Assistance Dogs New Zealand Trust’s Post

The Ultimate Guide to Crate Training Your Dog: Step-by-Step Tips for Success Crate training is essential for dog owners, offering a secure space for your pet and aiding in-house training. When done correctly, crate training can provide various benefits, from reducing anxiety to preventing destructive behaviour. In this comprehensive guide, we'll walk you through the process, address common questions, and ensure you're equipped with all the knowledge you need for practical crate training. Step 1: Understanding the Purpose of Crate Training Before beginning, it’s essential to recognize why crate training is beneficial: Helps with house training: Dogs naturally avoid soiling their sleeping area, encouraging them to hold their bladder. Provides a safe space: A crate gives your dog a cozy and secure area, especially during stressful situations. Discourages destructive behaviour: The crate is a safeguard when you can’t supervise your dog. Remember, never use the crate as a form of punishment. Your dog should always associate it with positive experiences.   https://shorturl.at/Z3sFp

The hardest part of dog training is taking that first step.

**DOGINARE: Bringing German Precision to American K9 Training! 🇩🇪🐾** We are thrilled to announce that the **DOGINARE Method**—a **revolutionary approach** in **K9 training**—is now available in the **USA**! With **non-aversive techniques**, **positive reinforcement**, and **decades of experience**, we deliver **high standards** in **protection** and **explosive detection dog training**. Our program is built on **discipline**, **precision**, and **thoroughness**, ensuring that both dogs 🐕 and handlers work as a perfect team in the most challenging environments. The **DOGINARE Method** has a history of proven success in **Europe**, grounded in **German excellence** and **attention to detail**. Bringing this expertise to the **United States**, we offer K9 teams an opportunity to experience **safety**, **reliability**, and **peak performance**. Whether it’s **protection** or **explosive detection**, our methods produce results that set the bar for K9 training. We work with **non-aversive methods**—**no e-collars**, **no prong collars**, no harsh corrections. Instead, we use **positive reinforcement** to cultivate a partnership of **mutual respect** and **understanding**. A dog trained with **confidence** and **trust** is more reliable, effective, and happy. This **force-free approach** enhances the **well-being** of the dogs and strengthens their bond with handlers, resulting in an efficient **K9 unit**. The **six-phase program** systematically prepares young dogs to be dependable partners in **high-stress environments**. From **basic obedience** to advanced **scent detection** and **protection**, each step helps the dog progress effectively. Our training is tailored to the specific needs of each dog and handler, ensuring **individualized attention** and maximizing potential. **No e-collars, no prong collars—just effective, force-free training** that builds **trust** and **excellence**. 🏆🚀 With our methods, your K9 teams will gain not just a skilled partner, but a reliable ally ready for anything. Ready to see the difference? Let’s set new standards in K9 training together! #DOGINARE #K9Training #GermanPrecision #PositiveReinforcement #ProtectionDogs #ExplosiveDetectionDogs #NonAversiveMethods #ForceFreeTraining #K9USA #Teamwork #DogTraining #Excellence #GermanQuality #EffectiveTraining

How to train a dog to lie down and stay still? This training is very easy

What should you pay attention to when training a Samoyed? What should you pay attention to when training a Samoyed?

This is what I love about training people to train their pups: 1) the absolute fun of having them find out how quickly their pup can learn and do things, 2) the joy of using rewards as the primary training method, instead of constant 'no, no, NO!' 3) the enthusiasm and confidence the pups grow and show. What is rewarded is repeated, and dogs are quick to note what is rewarded. This is what I dislike: 1) owner's not using the things they've learned and taught their pups in class, in everyday scenarios -if you don't use it, you lose it! 2) the astonishingly quick return to harsh corrections/or constant nagging if the handlers aren't prompted to look for the positive things they said they wanted 3) the lack of attention towards seeing the pup's fears and desensitizing them. Pups are very young in the world and nearing 6 months their abilities to see, hear, notice things magnifies significantly and for many, so does their worry. Early good and constant socialization can largely ameliorate this issue. Pups need time and space and kindness, despite their adolescent hijinks. So what does this mean? Walks with lots of stops, too much sensory overload can increase the chances of your young dog becoming reactive. Set ups at home that reduce the chances of significant doggy mistakes - crates, gates, adequate things to do... And continued education, what do you want them to be able to do well and what are they significantly interested in. Sometimes our initial goals need to be changed based on their interests and temperament. Many times, if we are good trainers and observers, we can change their dislikes, to the likes we so wanted. Do you have a puppy? Next Gentle Touch Dog Training classes start April 9th.

Welcome to a new week. Did you do anything exciting with your dogs? We were busy with classes and 1-2-1 training and I picked up on a theme coming from my behavioural clients and that was regression in the dogs. What I do mean by that? This is when your dog seemingly takes a backwards step in their behaviour and it feels like for no reason. Why does it happen? Many reasons for this, it could be influences from weather pattern change, are they rested, over stimulated, is there an element of pain we haven't yet identified? Have they not had as much exercise or time to exercise their minds? AND Dogs are sentient with thoughts and feelings all of their own and it is important we recognise this so that we are able to support them. What can we do? Remember, dogs are not robots they will take backwards steps, we must recognise that and adapt plans accordingly. Try to remain consistent with training and enrichment activities, it can be so easy for us to lose faith and give up with training...in a way we then regress our own training. Need support? Our Calmer Canine package is ideally suited for this, not only do you get hands on 1-2-1 training you also have access to support and encouragement directly from me as I feel it really important that you have a shoulder to lean on when you are struggling with your dogs behaviour. I help you with alternatives to your dogs training. It really is like having your motivational coach.

Trusting the process ⏱️ Training operationally capable dogs takes constant maintenance. Thor for example is starting to get to grips with his off lead close control obedience. I often see handlers focusing mainly on bite work / man work. Whilst this is no doubt critical for a GP dog, operationally the likelihood of you deploying the dog vs having to operate with the dog at a close heel position is wildly different. Why would you spent 90% of your training on a 1% eventuality? I love bite work more than most, there is no better feeling than feeling safe with your dog at work and part of being safe is maintaining control of the dog. This is where I feel obedience training is best suited. Thor is at the beginning of his security journey , you can see how I intend to lay the groundwork for more in depth and challenging training. But we all start somewhere! Any comments or suggestions are welcomed. Stay safe everyone 👋

Tutorial on training a Bichon Frize. Stop saying your dog is difficult to train.

One of the most important parts of search dog training is having auditable training logs, this allows calling agencies to see how we train and operate at a professional in line with national standards