Meet Stian Helling – the Viking Dog Trainer.

Dog training can be an emotional roller coaster. Having a great relationship with your trainer is important, so we all speak the same language and do what’s best for our Beautiful Beasts.

Stian Helling is the owner, trainer and behaviour specialist at Beautiful Beasts and he has a long and diverse career working with our canine companions.

When he is not trying to avoid getting bitten in half, or teaching owners about their new puppies, he spends his time reading books, practicing new techniques, recording a podcast or writing a new workshop. He specialises in working with high drive dogs, puppy development, aggression rehabilitation and behaviour modification.

Hailing from the frozen viking lands of Norway, Stian arrived in Australia to continue his career in advertising. He then got his first ever dog – a kelpie named Red – and quickly realised owning such a high drive dog, was trial by fire. Well out of his depth, he found and attended puppy schools and classes, where he soaked up every word, thought and technique he was exposed to. He began working with friends and friends of friends, and friends of friends of friends who were having various issues with their dogs, learning as he went along, and loving every second of it.

Stian quickly realised that what he was doing was working, but he was also painfully aware that he didn’t know why it was working. He signed up and completed the National Dog Trainer Foundation (NDTF) Certificate III in Dog Behaviour and Training – one of two officially recognised dog training qualifications in Australia.

This provided an excellent basis for understanding classical- and operant-conditioning, learning theory, leash handling techniques, tool application, proper puppy socialisation, fear, aggression, anxiety and much more.

But his thirst for knowledge was still not quenched. Working alongside other professional trainers and attending numerous workshops by both national and international trainers, Stian has never stopped training himself. His goal is to learn all he can and to provide your dog the very best care and understanding.

With more than ten years of experience working with dogs, Stian is a well-rounded, balanced trainer with a large knowledge pool and a strong support network. Beautiful Beasts and the Viking dog trainer has quickly become a household name in the Australian dog training industry and Stian takes on a lot of complicated behavioural cases, which most other trainers refuse to work with. Stian also frequently runs public workshops about specialist topics such as aggression, puppy development and the proper use of electronic collars. He also has a podcast – ‘Beastly Talks’ – which you can access for free on Spotify and Apple podcasts right now!

If you are struggling with your dog or puppy, get in touch today and let’s get your dog on the path to becoming a Beautiful Beast!

The furry helpers

Ollie

Nickname: Ollie-Bollie-Monsterpup
Title: Chief Borter
Personal: Kelpie, male, 12-years old
Status: Professional snoozer (retired)

Agnarr

Nickname: Biggus Piggus
Title: Drive Demon
Personal: Belgian Malinois, male, 5-years old
Status: Always ready to go

Gunnar

Nickname: Puggerd the naughty
Title: Pesty Pup
Personal: Kelpie, male, 1 year old
Status: Chaos Goblin (in training)

Education and qualifications

FORMAL EDUCATION
NDTF Certificate III in Dog Behaviour and Training

SEMINARS AND WORKSHOPS ATTENDED
Advanced Aggression workshop – Josh Moran

NePoPo® workshop – Pat Stuart

Conducting Behaviour Assessments – FourPaws K9 Training

NePoPo® for aggression & puppy development – The Canine Paradigm

Aggression workshop – Larry Krohn

DIGITAL LEARNING UNDERTAKEN
Mastering the remote collar– Tyler Muto

Resource Guarding Rehab– Tyler Muto

The 10 Keys to Counter Conditioning – Tyler Muto

Dog Aggression Decoded – Ted Efthymiadis

The Scent Detection Blueprint – Tarheel K9 / Jerry Bradshaw

The Power of Training Dogs with Markers – Leerburg

The Power of Playing Tug with Your Dog – Leerburg / Michael Ellis

Chase & Catch 2.0– Training Without Conflict (Ivan Balabanov)

Introduction to Leash Walking for Puppies– Training Without Conflict (Ivan Balabanov)

Ivan’s Guide to Raising Great Puppies– Training Without Conflict (Ivan Balabanov)

The Possession Games– Training Without Conflict (Ivan Balabanov)

Treat Chasing 2.0 – Training Without Conflict (Ivan Balabanov)

Play Will Save the Day –Training Without Conflict (Dylan Jones)

Sirius Dog Trainer Academy – Ian Dunbar

BOOKS STUDIED
Excel-erated Learning – Pamela Reid

Controlled Aggression – Jerry Bradshaw

Dog Language – Dr. Robert Abrantes

The Evolution of Canine Social Behaviour – Dr. Robert Abrantes

On Aggression – Dr. Konrad Lorentz

Canine Body Language – Brenda Aloff

Behaviour Adjustment Training – Grisha Stewart

Turning Fierce Dogs Friendly – Kellie Snider

Don’t Shoot the Dog – Karen Pryor

The Rescue Dog – Laura Vissaritis

The Art of Training Your Dog: How to Gently Teach Good Behaviour Using an E-collar – Monks of Skete and Marc Goldberg

How to be Your Dog’s Best Friend – The Monks of Skete

Think Dog – John Fisher

The Ultimate Service Dog Training Manual – Keagen J. Grace

Meet Your Dog – Kim Brophey

The Forever Dog – Rodney Habib & Dr. Karen Shaw Becker

Bones Would Rain from the Sky – Suzanne Clothier

A Dog Behaviourist’s Diary – Denise McLeod

PODCASTS FOLLOWED
The Canine Paradigm – Glenn Cooke & Pat Stuart

Controlled Aggression – Jerry Bradshaw

Training Without Conflict – Ivan Balabanov

Dog Training Conversations – Chad Mackin & Jay Jack

Not Truly Aggressive – Dylan Jones & Kimberli Weeks

DogPro Radio –IACP