabulous red jacket! ❤️🐕‍🦺

A great example of an experienced team demonstrating that when the foundations are solid, it shows.

Congratulations Team Harley – very well deserved! 👏🐾

11/08/2026

🐾 Well done Team Sheba! 🐾

While I’ve been in Cairns, Team Sheba successfully completed the preliminary physical/practical component of their Public Access Test (PAT), meeting the required standard on the day. There are still some follow-up theory and assessment requirements to be completed before the team can be considered for full PAT sign-off, but this was another important step forward. 👏🐕‍🦺

As with any assessment, there were also some recommendations and areas to continue working on. One thing this PAT highlighted was just how important it is to keep up the basics. Good, consistent basic obedience is the foundation that everything else is built upon, and it can be very easy to focus so much on the more advanced work that those everyday foundations don't get the same attention.

Some of those basics weren't as strong as I would ideally like to see on assessment day. However, dogs are dogs, and sometimes what we regularly see in training doesn't quite come together in the same way on the day!

This is also where training logs, videos and regular communication with your assessor really matter. Team Sheba have been consistent in providing videos showing their training, progress and development, which gave me a much broader picture of the team's capability than one assessment session alone. That ongoing evidence was important in demonstrating that they could meet the standard required for this stage.

It's a great reminder for everyone working towards their PAT: don't neglect the basics, keep your training logs up to date, send your videos and stay in communication. Your PAT isn't just about what happens during one assessment — it's about demonstrating the development and consistency of your team over time.

Congratulations Team Sheba on reaching this stage. Keep working on those recommendations and building on those foundations! 🐾💙

A Dog's Choice Training Services

02/09/2026

01/09/2026

01/09/2026

29/08/2026

29/08/2026

18/08/2026

12/08/2026

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Monday	7:30am - 2pm
Tuesday	9am - 5pm
Wednesday	9am - 5pm
Thursday	12pm - 5pm
Saturday	8am - 5pm