# Diona The Trainer | Dog Behaviour Specialist Melbourne

**Diona Chu** — Melbourne dog behaviour specialist. 15 years across zoo, wildlife, and assistance dog work, now applied to pet dogs.

Private training $400 · Online puppy program $440 · Trainer mentorship from $920.  
In person: Newport and Docklands, Melbourne. Virtual: worldwide.

230+ five-star Google reviews · 3,000+ dogs transformed.

## About

Diona Chu holds a Bachelor's in Veterinary Science and a Master's in Early Childhood Education. She has spent 14+ years working across zoos, wildlife reserves, assistance dog programs, and pet training. She launched her own business in 2022.

Her methodology — Still Waters — is built around the idea that a dog whose needs are met and body language is understood behaves well without constant commands. She does not teach commands first. She teaches owners how to read their dog, and how to set up a day that makes good decisions easy.

Her dog Murphy — a black Labrador, certified assistance dog — is used as a working partner in reactive dog sessions.

## Services

### Private Dog Training — AUD $400
90-minute initial session. For dogs 12 weeks and older.  
In person in Newport and Docklands, Melbourne. Virtual worldwide.  
Four-week follow-up program available ($370–$380 per session).  
→ [Full details](https://www.dionathetrainer.com/private-dog-training.html)

### Good Puppy Blueprint — AUD $440
9-week self-paced online puppy program. Starts before your puppy comes home.  
Two personal 20-minute video check-ins with Diona included.  
Available worldwide.  
→ [Full details](https://www.dionathetrainer.com/puppy-training.html)

### Trainer Mentorship — from AUD $920
Three-part program for aspiring and working dog trainers.  
Part 1 — Theory (online): $1,955 · Part 2 — Practical, Melbourne: $4,370 · Part 3 — Business: $920  
Full bundle: $7,045. Payment plans available.  
→ [Full details](https://www.dionathetrainer.com/mentorship.html)

### For Breeders
Offer the Good Puppy Blueprint to your puppy families at $160 per puppy (vs $440 retail).  
Free Birth-to-Hand-Over development guide included.  
→ [Full details](https://www.dionathetrainer.com/for-breeders.html)

## The methodology: Still Waters

The PACE framework organises a dog's day into four modes:

- **PLAY** — Full engagement between dog and handler. Bond gets built. Excitement burns off.
- **ANCHOR** — Structured walking. Dog's brain on the handler, not the environment.
- **CALM** — Rest on the handler's terms. The most powerful and most-abandoned pillar.
- **EXPLORE** — Being a dog — sniffing, pottering, switching off — within boundaries.

The modes have hard edges. They do not blur. A dog in PLAY does not get treats when a trigger appears. A dog in CALM does not get released because it looks excited.

Alongside PACE is the waterline model: every dog has a baseline arousal level. Triggers push it up. The goal is not to manage reactions — it is to lower the baseline so triggers stop causing eruptions.

→ [Read: The four modes](https://www.dionathetrainer.com/blog/the-four-modes.html)  
→ [Read: Still Waters — the waterline model](https://www.dionathetrainer.com/blog/still-waters.html)

## Contact

- Email: happydogs@dionathetrainer.com
- Instagram: @dionathetrainer
- Location: Newport and Docklands, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
- Virtual: worldwide
- ABN: 54 766 785 542