The Canine Paradigm

Dog owners often unwittingly trigger certain behaviours in their pets, without realising the implications of their actions. While the owners may not understand what they did, the dog’s perception of the situation is entirely different. Due to the data it has collected, the dog’s brain sees this as a cue to run a particular program. This phenomenon is not uncommon, and it’s a resu...

As much as we all love our canine companions, sometimes behavioural issues arise that can make life with them difficult and even dangerous. In some cases, these issues can be so severe that they pose a threat to not only the safety of others but to the dog itself. In such situations, the difficult decision to consider euthanasia may arise. It’s important to note that behavioural euthanasia s...

With over two decades of experience in the media industry, Lara Shannon has become a household name. Reaching millions of people each year through her education work, books, and TV shows, Lara has helped improve the lives of companion animals. As a certified dog trainer and pet food nutrition specialist, Lara has worked with high-profile animal welfare and conservation organizations such as the Wo...

Dogs may develop the behaviour of barking to biting when they feel frustrated and their drives are not properly addressed. This behaviour can have various underlying causes, but it is often associated with fear or frustration. For instance, if a dog is barking at a person or another animal and feels unheard or misunderstood, it may resort to biting to communicate its message. Socialising the dog a...

Ambition is a powerful motivator and can drive us to achieve great things. However, when it comes to dog training, it is important to not let your ambitions get mixed up with your capabilities, especially when working with aggressive dogs. Working with aggressive dogs can be a daunting task, but with the right approach and mindset, it is possible to help these dogs overcome their behaviour issues...

In this episode, we were thrilled to offer more in-depth responses to the queries of our esteemed audience members, who participated in the TCP discussion group and made their voices heard. One of our audience members, George Nicholas, posed a thought-provoking question regarding the reliability of clients when it comes to using E-collars, even after being trained on their usage. Additionally, Tra...

As a dog trainer, you have a crucial role in helping dogs and their owners resolve behaviour issues. To be successful, it is vital to have answers to life’s questions, particularly when it comes to markers, cues, and primary reinforcer’s. First, you need to understand what the dog’s behaviour problem is. Is the dog aggressive, destructive, or fearful? Once you have identified the...

A mentor can change your life by providing guidance, advice, and support. They can help you identify and set goals, develop new skills, and navigate challenges and obstacles. They can also serve as a role model and provide valuable perspective and insight. Additionally, a mentor can help you build a professional network and open doors to new opportunities. Mentors can provide valuable life advice....

How trainers make you see their content is an enlightening discussion as Pat shares his experiences working within a marketing company. During that time, he reveals the strategy that social media algorithms use to encourage more views and longer time spent on the page. This is why we see trainers stepping outside their profession and spending more time being a performer than a trainer and making o...

The 2022 Dutch rudder circle jerk follows in the traditions of our end of the year wrap up. There have been many highs and some lows for many of our community which have been shared either through episodes, in our forum and in person. we would like to thank all of the people in our community who made the year better and held each other up and supported each other. It’s also been great to see...

Perfection is paralysis when you find yourself unable to take a leap at anything in life until it’s perfect. This is why we see so many younger people fail to launch as they feel whatever they do, must be perfect. It really is disheartening to see paralysis prevent talent from taking form in the dog training industry. It’s worse to know that paralysis came from fear of letting their me...

Real life problems with fictional solutions is how the world is working to solve some of the problems owners are having with dogs. Yes, we ranted in this episode as we can foresee a future that for many dogs was successful, will now not be. People who are upheld in the community are giving fictional advice while contradicting their own practices. Trainers who misquote, mislead and misunderstand to...

You really don’t understand dogs at all when you appear to believe that training a dog is the same as training a marine mammal. Yes there are comparisons. Yes we have learned many great concepts from marine mammal trainers. However, if you still think it’s the same, then you most certainly don’t understand. Furthermore, what people fail to understand is the implications that trai...

3 biggest mistakes new dog owners make is a headline based around one of those social media posts where someone dances and points at brief answers. We managed to almost make an hour and a half show on some of the points we felt needed open discussion on some of those mistakes. Speaking of mistakes, we also found that we have no standardised language which attributes to handlers and trainers adding...

Incompatible behaviour & positive punishment is a topic from a quote that we posted on our instagram some months back. The quote was from Dr. Susan Friedman and it says. “The key question is not, how do I stop this problem behaviour? Rather, the question is, what do I want the animal to do instead, then teach it.” It’s a good quote with plenty of merit. There are many who hav...

Lessons from the tantrum came from an actual full scale, first off tantrum that Pat’s second son Axel had. According to Pat, it was of epic proportions and it gave him some perspective on how his dog must feel when he is confused about a situation and doesn’t have the ability to effectively communicate it. Any good educator will always consider the teachable moment, even in an unfavour...

Cam Ford & the scent detection avengers is another great episode that we got to have in person with our great friend, Cameron Ford. Although the wonderful team of doctors and specialists that presented at the Australian K9 scent detection conference were not with us, we got to think about and discuss their wonderful work. The scent detection world is so diverse and wonderfully eclectic that it...

Jas Whiting raising working puppies is the long awaited update on what our great friend Jas has been up to. Even though we see her regularly there’s been a lot of time between pod-cast catchups. Also, Jas has been doing a bunch of amazing things. Kicking ass in the BJJ scene, lecturing at conferences, doing seminars, keeping up GRC training and more. Safe to say that Jas has been doing some...

Marketing and the low hanging fruit is an inspired conversation from one of Larry Krohn’s online posts. Larry was exceptionally disappointed when a colleague came into the chat and made some confrontational comments. This aside, it raised some interesting notation on social media marketers versus their actual ability as a trainer. Multiples of conversations have been had on our platform and...

Without the cookies, I’m just a monster is a part of a bigger story that developed from a listeners question on our discussion forum. It came about when we discussed how people can carry a burden for so long, that when given an option to lose it, they are scared of who they are without their cookies, or bad behaviors. The majority of the story is talking about the potential of poisoning rein...

The evils of cherry picking information have been more evident in social media posts where agenda driven lunatics are trying to destroy a target. Politicians are amongst the worst of the cherry pickers, especially around election times. They are also amongst the least trusted people in the world. Cherry pickers are trying to direct the attention of many people onto the focus of one or several peop...

What do you want to do with your dog? Have you planned it all out or is it still pie in the sky at this stage? Did you buy a companion only to find you have a drive monster or did you get a dog for a sport only to discover it not what one of you want? While many are happy with a coach potato, some want that dog with the V8 engine. However, some of the V8’s pay for their energy with their lif...

The new puppy and the baby trainer is an episode covering Birdy O’Sheedy’s new puppy, PAX and how she is doing with him. It’s also about Pat’s experience with a baby trainer when Axel was having sleeping problems. Birdy is an experienced dog owner from having her time with Luna, however she has never raised a puppy before. Now her and Dan are experience a different life wit...

Intuition versus learned from others was being discussed in an on-line forum and there were some interesting back and forth comments which sparked good conversation. So what’s right? Do trainers have intuition from the beginning or do they always learn from a skilled mentor. If we are talking about intuition, what does that even look like or feel like to those who have it? How did your mento...

Be a monster, an absolute monster and the learn how to control it. It’s a phrase from uncle Jordy P that we have a little back and forth over. Naturally there’s interpretations and concerns about what a monster could be, after all most monsters are portrayed as villains. So why would anyone encourage you to be a monster? Further details looking for great dog trainers and supporters of...