With her intense interest in animal behaviour and training, owner-operator Ros and the Pet Motel crew of local animal lovers Tess, Mary, Sarah and Rani offer a highly caring and enriching environment for pets. As soon as you arrive, you’ll see that it is all about meeting your pets needs and ensuring they are not anxious. No dog ever sees their human leave them.
You rarely see dogs walking on leads – instead the dogs follow because they know they will always be rewarded with a game of tug or a piece of roast chicken when they make good choices.
In the carefully sanitised, vet-approved Puppy Square, Ros and budding trainer Tess have Puppy Playschool classes for dogs with their first vaccination who start aged 8 to 10 weeks of age.
The dogs who have gone through this socialisation programme are extremely comfortable boarding at the Pet Motel – and have a great time playing with other dogs due to their early puppy socialisation.
About Ros
- Former Editor Dog’s Life magazine (DogsLife – Dog Breeds and Pet Care – Dogslife. Dog Breeds Magazine), Sydney, Australia & journalist on National Dog & Cat magazines, Sydney
- Coordinator and trainer of volunteers at Peninsula Animal Aid Shelter, Queensland
- After three decades working with the often heartbreaking situations of rescue dogs, Ros is now passionate about reducing the large number of surrendered dogs by encouraging early puppy socialisation and owner education and training and Covid enabled her to further her studies (see below).
- In her spare moments, she enjoys clicker training and dance routines with her canine guests — and sometimes they end up in television ads like this Boris the Hungarian Vizsla shoots a commercial | Manning River Times | Taree, NSW
Professional development
To keep up with scientific advances in dog behaviour and training, Ros regularly engages in continuing education. Too many to list but here are a few workshops, webinars and conferences:
2024
IAABC behavioural trainers’ conference, North Carolina, USA
Monthly By Your Side Coaching with amazing UK dog trainers & behaviourists Chirag Patel and Lynn Harrison
2022
Socialization: Raising Bold & Resilient Learners for Life, Laura VanArendonk Baugh
2021
Puppy Start Right Course for dog trainers – Karen Pryor Clicker Training | The Leader in Positive Reinforcement Training
The Developmental Stages of Puppies – Eve LaforestDesensitisation & Counter Conditioning, Nancy Tucker, Fenzi Dog Sports Academy
Magic Mat Training with Julie Daniels Fenzi Dog Sports Academy
Ros is studying with the highly respected American dog trainer Susan Smith with whom she has weekly Zoom meetings. Discussions with the trainers group include how to ensure the Pet Motel boarding dogs are as happy and content as they can be. Ros will soon have her knowledge assessed by the CPDT-KA (Certification for professional dog trainers and behavior consultants (ccpdt.org), an internationally recognised recognised certification for top-tier trainers around the world. There are only around 20 CPDT-KA trainers in Australia, so she’ll be very happy to be able to put those letters after her name!
Other courses & seminars:
Train this First – The shortlist for your new puppy – Julie Daniels
Adolescent behaviour and development – Chris Pachel
Come! The Art & Science of Recall Training – Chrissi Schranz
Capturing Behaviour – Michele Pouliot
FDSA & IAABC’s The Lemonade Conference – International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (iaabc.org)
The ABC’s of Animal Training and Behavior. Eduardo Fernandez PhD PPG
2019
* Puppy Schools Essentials seminar for dog trainers – Dr Jen Nesbitt-Hawes BVSc (Hons) MVSt (Wild Med) MANZCVS (Vet Behaviour), Sydney (Dr Jen writes the cirriculum for many Australian veterinary clinic puppy preschool classes)
* Learning About Learning with Dr Susan Friedman (Welcome to BehaviorWorks.org) & Peta Clark (Peta Clarke – YouTube) – 4 day workshop Riverwood Downs
* Australian Association of Professional Dogtrainers (aapdt.org) Conference, Hunter Valley, NSW
A long time ago
Clicker training with Dances with Dogs Qld