Bark Vader Dog School - May the force free be with you

20/10/2026

THANK YOU!!
Because of you, we have won Best of Pretoria for the second year in a row.
We are all truly appreciative of every bit of support we get from you.
We have had an incredible year at the school, new team members, new classes and new ideas and we are definitely carrying this energy forward into next year.
A very big thank you to everyone who took the time to vote for us, and everyone who has trusted has with their dog this year.

05/10/2026

Over the weekend, we had to move on to the "let's keep Wagyu calm" part of the rehab because he is already wanting to run, jump and play.

So we keep up with what we are doing, all food time is enrichment time because I NEED the outlets, his meals are still split into smaller meals so I have more outlet times. I have added some more physical things now like scent work and the sniffing wall, those were game changers because he was exhausted after that.

Adding these few things helped a lot, and Wagyu is still feeling as good as he can❤️

02/10/2026

Day 2 Post op (For day 1 see our Facebook post)
Sharing some enrichment ideas to keep Wagyu busy, happy and still staying chilled.

Again, his daily food intake is split into several small meals so he has enrichment multiple times a day. He had some brit wet food in a toppl (frozen), snuffle mat with kibble and lickimat. We also did a bit of training. With the take it, he already knows it a bit so we are increasing what he needs to do before he gets a treat, and top of the nose targeting we just started with so it's step 1 with luring.

A nice tip that I'll share is most of Wagyus meals are fed lying down on his bed, to keep his bed clean I have some single bed waterproof mattress covers that I rotate every day or 2. This way his elbows don't take strain from bending down, and we still have nice clean beds!

If Wagyu wants to stand and eat, I put the food on his bed and have him off his bed, the food is then around elbow height so his elbows don't take strain. After any limb surgery, feeding your dog from a raised bowl, elbow height, is recommended.

I also have a heated blanket on his bed, protected by another blanky and waterproof mattress cover because the heat really helps with joint pain. It doesn't cover the whole bed, and at night he definitely chooses to lie on it.

Now that we have his pain managed well, he is doing all his business by himself which is a huge relief for me!

He then still has his early morning nap in the sun, his favourite! On a tether so there is no risk of him running around or getting into trouble if I need to do something.

01/10/2026

Yesterday Wagyu had a bilateral elbow arthroscopy. Many people get overwhelmed when it comes to looking after their pet post surgery, so for the next 6 weeks, I will be post my diary entries explaining what I do to look after Wagyu both physically and mentally.
Day 1 Post op:
Physical side:
Pain management is the biggest thing I need to worry about so soon after surgery. Luckily Dr Falon is very clued up on pain management and has given Wagyu multiple different types of pain medication to cover the different aspects of pain. This is not as simple as just one pain pill a day.
Pain can influence everything with your pets early recovery.
Rest, is crucial. Wagyu's limbs have to recover and in order to do so properly, he is not allowed to run, jump or even move freely at all for the first while. He is completely controlled, in every way, there is no room for error here. He is on strict room rest, and by my side.
Digestion health is also a really important part to consider here. Wagyu is not moving and on a lot of meds. So I break his food portion for the day into many small meals making it easier to digest and metabolize. I will also give him probiotics every day at lunch time, in between his antibiotics which are morning and night to help his digestive system cope better.
Mentally:
Mental health during post op care is also really important as a dog that is depressed, frustrated or angry, doesn't recover as well or as easily.
Because his meal times are broken up into lots of small ones in a day, I use every meal time for different enrichment and training.
His small portion of kibble this morning was used to do some canine conditioning moves to help stretch his neck and keep that mobile.
Then he had some wet food with all his meds on a lickimat. That kept him busy for over 20 minutes and he was already happy to be lying down and dosing off.
His next lickimat is in the freezer along with some more wet food frozen in a toppl for later.
We only use his daily portion of food in a day as I don't want him to put on any weight in his recovery.
Prepping enrichment when I have a free gap helps me a lot, because all of this is overwhelming.
Little things matter as well, Wagyu loves lying in the morning sun, so I made sure we still got a bit of time to have a snooze in the sun before it gets too hot.

For MY mental health, a big thing that helps is I have an EZviz camera in the dog's room that let's me keep an eye on him when I can't be with him. It's connected to wifi, I can speak through the camera and move it from my phone.

If you have any questions, pop them in the comments😊

28/09/2026

SCENT WORK LEVEL 1
Is starting up again soon and is one of the BEST things you can do with your dog, why?
1. Your dog has an INCREDIBLE nose and teaching them how to use it better just benefits them
2. It is a phenomenal mental work out for them, 15 minutes of sniffing equals to an hour walk, that's how great it is!
3. It is SO much fun for you and your dog!

All breeds welcome!
Pop me an email at [email protected] or message me on 083 301 2790 to reserve your spot.

24/09/2026

Puppy classes are SO important to do! You also only have a limited time to do them. While it's never too late to start training, it's definitely better to start as soon as possible.

23/09/2026

This is one of the most common issues we get asked to help with, and it's a bigger issue than just getting them to stop pulling. There's a lot more behind leash pulling, read more to find out!

19/09/2026

This video is dedicated to Gaus, a 9 year old border collie, who was acquired by an epic long time client of mine, Ernest. Gaus recently started with classes with us, and started our scent work and is excelling!
Look at the nose on this boy!
It is important to note that this is our level 1 scentwork class, so our only focus is getting dogs to LOVE finding the scent and creating positive associations with it and having fun with their guardians.
Gaus, you are a ROCKSTAR!!

15/09/2026

I've met Effie, Effie LOVES people and is the sweetest girl! If anyone is looking for a companion she would be perfect. She is so smart and loving.

💔 SOMETIMES, IT JUST ISN’T THE RIGHT MATCH…

And today, we need to make another appeal for our beautiful Effie. 🐾

Three weeks ago, Effie went home to what looked like a wonderful family. A beautiful home, two resident dogs and people who genuinely wanted to give her a chance.

And they really did try.

They didn't give up at the first hurdle. They brought in a behaviourist. They worked with the dogs. They gave everyone time. They followed advice. They tried everything they could.

But sometimes, despite everyone's very best efforts, the chemistry between dogs just doesn't work.

And that's what has happened here.

Effie has done nothing wrong. ❤️
Her family has done nothing wrong either.

This isn't a story about blame. It's about recognising when something simply isn't working and having the courage to make the right decision for everyone involved.

We often talk about the 3 days, 3 weeks and 3 months rule when a dog enters a new home. Three weeks have passed, professional help has been brought in, and sadly, this particular relationship between Effie and the resident male dog is still not settling.

So we are listening to what the dogs are telling us.

Effie needs a new home.

And this time, we are looking for the family who is her family.

Effie is a young girl who has already been through so much. She was a mum far too young, raised her babies, watched them find families of their own… and finally, she got her turn.

We desperately want her next chapter to be the one that sticks. 🥺

We are looking for a family who understands that bringing a rescue dog home takes patience, commitment and time — and who is prepared to let Effie become part of the family at her own pace.

We will be especially careful about finding the right canine match for her this time.

Sometimes we get it wrong.

That's the uncomfortable truth of rescue.

But getting a match wrong doesn't mean we stop trying.

It means we try harder to get it right the next time. ❤️

Effie is still waiting for her people.

Could you be the family she's been waiting for?

We rescue. You raise. And sometimes, together, we have to try again. 🐾

She has arrived back at the shelter this morning.

🤩To view more dogs and pups available for adoption please visit: www.happyyappers.org.za

📍Currently at the shelter Syferbult Magaliesburg

📲 WhatsApp 064 908 4374 - this is a WhatsApp only line

❗️Strict home checks and adoption fees apply 📖

‼️Due to the nature of rescue, we cannot guarantee size or breed of any dog or puppy

14/09/2026

Our new Monday Chewbarka class has started, second last course for the year. They are a really smart group!