Dog Training with Proven Results

Dr. Annette Belke is a certified dog trainer and dog behaviourist. She has a Ph.D. in Philosophy.

Annette provides dog training and behavioural adjustment. She is specialized in behavioural consultations that help determine the best way to teach your dog or pup to listen to you. Not every dog requires the same approach. She also offers assistance to dogs with special needs related to aggression, fear, stress, and trauma.

Consultation fees are $ 95 (+GST) per one-hour private lesson.

Annette completed her certifications at

• Canis-Zentrum fuer Kynologie, Germany (3 study years)
• Animal Behavior Institute, USA (2 study years)

A detailed list of all courses and exams to follow.

Your dog well-behaved and relaxed as a Service Dog?
It is possible!

“My approach to dog training is behavioural psychology. I focus on operant conditioning and positive reinforcement techniques to deepen the human-animal bond. My end goal is a well-behaved and relaxed dog.

How to get there?
By following 3 main principles:

• Instead of verbal commands, I use body language to train dogs.
So, the dog owner/ trainer is in line with how dogs communicate with each other. This is
proven to be more effective than just relying on verbal cues. When dogs interact with
each other, they make eye contact and read the signs their bodies are giving away. They
just use their voices to make their body language more dramatic. Verbal commands are
reinforcing what we communicate through body language.

• Dogs always need a job to do.
If not, they will find jobs by themselves, and this can easily lead to unwanted behaviour like barking when the doorbell rings. To combat unwanted behaviour, I ask them to take on a task which is incompatible with the behaviour that the owner would like to change. In this case, lay down on their dog bed and not bark and jump at the visitor.

• Based on his natural behaviour, I encourage the dog to “watch” and “touch” his owner. “Watch” and “touch” are the main stepping stones in training service dogs. The two commands based on body language help to redirect the dog’s mind in any situation to his owner”.

Stress Treatment & Healing

Stress reactions are a way of restoring our inner balance, and dogs are no different from people in this regard. We try to adapt to situations in which unexpected things can happen. This self-regulation enables a dog to function in a constantly changing environment and to be prepared for any unpleasant situation. However, if a dog shows extreme stress reactions, it might be due to past experiences and/or low self-confidence combined with a lack of control. Recurrent intense stress reactions reduce the life quality of a dog and his or her owner, as well as is threatening to its health over time.

Striking Balance

Dogs can learn to reduce their negative experiences and their fear by associating the respective situations with fewer negative emotions and more positive ones. The hunter who lets his dog fetch the prey after the gunshot is teaching his dog that a shot is something positive. A dog that is afraid of having its claws trimmed learns to accept the procedure with positive reinforcement. Annette helps to change a dog's attitude in situations where he or she overreacts and guides the dog onto another route of thinking.

Additional Services

Annette is also able to massage and hypnotize dogs with anxiety issues after calculating stress factors and considering the breed. This alters their brain waves to produce a more relaxed mood. In fact, you can learn to balance your dog on your own, with the help of our therapeutic strategies, hypnosis and massage techniques, and social or behavioural adjustments. She also takes into consideration that a dog is sometimes challenged by many small, stressful situations that pile up. The dog may show symptoms of stress through the following:

• Too Many Hectic Games Every Day • Repeated Frights (Caused by Loud & Unpleasant Sounds) • Negative Reactions to Limited Living Space with Other Dogs • Too Little Exercise & Too Little Mental Stimulation

Puppy Training

Annette teaches puppies using many of the same methods applied to older dogs to produce good manners and obedience through positive reinforcement. Some of the common areas that she works on with puppies include:

• Housebreaking • Stop Jumping, Chewing, & Barking • Respect Training • Listening • Responding When Called • Basic Commands (Sit, Lie down, Watch Me, Stay) • Walk on Leash without Pulling • Getting Along with People and Dogs • Greeting Guests Politely • Fun Tricks & Games • Doggy Care Wisdom • Food, Health Care, & Grooming