Just the other day I got home to this:

Most people's immediate thoughts are probably along the lines of 'What a naughty dog!'

In this incident that is not the case, I am completely to blame.

We had been sent a bag of Good Noze dog treats to try (check them out, dogs find them irresistible… picture proof above!). Now, to get good photos of Kai I love to just get him to interact with an object and see what he chooses to do with it. To start with I will mark and reward any interaction with the object, in this case the bag. He was getting rewarded for pawing at it, sniffing it, trying to pick it up, even poking his head in the bag. This bag is amazing to Kai!

After a little while of having fun taking photos, my phone goes off with a reminder I need to be at the physio in 10 minutes. Quick run around getting ready and I’m out the door. Turns out, I was in a bit too much of a rush and forgot to put the bag away! So an hour later I get home to it being shredded.

I set Kai up to fail. I am to blame for this. He had been told how good he was over and over again for interacting with the bag, of course he’s going to keep doing it. Plus, it was self-rewarding as there was yummy stuff inside!

It’s like someone giving me a box of chocolate, of course I’m going to eat it.

This can be transferred to many different situations. Your dog has an accident in the house. Did you give them the opportunity to go outside? Were they left too long? Have they actually been taught where it is appropriate to toilet yet? Your dog chews your shoe. If you knew it was likely to happen, why did they have access to the shoe? Has the dog got suitable things to chew instead? Has the dog been rewarded for chewing the right thing?

Whenever your dog has been ‘naughty’ stop and think, am I actually the reason this has happened? Am I to blame?

If you want your dog to stay in your garden without destroying everything make sure they have plenty to do, so they don’t get bored or uncomfortable.

I’m always being asked why the puppy is digging up the garden or the dog is trying to get out. Most of the time it is because the dog is bored. They have nothing to do, so they find their own entertainment which is usually something we’d rather they didn’t do!

How boring is your back yard? Leave your phone inside and go sit outside…how long until you’re bored and want to come back in? It won’t be long! Yet, your dog should happily stay out there all day with nothing to do?

How can you make your backyard more fun? EASY! There are so many ways, you just have to find the ones that your dog will like. Here are a few of my favourites:

Toys - leave them a new toy they haven’t seen before or can you rejuvenate an old toy, maybe tie a toy to a tree.Smells – dogs love to use their noses. Try planting different dog friendly plants, especially herbs such as mint, basil or parsley. If you have the opportunity to gather some dander from other animals such as horses, cows or sheep your dog will thoroughly enjoy investigating the new smells. Comfort – make sure they have somewhere comfy to hang out and chill. Remember to adapt this with the seasons. Winter may call for more blankets, summer for more ventilation.Water – a paddling pool. If your dog is a water baby they will love having the opportunity to splash around throughout the day. You can also use the pool for a fun way to eat!Digging pit - some dogs love to dig and it can be really annoying when they dig up your favourite flower beds. Instead of trying to stop your dog doing the thing they love, use a sandpit to encourage them to dig in one spot

There are many many, many ways to keep your dog entertained during the day, spend some time getting to know what your dog does and doesn’t enjoy spending their time doing.

Please note that you need to be aware of separation anxiety. Keep a look out for lots of barking and other signs of distress, especially extreme escape attempts that can result in self injury and/or destruction, especially around exit points like windows, doors and gates.

A walk shouldn't just be a walk...it should be an adventure! Your dog relies on you to take them out, you are their source of fun. When you take them out try to remember it's not necessarily about the distance covered, but more the fun you have on the way.

This morning Keira and I went to the beach. We only went up and down once...really not very far. Whilst doing it I noticed several people and their dogs walking up and down the beach many times in the time it took us to do it once. Why? Because we stopped and did many many things on the way!

As always, Keira got to sniff lots and lots. Sniffing is essential for your dog; let them do it! We then played a bit of 'where's Mum gone now??" Tee hee hee! Finding random things to hide behind so she has to find me has always been a favourite game. Today there wasn't much to hide behind so I just went as low as possible on the sand.

We of course incorporated some training into our walk. Keira was asked to walk to heel for short periods throughout, with her reward being hearing the cue 'off you go!' (Which means free time to do whatever she wants.) We also stopped for some photo posing opportunities using some yummy treats.

Keira paddled (bit cold for either of us to swim!!), then we had fun running along opposite sides of a stream (few weird looks from other beach goers!).

Keira found a fish head (yuck!) and then found something gross to roll in (probably the rest of the fish!) and was promptly called away. Keira also found some seagulls to chase.

So much adventure in just a short time! Have fun with your dog! We would love to know what you get up to on adventures

Your dog's name is one of the most important things to teach them and to keep positive. When their name leaves your lips, you want them to look at you with complete adoration and anticipation.

Firstly, it is important to teach them how awesome their name is, and it is easy to do. Simply show them that every time they hear you say it: something good happens. It may be that you say their name and then as they look at you they get a delicious treat. It could be that you say their name and then play with them or it could be you say their name and give them a scratch in their favourite place (all dogs seem to have that one spot that gets their back leg going).

Your dog has to associate their name with fun and joy at all times. There are a few things to remember to make sure your dog’s name doesn't get poisoned and start being an unpleasant thing for your dog to hear.

Don't nag your dog! No one likes a nagger, you definitely wouldn't want to go home with one. Please don't get into the habit of saying your dog’s name over and over and over again, it begins to become white noise that they pay no attention to. Their name becomes boring and ineffective. Say their name once. If they don't look at you, then you need to be more exciting! You can make silly noises (high pitched usually works better), clap, crouch down, move, hide, anything fun! Just don't stand in the one spot constantly repeating their name, being a nag!

Don't use their name to scold them. We are only human, and our dogs are only dogs, occasionally miscommunications are going to happen. Out of frustration you may find yourself shouting/scolding your dog; just a heads up your dog is highly unlikely to learn anything from the telling off, just that humans can be noisy jerks sometimes...but that's another subject for another post! When you are telling your dog off (which we all have done at some point because we are only human!) please do not use their name. Call them whatever you want, idiot child is usually my go to, as long as it is not their name. Their name is a promise of awesomeness not jerkness. Their name needs to stay positive and happy at all times and not be associated with us being mad.

If you want a dog that wants to come back to you when you let it off the at the park or at the beach, make sure they love hearing you say their name!

Sorry there hasn’t been any blog posts for rather a long while, lots has been going on! Firstly I got engaged! Here’s a few photos of the perfect moment:

Keira had the ring box around her neck

Of course I said yes!

Another exciting thing that has happened is we've introduced two new classes this year: Playful Puppies and Middle Aged Mischiefs. We now have classes designed for dogs of all ages!

Playful Puppies is for puppies up to 20 weeksTroublesome Teens is for puppies and dogs aged 6 months to 2 yearsMiddle Aged Mischiefs is for dogs 2 years and over

We also have added a new venue for classes. We have Dog HQ in Albany and now Central Bark in Parnell.

Plus I have officially got my certificate form AbsoluteDOGS as a Pro Dog Trainer! It has been a lot of hard work but so worth it!

Life has been crazy exciting and can't wait to see what else this year brings. The blog has been left rather unloved and unattended, but we’re going to get back on track from now on!

I would love to hear what topics you want to know more about and any helpful hints I can give you. I have a few people already that I want to interview for the blog but if you have any ideas let me know!

Dog training is all about team work. Your dog and you are a team working to live the best life together.

Think back to those times where you’ve had someone nagging at you to do better. Whether it be your parents or teachers with your grades at school, a boss who wants you to perform better or even a sports team with that one bossy, know it all player. Did the nagging and put downs about not achieving make you feel good? Did they help you achieve what they wanted? The answer is likely to be no or that you put up with it for a long time then quit.

Too often we become that person to our dog. Nagging them to get things right, even if they don’t understand. Becoming frustrated and shouting at them because they should know what we want from them already. We call them stubborn and naughty when really, they probably don’t know what is required of them or don’t see the value in doing it.

Occasionally some of us will be lucky and have that one person that encourages us to achieve more and we end up excelling expectations. I had an English teacher that did just that (I think his name was Mr King, but it was a while ago! Haha!). I found English boring to be honest. I love to read, so if we had to read a class book I was always reading ahead. Unfortunately, this meant I’d often get caught out and scolded for not ‘paying attention to where we are in the book’. This inevitably led to me dreading English class as I was always going to be getting it wrong and made to feel bad for it.

BUT then in walks Mr King. He notices that I’m trying to slow down to go at the same pace as the class, but instead of making the dreaded scene in front of everyone, his response was ‘take the book home with you Laura, then you can read as far ahead as you want. Then I will tell you the pages we will be concentrating on in class so you can join in with discussions’. A simple, yet very boosting solution for me, and it worked. My grade picked up and I looked forward to class again.

THAT is the person you want to be to your dog, you want to be Mr King. You want to encourage your dog to develop in to the dog you want them to be, rather than scolding them for not being there yet. It will lead to your dog wanting to spend time with you and to learn new things with you.

Our training classes are based around building your relationship with your dog so that you both become great team members. Game play is a fun way to learn and to teach concepts to both humans and dogs. Remember when training your dog, you’re getting trained to. It is a team effort. The teams with the strongest bonds achieve the most.

Recently I have started taking Kai to ‘school’ (dog daycare). He is a very active 3 year old, who is occasionally socially awkward. I’ve found an awesome place that does everything at his pace and that I trust to let me know the second he is no longer enjoying it. He is thriving and really enjoying making all these new friends!

Recently I got asked ‘don’t you feel mean that Kai gets to go to school but Keira doesn’t!?’ This really made me think about how often people with two, or more, dogs get drawn into this illusion that everything has to be equal to be fair. Made to feel guilty for one dog getting special treatment. Thankfully you don’t need to because it really doesn’t work that way; let me explain.

Yes, Kai gets to go to school and have fun with all his buddies, but honestly Keira would hate it. She would sit by the door, ignoring everyone and everything, waiting for me to pick her up. She definitely doesn’t miss out though. The days we drop Kai at school we usually head off to the beach for an hour. Whilst there she can have me all to herself, meet new dog friends (and catch up with old ones), roll in the sand, paddle in the water. She loves it!

When it comes to your dogs you have to remember that they are all individual, with their own likes and dislikes. Kai loves swimming; Keira is highly worried that everyone’s going to drown. Keira loves city walks and having brunch at a café; Kai thinks that’s all terribly boring and buses are the devil.

Dogs who live together will usually love going out on adventures together, but don’t feel bad about taking your dogs out separately sometimes. Spending one on one time with you is a great way to work on their training and to build the relationship with you. Try giving the dog at home something to do while you’re out and they will have fun without you (you can find some enrichment ideas here).

Having dogs that are used to doing things individually every now and then will come in very helpful in the long run. It may be that one of your dogs hurts themselves and has to be rested for the week, but your other dog will still need exercising. Or it might be, as in my case, that you have one older dog (Keira is now 11) that doesn’t need or can’t handle as much vigorous exercise as the younger dog. Doing different things with your dogs individually really helps them to be flexible and adaptable in these situations.

Being fair to your dogs means that you give them everything in life that they personally need; not trying to give them equal amounts of everything.

Would you say you are fair with your dogs or are you making sure they get everything in equal measure?

Thank you to Dog HQ Albany for letting me use their photos of Kai having a great time!

Dogs can learn very quickly that us using certain words or actions means we want them to do something in particular. However, they do not come to us pre-programmed with these behaviours, they have to learn them.

Sometimes I get asked what is the word to make my dog do this or that. The answer is simply: the word can be whatever you want, as long as you teach the dog what you expect them to do when you give them that cue.

It is important to realise that, no matter how many times you shout ‘roll over’ at your dog, or in how many different tones of voice, or volume levels, the dog is not going to roll over unless you’ve taught it to. The same goes for ‘sit’ ‘lie down’ ‘come back’ ‘on your bed’ and any other behaviour you want your dog to do.

Think of it this way. If someone shouted ¡Sientate! at you over and over again, unless you speak Spanish, you would have no idea what to do. (It means ‘sit down’ by the way)

Don't get annoyed at your dog for not doing what you ask, chances are they may not know what it is you want. Put in the time to teach them consistent cues and behaviours. Then you will both have more fun and understanding of each other.

It’s nearly that time of year! Soon we’ll hear fireworks going off on a nightly basis.

While we often find them spectacular to watch, many of our pets find them VERY scary. Unfortunately, we can’t explain to them that it is just a firework and that they can actually be quite pretty to watch. Our pets just don’t see them that way.

There are a few things you can do that may help your pet. Remember it’s not a one solution fits all. You may have to try a few things before you find one that works, or you may need to try a combination of things together.

Hopefully some of the above tips may help you and your pet. These tips aren’t going to make your pet suddenly love fireworks, they’re helping them be less scared and able to cope with the fireworks.

‘Education is not the learning of facts, but the training of the mind to think’ – Albert Einstein

Don’t rush your dog; give them a moment to think! You will be surprised with how much they can accomplish.

As humans we can be very impatient. Think about how annoying you find it when your email takes longer than 2 seconds to update or a video takes forever to buffer (forever being 2 seconds)...I know I get frustrated!

The issue is our dogs are not machines being given commands to do things. They are living beings with their own wants, needs, feelings, thought processes and interests. Sometimes distractions around them mean that, something they would normally find easy to do may take a little longer.

Quite often we can find ourselves in the position of micro managing our dogs. Telling them exactly what to do in all situations and wondering why they never learn for themselves. We often repeat ourselves to the point that the words we are saying become white noise with no meaning. When really all we need to do is give them a little time to think.

Put yourself in this situation: you’re out walking your dog on lead, a bird pops out of the bush in front of you and your dog pulls you towards it. Most people’s reaction would be to pull the dog back to them, possibly while shouting ‘Leave, Buddy LEAVE!’. You’re now flustered, you’re dogs probably confused as to why you shouted at him and annoyed that he wasn’t allowed to go chase the bird. There is a small, but definite, breakdown in communication and the relationship between you and your dog. Nobody has gained anything from the experience.

Now instead I want you to try a different way to handle the situation, a way that will involve your dog thinking and learning to make good choices in situations like this in the future.

Your dog has seen the bird and is at the end of his leash, he can’t go anywhere though; he is still attached to you. Instead of pulling the dog back or shouting something at him, just wait. Simply wait and give your dog a moment to think and make a choice to come back to you. Then if your dog chooses to come back to you have a party; reward them! They have chosen you over the exciting bird so celebrate it; build that relationship!

Don’t rush your dog; give them a moment to think! Try it in as many scenarios as you can. You will see how quickly your dog starts making good choices and how your relationship grows.

The most common answers given to this question are ‘No, dogs can’t see 2D or flat objects’ or ‘No, dogs can't see colour’. Both those answers would be incorrect. It appears dogs can see what is on TV; it just depends on whether they choose to pay attention to it.

So where does this difference of opinion come from? Of course dogs are allowed to react differently to things, they are different in many ways, but after talking to other dog owners with dogs it seems that the younger dogs are definitely the ones that pay attention to the TV and the older ones tend to be those that ignore it. My two dogs react very differently to the TV. My old girl Keira has no time for the TV (unless she hears a puppy crying), on the other hand Kai, who is a lot younger, happily watches TV and often reacts to animals he sees (he even reacts when the TV is on mute so I know it's not the noises!).

The answer is all to do with their eyesight; basically our technology has only recently become good enough for their eyesight.

To explain this we’re going to have to get a bit scientific; it is all to do with something called flicker fusion threshold (more commonly termed ‘flicker rate’)

Flicker rate is the speed at which a light pulses. For example with a TV the flicker rate is the speed the image on the screen is replaced by the next image.

Another example is a fluorescent light. Although it seems to be glowing continuously it is actually flashing at a rate of 120 times per second (120Hz) but because that speed is too fast for our eyes to process so we just see the light as permanently on.

For humans to be able to see the light flicker it would have to be slowed to around 55 times per second (55Hz). Dogs however are much better at detecting movement than we are and their eyes can detect the flicker much easier and it only needs to be slowed down to around 75Hz for them to see the flickering. (That’s nearly 50% faster than us!)

Now here is the important part: average TV screens flicker at about 60Hz. As this is faster than the average human’s detectability it means that to us the images blend smoothly together and appear as one continuous movement. However, as 60Hz is still below the dog’s detectability the television image doesn’t appear continuous, rather: image, black, image, black, image… making the movement on screen much less realistic and therefore not really worthy of attention. It would be the equivalent of us trying to watch a movie on a flipchart…very tedious after a while!

This meant that dogs didn’t pay attention to the TV screen so our older dogs generally have learnt that the TV is something boring and to be ignored. However, thanks to our advancement in technology and the development of HDTV our younger dogs have learnt that the TV can be a great source of entertainment.

HDTVs have been created that have a flicker rate of 120Hz+, this increased flicker rate is now above the dog’s detectability which means that the images on the screen appear as one fluid movement. Therefore the screen is much more realistic and the images on it much more lifelike, especially any animals on screen.

With the popularity of dog’s watching TV there have been many DVD’s released and in the United States there is already a TV channel ‘Dog TV’ which is specifically designed for canine viewers and online there are a series of programmes and movies you can purchase for dogs. Kai had to have surgery at the beginning of the year and couldn’t settle, so I set him up with a calming/relaxing dog video and he soon calmed down and fell asleep.

Do your dogs at home watch TV? Any particular programme their favourite?

Recall is getting your dog to come back to you when you call them, sounds simple right?

Unfortunately many dogs and their owners struggle with this skill, quite often people find themselves wondering, why doesn’t my dog want to come back?

In truth, it’s not that the dog doesn’t want to come back, it’s just that they want to explore the world and play with their friends more.

Think about when you were younger and you were out with your friends and your parents would call your name to tell you it was time to go in. How often did you tread the line and get as much extra time as you could by pretending you couldn’t hear them? Nowadays how often do parents call/text their children with no response but convenient excuses like ‘my phone was in my bag so I didn’t hear it’. All so that we get that extra time exploring with our friends.

So to get your dog to come back to you, you need to become more interesting and important to your dog than the distractions they come across. The best place to start is to change the way you think about walking your dog. Instead of it being a chore to drain energy out of your dog, try thinking of it as a time to build your relationship. It shouldn’t be that your dog is off charging around while you walk along on your phone not paying attention to them. In your dog’s eyes you are being really boring so it’s no wonder they go off and find their own entertainment. Your dog walk should be like when you meet up with a friend for coffee, the focus is on them, if the focus switches to something else then both of your attention goes to it. Using things like food, or their favourite toy can really help in keeping your dog’s attention.

You need to practice getting your dog to come back to you, don’t expect them to just suddenly know to do it. If you are worried about your dog not coming back then use a long line. A long line provides your dog the freedom to move around but gives you the reassurance that if they’re about to run off you can stop them.

What If Things Go Wrong?

When your dog is ignoring your calls it can be really disheartening and start to become embarrassing. This often leads to us doing the worst thing possible which is to get annoyed and show it in our body language and tone of voice. How often have you been on the beach and heard someone shout ‘GET BACK HERE NOW!!’ whilst standing face on to the dog and quite often aggressively pointing to the ground in front of them. Imagine if someone was shouting at you, would you willingly go to them or would you avoid them until they had calmed down?

Instead of showing your annoyance the best thing you can do is hide the annoyance and pretend to be really happy and fun; you may feel like you deserve an Oscar but you will be much more successful in getting your dog to come back. Also instead of being face on to the dog, turn sideways or even possibly away from them, this is you communicating that you’re planning on going the other way so they need to come back and keep up.

Another great tip is to move. Quite often dogs get a bit cheeky and when we call them realise we’re where they left us so don’t bother looking round (they can tell where we are just using their hearing!) By moving and then calling them they will hear that you have moved and often look to investigate where you’ve gone, once you have their attention it’s a lot easier to get them to come all the way back.

You may need to take the moving to the next step and start hiding. If you hide and call your dog’s name, chances are they will look up and when they can’t see you will come running and search for you.

Recall is so important and if you put in some work, a very achievable thing. It is our responsibility as dog owners to have control of our dogs in public. If you do not have a good recall your dog should be on a lead or long line, end of story. Too often children, adults and other dogs are injured by an out of control of leash dog and it needs to stop.

It may sound harsh but it is actually the safest thing for your dog. In our society dogs are guilty until proven innocent. If they are off lead and perceived dangerous because they are out of control then they will face the repercussions. Do not put your dog in a situation where they are set up to fail.

If you do not trust that your dog will come back to you then make sure they are either kept on leash or you use a long line to ensure that you can get control when needed. This blog will have given you some useful tips to start getting a good recall but if you want a fantastic, reliable recall I would recommend attending a training class. As a dog trainer I am more than happy to help you with building your dog’s recall to the level that you need or I can point you in the direction of other great trainers in your area. When training your dog remember you want coming back to you to be a positive and rewarding thing for your dog otherwise they won't do it.

Welcome to Constructive Canines!

Our aim is to bring the FUN back to dog training! This will be in our training classes as well as some of the fun things and ideas we will share both on here and our Facebook page

We all want to have the dog that comes back as soon as we call and walks nicely on walks...well lets achieve that through fun games that both you and your dog will enjoy. No more attending old school training classes and going through drill after drill (yawn!) instead lets have lots of fun!

We will share training tips, healthcare topics, articles that get you thinking about dog behaviour and any other fun dog related stuff!