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Services

Specialised Classes & Services

Confidence Building Course - Creating the 'Whatever Dog'

Strongly reccomended for every dog and owner - regardless of age or course

What is the 'Whatever Dog'?

You have probably all seen the body language poster in our manuals.
The ‘whatever’ dog is a dog who is relaxed and happy in many real-life situations such as the cafe, vet, walking through crowds, the dog park, walking upstairs, over grates, past baloons etc, a dog who encounters new stimulus and shurgs to himself and thinks “whatever”.

CBC's Aim:

Class Structure:

10 x 45mins classes, 4 dogs pre course.

Each week will focus on the core topics:

People: Recognizing how our dogs see, smell and hear differently and exposing our dogs to people who may look or move differently in a dog perception.
Substrates: Working with textures to expose your dogs to different surfaces and build confidence moving on and around them.
Tricks: Learning to move their bodies in sometimes foreign ways to build confidence that “I can do this” and increase spatial awareness.
Separation: Often we see dogs unable to settle when physically separated from their human, this component teaches owners how to help their dogs build independence and tolerance to separation and tethering.
Objects: Recognising our dogs may find objects visually challenging and helping them explore and build trust by interacting with a variety of objects.
Handling: Vet visits, grooming, bathing and administering medication can be difficult for dogs, this component is to help owner understand how to desensitise their dogs to handling.
Noises: Desensitisation too common human noises but possibly confusing noises for dogs.
Smells: Introduction to possibly unfamiliar smells they may encounter in future.

Prerequisites :

Locations:

Calming Canine Course

Designed For:

Open To:

It is open to dogs and owners who have completed a course of private training sessions with Sit Happens or our basic training course.

Due to the nature of this class we have a maximum of 2 dogs per class and request only two family members present at each class.

Class Structure:

10 x 30mins classes, 2 dogs per course.

Each week will focus on:

    • Identifying and keeping dogs below threshold.
    • Maintaining a regular calm heart rate to avoid reactivity/arousal.
    • Rewarding and acknowledging calm and no reaction to an introduced stimulus.
    • Calm entering and exiting the car to reduce over reaction and anticipation.

Prerequisites:

Locations:

Happy Handling Course

Course Aim:

By helping our dogs, predict and feel good about handling and the associated environments, objects, noises, and movements we aim to help you, your dog and dogs care givers avoid induced stress, making their life of vet visits, grooming, and handling as safe and comfortable as possible.

The course is designed to repeat as many times as you like to help your dog accept and ‘feel good’ about:

Class Structure:

5 x 30mins classes, 6 dogs per course, includes Lickimat Splash

Prerequisites :

By helping our dogs, predict and feel good about handling and the associated environments, objects, noises, and movements we aim to help you, your dog and dogs care givers avoid induced stress, making their life of vet visits, grooming, and handling as safe and comfortable as possible.

Locations:

Play Group

Our Play Groups:

Sit Happens Play Groups were designed to get the same group of dogs and owners together to train and practice calm and relaxed dog:dog socialisation.

As we know emotional responses are the most engraining, so these courses were designed to help your dog retain the emotional association that dogs make me feel safe. If our dogs feel safe this reduces the risk of fear aggression developing.

We highly recommend these classes for all dogs but in particular those dogs who are under 2 years, whose brains are still forming and need the constant feedback that ‘dogs are good and I am safe’. This applies for dogs who have suffered trauma or negative incidents and feel uncomfortable at the park.

Having the same group over a ten week period gives your dogs the time to feel safe and comfortable with familiar dogs. If they can do back-to-back courses and have 20 weeks of practice then that’s even better!

Prerequisites:

Locations

Play Train

What is Play Train?

Sit Happens play train is allowing our Sit Happens trainers to help teach your dogs to feel safe and secure in the company of dogs through appropriate play and training with familiar dogs. This course is ideal of puppies and dogs under two years of age whose brains are still developing and the need the vital pracitce of feeling safe.

Course Aim:

Locations

Training Support Options

Small Group Support

Small group support is ideal for those who wish to practice the course content covered in your Basic Training Program. Having only 3 dogs in each session enables your dog to practice being successful as the environment is controlled and less distracting than normal life environments. The added bonus is you will be in the company of like-minded, committed owners using the same techniques.

Prerequisites:

Private Support

Our private support sessions are available to those Basic Training clients who wish to have some 1:1 time with our trainers or for those Behavioural Therapy clients who wish to practice their therapy techniques with the security of trainers present and advising you in a safe and controlled environment.

Class Structure:

Prerequisites:

Phone Support

A chat with our trainers can be helpful in supporting your training. Phone calls can be booked between 9am-2pm and are charged 15 minute increments.

Locations

Walk Train

What is walk train?

As part of our dedication to our dogs and their owner’s, Sit Happens offers a specialised walk train service. Each walk is tailored to the specific dogs needs and is ideal for those who have undertaken behavioural therapy or basic training groups with us.

Behavioural Therapy Clients can expect each walk is provided by one of our trainers who will practice and implement all the techniques taught in your sessions; loose lead walking, emergency techniques, body blocking, eye contact, desensitisation and counter conditioning in the presence of a stressor al in order to make your dogs walk as positive and stress free as possible.

Basic Training Clients can also expect each walk is provided by one of our trainers who will reinforce your training of loose lead walking, recall, sits and drops etc, training plans can be discussed with your trainer.

Class Structure:

45minute individual private walks 

  • Servicing the areas of Mornington, Mount Martha & Mount Eliza. (Travel distance restricted*)
  • Booked between the hours of 9am-2pm.

Locations