Blog - That Dog School

20.12.2021

How Will Stress Affect Your Dog This Christmas Holiday?

It’s that time of year, the borders are open, travel is once again on the cards in time for Christmas, and families everywhere are making a break for it. This means many of the dogs everywhere are about to make a visit to the local boarding kennel, and for some it will be for the first time. The question is, have you prepared your pup for this temporary change of scenery? Read More

06.12.2021

Structured Play

Structured play is literally one of the most invaluable skills to have with your dog. It is a fantastic reward system, it builds confidence and your relationship and it is a seriously awesome outlet for conflict. Read More

29.11.2021

Why 'Real World Learning'?

Since That Dog School was created almost 4 years ago, we have always strived to provide opportunities for pet parents to have hands on, practical applications to training. Skills that would develop a dog into a thoughtful, confident, resilient being. We aim to create dogs that were able to experience liberty without constant guidance through real world learning opportunities. Read More

08.11.2021

Dogs and Kids

Children and dogs can definitely co-exist, however this is reliant on appropriate boundaries, education and the adult humans in the house to manage the relationship. When a child is bitten by the family dog, it is a super big deal and it’s not uncommon for parents to feel confused and completely shocked that the super sweet dog they have known forever, would do something like that. Read More

01.11.2021

Why Does Walking On The Lead Suck?

The leash or lead can be incredibly stressful for a dog. To reduce the level of stress a dog feels when they are being walked on a leash, clarity, training and conditioning must developed. Read More

26.10.2021

Preparing Your Dog For Halloween

Halloween has gained popularity in Australia over the years. With an increase in the number of strangely dressed night time wanderers come Halloween night, you might notice disturbances in your dog's behaviour. Here are some simple tips on how you can help your dog cope this Halloween night. Read More

18.10.2021

What is Engagement?

Engagement refers to your dog’s ability to focus on you and do what you are asking them to do with enthusiasm... in short. The thing about engagement is that it isn’t necessarily just your dog’s ability to focus on you through distraction, there are multiple stages to it and varying degrees of commitment that are required for both dog and handler. Read More

11.10.2021

Are You Reinforcing Your Dog Adequately?

If you are currently training your dog and only using one specific type of reinforcer, we would challenge you to expand your reinforcement options to include anything and everything else. The more reinforcers you have available to you, the better you can motivate your dog. The better you can motivate your dog, the happier they are and the more willing they are to work with you. Read More

04.10.2021

Are You Feeding Dinner or Dessert?

One of the biggest complaints pet parents have is that their dog is not food motivated and so training proves difficult. All dogs have food drive, it just depends if you are training with dinner or with dessert. If you want to build food drive, start improving your dog’s relationship with food. Read More

27.09.2021

Some Dogs Need More Clarity

Dogs require a clear understanding of how they can navigate through their world in order to remain safe. Clarity is achieved by providing clear communication, structure and by having consistency. Uncertainty contributes to developing stress and the more clarity we can provide to our dogs, the less stress they will have. Read More