Dogs of St Roch

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Dogs of St Roch Because all dogs are good dogs; it’s up to us to be better humans. Hi, I'm Tiah Marie Beautement and I am a writer and dog trainer in Mossel Bay.

I obtained my Dog Trainer Diploma from Pet Sense College after spending many years living and working with dogs and horses. I am always in awe at the profound impact these animals can have on humans' mental and physical health, even if they are our "rescue."

02/10/2026

Happy Friday, everyone!

And the vet-to-be is back on the bus...Wishing her the best as she heads off to complete the final 6-7ish weeks of her f...
26/09/2026

And the vet-to-be is back on the bus...

Wishing her the best as she heads off to complete the final 6-7ish weeks of her first year at university.

(Image courtesy of La-Petite Femme via Pixabay.)

Today we had two dogs at The Point. We were walking and spotted an off leash dog. Us: Our dogs are not friendly.*Them: N...
23/09/2026

Today we had two dogs at The Point. We were walking and spotted an off leash dog.

Us: Our dogs are not friendly.*

Them: Neither is ours.

Now, never mind leash laws. If your dog really is not friendly, then why is it off lead in a populated place?

*Are our dogs "friendly"? That's beside the point. Because the easiest way to avoid drama when it comes to dogs is just not risk something going wrong even if it has always gone right every time before.

(Photo is a Pixabay free-for-use by OpenIcons.)

Happy birthday to our vet-in-progress. We are incredibly proud of you.
22/09/2026

Happy birthday to our vet-in-progress.
We are incredibly proud of you.

21/09/2026

Ms Renfri racing into her 9th birthday. Tomorrow is her person’s.

Happy birthday, Ms Renfri.

Q: Why do you encourage us to sit in public with our dog and do…nothing?A: It isn’t nothing. It’s exposure work. Human c...
19/09/2026

Q: Why do you encourage us to sit in public with our dog and do…nothing?

A: It isn’t nothing. It’s exposure work.

Human companions are tasked with introducing their dogs to various environments in a manageable way, while encouraging focus with lots of praise and treats.

Think about it: babies watch, learn, and listen before they crawl and walk. And sure, puppies are not human babies, but there is something to be said about the watch-and-learn approach.

(Okay, okay, okay, we don’t expect the two-legged humans to carry their four-legged friend from the car to the bench…just limit the distance the puppy walks – pulls? – to get from point A to B.)

Once a client and their beloved canine get pretty good at “doing nothing” in public, we do move to more dynamic environments, such as visiting a local outdoor café.

We believe that this "do nothing" approach has many benefits. A few examples:

• Developing focus on the human companion.
• Strengthening the human-dog connection.
• Creating a smoother and less frustrating transition to teaching a dog to heal and walk loosely on a lead.

Yes, exposure work may seem boring and “doing nothing”, but in our experience, it produces more satisfactory results, with less stress for everyone involved.

Ideally, human companions do the bulk of this “nothing” work outside of class on a regular basis. However, not everyone is willing to do it in their free time. In the end, it is the human companion’s final decision on the matter. We can only advise, guide, and provide opportunities.

Not sure if you are doing it right? Look us up. We're always happy to help.

18/09/2026

Buying lots of fancy dog equipment can be fun, but also expensive. You don't have to blow the budget to have fun with your pup. Find creative ways to use what's already around the house.

Throw back to last year when we were headed to the Karoo and someone mentioned it was hunting season. Uh...Thankfully, t...
17/09/2026

Throw back to last year when we were headed to the Karoo and someone mentioned it was hunting season.

Uh...

Thankfully, the hunters were not supposed to be hanging out in the same area as us.

Nonetheless, it seemed wise to up our safety-game and strap the dogs into these breathable, neon yellow bibs. I mean, from a distance, Io (below) and Loki (not pictured) kind of blend in to the surrounding landscape

Not a bad idea to get one for your four-legged best friend if you enjoy exploring the great outdoors with them, too.

Can't find one locally? A lot of online retailers - including the big, famous names - sell them.

Q: Why do you post so few client photos?A: An excellent question, given one of us used to work as a social media manger....
16/09/2026

Q: Why do you post so few client photos?

A: An excellent question, given one of us used to work as a social media manger.

The truth is, that our style of teaching doesn’t allow much space for multitasking in that manner. Rarely is there a spare set of hands to take photos while we work.

Secondly, we have clients who are private and do not wish to see themselves or their dogs on someone else’s social media accounts. We respect this position, 100 percent. Our priority is helping our clients meet their goals, not our tooting our own horn.

Will we gladly accept photos our clients snapped during non-class time? Yes, and we’ve happily shared a few with permission.

Admittedly, we occasionally have opportunities to pull out the phone before or after a session, or during a break. But even then, a lot of our clients want to use this downtime as an opportunity to share their experiences or ask questions.

Thus, our own dogs star in most of the photos. A common practice amongst many trainers, behaviourists, and schools. They show off animals that are in their care, either because they are theirs or part of their volunteer work with a rescue organisation.

That said, there are some excellent schools that have a system that allows them to curate quality client-in-action footage that is shared with the public. These accounts can be an incredible resource for human companions. Thus, if we see content that we feel is useful to a particular client’s needs, we recommend they check it out.

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Mossel Bay

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