Perth Canine Craft

29/08/2026

😁 And then I have to remind myself that everybody was new at some point.

My recommendation is for someone to become a foster carer for SAFE Inc and get some experience (a build some good handler skills of different dogs) under their belt to see if they really want to commit to a high drive dog!

When pet owner's see a movie with a working dog, and they say they want one- this is the scene playing in my head!!😅

28/08/2026

When pet owner's see a movie with a working dog, and they say they want one- this is the scene playing in my head!!😅

24/08/2026

Just a few things we've been working on with Mellow the last 2 weeks

18/08/2026

There have been so many sessions that make it worth doing my job; this photo sums it up when I'm able to "coach both ends of the leash"

17/08/2026

Hahaha - very funny, and I have to admit; this is what I had to do back when I started my dog training career in South Africa.

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?ref=saved&v=228546925487452

17/08/2026

🤯Not everything needs to be exciting. Some things just need to be normal.👇

😅 A lot of people want a dog they can take to cafés, markets and out into the community, so when their puppy is young they try to “make everything a good experience.”

Good intention — but there can be an unintended consequence.

If every new place, person, dog or environment predicts excitement, interaction, treats and entertainment, your dog can start to believe that going out means something is always about to happen.

Then we wonder why they struggle to switch off.

🐾 With Mellow here, we’re teaching something different:

This environment is neither exciting nor scary. It’s just there.

👉 He doesn’t need to greet everyone.
👉 He doesn’t need to investigate everything.
👉 He doesn’t need constant entertainment.

He can observe the world and simply be neutral in it.

That doesn’t mean trying to protect him from every unpleasant experience either. Outside these sessions, we deliberately work on resilience — coping, recovering and learning that he can handle things when life doesn't go perfectly.

Because the goal isn't a dog who has only ever had “good experiences.”

The goal is a dog who can enjoy the good, remain neutral about the ordinary, and recover when something goes wrong.

That is a much more useful dog to live with — and a much more useful skill for the dog to have.

14/08/2026

I could not have said it any better!

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?ref=saved&v=478341296895882

12/08/2026

The correction deals with the mistake; the reward builds the behaviour you want next.

🤓One thing that confuses owners is rewarding a dog after they’ve had to follow through.

👉 The dog ignores a known cue.
👉 You apply appropriate pressure or guidance.
👉 The dog complies.
👉 Then you reward.

And people think: “Why would I reward him? He ignored me first.”
Because you’re not rewarding the ignoring.
You’re reinforcing the behaviour that happened "after" your follow-through.

Think of each part of the sequence separately:

👉 Dog ignores → consequence.
👉 Dog responds → pressure comes off.
👉 Dog completes the behaviour → reinforcement.

Those consequences don’t cancel each other out; this is where “deserve” can muddy dog training.

🧐 Training isn’t about deciding whether the dog has been good enough to earn our approval. It’s about asking: "What behaviour just happened, and what consequence will make that behaviour more or less likely next time?"

I often say: "Genetics loads the software. Reinforcement pays the wages. Punishment is the fines."

Getting a fine doesn’t mean you stop getting paid for doing the job correctly afterwards.
👉 The same applies here.
👉 The correction addresses the mistake.
👉 The reinforcement strengthens the behaviour you want repeated.
👉 The goal isn’t simply a dog that learns, **“You can make me.”**
👉 The better outcome is a dog that learns:

“My handler means what they say, helps me find the right answer, follows through when necessary, and responding well is worth it.”

Clear. Fair. Consistent.

That is how accountability and reinforcement can work together rather than against each other.