Hi there! Welcome to The Intellectual Canine.
I started dog training as a wee lass, with our family dog, a medium sized, reactive black mutt named Susie. However, as I grew up and became a teenager, I became more interested in horses and their behaviour and training.
It wasn't until I turned eighteen and decided to adopt a dog from our local shelter that I returned to my first love of dog training. I quickly realised that our new family member, Hugo, was not quite the well-behaved gentleman he'd been made out to be. Instead of a gentle giant, I got an enormous ball of reactivity, anxiety, and unbridled energy. I was soon faced with an ultimatum--train Hugo, or send him back to the shelter.
I decided to train him. I read every book I could find on the topic of dog behaviour and training. Within a few months, I found myself signing up to study a Certificate III (3) in Dog Behaviour and Training.
After Hugo, I adopted another dog. This was Tora, and in many ways she was similar to Hugo. She was a bored, young herding breed dog with high energy needs and even higher anxiety. We soon found ourselves getting involved in the dog sport world, and learning even more about the complex behaviour needs of many dogs.
In 2021, I started fostering for two Australian rescues--Bull Arab Rescue and Hear No Evil Deaf Dog Rescue. Through working with these two rescues, I gained even more experiencing working with anxious, reactive dogs, and with dogs with a wide variety of disabilities such as deafness and blindness.
Thank you for joining us on our journey! Until next time, take a deep breath and play with your dog
Chelsea, Hugo, and Tora, The (Semi) Intellectual Canines.
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