Starbarks Dog Training

I often get asked "how do I manage my pup when they are being biting, jumping, needy fur beasts". As pet owners we often find managing our fur babies very challenging in these moments.

Now let's look at the unconditional tolerance, understanding and patience that is shown in their world, this humbling ability to understand what pup needs and support through relational connection.

This is the blue print for us, and for our pets dogs, when pups are challenging, but we often struggle and so do our adult dogs, sometimes creating more issues with our responses to pup in these moments than we realise.

Take a moment to watch unconditional emotional connection in action, this should be what we strive for, and how we teach our fur babies...

I love the change of seasons. In winter, we can make the most of beautiful bush walks and new off-road adventures with our dogs.

Princess Isla loves a good sniff, but she is not always comfortable with new experiences—even when the new experience is a lovely bush path.

Like us, our dogs have different personalities or social identities.

I’ve done countless personality tests during team-building activities, all with the same aim: to better understand the people around me. Perhaps we should apply this to our dogs as well?

Any long-time dog owner will tell you that every dog is different. Even dogs of the same breed are not carbon copies of one another; each has their own individual social identity.

As humans, we live in family units and interact with many different people each day, but we do not become close friends with everyone we meet. Some of us love being in the middle of a crowd, while others find that overwhelming.

So why should dogs all be socialites? Of course they are not. Like us, they are individuals with different needs and different ways of interacting with the world.

The Resident Wild podcast begins to unpack these social identities, from the perspective of the wild world. Neri and Kim discuss how they can influence our dogs in much the same way our personalities influence us. Understanding these social identities has changed the way I look at dogs, my understanding, and the support that they need.

Sweet Isla is a German Shepherd, so it would be easy to assume that, as a guardian breed, she is naturally brave and confident. In reality, nothing could be further from the truth. Isla values safety—not ours, but hers 😊
She is naturally curious and wants to gather information. But
she needs time and a slow, safe introduction to new things, even a bush track. When rushed, she becomes overwhelmed and starts to pull, shout and react rather than think, especially in busy environments.

In that survival state, she may look like a big, brave shepherd, but the reality is that she is overwhelmed, scared and seeking safety.

Who is your dog? Are they really confident? What support do they need from you?

Well done and congratulations to these fabulous puppy skoolers. Graduation comes round so fast and it's always wonderful to see pups blossom and learn with the support and understanding of their puppy parents!! Good luck gang!

“Why does my dog bark, and how do I stop it?”

Barking is a complex topic with many contributing factors. Just like our verbal communication, it's not black and white, or simple.

Dogs bark to meet a need, alert us to something, ask for information, make a statement, or because we have unintentionally taught them to bark. Most importantly, we need to recognise that barking is never “for nothing”.

When I think about barking, I tend to look at two things: what we are doing, and what is the dog learning.

With Louis, I have made a point of exploring the world with him. I know I am his filter, recently I saw the fruits of that work.

At home, if something happens, I am there, I stop and investigate. If Louis barks or growls, I investigate with him, even if it is early in the morning, which is often when he is most likely to bark. In those moments, he is asking questions, seeking information, and looking for guidance.
Often, I can simply call out, “Thanks, all good, back to bed,” and he will do exactly that.

But recently, he went to Defcon 4. He was barking intensely, I was considering what to do next when he rushed into the bedroom and stood at the door. He was asking for help.

When I went to look, there was a man in my garden, shining a flashlight into my car. From the moment I arrived, Louis stopped barking and sat beside me while we assessed the situation. I was concerned about my car, so I banged on the window, hoping to scare the man away.
Instead, he came over to the window and looked in. Louis and I sat quietly looking back. The man left and I called the police.
Louis took his cues from me. Although I was not happy, I knew we were safe inside.

His response was measured because I was able to stay measured, and he believed me because he trusts me.

Today brought an opportunity to reinforce Louis’ learning and his sense of safety with me and in the home. I had several trees cut back, which meant there were lots of men and a great deal of noise. Louis was not happy. I could see he was unsure, and if I had left him to manage it alone, he may have looked for his own ways to cope.

So, we watched and listened. I did not want to stop him moving or distract him away from the sound. This was an opportunity to teach and help him learn how to manage stress.

Will Louis bark? Absolutely. I dont want to stop him communicating. I am working with him so that he can bark and think at the same time. That way, he can also listen and learn.

Hounds Rock🤘
Sweet sauage Dash has been considering his friendship options over the initial weeks at Puppy School. He has been assessing, and watching, gaining confidence from dad, as he takes his time to consider his options.

It's important to recognise that not every dog, like, not every human, wants to be in the mosh pit.. and that's ok.

Keeping his first choice, in the family, as he and Bettsy Basset, begin to build friendship through play and exploration, such lovely pauses as they interact and begin to learn more about one another...

I hear violins playing for these two❤️

Congratulations team, it's been a pleasure watching pups and p*eps build relationships, make friends and learn.. good luck with the next steps 🤩

Adventures with Pluto

Pluto has grown into such a sweet boy, but developmentally, emotionally, he is still very much a toddler. He is still learning.

It was a pleasure to explore a new space with pluto recently.

Cherry picking new environments for our young dogs is so important, we don’t want rushing, grabbing at scent or snacks, pulling on the lead. These things can be telling us that there is too much for a young pooch to cope with and we need to slow down, it is rarely naughty dog..

This park is a new space for pluto, with slightly different experiences for us to explore. I am looking at his ability to sniff, and engage with the environment in a meaningful way. I want to see if he can still listen to me and to see, is he still willing to share his information through p*e?

The biggest thing I want to see is if he can seek information and help from me, how else will he learn good stress management strategies and make sense of this sensory information if isn’t being interpreted for him in this moment??

I don’t want to constantly distract him away from the things he is learning about with a treat, I want to join him in his exploration and let him know HOW to respond, and that I am always there to help him when he needs.

Now i can see how he responds here, i can have a blueprint for our next steps. Staying with this new park, aiming for the same level of stimulation until i see pluto more willing to advertise himself, showing me he is comfortable by laying down more scent. A big focus would be being comfortable to be still, while he is thinking, he doesn't yet want to be still and immobilize, to immobilize we need to feel safe, so this would be another step before dripping in more stimulaiton.

He did so well, pluto has come such a long way with supporting, understanding owners, it was pleasure to see his methodological approach to exploring this new space – GO pluto 😊