From Beast to
Best Friend
Dog Behaviourist & Specialist Dog Training Melbourne.
We offer expert training for reactive and aggressive dogs, high-drive breeds and puppy development, across Melbourne’s northern and north-eastern suburbs.
It all starts when you book your Discover Your Beast session. This is your first step to understanding your dog and building a clear training plan.
Problem behaviours are exhausting
Pulling on the lead. Barking at everything. Lunging at dogs or people. Ignoring commands. Dreading walks and visits. Constant stress.
You may feel like you’ve tried everything—and nothing has worked.
But the truth is, most dogs aren’t “bad.”
They’re misunderstood, frustrated, under-directed, or simply never shown the right way to behave.
Understand your dog and remove conflict
Dogs aren’t just companions. They are powerful, intelligent animals with instincts that need to be understood—not suppressed.
At Beautiful Beasts, we don’t ignore your dog’s nature. We work with it.
Once you understand your dog’s needs, things start to fall into place.
Because when you learn how to channel both the beauty and the beast, everything changes.
Our Approach
PREVENTION
Introduce your dog correctly from day one to avoid behavioural issues before they begin.
Prevention is important for any new dog that comes into your life, such as a puppy or rescue dog.
DIRECTION
Give your dog structure, purpose, and leadership —especially for working breeds.
Direction is particularly important for high drive dogs and working dogs that need extra guidance.
INTERVENTION
Safely and effectively address aggression, reactivity, and serious behavioural problems.
Intervention can apply to any dog, as any dog can become anxious, reactive or aggressive.
Discover Your Beast
2 Simple Steps to an Improved Life with Your Dog
Step 1: “Discover Your Beast”
Your journey starts with a comprehensive assessment:
- 1.5-hour Zoom consultation
- 2-hour in-person training session
- Full behavioural evaluation
- Clear, honest recommendations
By the end, you’ll understand your dog—and exactly what needs to happen next.
Limited availability. We take on a small number of clients to ensure the best results.
All this for only $450, no lock in sessions or contracts.
Step 2: Tailored Training Program
Based on your dog, your goals, and your lifestyle, we’ll recommend a structured training program designed for long-term success.
No guesswork. No generic plans. Just a clear path forward.
Build your best friend connection
Living with a reactive or aggressive dog is stressful and isolating. We help you better understand your dog and their issues, and set you both on a path to the relationship you always dreamed of.
We use a balanced training approach combining play, food based training, and modern tools such as e-collars, applied ethically and professionally. Over nearly a decade, we have aided more than a thousand dog/human companions develop their best friend connection.
– Stian Helling
The Viking Dog Trainer
Nationally Qualified & Recognised Dog Trainer
In an unregulated industry, working with a qualified and highly skilled trainer is important, to ensure you receive the best care and training.
Highly Experienced
Behaviour Specialist
Behaviour and obedience are different. We have an extensive proven track record of rehabilitating problem behaviours.
Flexible and Tailored
Training Programs
We don’t sell cookie cutter approaches. We offer highly flexible training programs that work with you and your schedule.
Case Studies
Here you can see a couple of short case studies of dogs we have helped in the past. To see more, follow us on social media.
Audrey – Resource guarding rehabilitation
Audrey was a big resource guarder towards other dogs. She was found as a stray in NSW, and this is common for strays. To help make her adoptable, we took her in for a training program to help her understand that dogs are friends, not enemies.
Astro – High level leash reactivity
At only 10 months old, Astro was already displaying intense leash reactivity towards multiple triggers: dogs, cars, bikes, joggers and more. Watch his progress in a single 2-hour training session. Clarity makes all the difference!
Ari – Learned Helplessness Rehabilitation
Ari came in to a rescue group with a very high level of fear towards humans. While he did not display active aggression, the foster carers couldn’t get him to come inside the house, or accept their young son. We changed that!
Django – Extreme Fear Rehabilitation
Django was adopted by a couple at 18 months old. They brought him home, unclipped the leash, and couldn’t catch him for over 3 months! We managed to get a leash on him, and for the first time in his life, Django experienced the yard.
Mouse – Removing Frustration through Play
Mouse was a roughly two year old Doberman, and boy was he frustrated! When Mouse accidentally snapped in the face of a child, his owners knew they needed help. We helped by creating clarity, and giving an outlet for his prey drive.
Teaching an “Off-Switch” to a High Drive Dog
One of the most common issues we tend to see in high drive working dogs, is that they have no ability to “switch off” and relax. Being stuck in a constant state of high arousal often leads to frustration, anxiety and even aggression.
Some of our tailored training options
Personalised Training Programs
This is for those who want to actively participate in their dog’s transformation. Our training programs are personalised to fit you and your pooch, for maximum success and lasting results.
This option is best suited for new puppies, high drive working dogs or dogs with more severe behavioural problems, such as aggression or anxiety.
Walk & Train Packages
We get it. Life is busy. But you also need to start making some progress with your dog. Let us help you make some good headway, by doing the initial training for you, while you focus on life and work.
This option is great for dogs that require some more biological fulfilment and socialisation, or is just dealing with some reactivity on their daily walk.
Online Consults
Online consults are an easy and affordable option for anyone who needs some extra guidance, or has some general questions about what is going on with their furry friend.
We utilise Zoom for our online consults and a chat can usually be organised within a couple of days, so you can quickly get on top of what’s bothering you.
Are we the right fit for you?
Our training is for you if:
- Your dog is reactive, aggressive, or out of control
- You own a high-drive dog or working breed that needs more than basic obedience
- You have a new puppy and you want to raise it right
- You feel like you’ve tried everything without success or you have been failed by force free training methods in the past
- You want to play with your dog to give them biological fulfilment
- You want real structure, not quick fixes
- You’re ready to commit to lasting change
Our training is not for you if:
- If you’re looking for a quick fix, this isn’t it
- If you’re not ready to commit, results will be limited
- If you are just looking for compliance through heavy obedience training, that’s not us
- If you believe playing with your dog is a fad, we’re not speaking the same language
- If you think training tools are cruel, we will not find common ground
- If you’re only interested in purely positive methods, we are not the right fit
We work with committed owners who want truly understand their dog and are looking for real, lasting change.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much will it cost to train my dog?
Every dog and owner is different and learn at a different pace. Our aim is to make you as the handler as proficient as possible, so you can train your dog as quickly and efficiently as possible.
Below is a breakdown of prices on our services:
"Discover Your Beast" introductory package – $450
With all new clients, we do an introductory package. This consists of a 1.5 hour Zoom consult to start with, so we can properly talk through the issues you’re having, explain how dogs think and learn, and explain the path forward. Then we meet up for an in-person session (usually 1-2 weeks after the initial chat), where we come to your house or place of choosing, and work together with your dog. The in-person session usually goes for roughly 2 hours.
After we have heard your goals and met you and your dog in-person, we can make a recommendation from several different programs and packages we offer to continue your training.
Online consults – $100 per hour
If you are just dealing with some minor issues or have specific questions, and online consult might be the way to go. Online consults are cheap and can usually be organised within a short timeframe.
How long will it take to train my dog?
This is something we get asked all the time and it is unfortunately impossible to answer. It depends on your dog's breed, age, drive, prior learning, early socialisation, dog’s history, genetic predisposition, health issues and so on and so forth. We always aim to find the most effective way for your dog to learn, so you can achieve results as quickly as possible.
Do you train with positive reinforcement?
Yes, absolutely!
We train with all four quadrants of operant conditioning, to create the best result, as quickly, clearly and as LIMA as possible. But we prioritise training with play, food and positive reinforcement whenever possible.
Is my dog too old to be trained?
No, not at all. Contrary to popular belief, you can in fact teach an old dog new tricks. But it is important to understand that if your dog has had behavioural issues for a long time, that will take time to untangle and change.