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DANE - Dog Academy of New England

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DANE - Dog Academy of New England

Experienced, insured, holistic dog training and rehabilitation Available by appointment. We can come to you. Servicing all of the New England area.

30/10/2026

Hope you’ve all done your 5 minutes homework today! No excuses!! 🫶🏻🐶

30/10/2026

This one has me rolling on the floor 😂😂😂

29/10/2026

🤣 well I feel a little called out 🤣

27/10/2026

Uh-oh, I said the “D” word. A portal should now open & drag me straight to hell, apparently.

For a long time the word Dominance has been used incorrectly to suggest a dog is trying to control the household by force in order to be the ‘Alpha’.
This is not what the word means.

To oppose this concept a large faction of the dog training industry has overcompensated by trying to strike the word off altogether. In doing so this doesn’t teach anyone the accurate definition of the word, it maintains the misunderstanding.

In nearly every post I see about resource guarding, trainers state resource guarding behaviour is ‘not’ dominance, but rather (to quote a recent example):

“Dog B is trying to control access to a valued resource, in this case the owner's attention”.

The commenter has just defined Dominant Behaviour while trying to explain that it’s not.

A simple ethological definition of Dominant Behaviour:

‘Social behaviour by an individual to gain priority access to a resource in the moment’.

(To add, dominant behaviour is distinct from aggressive behaviour as the point is to gain access to a resource without causing injury.)

We don’t do dog trainers or owners any favours by disregarding technical definitions of behaviour because we don’t like how a term has been misused.

This narrative isn’t only driven by not liking terms. The strategy is to avoid using words that demonstrate instinctual species specific behaviours.

There’s a push to ‘soften’ the motivation of dogs and twist behaviour to be more ‘human like’ rather than understand behaviour unique to dogs. Dogs are often compared to children & owners are labelled ‘pet parents’.

Not that any of this is inherently bad, but the focus is becoming so one-sided, investigating the uniqueness of dog behaviour is taking a back seat.

A lot of this is ideology driven in order to soften how dogs are seen so anything other than a positive reinforcement approach is labelled ‘cruel’ because “who would want to use pressure on fur-children”.

This isn’t to suggest that everything should be solved via aversive control. Not at all. But, by reducing dogs to ‘child-like’ beings without species specific drives that need to be understood in a technical, species-specific context, we are throwing the baby out with the bath water.

Further reading:

Barata, R. (2012). Dominance in Dogs: A Comprehensive Scientific Compilation. Human-Animal Science.

(Updated 2024)

https://etologi.dk/dominance-in-dogs/

21/10/2026

Tonight’s group session is cancelled due to weather.

21/10/2026

‼️PHONE ISSUES‼️
Dan is currently having issues with his phone, if you are waiting for communication from him or are due to have an appointment with him in the next week or so - please inbox the page to get his temporary number.
Our sincere apologies for any inconvenience caused

21/10/2026

Probably unorthodox confidence building methodology with Apollo earlier in the week. Such a sweet gentle boy 🥰

20/10/2026

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸 𝗦𝘁𝘂𝗱𝘆 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗱 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗪𝗲 𝗧𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗖𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘃𝗶𝘁𝘆

This study followed 48 Labrador Retrievers throughout their lives, and its findings helped establish a lasting connection between nutritional management, healthy body weight, and longevity in dogs.

Here’s what the research found:

𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗻: Dogs fed 25% less food than their pair-matched controls had a median lifespan of 13.0 years, compared with 11.2 years in control-fed dogs—a difference of 1.8 years.

𝗗𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗵𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗶𝗰 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲: Food-restricted dogs developed age-related chronic diseases later in life, with osteoarthritis among the particularly notable conditions.

𝗕𝗼𝗱𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀: The study linked greater fat mass and declining lean body mass with mortality, highlighting the importance of maintaining a healthy body composition.

𝗟𝗼𝗻𝗴-𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗺 𝗻𝘂𝘁𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀: The dogs followed their respective feeding regimens from puppyhood, emphasizing the potential importance of nutritional management throughout life.

Although initially published in 2002, this is still as important today.

Because healthy weight management is more than an aesthetic goal. It is an important component of preventive veterinary care, with potential implications for both lifespan and healthy ageing.

For veterinary teams, this research reinforces the value of regularly assessing body condition, individualizing feeding recommendations, and discussing nutrition with pet owners before excess weight becomes a problem.

Subscribe to VetEd to help us access more veterinary journals.

Kealy RD, et al. Effects of diet restriction on life span and age-related changes in dogs. JAVMA. 2002;220(9):1315–1320.

Lawler DF, et al. Diet restriction and ageing in the dog: major observations over two decades. British Journal of Nutrition. 2008;99:793–805.

14/10/2026

NSW GOVERNMENT HAS INTRODUCED A BILL TO ESTABLISH AN INDEPENDENT OFFICE OF ANIMAL WELFARE.
The Minns Labor Government introduced a Bill to Parliament yesterday on a key election commitment to strengthen transparency and accountability of organisations responsible for enforcing animal welfare laws in NSW.

The Bill will establish a new statutory Office of Animal Welfare to oversee their performance and review public funding provided to the RSPCA NSW and the Animal Welfare League NSW that is used for enforcement activities, and ensure it is used in line with community expectations.

In the 2026-27 Budget, these organisations were allocated $12.8 million in government funding to carry out animal welfare enforcement functions under the "Prevention of Cruelty of Animals Act" (POCTA).

The new Office of Animal Welfare is part of broader reforms to modernise the state's animal welfare laws and ensure effective protections for animals.

The reforms include:
> Delivering independent advice, reviews and recommendations related to animal welfare and to organisations entrusted with animal welfare enforcement powers.
> Making recommendations to the government on issues relating to enforcement funding made to approved charity organisations.
> Receiving, investigating and reporting on complaints from the public related to enforcement actions taken by these organisations.
> Promoting best practice compliance and enforcement across the animal welfare sector through greater coordination, information sharing and performance oversight.

It is proposed the new Office will sit within the Premier's Dept portfolio and report to the Minister for Agriculture.

The NSW Government has already strengthened animal welfare in the state by:
> Banning illegal puppy farms, regulating dog breeders and strengthening rules for selling puppies.
> Banning anyone with serious animal cruelty convictions from keeping or working with animals.
> Increasing funding to the RSPCA NSW and the Animal Welfare League.
> Proposing improved animal welfare regulations through the "Prevention of Cruelty of Animals (Enforcement and Operational Powers) Bill, 2026.

To read the full transcript go to www.nsw.gov.au/ministerial-releases .

(Source: the Minister for Agriculture dated 13 October 2026)

09/10/2026

The amazing Duchess and her brilliant handler - Rally obedience training - Revision of novice commands and working rear end awareness in prep for a 90 degree right pivot

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Tamworth, NSW

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 5pm
Tuesday	9am - 5pm
Wednesday	9am - 5pm
Thursday	9am - 5pm
Friday	9am - 5pm

Website

http://www.dogacademyofnewengland.com/

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