Nicola Teo is an expert in dog health, particularly offering balanced training and structured pack walks. A dog lover and advocate for their health, she consistently works on setting up canines for success in life with their humans. She owns two dogs, Tommy & Archie, and operates her own dog walking and training business called East Side Dogs. We sat down with Nikki and learned a lot about what drives her relationships with dogs and the mentality behind East Side Dogs.

Thank you for taking the time to chat with us Nikki! First up, how would you describe the relationship you have with your dogs?

Profound is the first word that comes to mind when I think of the relationship I share with my dogs. I can’t quite articulate the love I have for them… it is truly unconditional. They have taught me patience, compassion, respect, discipline, responsibility, and what it means to love someone more than you love yourself.

You’re so genuinely passionate, it’s refreshing to see. Where does this strong affinity you have with dogs come from?

I truly believe that you’re either born an animal lover or not, and I know I have always loved them, but it was my parents who taught me to respect them. I was taught that you could judge a person’s character by their love and respect of all beings. With these values so resolutely engrained in me, I think the passion for their health and training came naturally.

It’s clear you absolutely adore animals. How did you develop your skills in training and health?

I became interested in dog psychology in 2015 when my dogs started to fight each other. I was only 19 at the time, so I didn’t fully understand what it meant to raise a dog, let alone 2 large males. I worked with a lot of dog trainers in Sydney who were helpful during the sessions, but no one could get to the root cause of the issue. The fighting never happened in the training sessions, it happened when I was alone with them, on walks or at home and without a trainer there. I knew I needed someone to teach ME how to handle my dogs, not simply rely on treats, toys, or an external person.

That’s when I decided to head to the USA to learn from Cesar Millan. Cesar’s paradigm is about the psychology and training of the human even more than it is about the dog. That is the approach I take with my clients now. Our sessions are about understanding the psychology of their dogs in order to create healthy and balanced relationships with them. I want to empower my clients to feel confident implementing the strategies I teach outside of the sessions.

It definitely all starts with the owner, there are no untrainable dogs only untrainable humans!

Your Farm Days are highly sought after. We love how you take the doggies out of the city and into a pack environment in the country. Could you tell us more about the emphasis of these days?

My style of training has a huge emphasis on a calm state of mind over anything else. I don’t like to tap into a dog’s drive with toys or food because I don’t think it’s sustainable in real life scenarios. Plus, it’s easy to create excitement, but how many of us know how to create calmness? In the end, we just want our dogs to feel comfortable and content whilst fitting into our lives. I think that’s what separates the ESD Farm Days from other day cares – all the dogs are calm which allows them to truly enjoy their surroundings. There is no rough play, excessive barking, fetch, or free time without structure first. I want the dogs to be present with each other and coexist peacefully. By setting these boundaries, the dogs know that they can trust me to remain a stable leader.

Structure first, play later, I think I could do with one of these trips!

You have spoken about the impact your energy and own feelings have on a dog, this is so interesting! Could you elaborate more on this?

Over the 70,000 years of side-by-side evolution, dogs have developed an incredible skill for picking up on energy and human body language. How else could they have managed to fit in to our lives without speaking a word of English? I think once upon a time, human beings also had the same ability, but with the introduction of certain technologies and increased isolation, we have lost that ability to communicate energetically, especially with dogs.

If you learn to tap into your instincts, it allows you to feel and therefore understand those around you on a much deeper level. Silence is the most powerful form of communication.  

You mentioned training with Cesar Millan (which is so amazing!!!), what other role models have inspired your journey?

I am in awe of so many amazing people and dog trainers that I have met around the world, but namely Cesar Millan, who was the first person to help me understand the concept of dog psychology. Also, Cole Lasher and Jonathan Czinder, who inspired the Farm Days and further expanded my knowledge on dog psychology when I spent time with them in Oregon.

I’m sure you learnt so much from him! What piece of advice would you pass on to dog owners?

It’s simple – if you want to improve your dog’s life, improve their diet and exercise. Feed them what they deserve! Also, boundaries are the secret to any healthy relationship – human and canine alike!

Diet and exercise are the golden words! We already know how passionate you are about a healthy diet, but in your own words, why is a fresh diet better than a processed/kibble/canned diet?

Studies have shown time and time again that a healthy gut microbiome is the secret to a healthy body AND mind. There are direct correlations between your gut microbiome and mental health and the best way to modulate the microbiome is DIET; specifically fresh food with lots of variety. Would you feed your child processed, toxic cereal every single day of their lives? And would you be surprised if your child developed pancreatitis, cancer, arthritis, gum infections or obesity from said cereal? No! There is no doubt what is causing the rise in canine disease.

Rapid Fire Questions

Fresh or processed? Fresh

Raw or cooked? I feed my dogs raw because I have the time and I enjoy meal prepping, but cooked is better for those who don’t have the time to portion control, have small children/babies, or live with anyone immunocompromised, as there is less risk of bacterial contamination in cooked food…

Fetchit or Hills? FETCHIT, always

One word to describe the commercial petfood industry? Toxic

One word to describe the fresh pet food industry? Future

Walks with dogs or swims with dogs? Walking with dogs to the beach to swim

Dogs inside or outside? Inside

Dogs in your bed or in their bed? Their bed

Feeding your dog’s first or yourself? Dogs first – but only because they eat earlier (and better) than I do

One word to describe dogs: God

Finally, where can people learn more about you and East Side Dogs?

Mainly Instagram or Facebook @eastsidedogsau, but if you see me walking with my pack, always say hi!

It’s been a pleasure chatting with you Nikki, we will be supporting and watching your journey closely in the future!

Contact Nikki via email and let her know Fetchit sent you for an exclusive doggy experience offer!

nicola@eastsidedogs.com.au

Written by Matea, Co-founder of Fetchit