Ibex Canine

Little Tilly has joined us for our puppy program !

Meet Bane the GSD. At 9 months of age he's a big boy !! We have been working with him for the past few weeks on all things that will help him be the perfect family companion!

The big bear is doing well learning to walk nicely, working on his obedience, crate training, on leash greetings etc. his humans have put in a lot of work consistently into his training and it's starting to show now .. he's a lot more switched on, engaging, making the right decisions contextually too..

Can't wait to show you some of the things we have been working on..

P.S. swipe right to see what Bane said when I told him he can't chase birds anymore 😂

"I am sorryy my teeth got your hand... Can't guarantee it won't happen again.. "

Meet Rani the GSD. She started on our puppy package. Her humans are first time dog owners and we are helping them to understand her a bit better 🙂

Meet Panda 🐼 She's come to us with some pretty serious reactivity issues. A bit unconfident and a lot more fearful, my guess is her reactivity has its roots in early socialisation, given she's still very young. Her humans are experienced dog owners but are a bit out of depth with Panda's issues. We are going to help them ☺️

Meet little dude Rocky. There's a lot going on with the little dude, rough start to life , acl surgery very early in life and a patchy recovery. He's with us for polishing off some house manners, people manners and basic obedience.

With complex cases like these the underlying health triggers and conditions always are at the forefront of our training plan.

Cash the Husky puppy just finished our puppy package. His humans are first time dog owners and we loved helping them..

I couldn't find a single cute picture of Sam ; so here's 4 of them..

I've known Sam since he was a small pupper 🌭 he's gone through our puppy program and has been great until recently when he started developing some fear of trains and train stations... Thankfully his mum and dad caught that early so we got to work... We met him last weekend to problem solve some of the things he's crossed wires about ..

Meet Sher!

Sher was adopted as an adult by his current owners, who were first time dog owners.
We have been working on what I would consider some pretty serious dog reactivity... He's just a fun loving goofball who has some big feelings about some things, and dogs... No matter how many times I do this I feel incredibly honoured and overwhelmed when someone trusts the process and trusts me with their dogs... Incredibly humbling 🙏🏼

The reason why dog training is such an unregulated industry and has such a low barrier to entry (literally anyone can call themselves a dog trainer) is because literally everything you try and teach your dog works! Until it stops working that is....
Dogs are such resilient and intelligent creatures that most of the time they compensate for lack of skills on our part. In short they are excellent in joining the dots even if there are a few missing.

Whether it's behaviour modification videos you see online and try and give them a shot with your own dog or all the videos of obedience routines that you see online, they all work for a certain segment of dogs and for a certain period until the dog outsmarts you or worse even the dog learns through immense amount of stress which isn't healthy learning in most situations, even if you are just trying to teach your dog some basic obedience.

So if you are a fairly new or even a pet dog owner with some dog ownership experience, the best thing you can do is reach out to an experienced trainer. An experienced trainer will be able to work out exactly what's going on in your dog's head, chart out a path specific to your dog, foresee problems and hopefully provide ongoing support..

Meet Daisy the chocolate Labrador! (See poll at the end of the caption)

Daisy was recently adopted by her current owners and even though they've had Labs before it's a great thing that they sought help pretty early on. There's a lot going on, Daisy was severely neglected, she's morbidly overweight (we have started getting her down to ideal weight), she's never been socialised and I am pretty sure she's never gone on walks in her earlier home, add to that she's attacking chickens in her new home and not getting along with existing dog family members. She doesn't have a bad bone in her body but she's just too full on. We got working...

Poll just for fun 👇🏼

Do you think Chocolate labs are more hyperactive or loopy (for lack of a better term) than their black or yellow breed mates ?

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2024/feb/13/200-cats-200-dogs-one-lab-the-secrets-of-the-pet-food-industry

This is such a good read... A long one but such a refreshing read! A pleasant change from the far left, far right conversations in today's world...

200 cats, 200 dogs, one lab: the secrets of the pet food industry The long read: Pet food is a £120bn industry, with vast resources spent on working out how best to nourish and delight our beloved charges. But how do we know if we’re getting it right?

A great time to check your details on the microchip and council rego...

Pet Theft Awareness Day

Top 5 High-Risk Pet Theft Scenarios

#1. Highly Prized Breeds or Dogs With Special Abilities

A purebred dog/cat or a dog with special skills is a bit like a gold watch. Thieves see dollar signs and that’s more than enough temptation. Any animal left unattended under any circumstances can be taken, but there is far greater motivation for criminals to walk off with a dog who can bring in a large sum of cash.
Be cautious when choosing someone who will care for your dog(s) while you are at work, in hospital or on holiday. Be clear about when the dog will be handed over and who will collect it.

#2. Dogs in Vehicles
Firstly — animals should not be left in vehicles.
In the blink of an eye, a partially opened window can be forced down or the window smashed and your dog can be removed from the vehicle.
It takes 20 seconds or less to abduct a dog and by the time you return to your car, your dog is long gone.
A good rule of thumb is to treat your dog as you would your laptop or phone, that is not in full view and unattended!

#3. Pets Left in Fenced Backyards

Everyone loves the convenience of a doggy door, especially criminals. Homeowners who let their pet explore the fenced yard without supervision have the illusion of safety, but police departments across the country will tell you that the theft of these dogs is climbing. Consider installing security vision cameras at your home and facing your yard!
Always ensure your fencing is adequate and check it regularly for wear and tear but also avoid leaving dogs unattended in gardens. Gardens where dogs are visible pose a higher risk of theft and some crooks will stop at nothing.

#4. Pets left tied in front of shops or unattended
This one may sound like a no-brainer, but particularly in urban areas where people take their pets on their errands on foot, it’s not uncommon to see dogs tied up in front of a bank or grocery store.
Typically, these are smaller dogs who are also well-behaved and this makes them more likely to be stolen without a fuss.
Jack, a 10-year old Jack Russell Terrier, was stolen outside a supermarket in August 2020 and was lucky to be reunited with his owner a few days later thanks to NSW Police.

#5. Strangers in the Neighbourhood
Any strangers on the property can be a risk to your pets. Whether they are invited contractors, deliverymen, visitors could easily grab your pet whilst you’re being distracted. In some cases, they are making a mental note of homes with valuable breeds or easy-to-subvert home security that will facilitate a quick dog-napping at a later time.
Fit an alarm/bell to your gate so that you can hear visitors/trespassers enter your property or keep it locked.

Theft is easier than you think. Protect your pets.

A microchip can help lost pets be returned to you sooner.

Join ACA today: https://www.animalcareaustralia.org.au/join/

You can donate to us here:
https://www.animalcareaustralia.org.au/donate-to-aca/

Another day another Shepherd puppy.. these dogs can sometimes be demanding and setting them up right from puppies takes a bit more perseverance and skill especially for first time dog owners... But put in the work and they are the best dogs ever !!!

If you are spending any time on social media at all, scrolling dog pages, you will have come across some level of 'absolutism'. Somewhat on the lines of "Harnesses are terrible tools". "Never feed kibble to your dogs" , "Raw is the best and your dog should only eat raw food" , "Never use an e-collar", "Never take your dog to the dog park" Yes I said that!, " ( insert type of training technique) is the best way to train a dog" And more..

Even though these statements might sound true for a certain section of the dog / people population I do advocate for a bit more of a pragmatic and analytical approach. I wish people especially with an audience caveated their opinions a bit more, after all most of the times they are just that!
I wish people with an audience actually taught their audience to think on their feet rather than cater to social media algorithms and catch the next wave. I wish they stayed away from "hooks" for making viral content. I know we have to play with the rules of the game set by the social media Gods but there is and always will be place for honest education and rational thought.

There will always be a dog who is better on a harness, there will always be a dog who does better on one particular type of kibble, there will always be a dog who needs to be on an ecollar, and there will always be dogs who are totally fine at dog parks. We actually talk about it with my clients who live in inner city suburbs. The skill and maturity lies in being open to a conversation, being perceptive and in fact be open to change of opinion.

So the next time you see a sensational statement of absolutism, dig a bit deeper behind just the words, ask a few questions if you have access to them, after all communication is what we the humans are supposed to be good at right?

Meet Lily !

We have been working with her and her mum to help her with a few things .. house manners, walking and some obedience 🐾🐾

Simba the GSD. A lot going on with this guy.. manners with people, house manners , loose leash walking, a bit of everything really...

Biggest advice to people who had strong working breeds is start early! Life will be much easier for everyone involved

We met Sage a young Shepsky who is fearful of everything 😔. Fortunately she's got an amazing family with her to help her out..

She's weary of people, kids, walks, anything that really doesn't fit in her view of life.

We started off by giving her the control of the world she lives in, getting her to think about options rather than just run away from situations...

Slowly but surely Sage started making the right decisions.. eventually after almost 90 mins in the first session she came up for a sniff ..

The owners kept working after the first session and kept making progress, walks improved, her view of the world started to change and in our second session she was a lot more confident... Came to say Hi 👋🏼 straightaway, body language was showing confidence!

We did some box work in session 2, and more confidence work, setting up a process for her to solve problems she 'thinks' she can't deal with, I'am happy with where she is now given her owners are moving to the country ... We'll keep in touch and work remotely...

We are helping Biggie!

Biggie is a British Bulldog with a ton of energy to spare. Quite contrary to the breed stereotype. His family wants to integrate him into their daily life so kids and mum and dad can spend family time with him. We are working towards helping them achieve that!

Leo the Goldie pup has joined us for our puppy training package! 🐾🐾

Meet Kobe! He joined us for our puppy sessions!
I'am told they usually grow into their ears 😄

Rocky the Rottie

It's the time for 🎆🎇 ... It's never too late to start preparing, if you have a puppy it's the perfect time to get them used to it.. for older dogs you can start a slow introduction ... For dogs who get anxious, a slow de-sensitisation protocol should be the way .. for dogs who have existing trauma and known flight risks please seek vet attention as some medication might be the best solution....

We met Misha a Corgi puppy. She slept through most of our first session, which is usually the case with lost puppies. The first session in the puppy package is usually a big brain dump from me especially for first time dog owners... , how to , common household issues, the house, settling in the puppy, etc are just some of the topics we cover in the first session. We also do some market training and name recognition.

Merry Christmas from all of us here 🐾🌲❄️⛄🐾

Meet Perry!

She was adopted into a great home a couple of weeks back. Perry has missed out on her critical period of socialisation and is extremely fearful of pretty much everything. Barking non stop and running away is pretty much her default go to if she comes across something that she isn't comfortable with, this includes people coming over to the house. We got working, and by the end of our first session, she not only wasn't barking at me anymore she was taking food from my hand and coming up for a sniff.. Lots more work to do but I think we are off to a great start!

Meet Griffin, a Labrador cross who we are working with for some dog reactivity 🐾🐾

I got to spend time with some amazing trainers, pet owners and all round great folks .in and the ... Loved chatting and of course seeing all the dogs work... some pretty top notch work here !

Thank you so much for being so welcoming!

😌😊

We met Bomber! He's a bull arab cross and was recently adopted, his family started seeing some concerning behaviour with him especially out on walks and wanted to get a better picture of what his personality was actually like. We did a behaviour evaluation and started him on some basic obedience and communication exercises. Moving families, homes and neighbourhoods is an extremely stressful experience for dogs and not many deal with it in a great manner.. we have them on a plan to test him out a bit more over the next two weeks and then we decide what our next steps should be.