Blog by K9 Pro and Steve Courtney Dog Training K9 Pro The K9 Professionals

I have a secret to share with all of you… and as the owner of two working line Malinois, it may come as a surprise to some! Well, here we go… I love small dogs! Not just in the sense that as a dog trainer and someone who lives, breathes and is extremely passionate about dogs, just loves all dogs. …

I meet a lot of people who have lost their dog training mojo, they DID try, they DID want it, they DID hire a trainer or they are or were a trainer, but for some reason, many reasons maybe, it did not work, things didn’t change, something went wrong. Now if you found yourself in a situation where your dog …

Just after a Christmas each year, we try and get away with our kids, to slow down a little, refresh, reflect and breathe. K9Pro is super busy all the time and breaks like this just allow me to change the pace a little and let off the gas pedal, so to speak. We had planned to travel to the Sunshine …

Last year we worked with a dog that attracted a lot of attention due to his size, aggression and I guess his breed, we actually work with many dogs with similar issues, but to be specific, this article is about Thunder. Thunder went through some amazing changes and those watching his videos commonly commented that “his whole face has changed” …

Over the past few weeks we have had a number of dog owners board their dogs with us while they evacuate their homes, and we have also had a number of clients who also have had to evacuate with their dogs to stay with friends and family, at evacuation centres etc. There are some dogs who have coped extremely well …

I was thinking about many clients that come to see me with dogs that are behaving badly. They in one way or another got themselves a high drive dog without any idea that they did or what a high drive dog is. The term “drive” can be misunderstood by many to mean many things, and those things may all be …

I meet many people that cannot go on holidays unless they take their dog or just can’t go at all due to some of their dogs behaviours, these dogs that cannot be boarded are a huge strain on a family or person’s life. Clients say to me that they have tried taking their dog to a boarding kennel and the …

Do you have a dog that can hear the rustle of a packet and come belting into the room but cant unlock your dogs training potential? So many people will say yes and laugh, but their dog will not come when called. It should be no surprise when I tell them that they actually trained the response to the packet …

ABSOLUTELY! And easier than you may think. Let’s think about people, I know we are not dogs and dogs are definitely not people, but when a person has an addiction to a substance or perhaps a behaviour such as gambling, they most certainly, in many cases, can be helped and get this problem under control. This is done via some …

Some people could not live without their obedience club and others don’t feel that way at all. You can be sure like everything else, there are great clubs and not so great clubs. I have worked with quite a few, presenting seminars to members and instructors and instructor training too and my experiences have been great. The actual club is …

I get this question hundreds of times, and rather than just throw out an answer in the moment, I decided to put some real thought into it, and like it or not, here is what I think we are seeing so many dog problems. Twenty plus years ago, our family dogs played a different role than they do today, they …

I deal with a lot of legal cases that involve dogs and members of the public, neighbours etc. and my best advice to avoid legal problems would be – “secure your dog”. 95% of the cases I deal with, in which we are trying to help a person with their dog wade through a legal nightmare of their dog being …

There is a saying, “frustration ends where knowledge begins” and if you get frustrated with your dog, maybe this is a great article for you. When I meet a frustrated owner, it is very common that their dog is frustrated also, makes sense I suppose, the dog wants something the owner does not want the dog to want. So, it …

First, I want you to know, there is no collar or harness I use or know of that will stop a dog from pulling on the leash. Let’s get that straight right away, and whilst we are here know that there ARE training aids that will REDUCE the pulling you feel, but the dog is still pulling somewhat. Without splitting …

Since the beginning of time, or at least my time as a dog trainer, it has been my business name, then the descriptor – Professional Dog Trainer, and I wanted to talk about why I chose that descriptor. I feel a “professional” is one who conducts themselves and behaves in a professional manner. They have standards, etiquette, professional conduct etc. …