Transcript:

Susana Waldron:
Welcome, everyone. Welcome to AVIDEngage. We are here doing another one of our videos to connect with our community. We are in the Harmony development again, in the Sunshine Coast in our brand new dog park. So we thought what best to launch our new park with talking to our very local dog trainer, Charlotte. Charlotte. Bryan is joining me today. Charlotte is from Paws, Claws & Tails. That’s her company and she’s our local dog trainer. Welcome, Charlotte.

Charlotte Bryan:
Thank you so much for having me.

Susana Waldron:
And also, the star of our show here is Frankie. Hello, Frankie. How are you? So we thought about, we’d start talking a little bit about Charlotte’s background, and just tell us a bit about how she actually decided to become a dog trainer. So tell us, Charlotte, how did you decide to actually be a dog trainer?

Charlotte Bryan:
Well, I’ve loved animals all my life and originally I wanted to be a vet, but I guess dog training was my calling. The first time I trained a dog was when I was about 12. I saw a poodle jump through a hoop at the circus and I fell in love with it right then and there and was like, I must teach my own dog that. So I went home that night, taught her that trick, and that’s what started it all.

Susana Waldron:
So how long? So it’s from the age of 12 you really have been a dog trainer.

Charlotte Bryan:
I have been. Since the age of 12, I’ve been doing it for so long. And I used to start off with just tricks and things like that, but now I’ve branched more off into the obedience, the behaviour stuff. The behaviour does really interest me because I’ve got three dogs of my own and just getting them to understanding how their minds think and stuff like that, it’s very fascinating.

Susana Waldron:
Fantastic. One thing that we see these days where there’s more people and more people taking their dogs to the beach and to the dog park is what is the expected behaviour with your dog if you are with your dog at the beach or especially in a dog park? What kind of behaviour can we expect, first from the humans? What kind of expectations should we have? What do we think about when we are in a dog park?

Charlotte Bryan:
Well, that’s a really good question. And I guess the main thing is just we’ve got to be courteous of all the other park goers, because it is a public park and we want the dog park to be a really nice community for dog owners to connect and get together and things like that. So I guess the first thing is to make sure you pick up your dog’s poo.

Susana Waldron:
I think that’s the main problem.

Charlotte Bryan:
Yeah, there’s nothing worse than coming in and having to dodge all the poo on the ground. So I guess that’s the first thing. And the second thing that’s really, really important as well is just looking at what your dog’s doing and making sure you’re monitoring them. There’s nothing more scary for some owners when they take their small dog to the park and you’ve got a big dog running round and not listening to their owners and things like that. So I guess even though it’s an off-leash dog park, you still just want that voice control over your dog. And they don’t have to be proficient in the sits and the downs and the stays and everything like that, but so long as that when you call their name, they’ll stop what they’re doing and look at you.

Susana Waldron:
I think one other thing I wanted to cover, Charlotte, is we see a lot of people coming too with strange dogs and straight to petting a dog that they might not know. So what’s the right thing to do there, when you are actually meeting a new dog, as a person and also with your dog when the dog is meeting a new dog?

Charlotte Bryan:
Absolutely. So that’s super important. We always want to ask before we pet someone’s dog, because some dogs can be nervous or they could be scared of people or even just having a bit of an off day. They might just have gotten out of bed on the wrong side and just be a bit grumpy that day. So no matter what the reason, we just want to make sure we ask first so that the owner, who knows the dog best, can tell us exactly what their dog’s feeling that day, how they are and what their behavior’s like.

Charlotte Bryan:
When you are approaching a dog, though, you never want to be trying to just pat it on top of their head. What you want to do is be patting it on the chest or on the back. Because when we pat it on the head, some dogs can see that as intimidating and as a threat. And the other important thing is also not looking dogs in the eyes. Now that’s okay if you’re their owner, that’s fine because it can enhance your bond and things like that. But when it’s a dog you don’t know, they can see it as quite threatening, or slightly intimidating if they’re a nervous dog. And so when you pat them, just pat them nice and calmly and look at the top of their head or on their back or something like that so you’re not just staring at them.

Susana Waldron:
So perhaps we can do a little bit of a show.

Charlotte Bryan:
Absolutely. I’d love to.

Susana Waldron:
Frankie is a extremely clever dog and he knows about 200 tricks. So we are just going to demonstrate some of those commands that Charlotte has actually spoken about, just to see how the dog behaviour turns out. Hey, Frankie, we’re going to work now. Let’s see.

Charlotte Bryan:
So the first thing we want to do is just assess the park, and we want to see how many dogs there are, and we want to see what dogs are where, what energies they’ve got, which are the playing dogs and which might be a bit more intimidating for our dogs. So once we’re happy with the setup, we’re going to go in, we’re going to let our dogs know that it’s okay to go in. Okay, good boy. We want our dogs to ideally go in with a lower kind of energy just until they become confident. Sit. Getting them to sit is a great way to do this.

Charlotte Bryan:
Okay, good. Once you’re in the park it’s a great idea to grab some poo bags and let your dog have a drink of water. When they’ve done that, you can let them off. Sit. Okay. So as I mentioned, it’s really important that when you’re at the park you’re able to get your dog’s attention. A great way to do this is just to build up their name recognition, which is just how often they respond to their name. To do that, I’ve got Frankie here. All we’re going to do is we’re going to wait till he’s distracted. When he does, I’m going to call his name and give him a reward for looking at me. Frankie. Good boy.

Charlotte Bryan:
It’s a great idea if you want to bring a treat bag or just some treats to the dog park so you can practise this. The more you practise, the better your dog will be and the more focused they will be on you. Frankie. Good. Later on we can fade out the treats, but this is a great way just to get them into the habit of looking at you while they’re off leash and while they’ve got other dogs around and birds and everything else that’s going on at the park. Frankie. Good boy.

Susana Waldron:
Well, thank you so much, Charlotte. It’s been an extremely helpful session for us to learn about our dogs and what is a dog’s behaviour and what is expected of everybody. I’m very sure that you all found it very helpful. Now, if you want to get in touch with Charlotte, Charlotte lives very close to our Harmony development. She’s available for many things, not only dog training, but Frankie is available for birthday parties if you want a dog show and many other things. So Charlotte, how other can people get in touch?

Charlotte Bryan:
Okay, well, I’ve got a website, pawsclawstails.com.au. You can find quite a bit of info there of everything about me. I’m also on Instagram and Facebook @ the Charlotte Bryan, and you can find Frankie on Instagram at BorderCollieFrankie, one word. He’s got lots of fans who adore him. But yeah, check out my website and I’d love to get in touch with you.

Susana Waldron:
Lovely. Thank you so much, Charlotte, and I’m sure that we will see you again another time.
Charlotte Bryan:
Definitely.

Susana Waldron:
Thank you, everybody.