Surf's up: woof!

Surf's up: woof!

Advertisement

An Australian dog trainer and former surfing champion is using the discipline of surfing to teach owners how to build healthy relationships with man's best friend.

On a sunny morning, Chris de Aboitiz heads out on his stand-up paddle board near Sydney, joined by Rama and Millie. The rescue dogs perform tricks and jump on their owner’s back as he rides the waves.

. Sydney, AUSTRALIA. Reuters/Jason Reed

The dog trainer, a former world tandem surfing champion, has been hitting the waves with his dogs for about ten years and has taken to using surfing to teach other dog owners to understand their pets.

. Sydney, AUSTRALIA. Reuters/Jason Reed

"Surfing is not just about training dogs, it is about understanding them and their behaviour," said Aboitiz.

"When you are surfing with the dogs they are allowed to look around but they have to sit on the board and not move, or we fall off and get wet," he said. "Training dogs for everyday life is the same."

. Sydney, AUSTRALIA. Reuters/Jason Reed

Aboitiz travels up and down the Australian east coast with his four dogs, all rescued from shelters, using this unique method to encourage owners to take a more disciplined approach with their pets.

"So many dogs are given away because people don't have control, their dog turns from an asset to a liability," he said.

. Sydney, AUSTRALIA. Reuters/Jason Reed

Aboitiz said he has had a positive response from dog owners, some of whom had taken to the waves with him, while others have embraced his training but stayed on dry land.

"People make a lot of mistakes in training their dogs, who end up being dominant over them," he said. “Training the dog is the easy part, you also need to train the owner.”

(Text editing by Brian McGee)

. Sydney, AUSTRALIA. Reuters/Jason Reed