Pawsome Manners Dog Walking and Training

29/05/2026

Our much loved boy now named 🌟Pedro🌟 has been waiting for his forever home for months 😔

No dog deserves to grow up in the pound but that is exactly where this boy has been since been he was a little puppy. He really needs a home of his own with people to love and care for him as he deserves 💕

If you know of anyone looking for a fun, active, social, loving, handsome, and smart teenage companion, please tell them to come and visit Pedro and they will fall in love... how could they not?! 😍

28/05/2026

Waiting for our flight back home 😢

We love this place, this is our third time here and we will definitely be back again soon! If anyone is going to Rarotonga and wants recommendations for things to do/see/eat/stay etc I am more than happy to talk all things Raro 🌴

All services will be starting back up on Tuesday 2nd June - have a good long weekend and I look forward to seeing your pups again next week 🐾

27/05/2026

Spent the morning volunteering with the Cook Islands SPCA dogs 🐕

We took them for a walk and a swim at the local waterfall and spent some time playing and interacting with all the dogs and puppies. They have around 70 dogs at the center and do a great job at helping keep the local stray dog population under control by running desexing campaigns across all the Cook Islands as well as educating the locals and local school children on proper dog care and welfare.

All these dogs are available for adoption but some have been in the care of the SPCA for up to 6 years - one has been adopted out numerous times but each time managed to walk herself back to the center - proclaiming that the center is her home and showing just how much she loves the care and routine she gets there.

There was a dog that had fish poisoning - which occurs when they have eaten a fish that has eaten a toxic plant - and become temporarily paralyzed. Buddy (the infected dog) was doing well but struggled to walk on his own, taking on more of a "drunken wobble". This is never deadly for the dogs that can get infected but they can take months to recover from a bad case as the toxins flush out of their system.

Interestingly, there are no deadly diseases or viruses on the island to worry about - the only things they can get are fleas, worms and heartworm - which can be easily controlled with treatments. They do however, risk infection from cuts or wounds and getting hit by cars or bikes. There was a dog at the center that had his leg amputated after being hit by a bus.

As much as I love to see the street dogs here and how happy and healthy most of them are, there will always be those needing better care than than what their owners provide (and some that have no owners or care at all) and this is where services like the SPCA center really help to provide for those dogs in need.

24/05/2026

I am never too far away from dogs it seems 🤣

Rarotonga has a huge population of roaming or "street" dogs.
I would say the majority of these dogs do have an owner (of sorts), where they sleep and eat most of their meals, but they spend the rest of their days roaming the island, swimming in the sea, begging for scraps from tourists, and sunbathing/sleeping basically anywhere they can lie down peacefully.

They all seem to have pretty decent road sense and will wait at the side of the road before crossing, plus the local drivers are very aware of them at the side of the road.
They aren't necessarily what we would call "healthy" as we know it in our western world - most have some kind of health condition, whether it be fleas, mange, a limp, sores, some are even missing an eye or have 3 legs. But overall they are well fed, happy, relaxed, calm, and living just as nature intended.

They live extremely harmoniously together despite being in large numbers with very little flights - using much more subtle body language and excellent communication with one another to sort out any problems without needing to escalate. They definitely have a territorial "patch" and will chase and ward an unknown dog off if needed, but it never escalates to more than a bit of barking or air snapping as after all, fighting with others would mean they risk being injured which could be life threatening - survival instincts kicking in.

Problematic behaviours we tend to see in our western world (dog/human aggression, reactivity, resource guarding, separation distress etc) are non existent from what I have seen over my 3 visits here, which begs the question whether human intervention, interference, domestication, and taking away such a "free" and natural life for dogs is one of the main causes for the issues we commonly see at home today.

One thing I do find a shame, is that the locals tend to see the dogs as pests and they frequently get shoo'ed away from resorts and restaurants etc. I completely understand the reason why - not all people like dogs and encouraging them could mean a resort/restaurant could quickly be over run and that's when issues such as resource guarding or aggression and fights could pop up. But the dog lover in me loves to see when the locals give them a sneaky scrap of food or give them a little pat as they go past 🥺

Dogs here are part of daily life and everywhere you go - free, natural and coexisting peacefully with other dogs, cats, chickens and humans alike - it's a dog's life and it's perfect 👌🏼

23/05/2026

🌴🌊🏖☀️😎
Blue skies, crystal clear waters, white sand (and a cocktail or 2🍸) is the perfect recipe for relaxation and a great get away 😌

23/05/2026

Working in the pound environment myself, I see first-hand the way some members of public shame, bad mouth and blame pounds for absolutely anything. The hate against pounds is relentless.

The pound is often the safest environment some of these dogs have ever experienced. They are kept clean, warm and dry, fed an expensive top quality diet, exercised daily, handled with respect and care by highly trained staff, and seen and treated by qualified vets if and when needed.

I will always stand by pounds across the country for the work that they do - helping to keep communities safe, reuniting lost dogs, and rehoming dogs in need of a loving new home 💕

At the end of the day, it is the public that have failed these dogs and the blame lies with them, never the pound. This is exactly why I have set up a weekly donation to these guys for the amazing work they do providing fundraising for impounded dogs across Aotearoa 🥰

Standing Tall with Our NZ Pound Teams! 🐾❤️

Our pound and animal control teams are on the absolute frontline of New Zealand’s companion animal crisis.

At Fundraising for Impounded Dogs, we see their massive hearts and hard mahi every single day.

We are unashamedly pro-pound—and it’s time to change the narrative.

Lately, there’s been a lot of anti-pound noise and bullying online. Let’s clear the air and look at the facts:

People fail dogs, not pounds. Every dog in a shelter was let down by a human somewhere along the line.

Overwhelmed facilities. Teams face an unprecedented sea of roaming and unwanted animals every single day.

The emotional toll. Staff work under immense pressure, making tough calls for community safety while caring deeply for their charges.A fresh start. For many dogs, goats, and horses, entering the pound is the first time they receive proper food, shelter, and safety. It is the end of a hard life and the beginning of a better one.

Filling the gaps. Your $1-a-week donations to our Kindness Kitty fund the extra vet care that tight council budgets simply cannot cover.

We pride ourselves on collaborating directly with council teams. We take pound-referred cases and work our magic—whether that’s helping a loving owner afford impound fees or giving an adoptable dog a second chance. But we only do this with animal control's endorsement.

To every animal control officer, shelter manager, and pound worker across Aotearoa: thank you. We see you, we appreciate your resilience, and we stand unified with you.Let's drop the blame, support the boots on the ground, and show some real kindness.
IMPOUND ISN’T ALWAYS A BAD THING.

We can do what we do, and say yes to helping, largely because of our kindness kitty.. $1 a week is life changing.

DONATIONS TO: Fundraising for impounded dogs charitable trust
38-9025-0882506-00
Reference: Kitty

20/05/2026

And that's a wrap until June 🐕

Time for some sun ☀️ sand 🌴 sea 🌊 and I'll see your pups again in a couple of weeks 🐾

19/05/2026

Tuesday's Training Walks 🐾

Today we saw George, Macy, Kora, Piglet, Kenzie and Bailey. All learning, all making progress, all doing great things and most importantly, all having fun 💕

18/05/2026

Today's faces 😍

Last few days before I go away 🌴☀️

For me taking holidays are bitter sweet as of course it's always great to have some time off to recharge and reset, but it does mean I don't get to see these little faces for a week or so 😭

Forest 💕 Sophie 💕 Bailey 💕 Otis 💕 Piglet, Buddy & Jeff

17/05/2026

After the recent addition to Bailey's family 👶, we are starting some pushchair training with him.

We like to train FOR the situation, rather than IN the situation - this means training for something before we may actually need it.

This way you and your dog are much more likely to be successful - you don't want to be worrying about focusing on the baby, pushing the chair, dodging the distractions, all whilst having a pulling dog who doesn't understand how to walk next to the pushchair.

We have done a lot of work together on all of the behaviours that make this so much easier and because of that, all we had to do was add the pushchair and proof the already known behaviours around it.

We even got comments on how well behaved he was and the lady could not believe this was our first session on this. What a star 🌟 😍