Tom Heeren has always had dogs in his life and has owned Border Collies and Terriers for the past 30 years. Tom has trained many breeds of dogs in Warrnambool and is now a regular volunteer trainer at the Mornington Obedience Dog Club, including over 100 dogs from puppies all the way to dog obedience to an advanced level. Tom's primary interest is helping owners solve behavioural problems with their dogs.

Tom will design a personalised dog behaviour modification or training program to help build confidence and resilience in your dog. One-on-one sessions will allow you and your dog to learn new skills, consolidate old ones and succeed in a relaxed and less stressful setting rather than a multi-dog class. Starting in your backyard and home environment the training can progress to include more distractions so that you and your dog can feel confident in any situation and have the skills at hand to cope when confronting new challenges.

For dogs that need help socialising with other dogs, Tom uses his Border Collie, Sidney, in the training program. Tom has found that by using a calmer, older dog desensitisation through Behaviour Adjustment Training (BAT) protocols helps many reactive dogs. Sidney also offers the opportunity to learn canine etiquette and proper play behaviour.

With two degrees in biological science, a Masters in teaching and undertaking the National Dog Trainers Federation course to obtain a nationally accredited qualification in canine behaviour and dog training, Tom is well-qualified to help you and your dog succeed. 

You and your dog are a team, but sometimes the lines of communication are not entirely clear, and your dog exhibits behaviours that are unpleasant or unacceptable. If not correctly addressed, these behaviours can cause the relationship you have with your dog to breakdown, making what was once a pleasant experience into one of constant struggles and despair. Some of these problems can include:

• separation anxiety
• excessively leash pulling when out walking
• barking at other dogs, animals and people
• jumping on members of the family and strangers
• destructive behaviour such as chewing furniture or digging
• resource guarding, i.e. growling/defending food or possessions from others
• fear aggression towards strangers or objects such as lawnmowers or vacuum cleaners.

It doesn’t need to be this way – by using balanced positive reinforcement techniques and a personalised approach based on the latest scientific understandings of canine behaviour, your dog’s life can be changed to teach it to make good choices and leave those bad habits in the past.

Tom keeps up-to-date with the latest scientific canine behavioural and cognitive studies that show that anxious and nervous dogs need space, understanding, patience and lots of time to help them learn to overcome their problems.

There is no quick fix or magic command, and in extreme cases, some dogs may require support throughout their lives.

Each dog is an individual and what may work for one dog may not be the best solution for another. By understanding your breed of dog, observing its behaviour and getting to know the owner, a personal program can be developed for you and your dog.

For example, Sidney, Tom's current Border Collie, was surrendered at four months and suffers from a lack of confidence around strangers. In the past two years, Tom's rehabilitation allows Sidney to attend regular Mornington Obedience Dog Club committee meetings and is comfortable and confident enough to be patted and sleep beside the feet of other people.