Where You Lead Dog Behaviour and Training

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Wantirna, VIC
Where You Lead Dog Behaviour and Training

WYL is a dog behavioural and training service specialising in fearful behaviour and aggression.

Our trainer is NDTF certified and experienced with dogs of all shapes, sizes and temperaments.

21/10/2026

A little puppy spam to make your morning brighter! How cute is Hugo? Right now he's only a small boy but his owners have set him off on the right paw by getting in with extra training after puppy school. He's set to be a big boy - possibly getting up to 40kgs. His owners wanted to make sure he gets all the right foundations, especially with leash walking, manners around people and kids and recall.

Lucky me, I also got lots of pats!

01/10/2026

I may not keep much up to date on socials but I do keep up to date where it counts – continued education!

I think it is a rite of passage in dog training (and many other areas) to graduate our courses and think, ‘yes, this is it, I know what I’m doing’. And then shortly later realise, ‘oh no, there is so much more to this than I ever knew.’

The trick is taking that awareness and doing something about it. I attend seminars, online courses, read books and studies and try every day to be able to add something new to my toolbox because every dog is different and what works for one won’t necessarily work for another.

Last week it was up to NSW for a seminar with Jay Jack, a fabulous trainer from America. He was one of the pioneers for the importance of play in training, giving our dogs more freedom instead of less, and that an obedient dog isn’t necessarily a happy dog.

I always say if I get a single golden nugget from a seminar, it was worth it. This seminar was full of them! I basically walked away with the Welcome Stranger to add to my box of tools. Now it is time to knuckle down and use the newfound knowledge to help more of you and your dogs!

20/07/2026

A story too good not to share:

Bao (grey - on the left) is a 2-year-old Amstaff x who I’ve been working with this year. You’ll hear a lot more about his journey in the coming months as it has been remarkable. Five months ago, his owners were essentially told to keep him away from any triggers including dogs, people, cars etc. despite working with another trainer for six months and having him on heavy meds.

Fast forward to now and after seeing Bao interacting with several dogs including my own, I knew he needed a playmate who could match his intensity and handle his weight. Enter: Raya (black - on the right). A large, boisterous 2-year-old belonging to another client. Raya had also had trouble finding a playmate who matched her boisterous behaviour and could handle her size.

Within minutes Raya and Bao were happily bounding around the yard exchanging blows and chasing each other like idiots.

That’s not even the best part!

As their owners chatted about how they had similar playstyles and were about the same age the question of birthdays came up. Then where they were adopted (Reservoir). Their mother’s name. The names their breeders had given them.

Would you believe that two years after adoption these pups managed to find homes in the same area, work with the same trainer and meet up to play together only to then discover they are actually siblings?

Yep! Bao and Raya, despite looking wildly different, come from the same rescued litter. We had managed to reunite siblings! Brother and sister had a ton of fun and are looking forward to many more happy playdates ahead.

31/01/2026

Due to the heat, we haven’t been able to nail down a cool enough day to re-film our flirt pole videos – but they are still coming! In the meantime, let’s talk about an important issue – resource guarding.

This week I met little Rosie. She is only four months old. Rosie’s owners avoided a trap a lot of people fall into when they noticed Rosie had started resource guarding her food - thinking a puppy will grow out of these kinds of behaviours. In many cases, owners instead allow this to fester for months or even years before they get so bad they finally seek help. Rosie’s owners contacted me nice and early, as soon as they noticed the issue, which makes resolving the behaviour much simpler.

If you are ever in doubt about whether or not a puppy behaviour is ‘normal’ or age-appropriate, contact a trainer or vet to have a chat.

For further information on resource guarding – go to our new blog
post. www.whereyoulead.au/training-journeys-and-tricks-1/resource-guarding

23/12/2025

The first video in our flirt pole series was meant to be up today but because it’s 2025 the footage has random errors and will need to be re-shot. So we are delaying the video until mid-Jan and offer you Teddy patiently waiting for Santa in compensation!

We will be back in the office on the 12th of Jan. Until then, have a great holiday, a Happy New Year and give your dogs an extra treat for us!

18/12/2025

To streamline contact with our clients, we're closing messaging via social media from the 1st of Jan 2026. Videos, client updates, and tips and tricks will be published on the Where You Lead website as a blog. Comments and messenger via Facebook and Instagram will be closed.

You will be able to contact us via:

Email: [email protected]

Website contact form: https://www.whereyoulead.au/contact-us

Mobile: 0401 475 689

We love to get updates from existing and past clients as well as hear from new ones, so please reach out to let us know how you and your dog are doing. We're

All updates, tips, and advice will be posted on the Where You Lead blog from January 2026, so be sure to check in periodically!

https://www.whereyoulead.au/training-journeys-and-tricks-1

We will be starting with a three-part series on flirt poles - taking you from what they are, why you might use one, and how to start with your dog, to more advanced flirt pole work. The first video will be up in the next week.

We'll be adding more of these on different topics in the future. Feel free to comment below any particular areas you might like to see us cover!

Thank you all for your support. We look forward to continuing to work with your pups from 2026!

17/12/2025

If you’ve been considering adopting a dog in the New Year – take a look at Jax!

Jax has been fostering with us since May this year. He started out in rough shape! When Jax arrived, his ears were bleeding from fly bites, he jumped at the sound of the car locking, he had almost no social skills with other dogs and was fearful of most humans. He would blow up at the sight of them.

In the following months Jax has come SO far and is looking for a new owner who will finally give him the security and forever home he deserves.

Jax has been able to be social with dogs and would benefit from a polite older dog in a similar size or larger to keep helping him develop his play skills (Teddy is doing a great job in the video!). Or he would flourish as an only dog getting all your attention.

Jax is untested with kids and due to his previous fears with sound would probably do best without children in the house.

Jax has gone from jumping at every sound to playing outside with his trainer under fireworks, but he can still sometimes get startled with something new – inflatable Santas come to mind. He needs an owner who is willing to take the time to ease him through those fears so he can continue developing into the super confident young boy he deserves to be.

His new owner should be willing to keep training him with the same training plan he is used to – the consistency will make the transition to his new home much easier. Jax likes to be able to approach humans on his own terms so dog-savvy people in the house is a must. As long as he feels safe to retreat and doesn’t feel cornered, Jax is usually overjoyed to meet people now, especially if they will throw a toy for him.

There will be ongoing support from us with Jax’s training, helping ease him into his new home and deal with any difficulties that might arise as he transitions into yet another new space.

Jax loves a good game of tug, being chased in the yard and sniffy walks where he gets to investigate the world. He will be your shadow all day if you will let him and loves a cuddle. Jax has just started to realise water can be fun in the heat and might enjoy a shell pool in his new home.

If you’re interested in Jax reach out to GSRV - https://www.facebook.com/germanshepherdrescuevictoria

If you aren’t sure if your current dog would be a good fit for Jax, feel free to reach out to us and we can have a chat!

Let’s get Jax into his forever home for 2026!

MC: 956000014483274

14/09/2025

It was Maggie's 12th birthday Friday. I took Friday and Saturday off to celebrate. Friday we went to a farm and dog cafe.
Saturday we went into the wilderness. Sunday we did cake and presents, including Jax!

25/07/2025

It has been a while between posts! When things get busy, social media has to take a backseat. Time for an update starting with the most important thing – our current foster boy Jax turned four yesterday! Everyone having a birthday in our house must be celebrated so he got some toys, a little puppy ice-cream and, of course, a cake!

Everyone has to share their cake on their birthday of course, though Jax got the biggest piece. It is quite hilarious seeing the difference in how they all attacked their cake. Teddy almost swallowed his whole, while Jax carefully pulled out a ‘carrot candle’ first and ate that, licked off the icing and delicately made his way through the rest.

Note that all three of ours have nailed the ‘puppy dog’ eyes while waiting to be released for their cake.

For the past few months while helping prepare Jax for his new home, we have been continuing our constant learning by consuming online courses, books and journal articles and recently attending a seminar with Josh Moran. Long-time page lurkers would know I have a photo of meeting him many years ago when he last came out to Australia and I was keen to see what new ideas he brought over this time. Outside of that we have had a full house of boarders coming and going, classes, and plenty of in-home consultations. Plus, poor Maggie had to have surgery to have some lumps removed – all benign thankfully!

Safe to say we have been keeping busy, though not keeping the socials updated!

What do you do to celebrate your dog’s birthday? Do they have a favourite cake?

12/05/2025

The page has been quiet for a few months! Regular clients would know I was having my gallbladder removed and recovering from that, then took my dogs bush for a few weeks to completely rest and recover.

Now I'm back to full strength and jumping right back into things! Picking up a foster pup today with dog reactivity and some definite nerves around strangers so I'm very much looking forward to diving in to helping him. For those of you enrolled in classes, remember those start again this week!

Looking forward to getting back into it all and posting some more client updates as we go.

Address

Wantirna, VIC
3152

Website

http://www.whereyoulead.com.au/

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