Surge in Demand for Care Highlights 90 Years of Service as Iconic Animal Hospital Opens New Adoption Centre

North Melbourne — Australia’s largest charitable animal hospital, Lort Smith, marked 90 years of caring for Victoria’s pets and their people today, celebrating the milestone with the opening of a brand-new cat adoption centre at its original North Melbourne home.

The media event, held at the hospital’s Villiers Street premises on Wednesday morning, brought together supporters, pet therapy dogs, and community leaders to reflect on nearly a century of service—complete with birthday cake and a first look at the new feline residents settling into their dedicated adoption space.

Lort Smith celebrated its 90th anniversary and opened its new Adoption Centre alongside Board Chair Kirsten Fox, Patron Lady Marigold Southey AC, and CEO Frances Mirabelli.

The 90th anniversary milestone comes alongside fresh data from Lort Smith’s 2025 Impact Report, revealing an unprecedented surge in demand for affordable veterinary care and financial aid as Victorians prioritise their pets’ health amid ongoing cost-of-living pressures.

Returning Home: A New Chapter for Cat Adoptions

Current CEO Frances Mirabelli
with Skippy

For Lort Smith Chief Executive Officer Frances Mirabelli, opening the cat adoption centre in North Melbourne represents a full-circle moment for the iconic organisation.

“Bringing cat adoptions back to North Melbourne, where our adoption story first began, is a meaningful new chapter,” Ms. Mirabelli said.

“For 90 years, Lort Smith has been here for pets and the people who love them. We do everything we can to keep them together by providing high-quality, affordable veterinary care.”

“When staying together is no longer possible, we’re here to support families with compassion and help their pets find loving new homes.”

By the Numbers: Impact of the 2025 Report

Data from Lort Smith’s 2025 Impact Report highlights the massive scale of care provided across its North Melbourne and Campbellfield facilities over the past year:

✔️ Financial Relief Distributed: $1,165,365 provided across 8,434 people facing hardship

✔️ Animals Cared For: 15,538 animals treated across both hospital sites

✔️ Surgeries & Medical Procedures: 18,086 performed by veterinary teams

✔️ Pets Rehomed: 791 animals successfully placed in forever homes

✔️ Pet Therapy Outreach: 65,225 people reached through community visits

✔️ Volunteer Contribution: 18,326 hours logged by dedicated supporters

✔️ Community Support Line: 67,554 phone calls received and answered

With 55 vets and 81 veterinary nurses working tirelessly across both locations, the hospital reported rising surgery rates and increased demand across all medical services.

“As the cost-of-living crisis placed increasing pressure on people and their pets, we strengthened our commitment to keeping them together,” Ms. Mirabelli explained. 

“It certainly was a year of consolidation, reflection, and renewed purpose for Lort Smith—a year where we seriously reviewed how we operate, what we do well, and where we needed to evolve to better serve our community.”

A 90-Year Legacy Built on Adaptation

Founder Louisa Lort Smith in 1930 (left) alongside the original hospital signage from 1940 (right).

Established in 1936 by founder Louisa Lort Smith during the height of the Great Depression, the hospital was founded on a simple premise: to keep pets and people together through accessible, compassionate care.

Lort Smith volunteers and staff with dogs alongside an animal welfare van in June 1939.

Over nine decades, the patients coming through Lort Smith’s doors have mirrored the changing face of Melbourne.

A line-up of bandaged feline and canine outpatients awaiting care at Lort Smith in the 1950s.

In the early days, horses were regular patients and the hospital maintained its own stables.

“Not every patient was quite so ordinary,” Ms. Mirabelli noted. “Over the years, Lort Smith has treated a camel from Melbourne Zoo, a family of ducks that wandered over from the Royal Botanic Gardens, and even a valuable snake visiting Australia for a local show.”

Key milestones across Lort Smith's 90-year history in Victoria.

Memorable Cases: Lives Transformed Over the Years

Behind the statistics are thousands of individual animals whose lives were saved by the quick action of Lort Smith’s team and the generosity of community donors.

Skye’s Second Chance

Skye happy and healthy (left) and enjoying cuddles with her new owner Alice (right).

When eight-year-old Maltese Cross Skye first arrived at Lort Smith, she was in severe discomfort from advanced dental disease, nervously hiding her face behind tiny paws. She also required multiple costly surgeries to remove a series of potentially cancerous lumps.

Thanks to public donations, Lort Smith provided Skye with the urgent medical treatment she needed. After a full recovery, Skye met her new owner, Alice.

“Skye chose me,” Alice recalled. “I was visiting the shelter when Skye leapt straight into my lap and into my heart. Skye makes every day a joy with her cuddly antics.

“When you give an animal love and care, they return it with interest.”

The Hard-Rubbish Puppies

In 2017, a good Samaritan made a shocking discovery in Hoppers Crossing: a litter of one-week-old Staffy-cross puppies abandoned in hard rubbish. The finder bottle-fed the hungry, dirty pups before surrendering them to Lort Smith.

The hospital team placed the puppies into specialised foster care for round-the-clock feeding. Weeks later, all the puppies were adopted into loving homes.

“When an animal has nowhere else to go, or no one else to look after them, they’re welcomed into our hospital with love,” Ms. Mirabelli said. “Assisting animals in need is at the heart of our mission.”

Community Support Keeps the Doors Open

Despite serving as an essential community safety net across Victoria, Lort Smith receives no ongoing direct government funding, relying entirely on community donations, bequests, and public generosity.

Through its Pets in Need fund, emergency pet boarding, and expanding pet therapy initiatives, the charity continues to preserve the human–animal bond for those experiencing hardship.

“We thank all those throughout Victoria who have contributed to our legacy over the past 90 years and remain committed to supporting people and their pets through life’s most difficult moments,” Ms. Mirabelli said.

As Lort Smith enters its tenth decade, technology and treatments have evolved—but its core mission remains untouched: helping write Melbourne’s story, one furry, feathered, and scaled patient at a time.

How You Can Support Lort Smith's Life-Saving Work

As a non-profit receiving no ongoing direct government funding, Lort Smith relies entirely on community support to care for animals in need. Whether through one-off donations, monthly giving, workplace giving, or leaving a gift in your Will, every contribution helps preserve the human-animal bond for vulnerable pet owners across Victoria.

To discover the different ways you can help support Lort Smith’s mission, visit lortsmith.com/support-our-work.

Photo credits: Lort Smith Animal Hospital (all supplied)

Pet Care Costs Are Rising — Could Building a Local ‘Dog Village’ Help?

Why finding your dog a local bestie could bring friendship, familiar care, and a support network for both dogs and their humans.

Dogs bring an enormous amount of joy into our daily lives. They get us outdoors, introduce us to neighbours we might otherwise never meet, and quickly become central members of the family.

But dog ownership also comes with a practical question almost every owner eventually faces: What happens when you need to go away, have a particularly busy week, or simply need an extra pair of hands?

According to data from the Australian Government’s Moneysmart website, Australians spend more than $21 billion a year caring for pets, with ongoing maintenance and boarding costs cited as the most common challenge of pet ownership. Affordability is even listed as a major reason people give for choosing not to adopt a pet or expand their family with another animal.

While professional pet sitters, doggy day cares, and commercial boarding facilities play an essential role, many owners share a deeper wish: wouldn’t it be lovely if your dog could stay somewhere they already knew — with people they trusted and a canine friend they were genuinely excited to see?

That exact dilemma is what led Sydney founder Ana Hill to launch MyPetBesties — a community-led platform designed to help local dog owners build mutual support networks long before care is actually required.

More Than Saving Money: The 'Dog Village' Concept

The potential savings of reciprocal pet care are undeniably appealing when household budgets are under pressure. However, focusing solely on money misses the heart of the concept.

Unlike commercial booking sites where you search for an available sitter at the last minute, MyPetBesties encourages owners to connect in advance. Families meet for casual park walks and playdates so the dogs can bond naturally. Over time, those relationships can evolve into mutual swaps for walks, afternoon play sessions, weekend sleepovers, or holiday care.

"Whenever my family wanted to travel, deciding what to do with our dog was one of our biggest stresses," explains founder Ana Hill. "Cost was part of it, but what I really wanted was somewhere that felt less like arranging 'care' and more like sending her to stay with people and a dog she already knew. There are so many dog owners living close to each other with exactly the same problem — we should help each other!"

For dogs, this gradual progression makes a world of difference. Rather than experiencing the stress of an owner suddenly disappearing and leaving them in a strange environment, a stay feels like visiting a friend's house. They already know the smells, the routines, the humans, and their canine buddy.

Real Stories from Local Dog Owners

Local members are already experiencing the benefits of building their own local network:

Finding Trust and Peace of Mind in Mona Vale

"I discovered the service through a recommendation, and I’m so glad I did! I needed someone I could completely trust to look after Mac when I was busy, and finding someone who would genuinely care for him was really important to me."

"Mac is an American Staffy and absolutely loves playing with his big buddy Toby, who was the perfect match for his size and energy. It made me so happy knowing Mac was safe, loved and having so much fun while I was away. He came home happy and content, and I couldn’t have asked for a better experience."

— Caroline, Mona Vale

Connecting in a New Neighbourhood in Cromer

"Returning to Sydney after being away for 2 years, we moved to the Northern Beaches where we had no fellow dog-owner friends. I noticed a MyPetBestie poster at Collaroy dog park and I immediately thought what a brilliant idea! Now we can find a friend for Indy."

"We met Shirl and her dog Sonny. The dogs got along great and they were soon chasing each other and play wrestling. It was great to make a genuine connection, and now we have a familiar face to look out for next time we go to the dog park."

— Mel & Dave, Cromer

"My dog made a lovely new friend, and I did too! It’s great knowing our dogs can play together and that we can help each other when needed—a wonderful way to connect dogs and people in the community."

— Shirley, Narraweena

Transparent Pricing: Free to Join, Pay-Per-Match

To keep the platform accessible, MyPetBesties avoids costly recurring monthly subscriptions:

• Free Profile Creation & Browsing: Joining the platform and creating a detailed profile for your dog costs nothing. Owners can freely browse nearby matches filtered by proximity, size, lifestyle, and travel dates without any obligation.
• Simple $12 Connect Fee: When two owners review each other's profiles and both decide they would like to connect, each family pays a one-off $12 fee to unlock direct contact details.
• Support Local Shelters: Members also have the option to add a voluntary contribution during connection to support animal rescue organisations.

Safety, Trust, and Planning for the 'What-Ifs'

Because MyPetBesties is a peer-to-peer community built on mutual trust rather than a commercial agency, safety and communication are placed directly in the hands of the owners.

1. Mandatory In-Person Meetings: Before any stay or care arrangement is made, owners and dogs meet in a neutral space, such as a local park.

First meetups allow owners to observe how their dogs interact and build trust at their own comfortable pace.

2. Home Environment Visits: Prior to a sleepover, owners visit the prospective host's home to inspect fencing, gates, and living spaces first-hand.

3. Emergency Preparation: Members are encouraged to exchange veterinarian details, emergency contact numbers, medical histories, and agree in writing on how unexpected veterinary costs should be handled if the owner cannot be reached.

4. Insurance Verification: Because the platform does not provide public liability or pet insurance, owners are advised to check their personal home, contents, and pet insurance policies beforehand.

Ultimately, community pet sharing isn't meant to replace professional sitters or boarding kennels — but it adds a warm, rewarding alternative. Knowing trusted neighbours nearby makes the everyday realities of pet ownership far more manageable, turning neighbours into friends and giving dogs a home away from home.

Find Your Dog's Local Bestie

Local meetups can start at off-leash parks so dogs and owners can build trust naturally.

To learn more, explore nearby profiles, or join the community:

• Website: Visit MyPetBesties.com
• Socials: Follow their latest community updates on Facebook and Instagram (@mypetbesties)

Sources & References

• Australian Government Moneysmart, “Getting a pet” (updated August 2026).
• MyPetBesties platform guidance, FAQ, and safety resources (accessed September 2026).

Australian Nursery Data: What Dog Owners Are Actually Planting (And the Hedges That Survive)

By Isaac Olson, Nursery Near Me

Most advice about gardening with dogs focuses heavily on what to avoid—a crucial topic Australian Dog Lover has explored in detail through guides on common plants poisonous to dogs, as well as creative ways to build an engaging sensory garden for your dog. Identifying toxicity matters, but it only answers half the equation: what should you actually plant in its place?

To find out, we looked at real-world buying behaviour. As an online nursery delivering to every mainland state, we analysed 12 months of sales data comprising 3,165 orders and 20,604 plants, cross-referenced with the pet-friendly tags on our site. Pet-friendly turned out to be one of the most requested plant traits in the country, and the specific varieties Australians chose reveal a great deal about how we garden with a dog underfoot.

The Numbers Behind Pet-Friendly Gardens

Almost half of every plant we sent to Queensland carried our pet friendly tag. In New South Wales, the ACT, South Australia and Western Australia it was over a third, and in Victoria about a quarter. In Queensland, New South Wales, the ACT and South Australia it ranked in the top four qualities buyers looked for, behind low maintenance and one or two others. Put plainly, a large share of the country is choosing plants with the dog in mind, whether or not they say so.

What they choose is even more telling. Of the plants carrying our pet-friendly tag, Lilly Pilly Resilience outsold the next plant more than five to one.

A narrow-form Lilly Pilly creating a tight boundary screen—Lilly Pillies were the most planted pet-friendly plants in Australia last year.

Behind it, in order, came no mow grass (Zoysia tenuifolia), Baby Boomer lilly pilly, Miami crepe myrtle, long leaf lomandra, Silver Falls dichondra, the yellow Banksia rose, Acoma crepe myrtle, Little Gem magnolia and tussock grass, with a narrow lilly pilly and a compact lomandra selection also in the top dozen. Rosemary, liriope, sweet osmanthus, kidney weed, silver carpet, seaside daisy, westringia and an olive tree filled out the top twenty-five.

Three things stand out:

• Structure Over Flowers: The list is dominated by hedging and lawn substitutes, not display flowers.
• Lilly Pilly Dominance: The lilly pillies alone outsold every other pet-friendly plant many times over.
• Built Tough: Nearly everything on it is tough, evergreen, and able to be walked on, run past, or lifted a leg against without much complaint.

Dog owners are not planting a display. They are planting a boundary and a floor.

The Dog-Proof Hedge

A hedge is where a dog and a garden meet most often. It is the fence line the dog patrols, the spot where the neighbour's dog gets barked at, and the first thing a new puppy digs under. Here is what the sales data and our customers' delivery photos say about hedges that cope:

✔️ Lilly Pilly: The obvious first choice and deserves it. It sits on the vet safe list, and Resilience and Baby Boomer both take hard pruning, shrug off a dog's daily patrol along the base, and regrow from the wood if a section gets flattened by a big dog. Resilience is the workhorse for a two to three metre screen; Baby Boomer makes a low hedge a dog can see over.

✔️ Westringia (Coastal Rosemary): The native answer for a lower hedge or a fence-line filler. It is non-toxic, handles salt, wind, and dry spells, and a dog running the same track past it every day does it no harm.

✔️ Callistemon & Tea Trees: Hold a fence line in poor soil, feed the birds, and sit on the vet-safe lists we checked.

✔️ Pittosporum Tobira & Camellia Sasanqua: Give a denser, glossier hedge in cooler or shadier spots, again with no toxicity concern.

✔️ Spacing and protection matter more than the plant. Plant a hedge at the close spacing the nursery recommends rather than stretching it, because a dog will find the gap and turn it into a highway. For the first summer, a low temporary fence of stakes and mesh 30 centimetres in front of the row keeps paws off new roots and lets the plants knit together.

A low temporary mesh barrier keeps paws off young roots during the first summer, giving young hedges time to establish.

Mulch thickly, because bare soil beside a fence is an invitation to dig, and water deeply and less often so the surface is not permanently damp and interesting.

✔️ Hedges to Avoid: Box (English, Japanese, and Korean box alike are toxic to dogs, despite English box being the sixth most planted line in the country last year); privet; nandina; and ficus hedges or climbing fig, whose sap irritates mouths and skin. If you inherited a box hedge with a new dog, most dogs leave it alone, but a chewer or a puppy is a different matter.

Lawn Substitutes & Groundcovers: What Actually Copes

The groundcovers on the list are not there by accident. A dog wears a track wherever it runs, and the question is never whether a groundcover will be trodden on, but whether it will come back.

✔️ No Mow Grass (Zoysia tenuifolia): The closest thing to a lawn. It forms a dense, slightly mounded mat that a dog can run on, taking a daily patrol better than most fine lawns. It is slow, which is the price of being tough. Plant plugs on a 20 to 25 centimetre grid in spring, water every second day for the first month, and expect the mat to close over in one growing season. Until it closes, keep the dog off with a low mesh fence, or plant in halves if the dog has nowhere else to run.

✔️ Kidney Weed (Dichondra repens): Ideal for shade and the strip beside the house that grass gives up on. It takes light traffic, though it will thin out on a track used daily. Silver Falls, its grey trailing cousin, is a spiller for a wall or pot rather than a footway.

✔️ Silver Carpet (Dymondia margaretae): A flat groundcover for full sun and dry ground. It hugs the soil, tolerates paws well, and shrugs off hot summers, though it sulks in wet feet.

A Kelpie on a mulched path between Lomandra and Westringia—both non-toxic and tough enough for a daily patrol.

✔️ Tussock Grass & Lomandra: What our customers plant along the fence track itself. A dog runs past a clump rather than through it, and a clump recovers from anything short of digging.

✔️ Managing Lawn Urine Burn: What burns a patch is concentrated nitrogen and salt. Female dogs squatting in one spot or large dogs leave yellow rings, whereas small males watering a fence leave none. Tough groundcovers cope better than fine lawns, but none are immune.

The fix is simple: flood the spot with water within a few minutes to dilute the concentration. Better still, give the dog a designated toilet zone—a metre of mulch or gravel with a post—and guide them there first thing in the morning. Urine-altering supplements are not worth the money.

✔️ Fertiliser Warnings: Feed groundcovers with a controlled-release fertiliser pushed under the mulch. Avoid blood and bone, compost, or open prills (exposed fertiliser pellets scattered on top of the soil). One Adelaide vet's poisoning records put fertiliser, compost, and mushrooms ahead of every plant in the garden for toxicity emergency visits.

Risky Popular Plants & Safe Native Swaps

Our order data shows a clear gap between what dog owners want and what they end up buying. English box was sixth nationally and Japanese box in the top twenty. Agapanthus was in the NSW top ten, an azalea made the Victorian top ten, and climbing fig was ninth nationwide. None of these carry a pet-friendly tag, and all sit on vet avoid lists.

Here are direct, dog-safe plant swaps that perform the exact same landscaping job without the safety risk:

A driveway edged with Lomandra and Liriope—the dog-safe swap for Agapanthus.

• Instead of Box Hedges: Swap for Baby Boomer lilly pilly, compact westringia, or dwarf Pittosporum tobira.
• Instead of Agapanthus: Swap for lomandra or liriope for the same strappy border lines.
• Instead of Azaleas: Swap for Camellia sasanqua for vibrant spring colour.
• Instead of Climbing Fig: Swap for Star Jasmine on walls and fences.
• Instead of Oleander: Swap for native Callistemon (Bottlebrush).
• Instead of Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow (Brunfelsia): Swap for Plumbago.
• Instead of Hydrangeas: Swap for Plumbago in full sun or Camellia sasanqua in shady corners.
• Instead of Gardenias: Swap for Sweet Osmanthus for a similar rich fragrance.
• Instead of Nandina: Swap for Little John bottlebrush or Baby Boomer lilly pilly.
• Instead of Wisteria: Swap for thornless yellow Banksia rose.
• Instead of Strelitzia: Swap for Cordyline (ensure you avoid Dracaena, which looks similar but is toxic).
• Instead of Toxic Spring Bulbs (Daffodils, Tulips, Hyacinths, Clivia): Swap for kangaroo paw, native violet, seaside daisy, catmint, or gaura.

Pots, Balconies & Small Courtyards

Rosemary and crepe myrtle in a courtyard—both sit on vet-approved safe lists and ranked in the top twenty pet-friendly plants sold last year.

A dog in an apartment or townhouse courtyard meets plants at closer quarters. Anything at nose height in a pot will eventually be chewed. Keep toxic plants completely off balconies: no sago palms, cycads, dracaenas, yuccas, umbrella plants, philodendrons, or lilies.

✔️ Balcony Screening: Resilience or Baby Boomer lilly pillies in 40 to 50 centimetre pots create a green wall in two seasons. Westringia and rosemary make tough screens in wind and sun, while Pure Silk camellia sasanqua suits shaded balconies.

✔️ Potted Trees & Palms: Olives and Little Gem magnolias live happily in large pots for years. Indoors or on covered balconies, opt for bamboo palm, lady palm, ponytail palm, or bird's nest fern.

✔️ Container Tips: Use heavy concrete or glazed pots that dogs cannot tip. Stand pots on feet so drainage water does not pool in saucers for dogs to drink. Avoid spiny plants near flat-faced breeds (Pugs, Bulldogs) whose eyes sit close to foliage.

Planning a Shared Garden Space

Before buying plants, walk your block from your dog's perspective. Map out the patrol tracks, digging corners, and waiting spots. Dedicate high-traffic areas to hardy groundcovers (no mow grass, dichondra, silver carpet, tussock grass, lomandra) rather than delicate shrubs.

Always cross-reference nursery tags with official veterinary safe lists. Plant hedges densely, protect young root systems for the first season, and reserve delicate display flowers for areas fenced off from dog traffic.

A garden with a dog in it may never be a pristine show garden, but choosing the right evergreen bones ensures both you and your dog can comfortably share the space.

Photo Credits: All images supplied courtesy of Nursery Near Me.

About the Author

Isaac Olson is a director of Nursery Near Me, an online nursery based in Brisbane that sources from wholesale growers around Australia and delivers to every mainland state. Their pet-friendly range and free plant care guides are at nurserynearme.com.au.

Connect with Nursery Near Me on Facebook and Instagram.

Spring Is Here: Why Now Is the Time to Address Your Dog’s Paw Licking Before Allergy Season Peaks

Persistent paw licking is one of the earliest warning signs of allergies in dogs. With spring now underway across Australia, veterinary experts warn that now is the time to investigate the root cause before seasonal pollen makes the condition significantly worse.

With grass pollens, weed pollens, and tree pollens set to surge over the coming weeks, Pet Insurance Australia (PIA) is encouraging dog owners not to dismiss excessive paw licking as "just a habit."

Paw irritation is frequently the first outward sign of an underlying medical condition. Because allergies are currently the top reason for vet visits and insurance claims nationwide, catching symptoms early is paramount to preventing severe distress.

"While an occasional lick after a walk or before settling down to sleep is perfectly normal, frequent or intense licking usually tells pet parents that something is bothering the feet," says Nadia Crighton from Pet Insurance Australia.

Veterinary experts agree that allergies are by far the most common driver of chronic paw licking.

The Main Causes of Itchy Paws in Dogs

1. Environmental Allergies (Atopy)

Unlike humans who primarily suffer from sneezing or runny eyes, dogs absorb and react to environmental allergens through their skin. Airborne triggers like grass pollens, tree pollens, weeds, house dust mites, and moulds accumulate directly on their coat and footpads during daily walks. For a deep dive into how seasonal triggers affect your pet, read our guide on environmental allergies in dogs and how to treat them.

2. Food Allergies & Intolerances

Food sensitivities can manifest as itchy paws, recurring ear issues, or gastrointestinal upset. Diagnosing a true food allergy requires a strict, vet-supervised elimination diet trial over several weeks.

3. Secondary Yeast & Bacterial Infections

When a dog repeatedly licks or chews their paws, the moisture creates an ideal breeding ground for yeast and bacterial overgrowths. These secondary infections significantly intensify itching and inflammation. While treating the infection provides immediate relief, the problem will continuously recur if the root allergy is left unmanaged.

Proactive Management: Prevention and Skin Barrier Support

Many pet owners delay seeking veterinary advice until mid-spring, by which time seasonal allergy symptoms are well-established and much harder to control.

Some dogs exhibit subtle signs of paw irritation during the cooler winter months—such as occasional chewing after being outside—before symptoms escalate sharply with rising spring pollen counts. By the time owners notice persistent chewing, heavy redness, or brown saliva staining, the skin barrier is often compromised.

"A dog’s paws are in direct contact with the environment every day, picking up potential irritants from grass, weeds, soil, and other outdoor surfaces," Crighton explains.

“For dogs already showing signs of paw licking or irritation during winter, the arrival of spring may cause symptoms to become far more persistent.”

In addition to seeking early veterinary assessment, strengthening your dog's natural skin barrier before peak pollen season can help mitigate inflammatory flare-ups.

Incorporating fatty acid supplements—such as using Omega-3 as your pet's allergy shield—can help soothe irritated skin, lower systemic inflammation, and protect the paws against outdoor environmental triggers.

Allergies remain the number one reason Australian dogs visit the vet, with treatment costs ranging from $600 for initial diagnostics to $21,000+ in severe, chronic cases requiring long-term therapy.*

Clinical Signs to Watch For

Paw licking warrants a veterinary evaluation if it is frequent, repetitive, or difficult to interrupt. Look for the following red flags:

• ▮ Paw licking that is hard to distract or interrupts sleep
• ▮ Daily or near-continuous licking and chewing between the toes
• ▮ Red, inflamed, or visibly swollen skin on the footpads
• ▮ Distinct brown saliva staining on light-coloured fur
• ▮ A sour or musty smell coming from the feet
• ▮ Limping, discomfort when walking, or sensitivity when touched
• ▮ Bleeding, discharge, or raised lumps between the toes

If you observe any of these symptoms, book a comprehensive check-up with your local veterinarian before peak pollen counts hit.

“Spring should mean more adventures with your dog, not more scratching, chewing, and discomfort," adds Crighton. "If your dog has already started licking their paws, now is the perfect time to have them checked.”

*Claims data sourced via Pet Insurance Australia.

▮Australian Dog Health & Allergy Hub

Looking to dive deeper into canine skin health? Explore our guides sponsored by Pet Insurance Australia:

• ▮ Environmental Allergies in Dogs: Understanding airborne triggers, seasonal flares, and medical treatments.
• ▮ Omega-3: Your Pet's Allergy Shield: Discover how essential fatty acids support your dog's skin barrier before pollen season hits.

From Agility to Tricks: A Trainer Explains Which Sport Suits Your Dog (and Where to Train)

By Anniina Gowen, Eazy Dog Training

“Could my dog do that?”

I get asked this constantly, usually by someone who's just watched an agility run and decided their dog isn't that sort of dog. Nine times out of ten they're wrong, because they're asking about breed when the answer is mostly temperament and effort.

My first two dogs were Elmer, a Coton de Tuléar, and Temppu, a Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever, and I competed in obedience with both, not what people picture in a trial ring. These days I have two Border Collies, Sansa, nine, and Leeloo, six, which is admittedly the easy setting. Between us we've done obedience, agility, nosework and tricks.

What you need before you start

Less than you'd think, and it depends where you begin. Starting at home asks almost nothing: a bit of floor, some treats, ten minutes. A club asks more: basic obedience goes a long way on a busy training ground, and the busier the club, the more it matters.

Engagement is the real prerequisite, and the one people skip.

Focused heelwork during a Rally run

If your dog ignores you completely on walks and at the park, no class will fix that in a term, but it isn't a character flaw and it isn't permanent. Build engagement at home first, where you're the most interesting thing in the room.

Once your dog is genuinely choosing to work with you there, add distractions in small increments: the backyard, the quiet end of the street, a park at 7am, a park at lunchtime. Each step only when the last is easy. Most people jump from loungeroom to dog park and conclude their dog can't do it.

Recall matters outdoors, and needn't be perfect. If you're not there yet, use a long lead. You can train the behaviour you want without gambling on whether your dog comes back. Bring better food than you think you need, too: high-value treats aren't cheating, they're how you compete with a park full of smells. Chicken goes a long way.

Temperament decides this, not breed

The trait that predicts how far a dog will go isn't drive or speed. It's whether they want to work with you: whether they check in, offer things, find working together rewarding. That's built at home, long before anyone sees you.

✅ Eager to work with you? Rally and tricks will suit, whatever your dog looks like. Both reward engagement over athleticism.

✅ Runs hot, can't switch off? Rally. Agility pours petrol on what's already there; Rally teaches a dog to think while moving.

✅ Loves a puzzle but isn't fast? Tricks, then Rally. Speed counts for nothing in either.

✅ Confident, bold, loves to run? Agility: the dog who meets a wobbling plank or dark tunnel and thinks what's this then.

✅ Anxious or reactive? Start at home and stay there a while. Both can do beautifully at this, introduced gently and at their own speed. No group class suits these dogs, club or private: an anxious dog can't learn while worried, a reactive one can't learn while over threshold, and a smaller group doesn't change that. Use online training at home, work on the anxiety or reactivity itself alongside it, and leave classes until your dog can take something in. 

Keep an anxious dog away from agility especially: tunnels are enclosed, a dog walk is high and shifts underfoot, and the whole thing clatters.

Age changes how you train, not whether you can. Puppies have short attention spans and growing bodies, so keep sessions brief and impact low; older dogs need gentle movement and a proper warm-up. Neither is a reason not to start.

Build is what might rule a sport out. A long-backed, very heavy, short-legged or flat-faced dog isn't a candidate for repeated jumping and tight turns. That's structure, not failure, and those dogs are terrific at Rally and tricks.

Rally Obedience

A mix of agility, tricks and obedience, performed at heel around a timed course of numbered signs, each asking for something small: a sit, a turn, a change of pace, a piece of heelwork.

Anniina’s Border Collies, Sansa and Leeloo, celebrating their Rally Advanced trial sashes and trophies.

It's my sport because you can talk to your dog the whole way round, and both hand signals and verbal cues are allowed, far more forgiving than formal obedience. It feels like a conversation rather than a performance, and when things go sideways you can talk your dog back to you. Novice is on lead; dogs can compete from six months.

• Starting out: any decent obedience class teaches the basics Rally is built on: heeling, position changes, turns. Print the signs from the Dogs Australia rules and walk a course in your park. Shanelle Corben's YouTube series demonstrates every ANKC sign; the Pocket Rally and My Rally Coach apps are good for drilling, though both use American signs, which differ from ours.

Agility

Agility is all about speed and joy—foundations can start at home before moving onto equipment like tire jumps.

Jumps, tunnels, weave poles, an A-frame and a dog walk against the clock, with jump heights set by your dog's height at the shoulder. Nobody asks a Corgi to do a Border Collie's job.

It's a sport for two, and that's what people miss from the fence: the dog doesn't know the course. Nobody does until the handlers walk it beforehand, without their dogs. Getting your dog round in the right order is your job: position, shoulders, timing. A fast dog with a lost handler runs a beautiful wrong course.

What I love isn't the results, it's the joy, watching your dog take that much pleasure in the sheer running and jumping. Sansa is nine and still adores it to the point that holding her at the start line is a negotiation.

You never have to guess whether a dog is enjoying agility. They tell you.

• Starting out: foundations are handling, focus and body awareness. None of it needs a jump, and OneMind Dogs runs an online program you can do in a backyard. Begin around eight months once joints are developed; competition starts at 18 months, because growth plates close between 12 and 18 months and jumping before then is a real risk.

Trick Dog

Tricks are the easiest sport to start: 10 minutes a day at home & you choose the ones that suit your dog.

A titled Dogs Australia event since 2020. At Starter you demonstrate six tricks from a list of seventeen, rising to ten from twenty-nine at Advanced.

It suits every dog, because you choose the tricks, building a routine from what your dog can comfortably do rather than forcing a fixed set. A stiff old dog, a puppy who mustn't jump, a tiny one: each is shown to advantage by a different selection.

It's unusually kind to beginners, too: you can reward inside the ring. At Starter through Intermediate there's a reward station where you give food or a silent toy after a trick, so your dog gets paid for working in a strange place.

I love it because I love watching my dogs learn. There's a moment when a dog works out what you've been asking for. You can see it land. And it's pure joy, for them and me.

• Starting out: ten minutes a day at home, and YouTube is full of free tutorials. Get the trick list from the Dogs Australia rules, then do a workshop: how most people get their first tests signed off.

Where to start in NSW

Local clubs are volunteer-run and affordable. Budget around $100 a year and up. Private businesses, including Eazy Dog Training, K9Fun and Pawsitive Vibe Fitness, cost more for smaller groups and a quieter space. To trial you'll need DOGS NSW membership; crossbreeds are welcome via the Associate or Sporting Register.

WHERE TO TRAIN IN SYDNEY

Clubs are volunteer-run and timetables change. Check the website before you turn up.

• Sydney All Breeds Dog Training Club – St Lukes Park, Concord (Obedience)
• Leichhardt Dog Training Club – Hawthorne Canal Reserve (Obedience)
• St George Dog Training Club – Cahill Park, Wolli Creek (Obedience)
• Eastern Suburbs Dog Training Club – Centennial Park (Obedience, tricks + Rally)
• Manly & District (Northern Beaches Dog Training) – Deep Creek Reserve, Narrabeen (Obedience, agility, flyball)
• Northern Suburbs Dog Training Club – St Ives Showground (Obedience, agility)
• Sutherland Shire Dog Training Club – Waratah Sports Fields, Sutherland (Obedience, Rally, agility, Trick Dog)
• The Agility Dog Club of NSW – Castle Hill Showground (Agility only)
• Hills Dog Club – Castle Hill Showground (Obedience, Rally, tricks)
• Blacktown Kennel and Training Club – Glendenning (Obedience, monthly Rally)
• Penrith Kennel and Obedience Club – Orchard Hills (Obedience)
• Macarthur Dog Training Club – Clark Reserve, Kearns (Obedience)

Private classes: Eazy Dog Training, K9Fun and Pawsitive Vibe Fitness run dog sports classes in smaller groups across Sydney.

From home: OneMind Dogs for agility foundations. Shanelle Corben's YouTube series for the ANKC Rally signs. DOGS NSW has a full club finder at dogsnsw.org.au.

So, could your dog do that? Almost certainly. Pick the sport that fits the dog you actually have, start at home tonight with ten minutes and something worth working for, and build from there. That's how every dog I've competed with started, the lapdog included.

About the author

Anniina Gowen with her Border Collies, Sansa and Leeloo

Anniina Gowen is the owner and head trainer at Eazy Dog Training, which runs classes in basic training and dog sports across Sydney's Inner West and nearby areas, and specialises in anxious and reactive dogs. She is also a Lead Pet Educator for the Responsible Pet Ownership program in NSW, and competes in Rally Obedience with her Border Collies, Sansa and Leeloo. 

Website: eazydogtraining.com | Instagram: @eazydogtrainingsydney | Facebook: facebook.com/eazydogtraining