PUPPY SCHOOL
Attending a professionally run puppy school is critical to having a well behaved dog joining your family. Learn why it is important to attend a puppy school early on, that emphasises socialisation more than obedience. Trust your puppy to a full time behaviour specialist, not a dog walker or vet nurse that only does behaviour on the side.
PRIVATE TRAINING
Mark offers private, personal dog training sessions to help with most behaviour issues. Get personal, customised training in your home. Mark will asses the situation, and explain what is going on in a clear and detailed manner. He will then show you what you can do differently to change your dog’s behaviour.
POSITIVE TRAINING
Mark Ehrman of Canine Counselling is the first Victoria Stilwell Positively Dog Trainer (VSPDT) in Australia, and a faculty advisor and mentor for the Victoria Stilwell Dog Training Academy. Learn about Mark’s qualifications, training philosophies and methods by clicking below.
COVID-19 UPDATE: Puppy School classes are currently limited to 3 puppies maximum, with one adult per puppy attending per class. Private consultations are still being conducted. Private consultations are conducted at your home, while maintaining strict hygiene and distance guidelines.
Surry Hills
Every Tuesday
7:30pm
Starts 17.Nov.2020
Sold Out
Waverley
Every Monday
7:30pm
Starts 16.Nov.2020
Sold Out
Why Hire a Professional?
It is quite normal to try and fix your dog’s behavioral issues by speaking to friends and family, searching Google, reading books, and watching videos on the internet. Often times this advice can contradict itself, and it can be difficult to know which advice applies in which situation.
Dog training has also been compared to a sport, where technique is important. Often it takes a professional to offer advice on where to improve your technique and help you know which action to take in a particular situation.
What Problems Can I Fix?
Mark offers private consultations for a variety of common behaviour problems such as:
- excessive barking
- separation anxiety
- barking / lunging / aggression towards other dogs or people
- pulling on lead
- not coming when called, or “selective hearing”
- puppy behaviours such as jumping up, nipping, toilet training, etc.
- most other undesired behaviours
Read Our Reviews
I had a private consultation with Mark and he was a delight. I liked his friendly, non-judgemental approach and kindness with my puppy. His methods are clear and he gave me resources to refer to later. I feel more confident with training my dog and leading him towards best behaviour. Highly... recommend!read more
Anna C.
04:56 28 Oct 20
Mark provided practical tips and strategies to help manage my dog’s problem behaviours and anxiety. Walks are much more enjoyable now! I highly recommend Mark to anyone having trouble with their dog’s behaviour or training.
Emily H.
00:14 14 Oct 20
My puppy Betty and I graduated from the Canine Counselling by Mark puppy school in Darlinghurst in Oct 20. Marks wonderful energy and years of experience gave Betty and I all the tools we need to work at developing the perfect partnership built on trust and good manners. We have both come away with... all the confidence we need to take on the big world together. Thanks, and woof Mark.read more
Colleen W.
05:40 09 Oct 20
Mark is a fantastic trainer. I was able to compare the training advice from my previous dog 17 years ago to Mark's puppy school and was thrilled with the results. Instead of the discipline and pack-leader approach recommended back then, Mark's knowledge, advice and training has made the puppy... experience much less stressful. It's also helped my dog have confidence and trust in me that I realise in hindsight I didn't have with my old dog. Mark also has a comprehensive pile of handouts on every single topic distilled from all the best approaches that work. You'll find Mark's puppy school a very positive experience for owner and dog.read more
Cat D.
10:06 05 Oct 20
Mark's help with our dog was amazing. We booked him for a private training session; it was extremly informative with great resources and support. Highly recommend!
Alexandra N.
14:57 29 Sep 20
Mark is an awesome trainer - we learnt a lot.Highly recommend Mark
Tyron H.
04:25 23 Sep 20
We booked Mark to help us with our 10 mo. old Staff-X who is a rescue, and quite nervous around other dogs.Mark was great. He helped us understand the drivers of her behaviour, and how we could train or/and manage certain behaviour. He was honest, direct but also understanding, kind and... reassuring.Strongly recommended.read more
Nathan S.
03:46 22 Sep 20
Having had numerous dogs over many years when a new Cavalier pup arrived recently I decided to train him properly and vet recommended Canine Counselling after Mark had helped her with her own dog. what i discovered at the 5 week CanineCounselling school were the new and way better methods of... training than the reward and punishment systems of 20 plus years ago. the emphasis is on training you the owner in canine behaviour, how to read a dog's body language and how encouragement and rewards achieve almost immediate results without any form of punishment or reprimands. Mark is a great teacher/trainer of dogs but an even better trainer of people. my pup Scooter st 4 months is a delight and the training has heled with everything from toilet training, unwanted chewing and biting along with basic commands such as sit, stay, come, lie down. and he has been taught how to play happily with other dogs eith no untoward incidents. I recommend Matk to any new puppy owner or to those eith a dog problem that needs addressing,read more
Jenny C.
23:38 16 Sep 20
We booked Mark to help with Hugo our; recently adopted, 14 month old rescue Mastiff!Hugo has low obedience and almost non existing impulse control, but in our session Mark was able to greatly demonstrate good progress and training methods tailored to Hugo and his personality.Since our session... we've seen vast improvements in Hugo's behavior and happiness!Thanks a lot Mark!Highly recommendread more
Nic H.
01:26 08 Sep 20
Mark was really understanding and accomodating of our request for training for my son and our new dog. He interacted well with my son and made sure the content was understood and the techniques effective. We would highly recommend Mark for his knowledge and gentle approach.
Reba M.
20:55 07 Sep 20
Mark was fantastic at our home training. I’ve just adopted a 4 year old dog who has practically been a stray her whole life. Mark gave me practical advice on how to build her confidence - I’ve followed everything that he advised me to do and I’m already seeing tiny improvements, this after only 4... days from Marks visit. His training has also given me the confidence knowing that I’m doing everything to help her become a happy and confident dog. Thanks - I can not recommend Mark enough.read more
Margie L.
22:43 21 Aug 20
Mark was professional, knowledgable and helpful! I’m looking forward to putting his advice into practice and improving the walks that my dog and I take together.
Claire and Gavin B.
23:35 31 Jul 20
We are very happy with the consultation. He was not only tell us what to do but explain it in details to understand your dog and why they behave like that. Recommend!
Bank V.
07:53 28 Jul 20
Mark came and help us with a few issues we had with our young rescued greyhound. He was very lovely to deal with right from the very start and he was so patience with all the questions we had. I especially loved how he took the time to explain the what and why (the theories), rather than just went... into the how (the practicals) straight away. His methodology had really helped us understanding the thinkings and motivations behind the canine brain. Thank you Mark. We would not hesitate to recommend Mark to all our friends.read more
A Z
08:27 27 Jul 20
Mark came to our house for around 3 hoursto explain to us the ins and outs of bringing upour staghound puppy. We previously watched a lot of training videos, youtube etc. but that day we learned so many new and important things.Mark is super friendly and knowledgeable,and he is available for... more advice after thefirst session.Thank you Mark!read more
Tobias B.
00:38 24 Jul 20
I could not recommend Mark highly enough, he was extremely knowledgeable, patient and thorough with all the questions and concerns we had. He has well and truly equipped us with the right (and very practical) tips and tricks to bring up our little pup, it’s hardly been a few days and we can already... start to notice how the little changes are re-enforcing the right behavior. Mark, thank you very much for the session, and not only for educating us but also for agreeing to be the ‘unbiased’ mediator to make pup related decisions in the future! 🙂read more
Gurnoor C.
07:19 23 Jul 20
Mark was so knowledgable, responsive, professional, experienced and engaging. We absolutely loved working with him, and he really helped us respond to some of the minor behavioural issues we've had with our dog. Cuba has dramatically improved since our session with Mark - all thanks to him. We... couldn't recommend him more!read more
Isabelle J.
02:01 16 Jul 20
Mark responded to our inquiry and emails about a session promptly and was very flexible and considerate about our needs. The session (puppy training at home) was well and thoughtfully prepared and focussed on our needs - with a number of handouts to help us with the many aspects of good training... discussed. Mark is enthusiastic, knowledgeable and gave us many useful ideas. We are happy to recommend him.read more
Jonathan S.
03:12 15 Jul 20
Prior to Marks visit to our home, we had inadvertently been reinforcing the wrong behaviour with our 6 month old groodle puppy.Mark didn't take long to identify areas that we could perhaps change and tailored his advice according to the specific issues we had created.Marks advice was implemented... from day one and we are happy to report that four weeks down the track our pups behavior has improved significantly.We now also understand the need to manage certain situations instead of replying on our pup to just comply with our expectations.I highly recommend Mark to any young family juggling kids and a very energetic puppy in the same household.read more
Ray D.
10:18 14 Jul 20
Really pleased with Marks service. I highly recommend. He really thought ahead, was really clear, had great tips and was great with my 6 year old Lab.Thanks Mark.
Anna W.
08:44 05 Jul 20
I can not recommend Mark enough, and would give him six stars if I could. We have just adopted a seven year old Staffie mix and had noticed a few little behaviours we needed help with. Mark took us through the theoretical aspects of dog behaviour and then gave direct examples of this theory in... practice so that we could see where we could improve our behaviour with our new rescue. It was like our own personal conference. We learned a lot.We have already implemented some of Mark’s tips with immediate results. The literature he provides will help us in between now and when we have another session.read more
Kimberley C.
07:56 16 Jun 20
Mark was fantastic and gave very practical, actionable advice for our puppy. We learnt so much and appreciated Mark's positive approach to dog training. Highly recommend!
Ashleigh C.
04:31 09 Jun 20
Mark’s consultation was educational, enjoyable and very professional. He has given us tools to manage the issues with our dog and train him correctly, in a practical sense. He is clearly dedicated, experienced and an expert in dog behaviour and modification. The consultation fee was money well... spent.read more
George M
10:51 08 Jun 20
Mark is a very professional dog trainer.I wish he could've stay with us the whole day. We learnt a lot about how to approach our dog fear to new things.New people is one of the hardest for our girl, but at the end of the private session she was in love with Mark.I was really happy to see my dog... so comfortable with him.Great experience, I highly recommend Mark.read more
Natalia R.
02:39 04 Jun 20
With puppy school on hold due to COVID-19, we reached out to Mark at Canine Counselling for a private session at our place with our new mini cavoodle. Being our first family pet, we really had no idea and wanted to get off on the right foot before we let bad behaviours set in. Mark was amazing and... so knowledgeable about puppies and their behaviour and was extremely helpful. Our puppy was nipping and biting at the kids and they were becoming fearful of him already which was not good, but after learning from Mark we found we were doing everything wrong, and they were such simple things to address once shown the right way of going about it. Mark has a great way about him and connected well with both of us as well as our 3 kids. I think it was extremely beneficial to have Mark visit us and take the whole family through the experience and allow us to all be engaged in the knowledge sharing. Still early days for us, but we’re feeling great about things and know we’re now on the right path. Thanks Mark for everything.read more
Michael D.
09:49 25 May 20
Mark led a fun and informative puppy school with only 3 other dogs. My Cavalier puppy was a little scared of the other more energetic dogs but he knew how to manage each dog so they all had a turn to play together and also knew when to hold them back. He even surprised us in the last week by... bringing in another Cavalier puppy for mine to play with which was much appreciated and great to watch as both puppies really enjoyed their interaction. Thank you Mark for a great introduction to training my dog and giving me so many tips to share with my family.read more
Patricia
23:46 24 May 20
Mark helped me with all round advice for a relatively new rescue greyhound called Alphonse. Some of the advice and demonstrations (like the trick to shake hands or paw) had immediate results with my dog - it was very exciting.Beyond that Mark gave a really great overview, and explained things very... simply with practical methods - particularly around training to reduce/manage separation anxiety. I would recommend a private home visit session to make sure your dog is transitioning well and that you are heading in the right direction. I would be keen to get Mark back again for a follow up session (6-12months from now) once Alphonse has conquered the methods we covered in our session. Can’t recommend him enough!!read more
Joel M.
03:29 16 May 20
Mark was helpful, energetic and definitely has a deep knowledge of Canine behaviour. He has the patience of a saint especially dealing with our kids. We all benefited from his visit to our house, it will definitely create a great base in working with our little Roxy.
Joanne H.
08:41 11 May 20
Highly recommend Mark to anyone looking for a dog trainer and wanting to fix those bad puppy (or dog) habits. We spent too much time reading conflicting information online that was confusing, and stressful, so we decided to call upon Mark for a 1 on 1 session to help. Best decision ever - he gives... you all the information you need and it works! We have had dogs before, however we didn't realise how much of a refresh we needed until we spoke to Mark. We had a 9 week old Sproodle puppy at the time, and he is now 13 weeks and going extremely well with all his training and commands. Mark has good ratings for a reason, stop looking and get him in to help!read more
Zoe M.
02:18 05 May 20
Knowledgeable, friendly, helped to deliver real results for my pup that was being displaying dog aggression. Thank you!!!
Jen T.
23:43 30 Apr 20
Mark is a kind person and has a way with dogs. Had a one on one training session because puppy school was not avail due to COVID. Was nice to have our specific questions answered.
Marc U.
06:55 30 Apr 20
Very informative and pertinent. Mark shared a lot of material to help us understand more about dog behavior and to provide tips to train our puppy better. His sessions are in an intimate setting with only 4-5 dogs in the session and provided valuable socialization for our puppy. He is passionate... about dogs and their behaviors and cares for their well being.read more
Vamsi I.
07:09 20 Apr 20
Mark has been a fantastic help. He really helped us to understand how little Lola views the world and our actions as well as what we can do to influence her happiness and behaviour. Money very well spent and would highly recommend to anyone. Thanks Mark
James H.
04:42 18 Apr 20
I have a people reactive 5 month old Jack Russell Terrier Mochi who I had quite a bit of trouble with. I decided to call Mark and set up a one-on-one appointment with him to work on some issues with my pup. Mark was very detailed in his explanations of canine behaviour and was very thorough with... his approach.I know it is a work in progress with reactive dogs and was able to email Mark any questions I had after the training session where he was able to assist me. Mark was very patient and gave me really good advice. Thanks!read more
Julia N.
11:37 20 Mar 20
Awesome trainer, my dog Nala was picking things up way quicker than she would have if I trained her myself. I grew up with dogs but this was the first time doing a puppy school. Learnt a lot about dog behaviour as well. Mark is very friendly and gentle with his approach. Definitely value for money!
Durham A.
10:51 18 Mar 20
thanks mark, mango enjoyed his 5 weeks lesson and learned to socialize well! he cant wait to go out to doggy park and make new friends
Susan T.
10:35 17 Mar 20
Great puppy school! Mark was incredibly clear, knowledgeable and patient. Our puppy had tons of fun, and I felt it to be safe and happy.We left the last week feeling competent, confident and extremely pleased. Will def make this the school all my puppies go to!
Thomas D.
04:17 03 Mar 20
Mark is a fantastic dog trainer. We brought our 10 weeks old golden retriever to the class and it was worth every minute.
Tomasz M.
11:47 23 Feb 20
Mark arrived exactly on time, was super friendly to both us and our puppy, addressed all of our queries and tailored his session exactly to our needs. Plus he left great print outs for us to keep and use going forward. Would recommend!
nicole R.
03:54 08 Feb 20
As a new puppy owner, I tried to wing it for a week. Being overwhelmed was the result.Having Mark come over and spend time with the puppy, my partner and I was the best move ever. Mark equipped me with knowledge and guided me to turn that knowledge into action. This has made me more confident in... raising my puppy.It has been 1 week since Mark was here. The puppy hasn't poo'd or pee'd in the house. I can sleep better! Miraculous? No. It was Mark's skills, professionalism and training experience that turned it all around.I highly rate and recommend Mark's services.read more
Lang N.
01:42 05 Feb 20
Fantastic puppy school course by Mark. Good course structure building up the concepts for us as owners and our puppy. Mark does a great job of keeping session entertaining, well paced, and flexible enough to learn key skills as well as ask questions. You also get a lot of handouts so you can... consolidate the learning at home. Great value for money.read more
Ben S.
22:08 04 Feb 20
Mark is super helpful, passionate and knowledgable. His training techniques are practical and realistic, I find them easy to follow. He takes time to work closely with each puppy individually based on their needs while keeping a good pace for everyone else - a lot harder than it sounds! My tiny... puppy was half the size (or smaller) of other puppies and super timid at the start, Mark helped him overcome a lot of fears over the last month - something I couldn’t have done myself. I highly recommend him to anyone who has a new puppy!read more
BaoBao S.
10:54 04 Feb 20
Both Juno (my puppy) and I learnt so much at puppy school. Really appreciated Mark's perspective of ensuring that I, as an owner, should try to understand the world from a dog's point of instinctual view and not my own. It makes the training and my relationship with my dog so much better.
Anna D.
05:32 31 Jan 20
Mark is a great trainer and taught many valuable skills for my puppy! I would definitely recommend.
Abhinav A.
10:38 30 Jan 20
Thanks Mark! Bear loved his 5 weeks learning obedience skills and how to socialise with other dogs.
Mum & Dad also picked up plenty of plenty of helpful tricks.
Mum & Dad also picked up plenty of plenty of helpful tricks.
Natalie H.
10:29 30 Jan 20
Mark is a fantastic and extremely patient trainer. We loved our weekly classes and have picked up some very useful skills and techniques for toilet and behaviour training for our puppy.Our puppy Bear has really improved his behaviour and social skills with other dogs over the last 5 weeks of... class. He has gone from a shy and naughty puppy to a very social and (most of the time) obedient puppy. Thank you for all your help Mark!I recommend this training to all new puppy owners!read more
Natalie H.
10:12 30 Jan 20
Mark came into our home to meet our one year old Boxer to help us with some behaviour problems our dog was having with other dogs. Mark was great! he was very thorough when it came to sourcing information from us about ollie and listened carefully to what Ollie does as well as what we do. The... training was for both of us! Mark supplied us with some great tools to help us address a situation before it came a situation. We have followed everything he said to do and we are having slow but steady progress. With Mark's help he has given us as owners more confidence which therefore shows through to Ollie. I would recommend Mark to others who seek a strong sense of direction when dealing with unknown matters. Slow and steady wins the race.Thanks Mark top job!read more
Sophie K.
10:52 27 Jan 20
Mark was fantastic. I cannot recommend his services and puppy training school enough. He is personable, an overall good guy and very clearly knows his stuff. Even before our enrolment at puppy school he accommodated many of my questions as we were in a unique situation and went above and beyond to... help us in our circumstance. We really enjoyed his classes and content and would definitely go back to him again in the future. Thank you Mark!!!! Kiki & Lolaread more
Kirstin B.
08:37 27 Jan 20
We approached Mark to assist us in training our 11 week American Staffordshire terrier as we are first time puppy owners. He was professional, diligent and thorough when dealing with us and we would happily employ his services again.
Beth W.
09:27 16 Jan 20
Mark was really helpful when we adopted our new great dane, Dorothy. Dorothy is a 5 year old rescue dog and, while she is generally a well tempered and loving dog, she had a few behavior that challenged us when we first brought her home. Lunging at other dogs, getting upset at being alone, and... generally being poorly behaved on leash being the biggest ones. Mark spent a lot of time helping us understand where these behaviors come from and how to deal with them effectively over time. He also gave us confidence that these were not uncommon behaviors and that they could be resolved without huge issue. It's now been a month since we adopted Dorothy and we're happy to report that all of those issues have been overcome or are making great progress.I fully recommend Mark if you need some help with a new pet.read more
Chris B.
10:56 05 Jan 20
Mark came in and did a session with our two dogs and was perceptive, to the point and gave us clear directions. No judgement and lots of encouragement....as of course it's really about training the owners! Thoroughly recommend him.
Damien E.
02:31 22 Sep 19
Mark came to our house for a one on one consultation. He was fantastic. He gave us plenty of advice and new tricks to try with our new puppy. It was up to us to make sure that we took on all of Mark’s advice and put it into practice. We have had a lot of progress with our puppy and a lot of it has... to do with Mark’s tricks of the trade. I will definitely be recommending him! Thank you Mark!read more
Renee T.
07:52 02 Jul 19
Mark's Puppy Preschool was absolutely brilliant! Our Cooper was very nervous and stressed during his first lesson and wouldn't socialise with the rest of the puppies. By the end of the 5 week program, he was playing with all the puppies and was very well socialised. Mark is not only amazing with... the puppies, but keeps the class entertaining and inclusive, taking the extra time to answer any questions we may have. Mark is well organised during every lesson and also provides handouts which are very helpful and informative. We highly recommend Mark's Puppy Preschool to everyone! 😊read more
Mersina H.
11:29 09 Feb 19
We were lucky to find such a knowledgeable enthusiastic and brilliant communicator in Mark. Such an important process to go through with your puppy and mark inspires and gives both confidence to owner and puppy alike. Highly recommend his classes.
Yolande G.
00:30 04 Oct 18
We recently completed Mark's 5-week puppy school classes. Knowledgeable about modern, force-free methods of training, Mark focuses more on training the owner than the puppy. By the end of his course, you'll be well on your way to being a responsible and confident dog owner.
Claire H.
07:48 29 Jul 18
Mark taught us so many tricks for Oscar our Amstaff. The classes were good fun for him and really a lot of excellent informations for us. Thank Mark for your patience
Ciara N.
11:40 25 Jun 18
We recently finished a 5 week puppy school class with Mark and we would absolutely recommend his services. He was very professional and we learnt loads about how to teach behaviour and discipline. He often stayed back after the class had finished to assist us with specific issues we were... experiencing with our puppy. It was a very valuable 5 weeks! Thanks Mark!read more
Ryan W.
06:03 24 Mar 18
We really enjoyed our five week puppy training course. Mark makes the evening lighthearted and fun (shouldn't be hard with a bunch of puppies!!). Over and above the basic training (sit, toileting etc) we really enjoyed seeing insight into behaviour when the puppies played together. Highly... recommended.read more
Alex C.
22:41 21 Mar 18
Mark is a dynamic, personable and clear trainer who teaches you all the best ways to train and care for your four legged friend! Our puppy Merlin loved him, and Mark always gave us ample time for questions and socialisation outside of the formal curriculum. Could not recommend him more!
Sabrina H.
00:44 12 Mar 18
Highly recommended! Our little Sushi loved every single class. Thank you so much Mark for what you taught us!
Katia V.
11:01 06 Mar 18
Mark led an excellent class and went above and beyond. Highly recommend.
Jonathan M.
04:08 05 Sep 17
Thankyou so much for todays session! Lots of great tips. Very helpful. Would definitely recommend!
Kay P.
06:27 05 Jan 17
Mark is clearly very passionate about what he does and in our class we saw excellent progress. He was also happy if you called him outside hours and asked questions, providing plenty of advice and guidance. My pup loved her time in class and I highly recommend Mark for your special pup!
Michelle R.
06:32 16 Dec 16
Thoroughly recommend puppy school, invaluable for teaching puppies socialisation 🐩🐶 thank you Mark from K9 Counselling for all your tips & wisdom 😀
Craig Y.
11:40 10 Aug 16
We initially found out about Mark through word of mouth, and decided on Mark for our puppy training as he had fantastic reviews. We loved Mark's puppy classes. He has a wealth of knowledge and his classes are easy to understand and well structured, with loads of additional take home information. I... would recommend Mark to anyone wanting positivity training for their puppy. Thanks Mark 🙂read more
Kieren W.
10:18 03 May 16
Even though I live in the USA, Mark's information and advice have helped us as new pet owners. He is patient and has excellent information.
Steven M.
23:27 15 Jan 16