Dog trainer Mark Vette's new online tool for problem dogs
Thursday, 3 September 2015
First he taught dogs to drive, now he's taking his canine classes to the internet age.
Animal behaviourist Mark Vette's soon-to-be-launched website Dog Zen means his training tips previously reserved only for those who could visit him in person will be available online.
Vette was the trainer behind the SPCA's Driving Dogs featured on Campbell Live and now hosts the TVNZ series Pound Pups to Dog Stars.
Driving Dogs became a global sensation after video showed three dogs driving modified cars around a racetrack.
Driving Dogs was the culmination of a campaign to show that dogs don't have to be pure bred to be intelligent and to encourage the adoption of dogs in SPCA care.
On Vette's sprawling west Auckland property he runs a behaviour clinic that deals with, among other things, problem barkers, diggers and overly-dominant pups.
He often has more than ten dogs staying with him and his team of trainers for a few weeks at a time.
Vette's specialty is taking dogs from backgrounds of abuse and neglect and teaching them to be happy family pets again.
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The idea for Dog Zen came from the struggle to keep up with demand for Vette's services and a desire to help more dogs than the trainers could currently manage.
Initial training tips will be provided free of charge with a small fee charged for the full programme to be launched in September.
Often, dogs with major behavioural problems are brought out to Vette for help as a last resort but he also treats dogs with normal issues which just need a little fine-tuning to fit in with their family perfectly.
Asserting a calm dominance as an owner, rewarding the right behaviours and helping dogs understand what they actually need to do is vital in owning a happy healthy dog, according to Vette.
He said dogs liked to look to their owners for guidance.
The website Dog Zen is based on helping dog owners understand their dogs and learn the meanings and reasons behind each behaviour.
The Dog Zen training method will run step-by-step clicker training methods with online tutorials hosted by Vette.
He said it was vital to understand if dogs were in a learning state and to know how to harness that.