Paul we want to thank-you for taking away our naughty, bad tempered, and ill mannered Shih Tzu x Maltese and in two weeks returning a pleasant lovable little boy.
Toby is only 15 months old and from the day we had him from 10 weeks of age he certainly had personality plus, but unfortunately over time developed into the wrong type of personality.
When it came time for the vet visit and his 12 monthly needles I was advised to consider seriously having Toby put to sleep due to his terrible behaviour (biting, growling and basically unacceptable behaviour). His performance at the vet was one of the most traumatic periods of his short life.  We knew something had to be done. My mother is 86 years old and lives with me. My concern was growing due to her and my granddaughter when she visited.
I have always had German Shepherds and Labrador’s and couldn’t believe how one so small dog could wreak such havoc with our lives. I just couldn’t train him and my patience had come to an end with Toby.  With some help from another local vet who also experienced Toby at his worst but did manage to give him his needles and me some brochures which directed me to contact Paul from the K9Centre.

Paul returned my call and sent me out e-mails with all the information I required plus a choice of training schedules.  This was also a very difficult decision to make regarding contacting Paul as I didn’t think any dog trainer would take on a little dog for training. This proved to be the best decision i could ever make for Toby and us.  Paul came and spent some time with Toby in our house then took him away for 14 days of training. ( Due to me working fairly long hours all week it was easier to send Toby away for training rather than an hour here and there).
On day 14, Toby and Paul arrived at the front door and we had over an hour with Paul at the house going through Toby’s training.  After 2 weeks of being home and us continuing his training program, Paul returned to see how we were progressing and spent over an hour with us again.

Today we have the lovable little dog we originally bought 16 months ago. He is a joy to have around and we have many laughs instead of yelling and cross times with him.   I would recommend Paul from The K9 Centre to anybody with a dog who is unsociable or has behavioural problems no matter how big or how small the dog. It wasn’t just a matter of training Toby but educating us to continue on with Toby’s training so he is secure in his human environment and we are the leaders again.

A big Thank-you Paul from Toby, Norma and Sheryl.

Thanks Karhl – K9 Centre Brisbane North
We have recently completed our home smart training program. We started with a dog that was very over excited around other dogs and people making it almost impossible for us to take him outside for a walk or visit friends. This problem was escalating out of control and making everyone quite unhappy having such a disobedient dog. Nothing we did made any difference to his behaviour. Your approach to training was very helpful, patient and calm. It has been great to have you come round and train our dog as well as teaching us. Arranging dog training sessions at a time that was convenient to everyone. Bringing your own dog to the training session made a huge difference. Having a calm dog to interact with while working though our dogs over excitement issues. Our Dog Crusoe can now walk beside us outside without the lead on. A huge difference! Everyone is much happier. Crusoe is only 1 year old and has plenty to learn still- He has been given a solid foundation to start with; all the training methods have given us a reliable way to continue his training ourselves. I would recommend the company and you to anyone that needed to train his or her dog.

Thanks again. Marti and Brad.

Dear K9 Centre,
I would like to tell you the story of Mischa, my 15 month old red Doberman. Mischa is a spoilt brat. Mischa gets to sleep on the couch, and gets LOTS of love and attention.

I have had Doberman’s my whole life, so when the opportunity arose for me to get another one, Mischa, I was more than excited. She came from beautiful parents and a very loving home. I picked her up at 6 weeks, and after extensive watching of the Dog Whisperer, thought that I would not follow the path of all those other eccentric dog owners.

Guess what, I did. Mischa went to puppy school at the local vet and an RSPCA course shortly after, in the attempt that I would be teaching her some discipline. I wanted her to be able to play with my nieces safely, and to be able to take her to family gatherings without her being a pest. In between all that, I showed her no boundaries or limitations, and pretty much let her do what she liked, because she was my Mischa, and I loved and continue to love her to pieces.

She started exhibiting quite anxious behaviours around other people. I thought, “oh, she’ll grow out of it”, but it got progressively worse. The breaking point was when the house we were renting in was put up for sale, and people came over to do pest and building inspections. As they ventured outside, Mischa was so fearful and nervous, that she relieved herself while running around the yard, the whites of her eyes showing and her huge tail between her legs. I was distraught. I knew that she was experiencing incredible fear and exhibiting huge anxiety, and I didn’t know what to do. I knew something was wrong, and I was adamant to fix it.

One of my work colleagues, who is a dog handler in law enforcement encouraged me to look in to some further training for Mischa. I found the K9 Centre, and called them to make an appointment with someone. Shortly after, Al, my wonderful trainer, called me to discuss what was happening with Mischa. He was my last resort. If he couldn’t fix her, then she was doomed to be a fearful and anxious dog for the rest of her life, and I knew that would be a huge suffering for her.
Al came a few days later, and we spent considerable time discussing  Mischa’s behaviours, and my responses, and why things were the way they were. Turns out, all those eccentric mad dog owners from the Dog Whisperer had all decided to make themselves comfortable in my relationship with my dog, and I was doing the EXACT thing I didn’t want to do. I also learnt that day, that the onus of handling my dog was on me, not on Al. But Al showed me the right things to do, and we practised, a lot.

Mischa was never able to walk on a lead. She has a huge chest, she’s a big girl for a Doberman (36.5kgs and nooo fat!) and she pulls like a work horse. She walked on a halti, but I felt that was like handcuffs on a person and didn’t want to keep resorting to that. Al taught me how to walk her on loose lead, and how to show her that I was in charge. Without Al’s guidance, I would never have learned the simple tricks to handle my dog effectively. Mischa is in a transition stage at the moment. She is asserting her dominance over our little Jack Russell, her bark has changed, and she prances when she walks. Just the other day, my husband was doing a service on the car, and Mischa sat quietly on loose lead (not tied up to anything) by the car, not even responding to all the noises that were happening around her (children playing in the street, neighbour and his motorbike, engine revving as hubby was finishing the service).

I am so impressed. Not only with Mischa, but with my ability to handle my dog, and know how to handle my dog with ease and effectiveness. Al is an amazing handler, and I was sad to see our time end. I hope that one day Mischa and I get to do some further training with Al, because as a Doberman, she is more than intelligent enough to handle anything that comes her way. I want to thank The K9 Centre, and particularly Al, for teaching me this skill, and in helping me, help my dog live a stress free and happy life.

Enclosed is a picture of my “tough” girl

Dexter is our one year old Maltese x Papillion, Dexter is a lovely and playful natured dog, until he is left home alone!
Dexter had terrible separation anxiety and he would bark and fret when he was left at home while I was at work. When I was at home with Dexter, he would not let me out of his sight and would follow me everywhere I went.
We even tried the Citronella spray Barking collars for when we left the house, but dexter figured out that the more he barked, the faster the collar would run out of spray.
My partner and I were at the end of our rope and didn’t know what we would do with Dexter to fix his problems, We then we found Paul @ the K9 Centre!
Paul’s training techniques have been highly effective with Dexter’s separation anxiety. The crate training especially has taught Dexter that he can relax and switch off in his own company now.
Paul’s training was professional and highly effective. I would recommend his services to anyone that needs a little help with their beloved pets!

Thanks Paul

From Janie, Tony and Dexter

Brett and I have just finished Our HomeSmart Training Programs with Paul and have been thoroughly satisfied with the results we have had with our 2 puppies – Frank (Bull Mastiff) and Maia (Siberian Husky). Since both breeds are very different and adapted to the training differently, it was important for us that our puppies had that one on one attention in their training. This was exactly what we got with Paul from K9 Centre. Not only did his methods work but we were surprised with the speed at which our puppies learnt. Paul was kind, courteous and we could tell from the moment we met him that he was a true dog lover. He not only gave our puppies valuable and important training but always asked us about their diets and behavior too. The knowledge you get from him covers everything from fixing any bad habits the dogs have, to ways for us humans to cope with any issues we were experiencing. If we ever had any questions or anything, Paul was always available for the answers. They say huskies are hard to control as although they are very attentive and willful, they are also very independent and you have to earn their respect. Well all the methods worked from day one with Maia and she learnt so quickly with little trouble. Frank had different issues being so large and a bit stubborn, so it took him a little longer. But still the same methods were applied to him as were applied to Maia and worked very well. Now, our puppies are still works in progress and have lots to learn, but we feel this training has given us solid, reliable and safe methods that will be reinforced and strengthened as they grow into dogs. Both puppies have learned the basic commands all without the “treat” method (which is a common way you get taught from most puppy schools). By simply using the calm pressure with a lead and by then saying the command, they do what you want nearly every time lol (they are still puppies after all). But as Paul says, they are still young and have lots of time to perfect the commands. On our last lesson, Paul told us that anytime we needed help or advice to not hesitate to contact him in the future. I would recommend this company and Paul to anyone who wants to have a happy, healthy and well-trained K9′s. Kind regards, Justine Pfeiffer and Brett Reid.

As a first time dog owner I found Blair’s puppy school classes extremely helpful.  Blair presented highly interactive classes and always took the time to address individual concerns.  It has been somewhat of a comfort going to class each week to help iron out early concerns.  Blair was always reassuring and I have come away with the confidence to continue our puppy training.  I learnt a lot about understanding dogs and therefore how to use the techniques we learnt in a variety of situations.  My 2 young sons came to class each week with me and loved watching their new puppy learning to socialise with other dogs.  By being a part of class each week they too are taking a very active part in teaching their puppy.  I can thoroughly recommend the K9 Puppy Smart program to all new puppy owners.

Jo (Twin Waters)

Dear Paul,

Thank you so much for your help with Boston the Labrador and Wally the Staffy.

We love our dogs dearly, and unfortunately little Wallys behaviour meant that we were beginning to not enjoy walking them and were stressed due to his constant escaping and high level of energy. After the sessions with you he is a new dog, and we are happier people to! The calm pressure techniques gave us a common approach to dealing with his pulling on the lead and running at anything that moved. The technique also allowed Wally to know what was expected of him, he went from being a dog that we were starting to lose hope for, to a dog that only wants to please, and now he knows how to!!  Although I was not keen on Crate training it worked wonderfully and helped Wally to Relax & get used to down time, the technique worked brilliantly. He no longer goes under, over and through fences but is quite happy ”chillin” in the backyard.

Although Boston wasn’t causing us any grief, your sessions made me realise the potential he has and just how much he enjoyed turning walks into training sessions.  He really loves to learn and please and is just a delight to walk now.

Again thank you so much for your’e friendly, consistent advice and ability to show us a new way of working with the dogs.  We also appreciate being able to call you any time with quick questions and advice.

We all appreciate it very much, Tamsyn, Eric, Boston and Wally.

Hi Alan,

Thanks so much for your help with the puppies they are going great! I have attached a picture of them also. Hope your having a great new year!

We first met Alan back in September. We where in desperate need of help with our two puppies. Lily a 38kg Ridgeback X and Tonna a 30kg Bull Mastif. They where a night mare to take outside the home. Now since Alan has shown us The K9 Centre  Calm Smart Method our skills in keeping our puppies calm and under control outside the house is vastly improving!

We found Alan to be very knowledgable and professional in what his dog training. If we had a question he had the answer. If we where having trouble with any stage in our training he is always there to help and give advice.

We highly recommend to anyone that is having trouble with their dogs to trust on Alan to get te answer.

Thanks Jem + Kris

Hi Everyone,

Just a bit of news and a few “thank yous” to dish out after a very eventful week. As some of you may know we are lucky enough to be providing training for Sunshine Coast locals (and their dogs) on the beach at The Town of Seaside. This has been to assist the community with the control and behavior of their dogs after part of the beach became an off leash area.

I’d like to say thanks to everyone that has participated in the first two sessions and I’ve really enjoyed the enthusiasm. We have had a great time on the beach and it has been rewarding seeing such a variety of dogs responding well to our techniques. All of the owners have been a pleasure to work with and are making great progress. One thing that stands out for me is the mix of ages who have been attending, everyone from primary age kids through to retirees have been involved!

So far we have covered techniques to help relax the dogs under a variety of stimulus and are working towards calm and gaining more control. As the lessons progress so will the level of training and we are aiming to up skill the owners so they are able to take our techniques home and apply them to different situations.

I’m looking forward to our next sessions and can’t wait to see how everyone is progressing getting on. Just quickly I’d like to thank all of those who have participated again, as well as the council and staff for helping organize the responsible dog ownership initiative.

All the best and I’ll see you down the

Regards,

Blair Rawlins

Your Local Qualified Dog Trainer on the Sunshine Coast

Dog Training Obedience Lesson Sunshine Coast