Why The Mindful Dog?
I help you and your puppy develop a healthy and happy relationship, so you can enjoy each other's company for many years to come.
I help you and your puppy develop a healthy and happy relationship, so you can enjoy each other's company for many years to come.
I made a big shift from the IT world to the animal industry in 2012, when I decided to join Mosman Vet as a full-time Veterinary Receptionist. During my time there, one of my responsibilities was to coordinate Vicki Austin's puppy class bookings.
Always keen to improve things, I took the initiative to make some changes: I streamlined the booking process and email confirmations, designed a Puppy Class Certificate, purchased new stools for the attendees, printed educational posters for the classroom etc.
But, it was not until I observed the very experienced and skilled dog trainer, Vicki Austin, at work, that my early childhood passion for dog training was reignited.
I started taking professional dog trainer courses and workshops, in order to qualify as a certified professional dog trainer CPDT-KA.
My approach is a bit different than most of my fellow dog trainers.
We usually start by encouraging you to make a mindset shift. Because, our beliefs influence our thinking. And our thinking dictates the words we choose to use,… Which in turn, conditions our emotional state… and our behaviour. Ultimately, your mindset and beliefs will shape what kind of relationship you develop with your dog. We hope you are open to embracing a more ecocentric view. And perhaps, learn to let go of culturally conditioned and potentially harmful, anthropocentric ideas.
You will learn to recognise your puppy's body language cues and subtle stress signals, so you can start to see your puppy's "antics" from a more empathetic perspective.
As a certified Family Dog Mediator, I don't focus solely on dog training to change behaviour.
I assess the situation from a more holistic, applied ethology lens, to take into account all four L.E.G.S.™ of the dog's experience. This clearly informs us on what is going on, and what the best approach would be, to prevent human-dog conflict and resolve stress-related behaviours.
For example: Separation related problem behaviours don't exist in a vacuum. A dog who struggles to make sense of day-to-day separation events, is unable to self-regulate emotionally in order to achieve homeostasis. This dog will undoubtedly also struggle in other stressful situations.
We need to look at the whole picture, before we can decide how best to deal with it. Every puppy benefits from social and emotional learning to help make sense of their world. Developing your puppy's ability to self-regulate emotions, will result in more socially acceptable, well-adapted behaviour choices (less barking, nipping, jumping etc.).
You can learn how to teach your puppy how to successfully navigate challenging and stressful situations in their day-to-day life – without over-reacting – and,… with or without you.
A dog who has been taught to make good behaviour choices on their own, is an absolute joy to live with, and a wonderful companion who can join you almost everywhere.
As a certified professional dog trainer and experienced puppy school instructor, I can coach you to bridge knowledge gaps so you can further develop your understanding of:
"Who?" your puppy really is.
"Why?" your puppy does what s/he does.
"What?" your puppy is trying to tell you, and what your puppy actually needs.
"How?" you can apply the most effective approach to help your puppy – considering your family circumstances – in order to resolve stress and separation related problem behaviours.
Find out more, and book your initial private coaching consultation, or enrol for one of my specialised training programs:
Mindful Puppy School Separation Anxiety Dog Training
Read what our customers have to say about us.
Please note: most photos on the site are from pre-COVID-19 in-person puppy classes. Currently, COVID-19 conditions apply not reflected in the photos on the site.