Angela's Dog Training

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Angela's Dog Training Most dog problems are not training problems, they are relationship problems. I help owners create calm, responsive dogs in a kind and clear way.

I am an experienced trainer, who brings a very practical and unique approach to the way I train dogs. I have learnt to be very clear about boundaries, and understand how to transform an out-of-control dog into a calm, relaxed, focused member of the family, quickly and effectively. I call this 'Setting up leadership'. Would you like me to show you how to transform your out-of-control dog into a relaxed, well-behaved member of the family? Is your dog making your life difficult and stressful? Is your dog too excited to take notice of you? Have you tried obedience classes and puppy school and your dog is still out-of-control?
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​Most people are amazed at the difference in their dogs after just the first session.
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It really is quite simple to fix most problems. You really don't have to put up with annoying behaviour. Wouldn't you rather enjoy your time with your dog? My training is not about training a particular behaviour, it is about changing the mindset of your dog to regard you as someone who is worthy of their attention and obedience. When you can get a dog who is focused and attentive to you he will do almost anything for you, even in a distracted environment. My training sessions show how you can achieve this. I service all areas of Moonee Valley and the Northern Suburbs including the Macedon Ranges. Please contact me if you are outside these areas and we can discuss.

23/09/2026

Yesterday I met gorgeous little Woody, a 4–5 year old Cavoodle.

When I arrived, there was a bit of chaos at the front door. Woody was barking, this lovely lady was repeatedly asking him to go to his bed, and although he kept doing what he was told, he kept coming straight back again. By the third or fourth time, she was getting frustrated — and Woody just looked confused.

This was a lovely example of the difference between obedience and leadership.

“Go to your bed” is an obedience command. But the front door is really about controlling space. Once she learned how to calmly take control of that space, Woody understood exactly what was expected of him.

At the end of our session, we tested it again. I went outside, knocked loudly, even banged on the windows — and not a sound from Woody. When she opened the door, there he was, calmly sitting back on his bed.

Obedience training is valuable. Leadership is valuable. But when the problem is about who controls the space, leadership is often the much clearer language for the dog.

Well done, Woody — and his lovely owner!

18/09/2026

Biscoff

When I first met Biscoff, a gorgeous little Cavoodle pup, his owner was finding him pretty hard work.

He was jumping all over visitors, being invasive on the couch, rushing the front door, and she couldn’t even have him sitting quietly on her lap without him biting or constantly licking her. In fact, things had become difficult enough that she had started wondering whether she might have to rehome him.

When I arrived, I put my bags down on the kitchen floor as I normally do. My bags often smell of treats, even though I rarely use them in training, so dogs usually can’t resist having a look.

Sure enough, Biscoff came straight over and stuck his nose in my bag.

I simply pushed him out of my space. Nothing dramatic and nothing unfair — just a very calm, clear boundary: that’s my bag, not yours.

And that was really all Biscoff needed.

He walked away and settled quietly in his bed while I talked to his owner and her daughter. They both looked at him in amazement and told me they had never seen him behave so calmly when someone came to the house.

For the rest of the session, Biscoff was a different little dog. There really wasn’t much more I needed to do with him. Once that relationship and boundary had been established, all the lovely behaviour that was already there had a chance to come through.

By the end of the session, his owner was sitting with Biscoff on her lap and, instead of biting and licking her, he was giving her the beautiful, gentle cuddles she’d always wanted from him.

And the thought of rehoming him?

That was no longer on the table.

Sometimes a dog doesn’t need more commands or more treats. Sometimes they simply need someone to make the boundaries clear.

09/09/2026

When I brought Bodhi home, Georgie was about six years old — and she was not impressed.

She pretty much looked down her nose at him as if to say, “What on earth did you get him for?” 😂

One of the first things I noticed was that if Georgie was sitting on my lap and Bodhi came close, she would growl at him. She was basically telling him, “She’s mine. Stay away.”

So I changed the dynamic.

If Georgie was on my lap and growled when Bodhi approached, I calmly moved Georgie out of my space and invited Bodhi in instead. I’d give him a cuddle for a little while, then move Bodhi out of my space and invite Georgie back in.

And while Georgie was with me, Bodhi had to respect that space too.

I simply repeated this back and forth for about ten minutes.

The message was very clear: neither dog gets to claim me or decide who is allowed into my space. I control the space.

For me, that’s an important part of leadership with dogs. When I’m making those decisions, the dogs don’t need to compete with each other for my attention, and growling or pushing the other dog away isn’t something they get to control.

That little exercise completely changed the dynamic between Georgie and Bodhi.

Now, I wouldn’t say Georgie has ever fallen madly in love with Bodhi. 😂 She tolerates him. But she’s respectful of him, he’s respectful of her, and they live very happily together.

Sometimes dogs don’t need to become best friends. They just need to understand the rules around each other.

02/09/2026

Barking at the front window or door isn’t really an obedience problem. It’s a leadership problem.

When a dog races to the window and barks at every person, dog or delivery driver who passes, they’re actually trying to do the honourable thing.

They believe it’s their responsibility to watch the boundary, decide what might be a threat and deal with it.

And somewhere along the way, they’ve made a judgement that you’re not going to take care of it — so they need to.

This is why simply telling the dog to sit, stay or go to your bed often doesn’t solve the problem. Those are obedience commands, but the underlying issue isn’t obedience.

It’s about space and responsibility.

When I work with this behaviour, I teach the owner how to calmly take control of the space around the front door and windows. We’re not trying to stop the dog from noticing what’s outside. We’re showing them, in a way they understand, that this area — and what happens around it — is no longer their responsibility.

Once the dog genuinely understands that you are taking responsibility for the space, they can stop trying to do the job themselves.

19/08/2026

Taking your dogs away doesn’t have to be stressful.

Jerry and I recently took Georgie and Bodhi away for the night and stayed in an Airbnb. Our dogs actually aren’t used to going away with us, so it was a new experience for them — particularly Bodhi, who is very attached to me.

Whenever I stay in someone else’s home, I don’t like leaving my dogs with free run of the house while we’re out. So I set up a little pen area in the kitchen with their beds where I knew they would be safe and couldn’t get into any trouble.

Not long after we arrived, Jerry and I went out for a coffee for about an hour. We put Georgie and Bodhi into the pen before we left. Bodhi was a little unsure — new house, new environment, new rules — but we were very clear that this was where he needed to stay. There was no fuss and no negotiation.

When we went out to dinner that evening, we did exactly the same thing. This time Bodhi was already more comfortable with the idea.

The following morning, we went for another coffee and popped them into the pen again. By the third time, there was absolutely no issue. They happily went into their little area, settled down and waited for us to come back.

This is why I talk so much about spatial boundaries and leadership.

Containment isn’t a punishment. A clear boundary can actually make things much easier for a dog because there’s nothing for them to work out. This is your space. You stay here. We leave. We come back.

Bodhi is extremely attached to me, so without those clear boundaries it would be very easy for that attachment to turn into difficulty coping when I leave. Teaching a dog that separation is normal and non-negotiable is an important part of preventing separation problems.

By the third time, both dogs understood exactly what was expected of them — and our little weekend away was easy, relaxed and enjoyable.

19/08/2026

Taking your dogs away doesn’t have to be stressful.

Jerry and I recently took Georgie and Bodhi away for the night and stayed in an Airbnb. Our dogs actually aren’t used to going away with us, so it was a new experience for them — particularly Bodhi, who is very attached to me.

Whenever I stay in someone else’s home, I don’t like leaving my dogs with free run of the house while we’re out. So I set up a little pen area in the kitchen with their beds where I knew they would be safe and couldn’t get into any trouble.

Not long after we arrived, Jerry and I went out for a coffee for about an hour. We put Georgie and Bodhi into the pen before we left. Bodhi was a little unsure — new house, new environment, new rules — but we were very clear that this was where he needed to stay. There was no fuss and no negotiation.

When we went out to dinner that evening, we did exactly the same thing. This time Bodhi was already more comfortable with the idea.

The following morning, we went for another coffee and popped them into the pen again. By the third time, there was absolutely no issue. They happily went into their little area, settled down and waited for us to come back.

This is why I talk so much about spatial boundaries and leadership.

Containment isn’t a punishment. A clear boundary can actually make things much easier for a dog because there’s nothing for them to work out. This is your space. You stay here. We leave. We come back.

Bodhi is extremely attached to me, so without those clear boundaries it would be very easy for that attachment to turn into difficulty coping when I leave. Teaching a dog that separation is normal and non-negotiable is an important part of preventing separation problems.

By the third time, both dogs understood exactly what was expected of them — and our little weekend away was easy, relaxed and enjoyable.

05/08/2026

Millie is a gorgeous this little French Bulldog I met recently. She was pulling on the lead and reacting to other dogs on walks.

When I arrived, I could see the real story started inside the house.

Millie was jumping all over everyone, claiming the couch, and trying to rush out the front door whenever it was opened. Before we even thought about walking, we worked on calm, respectful boundaries at home by controlling personal space, the couch, and the doorway.

Once those leadership foundations were in place, we headed outside… and the change was almost immediate. Millie walked beautifully on a loose lead, calm, focused and happy to stay with her owner.

This is why I always say that walking problems rarely begin on the footpath. They usually begin inside the home.

When your dog understands that you’re calmly leading the way at home, that confidence and respect naturally carry over into the outside world.

Such a pleasure being able to help beautiful Millie and her lovely owners.

23/07/2026

One of the most interesting things about dog training is that the behaviour people worry about often isn’t the behaviour that needs to be addressed.

A lovely young couple recently asked me to help with their beautiful Groodle, Murphy. When I arrived, he was charging around the house, jumping on the couch and proudly parading a toy around like a trophy, hoping someone would join in his game.

Many people would have focused on taking the toy away or stopping that behaviour.

Instead, we ignored the toy completely.

We worked on controlling the spaces that really mattered – the couch, the front door and the window, where Murphy had also been barking. As those boundaries became clear, something lovely happened.

By the end of the session, Murphy wandered over to his bed, curled up and fell asleep. The toy-parading had disappeared all by itself.

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with playing with your dog. In fact, it’s one of the best ways to build a relationship. The key is making sure the invitation comes from you, not because your dog has learned to manipulate you into a game whenever they feel like it.

When you quietly become the leader in everyday situations, so many other behaviours simply melt away without you ever having to correct them.

Sometimes the solution isn’t fixing the symptom. It’s changing the relationship.

15/07/2026

One of the most important things you can teach a puppy is that being alone is safe.
When a puppy cries, barks or scratches at the door, our instinct is often to comfort them straight away. But if we let them out while they’re having a tantrum, we can accidentally teach them that noisy behaviour is what makes us come back.
With very young puppies, I usually prefer a simple approach. I wait. I ignore the tantrum and allow them to work through it. Eventually they realise that barking and scratching doesn’t change anything, and they settle. I then wait another five or ten minutes to make sure they’re completely relaxed before I let them out. I’m rewarding the calm, quiet behaviour—not the noise.
If an older puppy or dog is persistently barking or scratching at the doorway, I’ll often use a different approach by calmly controlling the space around the door and setting clear boundaries.
Every dog is different, but the goal is always the same: to help them feel confident and relaxed when they’re on their own. That’s the foundation for preventing separation anxiety.

12/07/2026

One of the biggest signs of a leadership problem isn’t always barking, jumping or pulling on the lead. Sometimes it’s much more subtle.

This lovely Labradoodle pup was quietly leaning on his owner’s leg, sitting on her feet and weaving between her legs while we chatted. Most people would see it as affection, but it was actually a gentle, persistent claim over her space.

I asked his owner to calmly reclaim that space by quietly moving him away whenever he leaned on her or crowded her. Within a couple of minutes, his whole attitude changed.

We then put him back into his pen, where he had previously been barking, jumping at the gate and trying to get out. This time he simply lay down and watched us peacefully.

Nothing had changed except one thing: his owner had started acting like a leader by controlling her own space.

Dogs don’t just listen to what we say—they pay close attention to how we use space. When we communicate clearly and consistently, they will finally relax.

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Moonee Ponds, VIC
3039

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+61409300886

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