At the Noonbarra Stud, we also do private lessons in sheepdog training and general obedience with all breeds (and cross-breeds) of dogs. We also can help with bad habits, negative behaviour and general dog problems including car chasing, noise sensitivity, heeling, fear and aggression in dogs.

We teach all aspects of sheepdog work including Yard work, Field work, Trial obstacles, balance, distance and steady work, basic training, starting puppies, backing, casting, fixing bad habits etc.

Stephen has been training dogs since a young child (now mid 50's) and has been working professionally as a dog trainer and behaviourist for around 30 years. His father and grandfather also professionally trained & bred dogs and other animals and specialised in sheepdogs.

With obedience we teach getting general control and respect from the dog, Basic formal commands such as ‘Sit’, Down, Stay, Come, Heel, Stand (Stop), and general manners, problem behaviour and control issues. We also work at getting your dog more calm and relaxed and better general behaviour. The extent of this of course varies with the genetics of each dog. Adolescent dogs are often more difficult than younger dogs and older dogs.

 Other types of training may be able to be arranged either by us personally or through additional dog training professionals.

 When we have the space and time we offer a boarding/training solutionl. This is a very intensive course in training your dog while your dog stays with us. These courses can be for general training and obedience or may be to correct certain behavioural problems and bad habits or they may be for sheepdog training.

Some customers like to do this package when the pup is about 5-6 months old and just want to get the foundation basics handled right so they can continue the training and know they are doing it correctly. It also allows them to work with the dog more effectively. Other customers wait until adolescence at about 8 months to 14 months and want a few bad habits corrected. Others bring their Kelpies every six months or so and have foundation training, obedience training and/or stock training etc. The dog has a great holiday and the owners get back a better behaved dog that has learned new things.

We can do general obedience training, socialising, correcting bad habits, stockyard work or paddock work with sheep. Many customers send their dogs via plane to Orange airport. We can get very cheap rates on flights for you. Others prefer to drive to the Noonbarra Stud. You can also include a one hour (or more) training session at the end of your dogs stay with us for $50.  (Ask about discounts for multiple hours with boarding course). For young dogs a week is usually plenty and the same for obedience training unless there are special problems. Some young dogs going into early adolescence can be very excited and distracted and have difficulty calming down. With these dogs it can sometimes take a few extra days but not always. With sheepwork a week is good but 14 days is not unusual. A one hour handler/dog training session & evaluation/discussion added into the weekly training course is just $50.

Although we do serious training with the dogs it is also an enjoyable holiday for them. Dogs used to being outside are kept in good sized insulated runs and kennels at night and during the day, they are with us inside the house or outside training on the property or in town training or in an exercise/play yard during the day. Dogs used to being house dogs are kept inside at night and in the day will either be with us in the house or doing training or in an exercise yard playing with other dogs.

We are good at getting a dog's trust. All the dogs we have had here so far (many years) see it as a fun holiday and they return home much better dogs for the experience. We also strongly suggest all customers get a copy of our basic training book - Kelpie Basics!

TIPS BEFORE COMING FOR BOARDING/TRAINING
To get the most from this training it is a big advantage if your dog has been away previously, such as in a boarding kennel for at least a few days. This dramatically reduces any stress and separation anxiety and allows us to train at a higher level quicker where the dog is learning and responding to more complex situations. All dogs, of all ages, are a little stressed going into a new environment, just like humans are and even though we are experts at getting a dog to feel relaxed and happy, it still takes time and of course it is better for the dog and he can learn more if he is already used to being in different situations and is more adaptable. Highly intelligent, soft natured dogs over about 10 months tend to fair the worst unless they have been away before.

Anyone who has been to obedience schools and classes will know that many dogs have been going there regularly for years and still have problems with Recall (Getting your dog to come) heeling (walking your dog on a lead) and down-stay work. Good reliable heeling is very rarely accomplished under a year. Most dog owners take much longer than that and a high percentage never get their dog to heel well and even after many years the dog still pulls them along and makes a walk very uncomfortable and anything but a joy. We are expects at teaching heeling and can dramatically speed things up but even we can't do the impossible in a short space of time and can only set your dog up in good foundation work and good behaviour and attitude so the owner can take over the training with a lot less problems. Sometimes we can completely turn around a dog in just a week and have the dog heeling at a high level but in most cases we can get the dog walking nicely but still need occasional corrections from the owner. A lot depends on how set the bad habit is and how long the dog has had it. Genetics of the dog also plays a part. Some dogs are natural heeling dogs and other are naturally dogs that walk wide or are distracted or want to dominate and pull ahead etc. 

We have decades of experience behind us and have worked with young dogs, old dogs, tiny breeds and large breeds and have a lot of knowledge and expertise in training dogs. We work extremely hard on customers dogs and the dogs always respond well to us and have fun and learning at the same time. We put in a lot of hours and this work is very demanding and we have to be concentrating and focassed on the job all the time. We do our best to get these dogs to a high level of training but the customer has to have realistic expections and not expect a nightmare dog with lots of bad habits to be like 'Lassie' in just a week.

SHEEPWORK
To train a dog to be reliable in the paddock on sheep takes at least 6 months of intensive training from a top trainer with lots of experience and a very well bred dog with lots of natural talent. For most good trainers with experience it would be well over a year before they have a solid reliable dog and in many cases it may be closer to 2 years or longer. We can't work miracles but we can short-cut many areas and make sure your dog has the right foundation training and is set up right to continue with the training without bad habits.

With sheepwork, a lot more can be accomplished if the dog has already been working on sheep and is making mistakes or getting into bad habits, then with a dog that is a complete raw beginner and we have to start from scratch. With complete raw beginners a lot of the training is getting the confidence up and reassuring the dog that it is okay to work. We do lots and lots of what we call general sheepwork lessons where we use quiet sheep and get the dog to learn to be switched on and focussed and to be calmer around the stock. Some dogs may require up to 50 of these lessons before moving on. Our main aims are to get the dog to work on the point of balance and to not overwork and be focussed on the sheep.

We progress on from this to teaching the sides and the stop command and then move onto walk-up lessons, and more advanced training. Excitable dogs can be quite difficult and dogs without much natural ability are extremely difficult. We can train dogs to do things such as in general training, obedience and correcting problem behaviour but when natural ability is required (as in stockwork) we can only work with the genetics the dog has. This very basic training can take a week or more by itself very easily.

Dogs that have had general obedience training and walk well on a lead etc tend to be more responsive to commands then dogs that are completely out of control. We have worked with dogs at every level including dogs that have been to many other trainers without success.