Matt's Pack

🧡FOR ADOPTION🧡

Meet Kiki! She’s looking for a new home!
Age: 4 and a half
Breed: Mastiff x
Desexed, registered and up to date with flea and worm treatment.

Please read post thoroughly if you are interested!

Kiki is up for adoption as her previous owners couldn’t have her anymore. She is currently staying with us but since having our baby we’ve got a lot less time on our hands and we’d love to find her a home for good! ❤️

✅ Kiki is great with all dogs, shapes and sizes - with the right management of course!
✅ She loves adventures, exploring, water fun, toys and training.
✅She loves relaxing in the sun and being pretty lazy - she is not a high maintenance dog but needs to have her body and mind moving daily. She’s a quiet girl!
✅ Kiki likes affection but not a lot of it. She’ll let you know when she wants a pat and a good rub down (which she definitely does love!) but otherwise any forced affection will see her walking as far away from you as possible 😂 So if you’re looking for a lovey dovey smooch she is not the dog for you! Kiki chooses when she wants the smooches - she’s a big kisser!

❌ Kiki has some reactive tendencies on lead towards some dogs and some people. She’s come a long way since we’ve worked with her but will still require ongoing help and work. This is something we will support her new owners with until we are not needed!

❌ Not good with cats! We are not sure what she is like with cattle/horses off lead, on lead she is fine! Kiki hasn’t met many kids either but the kids she has met she has been fine with.

Other than that Kiki is a really fun, loving dork. She will have you laughing with her silliness and her strange faces. She’s a really good companion to humans and dogs and is always up for a challenge.

She is welcome to attend our pack days too.

Send us a message if you have any questions or are interested in Kiki!

Please share around!

Ps! We are not a rescue so please don’t message us to rehome your dogs 😂
In the past if we had the time and finances to help others we would!

Great advice! Don’t wait for the official start to Summer, it’s hot now!☀️🥵

🌞 Using some common sense 🌞

🌞 It's starting to heat up here in little Nz & daylight saving is well under way. This means earlier or later walks & runs for the dogs, especially our squishies. This includes bulldogs of all types, boxers, pugs, bostons & shorter faced dogs. Unlike longer faced dogs, their cooling systems in their noses are very short, taking a longer time to cool down. This also makes it easier to get blocked up with goop, which makes breathing even harder. Dogs also cool down alot through their feet. So if they have hot feet & breathing in dry, hot air, they can easily overheat.

😎 If it's too hot for you, then it's too hot for them.
🌊 Provide lots of water sources. Shallower & more for the smallies & plenty for the bigs.
🚩 Keep full on activity to a minimum (if at all) during the hottest times of day.
🏡 If you don't need to take them in the car, then leave them at home in a cool area with plenty of water & maybe a frozen kong.
👃Use pet friendly sunscreen such as Filtabac or Pet Pro Powder especially if your dog is a pinky or lighter furred. Noses can also dry out during this time so try sneaking some coconut oil or nose balm on them when they're relaxed. If not possible, pop a small blob on top of their food (unless they have a medical issue where they can't have it then skip this).
🌼 Wipe them down to reduce pollen & dust inhalation, allergies.
👁 Be mindful of dry eyes if dog spends alot of time where there are fans constantly going or aircon. Ask your vet for dog friendly eye drops if you suspect this.

Overall, don't give yourself heartache by cooking your dog. It is preventable & just takes a bit of prior thought.

Research the breed/s before you think about choosing that dog! What were they originally bred for? How will these traits work with your lifestyle? What can you do to fulfil those needs? Do I have the time and knowledge to train this dog?

Another Happy birthday to Shiloh! You’ve been with us from not long after we started and it’s been an absolute pleasure having you! You’re a truly amazing dog and work wouldn’t be the same without you!

A massive Happy Birthday to you Jess! We wouldn’t be where we are today if it wasn’t for you! You’ve kept everything running when I haven’t been able to and you are the most amazing Mum to our little boy and our dogs, working up until the day you gave birth, never taking time off and always having an amazing attitude towards everything we do, it hasn’t been easy but you made it look like it. We are all so grateful to have you in our lives, Happy Birthday!!

Such a thoughtful gift from some wonderful clients 🩵

Our new employee (baby) will be joining us in just over 2 weeks which means you won’t be hearing from us for quite awhile!

We won’t be doing consultations/bringing in new dogs to our pack days for quite some time so please if you’re needing help feel free to message us and we can recommend some local trainers/walkers who will be able to help with what you’re looking for. We will post up once we’re back up and running like usual 😊

Better late than never! Welcome to Arlo and Frankie! 🤩
These guys have been coming along on our pack days the last few weeks and we’re really stoked with how they’re going! Arlo is a happy to lucky dude so he fit in really quickly, Frankie is a happy chap too but struggles to make good decisions in some situations, the long line helps us to help him in sticky situations he may find himself in. Small but huge steps from this guy so far! 👏🏼

Nothing beats a sunny winter’s day with a bunch of great dogs ☀️❄️

We’re still here and doing what we do best! Photos can be a lot of effort when you’re 32 weeks pregnant! 😂
Awesome walk with the Wednesday Pack today, followed by many sniffs and games in the paddock and then back to the yard to get in some well deserved 😴💤

Only YOU can help your dog through “problematic” behaviours 😬
I’ve seen a tonne of posts like this lately and I think more people need to hear it!

The point of hiring a trainer to help with your dog is for your trainer to help YOU understand how YOU can help your dog. You live with your dog 24/7, you are around your dog at the most important times where you can practise your training. You have to be the one to do the work.

Paying a trainer to help you isn’t training your dog, applying what your trainer has taught you is training your dog.

That hour you spend with your trainer a week is pointless if you’re not going to apply the training throughout your every day life, the other 23 hours of the day. Save your money.

If you’re not booking in for sessions, keeping your trainer in the loop with how well or how bad your training is going or just straight up not doing anything, it is not your trainers fault and you need to stop blaming them. Some issues you may face can take months and months of 🔑 consistent 🔑 work.
Trying a few times and then giving up isn’t the instructions or homework your trainer has given you and therefore is not their fault that you are not seeing results. Get your moneys worth and ask questions, send in videos for your trainer to look over, just do something!

If you are committed, consistent, trying, asking questions, following through and working towards helping your dog and you’re not seeing results, for sure question your trainer and whether they are the right one for you. But until you’re practising all of the above, have a good think about where you can be improving and what else you can be doing to help your dog - that is where your successful training journey begins!!

You don’t need to be a dog trainer to help your dog, you just need to be open and willing to change 😊

Great post guys!!

🤓 Every Tool Requires Skill 🤓
There is no magic tool on the market that will make your dog do or not do anything with you.

🧐 All tools require conditioning before use.
What does this mean?
Helping your dog to tolerate the sensation of things on them, dragging along behind them, clips being clicked, putting collars/harnesses/leashes on & off, in incremental stages, before any pressure is added. Excluding emergency situations, there is absolutely no excuse to not do it. Some dogs can be hypersensitive to stimulation/touch & require a more patient process. Pairing X tool with treats & patient handling, helps dogs a lot. It is not natural for a dog to be wearing things, that feel different with how we communicate through them, so we must be fair about it.

🧐 All tools require YOU to understand how to use them effectively & safely.
All tools are bad in unskilled hands. Just some do more damage than others. This is why it is important to read, watch, observe others & ask for professional help when needed.

🤔 A tool is nothing without a handler.
If you just put a tool on a dog, it's just a tool. If you just put a tool on a dog, follow along while it pulls & do everything against manufacturers instructions/trainer recommendations, that is not a tool issue.

🥰 Noone is making you use or not use anything. If you don't want to use X tool to improve your dogs behavior, quality of life, then don't. The limitations put on your dogs life, are a handler mindset. (Excluding genetic, medical for both dog & owner). There is a tonne of good information available from manufacturers & trainers these days. If you are unsure, then ask around.

A good stretch of the legs after an awesome walk with the Friday Pack 🌿🤩

Over the Easter Weekend Matt and some family put up another fully fenced section for our pack day dogs to enjoy, another place to explore and stretch their legs after a good walk! Thank you to those who donated a lot of the materials we needed to build this, we appreciate you! ❤️

A lot of dogs away today but that didn’t stop our Tuesday Pack having a blast together 🌿

Welcome to the Thursday Pack Beau! 🧡

Beau came to us for boarding months and months ago and finally has been able to start the pack days! He was chuffed to see everyone again, especially his best friend Bailey 🌿
Lots of social skills for Beau to learn but he has done incredibly well today and we can’t wait to see how he goes next week! ⭐️

Just a few photos today of our Wednesday Pack! Kept warm by going for a bigger walk, more play and big naps in the sun ☀️

Feeling pooped 💩 with the Thursday Pack ☀️🌿

We welcomed Tonka, the just over one year old British Bulldog to the Tuesday Pack today 😍
Started our day off with a nice chilly walk and ended it with some awesome play after Tonka got used to all his new surroundings and friends. The Tuesday Pack were really accommodating to a very Bulldogish Bulldog 😂
Can’t wait to see his progress!

Happy birthday to the man himself, Matt! 🎉
Thank you for everything you do for us and our clients, we appreciate the awesome and safe space you’ve created for us so the dogs can enjoy their time with us and learn safely. You rule ❤️

Wacky is a very fitting name for our Wednesday Pack! Every dog that starts with us gets placed on a day where we think they’d strive the most. Wednesday is a day for all our happy go lucky dogs to let a little loose. It’s also the day where we fill up the pool and buckets the most - these guys can’t get enough and are usually the muddiest and smelliest dogs after a good pack day 💦🌿

A nice brisk walk this morning followed by some fun in the sun and some apple sharing 🍎🌿
Awesome day so far with the Monday crew!

Devastating news, if you can spare a little it’d mean the world ❤️

Hawkes Bay The Dogman Helping The Dogman

Incredible opportunity for anyone wanting to learn more about dogs or your own! Suitable for any skill level, this is really exciting! 👏🏼

Cooling off and getting to know Arlo and Frankie today ☀️💦
These guys are looking at joining our pack days so we’re getting to know them, their needs and what they may need going forward. Two truely awesome dogs, can’t wait to keep working with these two! 😊

We love Mondays! Awesome dogs ❤️

Our last full day with Blaze aka Cheeky Boy or B-Diddle Blaze and his very sweet and sensitive housemate Darcie before they make the big move to Wellington tomorrow 🥲

Blaze holds a special place in our hearts. He was a dog that made us work harder, think harder and do things a little differently. He was a dog that really drilled it into our heads that each dog needs different things, different strategies and techniques. What works for a certain amount of dogs didn’t work for him so we adapted and changed a lot of things. Mr Reactive to ✨Everything✨ was now able to cope better in stressful situations and became more confident around things he didn’t feel too sure about. He has come a really long way since we first met him, boy does he have a way to go still but good things take time and he’s on the right track.

We didn’t do too much work with Darcie, she just came for home-stays but we’ve really enjoyed having her. She’s the sort of girl where you have to take her out on a few dates before she opens that little heart up but we got there and are enjoying what she has to offer us (cuddles and kisses).

We wish you all the best in Wellington and without getting too soppy we’re going to miss this family a lot! Thank you for trusting us with your two, we love them like our own 😊

Beyond proud of our clients/friends 👏🏼👏🏼

Working with dogs in the same house hold who fight badly is not for the faint hearted. It requires a lot of work and huge life changes, it’s not easy, it can be traumatising and hard but it’s possible!
Lots of crate training, muzzle training, working on each dogs individual needs and problems before having the two dogs work together, big boundaries in the home, more structure, blood, sweat, tears, time and effort.

Still a way to go but these guys have practised what needs to be done for a long time now and things are only going to get easier and better. So proud of you team 👏🏼❤️

We welcomed Jasper the Chow Chow x Golden Retriever to our packs this week as she’s staying for boarding. We spent a good amount of time with Jasper last year preparing her for this and she’s done amazing! Still needing a bit of guidance but she’s been having an awesome week emptying out all the pools and making new friends 😊🌿

Announcement and changes to Matt’s Pack 2023 🎉

We’re expecting a baby at the end of July this year (no not a puppy, a baby!) 👶🏻🥰

📚 Due to not being very well we will be doing a lot less consultations and training sessions. We will be taking on what we deem as “easy” and unfortunately won’t be taking on any more high risk dogs. It saddens us to do this as we’ve always loved working with the harder dogs but it just isn’t safe for one handler to be dealing with those sorts of issues. Feel free to still message us if this is your dog and we can point you in the direction of other trainers that will be able to help you.

🐾We are not taking on any more enquiries for our pack days until further notice. Those that have enquired, we will still be taking on a few of the easy dogs but unfortunately we won’t be taking on any more difficult dogs. We will message everyone who has enquired about the changes we have made and whether we can take your dog on or not.

Thank you all for your support so far in our new journey and please bear with us as we navigate all our messages and awful morning sickness 😂

Matt’s Pack 🌿🐾

Steve has graduated from Matt’s Pack 🎉

Before joining our pack days, Steve was kicked out of two daycares for nipping and biting other dogs, we took him on to help this dude learn to properly socialise with others. While with us, Steve didn’t nip or bite any dog which told us his environment deeply impacted his behaviour as well as his need for his handlers to help him out and get him out of sticky situations if he started to feel uncomfortable. Because we provided a calm space for Steve to learn and play, as well as advocating for him when he had had enough, he didn’t bite at all but instead became friends with everyone on our Thursday Pack. They will miss him for sure!

Now that we know what Steve needs, Steve has been accepted to walk with a walker much closer to where he lives. He has been trialled and he did really well with the other dogs!

We’ll miss you and your family and wish you all the best in the future. So happy for you Steve!!! ❤️

Happy new year team!

We’ll be getting back to your messages in the next few days, can’t wait to help you all smash out your goals this year! 🐾

That’s us for 2022, hooray! 🎉

This year has been our busiest year yet, we want to thank you all for choosing us, recommending us to friends and family as well as supporting us throughout this year. It’s been a great year for us but it has also shown us things we need to work on to better our business and better ourselves, we’re excited to get the ball rolling next year so we can help more people and their dogs.

But for now it’s time to relax, we won’t be replying to messages throughout our holiday so hang tight and we’ll get back to you next year!

Have a Merry Christmas, an awesome New Year and a safe holiday! Looking forward to seeing you all and meeting you all next year!

Matt’s Pack 🌿🐾

We’re still alive and kicking, just a little break from socials the last month!

Found some time/energy to take pics of our lovely Thursday pack today who are enjoying the sun, then the shade, then the sun again and then back to the shade and repeat 🌿☀️

👇🏼👇🏼

Walking your dog doesn't need to be so frustrating!

There's this idea in 'Dog Culture' that we MUST take our dog for a walk every day, and if you don't then you must be a bad owner.

Being able to have a leisurely stroll with your dog is a simple pleasure, one that so many owners yearn for but is anything BUT leisurely (I understand the feeling as I've been there myself).

So many dog owners are struggling on walks - with reactivity, fearful dogs, or just simple leash pulling. It can be exhausting and if you're reading this and can relate, you know the guilt you feel at dreading the walk when you know they 'need' it. BUT... DO THEY?

A fulfilled dog needs:

🐕‍🦺 Physical exercise
🐕‍🦺 Mental exercise
🐕‍🦺 Time to just be a dog/freedom
🐕‍🦺 Play
🐕‍🦺 Rest

All of those needs can be met without putting the leash on and pounding the pavement for 10 blocks. In fact, your dog's behaviour and your relationship with them will probably improve if you take the pressure off yourself and stop doing it.
Here's why:

🐕 Leash pulling is self-reinforcing:

If your dog drags you to everything they want to sniff or investigate then they're being taught over and over that behaviour is how they access these things. Tension on the leash is how they get what they want.

🐶 INSTEAD: the script needs to be flipped so they learn pressure on the leash means they stop, or you want them to FOLLOW YOU, not move toward what they want.

🐕 Separate training from exercise:

Dogs can't learn new skills when they're over-stimulated and distracted. The more distance you cover on a walk, the more distracted your dog will likely get. If you walk your dog to a park then that's a HUGE distraction (I bet they walk better on the way home, but fatigue isn't training)

🐶 INSTEAD:
practice loose leash walking during a 'training session' and if your dog pulls the second you walk out the front door then practice inside your house, then when they're doing better there open the front door and STILL practice inside, then in and out of the front door, then the path to your house etc etc etc. This will tire your dog out, I PROMISE. This is mental exercise and mental exercise is just as tiring as physical exercise.

🐕 Provide physical exercise in other ways:

As above, trying to train your dog AND give them exercise at the same time isn't going to work very well. It's like getting children to learn their timetables at Disney Land.

🐶 INSTEAD:
put them in a car and drive them somewhere quiet where they can run around (on a long line if they're not off-lead reliable). This is great for reactive dogs too. Find places where not many dogs go. Industrial estate parks or the back of some shopping centres where there are empty fields.

🐕 Have a plan and work smarter not harder:

So many of my new clients have tried all the tools, treats, obedience commands etc, but none of it is working. The problem is there's almost always a lack of clarity in the techniques and a lack of clarity paired with an over-excited dog doesn't work.

🐶 INSTEAD:
provide CLARITY through learning a clear and consistent strategy that you can easily teach your dog for five minutes twice a day (yep: FIVE MINUTES, TWICE A DAY. Dogs learn better this way and you'll both enjoy it more!). Clarity in communication, clarity through controlling distractions to keep your dog calm and focused!

There are numerous techniques to teach calm, loose-leash walking and what works best with each dog/owner combination can differ. But if there's one thing to remember from all of the above it's this:

🐾 SLOW IT DOWN TO GET THERE FASTER

Take the pressure off yourself AND your dog. Forget about social norms. If walking your dog isn't helping improve their behaviour or mindset - don't do it. Meet their needs in other ways while you focus on implementing a clear training routine that you can enjoy with your dog.

🖤🐾

The Tuesday Pack would like to introduce you to their new mattress! New things in the yard always get these guys excited, lots of new smells, new spots to relax and a bigger playground! Well used already, it’s been the talk of the town! 😂

Kev and Fudge joined us today, they’re usually in on a Monday and Wednesday so today they got a special walk with their friends they know and love while the rest of the Tuesday Pack got their own walk and spent the rest of their day relaxing and playing. Mostly relaxing, it was a bit too hot to mingle! ☀️🌿

Hanging out with Phoenix this afternoon has been a massive highlight to our week, what an incredible dog! 🤩

After warming Phoenix up and getting her comfortable in a new environment away from home or her usual spots, we went for a big walk with Thor. Phoenix doesn’t have a lot of trust in dogs who invade her space or can’t read her signs saying she is uncomfortable, she much prefers those who couldn’t care less about her, and that is why we used Thor to help out today as Thor couldn’t really care less about meeting new dogs! Thor spent the afternoon showing Phoenix all his favourite spots which she enjoyed checking out with him 😊

Our first one on one session with Daisy today 🤎

We worked on her leash skills as well as her confidence which proved quite difficult with this crazy wind! We had a blast though and she became a lot more settled once we got into the groove of things.

A lovely quiet day with the Thursday Pack, enjoying the cooler weather and each other’s company 😊🌿

Chief has been muzzle free for about 3 weeks now, after over a solid year of helping Chief feel comfortable around other dogs as well as helping him learn what to do in sticky situations instead of what he’s used to, biting! We are so proud of him and how far he’s come and he’s really enjoying finally getting to use his mouth more while playing!

That doesn’t mean the muzzle will be left to collect dust! It’s still important to use the muzzle when he meets new dogs or needs to be in a situation where he may not feel comfortable, as well as making sure the muzzle stays conditioned properly. Chief is always watched and we’re there to guide him everytime he plays with others 😊