Happy Paws Waggy Tails

Happy Paws Waggy Tails For dogs who are family
Structured day care | Solo walks | Training & more
Reactivity Specialists. Flemington facility + in-home services
83513703

Happy Paws Waggy Tails was founded in December 2021 to offer services that differ from the usual group dog walking or day care options. We work one on one with dogs only taking additional dogs from the same household. We have a special interest in dogs with additional needs or reactivity issues. We now have a dog day care and training facility in Flemington that can accommodate up to 51 dogs per d

ay. We offer
Solo or same household walks
Training
Dog Day Care
In Home Dog Sitting
Hydrobathing
and more.....

24/05/2026

Day 33 of helping Prince build confidence around the vacuum.
It has been a week since the last update. Training has still been happening behind the scenes using a mix of the different techniques shown throughout this series.
Honestly though, there have also been several days this week where I have been too exhausted after work to even think about running a 5 minute training session, let alone filming content around it. That is real life too.

But today felt like a really important milestone.
For the first time since starting this journey, I was able to vacuum the lounge room and hallway without removing Prince from the house first.

Up until now, if I needed to vacuum properly, Prince would go sit in the car because that had become his safe space away from the noise and movement.
Today he chose to stay inside.
He stayed in the kitchen while I vacuumed nearby.

Now to be clear - he is not suddenly “fixed”. He is still showing some stress signals in the video. You can see moments of lip licking, whale eye, and environmental scanning. He is not relaxed and comfortable with the vacuum yet.

But he is also no longer cowering in fear, shutting down, or fleeing the environment.
That distinction matters.

Fear recovery is not usually a straight line from “terrified” to “completely confident”. A lot of the time the first real win is simply reducing panic enough that the dog can stay present, process the environment, and recover more effectively afterwards.
And for Prince, that is a huge step forward from where we started.
Day 33 done.
confidencebuilding labrador counterconditioning happypawswaggytails keepingtailswagging hpwt

17/05/2026

Day 26 of helping Prince build confidence around the vacuum.
We have been a bit quiet for the last week.
Not because training stopped - quite the opposite. I decided to pause posting for a few days so I could focus properly on conditioning the dopamine box without worrying about filming every session.
And honestly, I am glad I did.

When we last left off, Prince was completely confused by the box. Tail wagging, trying behaviours, but clearly having no idea what the actual game was.
This week something clicked.

Prince has now figured out the rules of the box - keep your head in and the reinforcement keeps coming.
We have managed to progress all the way up to around a 10 degree incline, so almost upright compared to where we started.
That might sound tiny, but understanding the game is the important part. Once the dog understands the rules, confidence starts building much faster.

The reason I like the dopamine box for fear work is because it teaches disengagement from the environment. Forget everything outside the box. Stay in the game, stay engaged, and good things keep happening.
That mental shift is incredibly valuable for dogs who struggle with fear or overwhelm.
We are still nowhere near pairing this with the vacuum yet. Right now I am far more interested in building understanding, confidence, and clarity first.

One thing this series has really reinforced for me is that behaviour work is rarely about rushing toward the end goal. The foundation work matters. Sometimes the boring reps are the important reps.
Day 26 done. Slow progress is still progress.
confidencebuilding labrador counterconditioning happypawswaggytails keepingtailswagging hpwt

We did it again 🏆For the second year in a row, Happy Paws Waggy Tails has been named Best Dog Day Care in Moonee Valley ...
12/05/2026

We did it again 🏆

For the second year in a row, Happy Paws Waggy Tails has been named Best Dog Day Care in Moonee Valley in the Quality Business Awards.

And honestly… our clients already know how special this place is. They see the care, the structure, the enrichment, the staff who genuinely adore their dogs, the updates, the cuddles, the training support, the quiet rest times, the celebrations, the attention to detail. These awards are the industry recognising it too.

What makes HPWT different has never been flashy marketing or cramming as many dogs in as possible. It’s the fact every dog is treated like an individual. Nervous dogs, puppies, seniors, high energy chaos goblins, dogs still learning social skills - they all matter equally here. We’ve built something that prioritises safety, relationships, enrichment, rest, education and genuine connection over simply “watching dogs play”.

To our clients - thank you. Truly. You are the reason we get to keep building something really bloody special.
In a few weeks voting opens for the Local Business Awards and we would absolutely love your support again this year. After taking home Outstanding Pet Care in Melbourne’s North West last year, we’d love nothing more than to back it up with a clean sweep 🐾
melbournedogs dogsofinstagram dogmum dogdad smallbusiness awardwinning flemington kensington3031 ascotvale dogdaycaremelbourne

10/05/2026

Day 19 of helping Prince build confidence around the vacuum.
Today the vacuum was on, in sight, and fairly close.
Loki would normally be removed completely from training setups. Today though, I was quickly filming and decided to see where Prince was at emotionally before building a bigger session around it.

Interestingly, Loki is not actually a fan of the vacuum either, even though he is not fearful of it. I genuinely expected him to keep his distance during this session.

A couple of days ago I posted about the ugly side of sharing this series publicly. Since then, one of the biggest criticisms has been around the scatter feeding games. People claiming Prince is only gobbling food because he is stressed and that I am somehow making that worse.

So today I deliberately focused on calm hand feeding. Partly to test that accusation, and partly to demonstrate what I have been saying throughout the series - that his emotional state around both the vacuum and food is changing.

The flip side has been comments claiming I somehow started with a confident dog and that Prince never really feared the vacuum in the first place.

I think this clip speaks for itself.
Prince is progressing. He is noticeably calmer. He is capable of eating at a far more relaxed pace. And most importantly, he is choosing to stay engaged while the vacuum is on, visible, and moving nearby.

That is not shutdown.�That is not flooding.
This is not a dog hoovering from fear wanting to flee. �That is behaviour change.
Day 19 done.
confidencebuilding labrador counterconditioning happypawswaggytails keepingtailswagging hpwt

In a house where dogs are allowed on the couch, clear seating arrangements are very important 😂Loki has claimed his side...
10/05/2026

In a house where dogs are allowed on the couch, clear seating arrangements are very important 😂
Loki has claimed his side.
Prince has claimed his.
And apparently the humans are just lucky to still be permitted in the living room.
Huge thank you to for the personalised cushions - safe to say the boys approve 🐾
blacklab rescuelab rescuedog spoileddogs doglife dogdadlife livingroomgoals dogsofinstagram labradorsofinstagram

09/05/2026

POV: your entire life starts revolving around dogs… and somehow you still wouldn’t change a thing 🐾

Monday - admin chaos and coffee
Tuesday - walking clients all over Melbourne
Wednesday - day care van chauffeur duties
Thursday - getting absolutely mobbed by dogs at day care
Friday - training sessions and helping clients hit breakthroughs
Saturday - deep cleaning the centre ready for another week
Sunday - falling asleep in bed with both my dogs ❤️

Then somehow… we do it all again the next week.
Very much looking forward to Sunday. But wouldn’t have it any other way though.
melbournedogs flemington dogmumlife dogdadlife smallbusiness happypawswaggytails keepingtailswagging hpwt

08/05/2026

Day 18 of helping Prince build confidence.
This clip happened by accident.

I opened the hall cupboard and knocked the vacuum over. Prince had been asleep on the couch, but instead of panicking or fleeing, he trotted over wagging his tail while I picked it back up.
So I grabbed the camera.

This. This right here. This is the goal.
Not shutdown. Not tolerance. Not “he’s coping”.
His emotional response is changing.
The movement of the vacuum used to predict fear. Now it predicts good things. He was genuinely excited to train with it.

And honestly... that moment hit me pretty hard.
This series has received a huge amount of support, kindness, and encouragement. We have had so many comments and inboxes from people sharing stories about their own fearful dogs.

But social media is a double-edged sword.
Alongside the support has also come hateful comments and DMs telling me I am an idiot, I’m making him worse, profiting off his misery, and plenty more I will not repeat.
I think people sometimes forget there is a real person behind these videos.
My name is Elliot. I am a qualified dog trainer and behaviourist specialising in fear, reactivity, loose leash walking and recall.
But I am also someone who struggles with mental health.
And 18 months ago, comments like some of these would have absolutely destroyed me.

Still - I am proud of this series.
The wins.
The setbacks.
The uncertainty.
The real process behind behaviour change.
And if this series has helped even one person feel hopeful about their own dog, then it was worth making public.

And to the haters... kindly suck off.
Vacuum pun intended.
mentalhealth confidencebuilding labrador happypawswaggytails keepingtailswagging hpwt

Address

424 Racecourse Road
Melbourne, VIC
3031

Opening Hours

Monday 7:30am - 6:30pm
Tuesday 7:30am - 6:30pm
Wednesday 7:30am - 6:30pm
Thursday 7:30am - 6:30pm
Friday 7:30am - 6:30pm

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