Life Skills Training
A practical yet thoughtfully structured course for dogs ages 12 months +, focusing on the skills that matter most in everyday life - calmness, engagement, reliability and confidence in real - world environments.
Course Duration: 6 Weeks
Key Skills Covered
Walking nicely on lead
Building effective communication
Coming back when called
Sit, Down, Wait, Stay, Settle
Learning a calm settle
Look / Touch
Improving basic obedience
Engage / Disengage
Fun skills for real life
Individualised advice
Level 1
Ready & Steady
This level focuses on building a solid foundation of engagement and focus between you and your dog. It is designed for dogs that are new to training or need to sharpen their basic manners in a controlled environment.
Ideal for:
Dogs aged 12 months+ and owners who want to start their training journey with a focus on core stability and attention.
Level 2
Calm & Confident
At this stage, we begin to proof behaviours by adding distractions, increasing distance and building duration so your dog can respond confidently even when life gets busy around them. The aim is to take the skills you’ve started and turn them into practical, everyday life skills.
Dogs that have completed Level 1 or have basics down and need to strengthen reliability under distractions.
Ideal for:
Level 3
Polished & Proficient
The pinnacle of our Life Skills pathway, this level focuses on mastering advanced reliability. Ideal for owners looking for total connection and professional-level responsiveness from thei dog, ensuring they are truly proficient in any real-world situation.
Ideal for:
Dogs and owners with previous training experience wanting to solidify their skills to a professional, real-world level.
Meet Your Life Skills Trainers
Jennie Shaw leads our Life Skills program with over a decade of experience in dog behaviour and obedience. Jennie’s warm, approachable style helps owners feel at ease, ensuring every class is as supportive as it is productive.
Assistant trainer, Carolanne has worked alongside Jennie for many years, and together they make a fantastic team. Carol is there to support Jennie and everyone in class, making sure each dog and owner gets plenty of help, guidance and encouragement.
Upcoming Life Skills – Ready & Steady (Level 1) Course Dates
Each course runs for 6 weeks on the same day and time each week unless otherwise stated.
Starts Aug 25
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Starts Sep 5
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Class schedule - Tuesday: 8th Sept, 15th, 22nd, 29th, 6th Oct, 13th Oct.
Starts Sep 8
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Starts Oct 4
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Starts Oct 20
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Jennie & Carol are a brilliant team. My 2 year old Dane is a bit lead reactive thanks to a past incident with an off-lead dog so i knew that group training would be a big ask of him. Jennie & Carol were amazing with so much calmness and space to make him feel comfortable with other dogs around him. After the six week course in what is a beautiful location, he is heaps better. Listening to me when there are so many other dogs around, responding to commands but best of all, seeing his tail go from tucked to relaxed and feeling him being happy. Thanks for a brilliant course.
Rebecca & Jurgen
Life skills, Ready & Steady
Join the Life Skills Team
When you join our 6-week course, you don’t just get classes - you get ongoing support to ensure real-world success.
Weekly homework handouts to guide your practice
Access to a WhatsApp group for help and guidance at home
Membership in the private Facebook group for ongoing advice
Fill out form below
Training Enquiry Form
Tell us a bit about you and your dog to enquire about Life Skills Training.
We will get back to you shortly with availability and next steps.