Assistive K9s · Online Program

Finally understand what’s going on with your dog and have a plan that actually works.

Understand the why behind your dog’s daily and more unpredictable behavioural quirks, and have a proven step-by-step framework to reset their nervous system and create the calm, stable foundation that makes everything else possible.

Sound familiar?

Your dog is your shadow. You can’t even go to the bathroom in peace.
The tiniest sound sets them off and the whole house is walking on eggshells.
Leave them alone for five minutes and something gets destroyed, the neighbours get an earful, or there’s scratch marks through a door.
You give them every walk and activity going and they still won’t switch off. You just want five minutes to yourself.
At home they’re great. The second you leave the driveway it all falls apart.
Some days you think you’ve cracked it. The next day it’s like you’ve never trained a single thing.
You know your dog isn’t bad. You just genuinely don’t know what’s going on underneath it all.

If any of that sounds like your week, you’re in the right place.

What this course actually does

It fixes the thing underneath the behaviour.

Most of the training people do with an unsettled dog doesn’t stick. Not because they’re doing it wrong, but because the dog isn’t in a state where learning can actually happen. This course addresses that. Once that foundation is in place, everything else gets easier.

You’ll understand why your dog does what they do. Not just a label, the whole picture.

You’ll be able to spot what’s coming before it escalates, and know what to do when you see it.

You’ll have a real framework to work through. Three clear stages with green lights that tell you when your dog is ready to move on.

You’ll know how to protect the progress when life gets in the way, because it will.

You’ll be able to read your dog differently day to day, not just in formal training sessions.

You’ll walk away with a lasting understanding you can apply to every dog you have from here on.

Why it’s built differently

Not heaps of videos. Not walls of text.

We wanted to build something actually worth sitting down with. Not a PDF dressed up as a course, and not forty minutes of someone talking at you while you frantically take notes and forget it by Thursday.

The content is fully interactive. You work with it as you go, rather than just reading through it. The tools are built so the science makes sense instead of just being explained at you, and the structure is designed so the important parts genuinely stick rather than feeling clear in the moment and fuzzy a week later.

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Your dog’s signs as you go

You fill in your dog’s specific signs as you work through. By the end of the first lesson you’ve already started building their baseline.

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A cortisol tracker you click through

Add things from your dog’s day and watch the stress load build on screen. It makes the 72-hour rule make sense in a way you won’t forget.

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Tools that make complex things click

Flipcards, charts and interactive sections that break down things which would take paragraphs to explain. It just lands differently.

Who this is for

Probably more relevant to your dog than you think.

If your dog is reactive, anxious, or dysregulated, this was built for them. But your dog doesn’t need to be in crisis for this course to be worthwhile.

The struggling dog

If your dog is reactive, unsettled, anxious or just never quite switched off, this gives you the understanding and the practical steps to genuinely shift things. Not manage them differently. Actually shift them.

The dog who seems fine

A stable nervous system is what every other piece of training sits on. If your dog is in heavy training, heading towards an assistance or therapy dog pathway, or just navigating a busy and stimulating life, this is the most important foundation you can give them. The information in here applies to every dog at every stage.

The training ceiling

If you’ve been training consistently and still feel like you’re pushing against something you can’t quite put your finger on, this course will name it. And give you somewhere useful to go with that.

What you get

The course and everything you need to run it properly.

14 interactive lessons

01: The Theory: the science, the signs, and the full recognition toolkit
Stage 0: Your Starting Point: how to set yourself up before you begin
Stage 1: Decompression: rest, routine and learning to read the picture
Stage 2: Bond and Engagement: rebuilding the working relationship
Stage 3: Foundation and Exposure: structured outdoor training at your dog’s pace
06: The Ongoing: where the work continues after the stages are done

Companion resources

Printable signs checklist to build your dog’s baseline
Stage 1, 2 and 3 planners with example days and blank templates
Decompression walk guide
Rest space setup guide
Tethering and on-leash settle guide
Mat work, engagement games and home manners guides

About your trainer

Hi, I’m Rebecca.

I run Assistive K9s, a South Australian dog training practice working across assistance and therapy dog owner-training, canine behaviour and board and train.

After years of training, I kept coming back to a handful of dogs where progress would plateau no matter what we tried. Eventually I realised the training wasn’t the missing piece. The nervous system piece was. I had a loose understanding of the individual concepts, but it was only when I put them all together and actually worked through the stages in order that things genuinely shifted. Real change, not the same behaviours being managed in a slightly different way. This course is that framework.

Whether your dog is a family pet, somewhere on an assistance or therapy dog pathway, or anything in between, the nervous system work comes first. That’s what this is.

Certificate IV in Animal Behaviour and Training | Assistive K9s | Strathalbyn, SA

About this course

This course is educational material designed to help dog owners understand nervous system regulation and implement a structured approach at home. It is not a substitute for professional veterinary advice, individual behavioural assessment, or in-person training support.

If your dog’s behaviour poses a safety risk to people or other animals, please seek professional guidance before beginning this programme.

Rebecca Everest holds a Certificate IV in Animal Behaviour and Training and has extensive experience in assistance and therapy dog owner-training. This course reflects that expertise and is grounded in current, evidence-informed approaches to canine behaviour.