Who's ready for spring already? Welcome to Melville Untold, the publication with news so hot you can use it to start a bonfire. Get your marshmallows ready—here comes some Mellies stories!

In today’s newsletter,

• What Your Dog is Really Trying to Tell You 🐶

• Melville Koppies’ Call For Volunteers 🍂

• Security Upgrade On The Strip👮‍♂️

Let’s go. 

— Aubrey Moloto, Kele Jackson

The Digest

Decoding Dog Behaviour With Donald Capper: What Your Dog is Really Trying to Tell You 🐶

"Dogs are not machines—they have complex emotional systems like other mammals and avians." This powerful statement from Donald Capper highlights a massive disconnect between how humans perceive dog behaviour and what actually motivates our four-legged friends.

Sorry cat people, this story's for the canines! But don't skip, there are overlapping nuggets that cat owners can benefit from too.

Donald is a local dog behaviourist and founder of Dog 360. The "360" represents a holistic approach to animal care, well-being, and longevity rather than just focusing on obedience and commands as many dog trainers do.

This past Sunday, we were warmly hosted by Ziggy's Pet Pamporium for an informative and wholesome conversation with dog expert Donald, Ziggy's owner Cobi Meyer, and Jennifer Malec - a resident, dog specialist in training and Ripley & Hicks' owner.

The Corporate Escape Artist

Every good story starts at the beginning! It's 2009, and Donald is suited up, working for Dimension Data as an accounts manager for blue-chip companies and government departments in IT. Sounds thrilling, right?

Donald was insanely bored. Can you blame him? He was living the office life with his tie choking him like a leash on a dog yearning to explore. At 40, he felt weary, unfulfilled, and burnt out from corporate life.

Boom! He crashes out, hits a proper "mid-life crisis", quits his job, and decides to travel. Before leaving, he entrusts his best friend Luca - a Belgian Shepherd, to a trusted mate. Looking deep into Luca's unknowing eyes, with all the emotion in his body, he transmits mental images of how many sunrises and sunsets til his return: "Very short, easy-to-absorb movie clips."

Back to Purpose

Like many people on a journey of self-discovery, all roads led to India. He had to tick Tiger Lake off his bucket list. Donald had always loved animals but never really felt a calling before this trip.

He explored ancient parts of India and found himself in Rajasthan (mind the pun). It's a desert region near the border of Pakistan. There, he hired a bike and cycled 10 kilometres through the desert to swim in Tiger Lake.

While cycling, a motorbike whizzed past him, disappearing into the distance. He barely caught the words on the back: "Animal Aid Unlimited." A few kilometres ahead, he found a gate to a facility with the same name. With a profound feeling, he felt compelled to go inside.

The Turning Point at Animal Aid

At Animal Aid, Donald met the mystery rider, Raj, a friendly young man who welcomed him in and gave him a tour. The facility rescued and rehabilitated street animals: monkeys, elephants, dogs, cats and more.

India's cities are filled with stray dogs roaming the streets. Donald was moved to see them rehabilitate dogs that had been abused by humans, particularly one that had been hit by a tuk-tuk. He watched, amazed, as they used creative solutions, bending a soup ladle into a foot and bracing it onto the amputated dog to help it walk. He saw them perform water therapy in a reservoir for lame dogs, helping them walk and maintain circulation.

Donald was so moved by Animal Aid Unlimited that he rented a bike every day for a month and rode there to volunteer.

Homecoming and New Beginnings

He returned to South Africa with newfound vigour and purpose. Donald found that Luca hadn't eaten in three days and sat glued to the gate anticipating his return!

He immediately got stuck in and enrolled in a foundation course in behaviour at the Centre of Applied Pet Ethology, and then volunteered at a local shelter called Dog Animal Rescue Group in Hout Bay. Just like that, his new life began, and his work with dogs kicked off!

While in the Cape, he also did a workshop with Anna Breytenbach, a world-renowned animal communicator who taught him that animal communication involves mental telepathy and quantum connection. This explains why Luca got his mental images.

Boot Camp in Broederstroom

Before long, Donald was invited to work at a large dog training facility in Broederstroom, near Muldersdrift. It was a farm with 150 kennels. He had to start from the ground up in demanding conditions—no internet or TV. They'd wake at 4 AM, clean kennels, dip dogs, train puppies, and do lots of farm work.

He trained under people he believes are "South Africa's most unknown but greatest dog behaviour practitioners and breeders." He gained invaluable experience and knowledge, completing his studies in applied behaviour before returning to the real world in 2016.

Finding Home in Melville

Born in Hillbrow and moving to the Cape in his tweens, it was time to come back to Jozi and start his own practice. He searched for a place that felt like the areas he loved back in Cape Town, Observatory and Hout Bay. He loved the bohemian vibe of Obs and the community feeling of Hout Bay, wanting something similar here. The easy pick was Melville.

Melville was perfect because it scratched that itch, had animal-friendly shops and restaurants, and proximity to green belts stretching from the Koppies all the way to Delta Park. The perfect place to start Dog 360.

Building the Pack

He began consulting immediately and soon started taking clients' dogs to the park to train them in "life skills" for park environments.

Word spread and Dog 360 grew rapidly. At one point, he drove a Golf with 19 dogs—including a Great Dane named Blue to Delta Park! He later reduced the 19 to a "golden number of 10" per outing and bought a bakkie to better fulfil demand.

He was picking dogs up from homes, taking them to Delta or Emmarentia for an hour of freedom, exercise, mental stimulation, and socialisation. It's a routine he still maintains five days a week.

After some time coaching owners and doing behavioural training, he realised that many at-home problems stemmed from dogs not having sufficient outlets for energy and instincts.

Common Canine Conundrums

In Donald's nine years of working closely with dogs and their owners, he's seen several behaviours that owners tend to struggle with. He emphasises that most of these behaviours often stem from unmet needs or human misinterpretations. All dogs are different so this isn't for every dog and situation, but for many cases:

1. Excessive Barking: Many of them are "either barking for something, barking at something, or communicating with other dogs in their community."

2. Destructive Chewing: Often results from boredom or lack of appropriate outlets. Owners need to adapt too. Jennifer shared how her dogs chewed her rugs, so she removed them until her puppy matured. Owners need to adapt their lifestyles to mitigate certain issues. Often, owners don't want to change their behaviour but expect dogs to.

3. Separation Distress/Anxiety: A significant concern, usually highlighting the dog's need for connection.

4. Jumping Up: Often misinterpreted as attention-seeking, but fundamentally a "seeking connection" behaviour. Owners turning their backs confuses the dog. Scolding or punishing can create a rift in the relationship.

5. Growling at Children: This could imply a deeper issue needing investigation. Are they in pain or discomfort? How's their diet?

6. Not Coming When Called/Running Out Gates: Most times, this behaviour is a lack of training and understanding of dog motivation.

7. House Soiling/Lack of Toilet Training: Requires owner engagement and basic guidelines.

8. Over-excitement in General: Younger dogs have loads of energy and need physical stimulation. So exercise and a lot of activities should work in many cases.

9.  Aggression: Often rooted in pain or fear, not always dominance. "Pain is probably the most undiagnosed thing in dogs." They have higher pain tolerance and a fear of showing weakness. They sometimes use aggression to maintain a safe distance.

Debunking the Myths

Donald stresses that most "problematic behaviours" are created by humans, not dogs. There's a disconnect between how dogs think and behave versus how humans do. We try to interpret dog behaviour based on human behaviour, anthropomorphising everything.

He also feels there's loads of misinformation out there: "You go on YouTube—it's so polarising. No one knows what to believe." One major misconception is the flawed "Alpha Theory" and dominance-based training. "People are always fighting for higher status in society, so we project that thinking onto dogs. Dogs don't think like that."

Dominance-based methods might work short-term, but you end up with a dog that has psychological problems because it's living in fear. This leads to "fallout" where problems manifest in other ways.

Jen added that delayed punishment often doesn't work because dogs have a "short-term working memory capacity of up to four minutes". This reinforces the need for understanding and environmental management rather than punishment.

The Dog 360 Approach

Dog 360's approach focuses on key areas:

Diet/Nutrition: They emphasise species-appropriate diets (muscle meat, organ meat) over highly processed, high-carb dry foods. They highlight dry food's low moisture content and its negative impact on dog health (dry skin, allergies).

Donald noted that dogs naturally self-medicate and know what they need. He gave an example of a dog-care facility in Cape Town that has a garden containing certain plants that dogs traditionally used to heal and maintain good health.

Environmental Enrichment & Mental Stimulation: Crucial for preventing boredom and destructive behaviours. They also mediate tension in homes with multiple dogs or species by understanding each animal's experience and devising strategies for owners to "decompress and cope better."

Behaviour and Training Skills: Focused on understanding and coaching owners.

Pain and Rehabilitation: A growing focus area, recognising that pain is often an undiagnosed cause of behavioural issues. This connects back to Donald's experiences in India.

Looking Forward

There were so many more amazing ideas and insights from Donald, Jen, and Cobi that this article will need Part 2!

We want to break down these common "problem behaviours" Donald has seen in homes in the Tail End section in future newsletters.

Reply to this email and let us know which problems you're facing and we'll break it down with Donald's help next week.

Donald hopes that dog behaviourists like him eventually become redundant. He wants to see the relationship between humans and canines improve. He loves seeing trends like New York passing a bill for dogs to be officially classified as family members, and European countries allowing dogs in aircraft cabins instead of luggage holds.

He sees more races and cultures bringing dogs into their homes as family members, rather than just protection or hunting tools. This shows a broader improvement in dogs' quality of life. Overall, the future for dogs looks positive!

I Love Melville

Coming back to the Melville connection. His most memorable moment here was at Bread & Roses Café, owned by Julia, whom Donald describes as the nicest lady!

He was having breakfast with Luca tied to his chair when a lady in heels with a Chihuahua walked by. Luca, being the most social dog ever, wanted to say hello and chased them up the road. The lady freaked and bolted in her heels! Donald fell back in his chair as Luca ran up 7th Street with the chair dragging behind, Luca got the fright of his life when he realised he was being chased as well!

Donald is a Melvillian through and through. He's been an integral part of this community since moving here in 2016. He was involved with Streetopia and The Happening street festivals, and he's worked with many families to strengthen relationships between dogs and owners.

Get in Touch

To support Donald and Dog 360, contact him at:

Donald Capper

Certified Level 2 Thinking Pets Instructor (Advanced Certificate)

Facebook Page: Dog 360

073 250 7171

If this week’s digest helped with the relationship with your animals in anyway or you if you enjoyed the read, consider giving us a tip. Buy us a coffee?

What’s Happenin’ 🤔

New month, new fun things to do in our hood! We've updated the regular events on the Calendar. Some have been phased out and new ones have come in. Here's what's on this week...

Check out the events calendar for the full updated list - The Melville Pulse Events Calendar 

Melville Weather For The Week 🧣

We've definitely hit the coldest part of winter! Stay warm, you guys.

Wednesday 

17° 🌡️ 7°  | ⛅️ |  🌧️ 1% | SSW 9 km/h 💨

Thursday  

19° 🌡️ 4° | 🌤️ | 🌧️ 1% | ENE 13 km/h 💨

Friday 

15° 🌡️ 0° | ☀️ | 🌧️ 0% | ESE 9 km/h 💨

Saturday 

18° 🌡️ 4° | 🌤 |  🌧️ 0% | NE 7 km/h 💨

Sunday

18° 🌡️ 0° | ☀️ | 🌧️ 0% | N 11 km/h 💨

Monday 

16° 🌡️ -1° | ☀️ |  🌧️ 0% | N 9 km/h 💨

Tuesday 

14°🌡️ 2° | 🌤 |  🌧️ 2% | SWS 15 km/h 💨

Live & Music Events Lowdown 🎸

SK's is closed for a while and Chris is serving up rums in Cape Town. Needless to say, music events have, dare we say... quietened down a little?

Here are your music grooves for the week.

05/07 | Saturday | Coca Restaurant and Lounge | Word War Hip Hop | Free

For more updates as the week goes on, visit our instagram page @snapson7th or our new Melville Pulse event calendar

If our weather or comprehensive gig guide came in clutch, consider buying us a coffee. 

The Tail End 🐾

New Contestant Alert!

We've got a new entry into the competition! Meet Simba, our third contestant rocking a cute Minions jersey. He looks like such a happy doggie!

We also got our first vote, It went to Ripley and Hicks! These two are doubly cute and seem like they're going to be stiff competition as they pull ahead slightly.

So scores are: Ripley and Hicks 1, Marley 0, and Simba 0 too.

We'll be showing them every week till 1 September, so if you want a better chance of winning, enter while it's still early to gain momentum.

If you see these cuties on the 'gram or Facebook, do us a solid and give it a share? Let's make this fun for the whole community. Share this newsletter with a friend who has the best-dressed pets!

Missing Kitties

Sad News: There are 2 cats named Potato and Drake missing this week. The family is offering R1000 as a reward to anyone who brings Potato home. Drake was last seen on the 22nd of June here in our neighbourhood. Details below.

Civil Matters 👷‍♀️

Water Woes & Infrastructure Updates

Let's talk about something that’s taking centre stage this week, our water infrastructure and how to deal with those inevitable issues that regularly pop up.

When you spot a burst pipe, missing manhole cover, or dodgy reinstatement work in our area, this is the proper way to get it sorted:

Head over to https://customer.forcelink.net/joburg_water/login and log your complaint. You can report water-related issues, missing covers (which are genuine safety hazards), and problems with site safety or poor reinstatements after work has been completed.

The turnaround times aren't exactly speedy, but here's what you can expect: 

• burst pipes should be attended to within 7 days

• blocked wastewater drains get priority treatment within 24 hours

• Reinstatements, however, are a different story entirely. We're looking at 6 months to a year before sites are properly finished. That's quite a wait, but at least you'll know what to expect.

Current Situation in Our Area

Right now, there are 4 active sites being worked on in Melville, but about 30 sites are sitting in the reinstatement queue. It's quite a backlog, and you'll probably recognise a few of these spots around the hood.

Here's the thing that explains a lot: our infrastructure is estimated to be around 90 to 100 years old. These pipes have been serving Melville since the early days, so it's hardly surprising that we're seeing regular issues. 

The most frequent burst pipes happen along 5th Ave, 4th Ave, and 7th Ave. These seem to be the usual trouble spots.

So there you have it, Mellies. When you spot an issue, report it through the proper channels. The system might not be lightning-fast, but at least there's a process in place. And maybe keep an eye on those notorious avenues, they tend to keep the repair crews busy!

Stay informed and keep logging and reporting when you spot issues!

Melville Koppies Check-In

It's been a hot minute since we've checked in with our urban oasis! The Koppies committee needs your help. We're calling for volunteers to help keep this national heritage site alive and thriving.

We Need:

Conservation Volunteers: People who want to weed out vegetation that's dangerous to indigenous species, especially those with skills or equipment to remove intruding trees.

Sunday Morning Weeders: Join Elsje and the Sunday morning weeding groups. I went last week, it's super easy! Elsje will show you exactly what to do. They didn't lie; it is quite therapeutic once you get into it.

You can also assemble your own weeding parties and tackle Koppies East, which is open every day till 7 PM.

Reception Desk Help 8-11.30am Sundays: We need people to help at the reception desk, letting people in, taking entrance fees (used for Koppies upkeep), and facilitating customer entry.

Awareness Ambassadors: The koppies needs to spread awareness. Not enough people know there's this beautiful escape right in the middle of the city with so much history! Your reposts, shares, and posts about it go a long way. If anyone would like to do special features on social media or other public channels, reach out!

Tour Guides: We need more nature and history guides for schools and  guided tours on Sundays and midweek (we will train you if needed). Energetic hikers to help guide our Sunday 8km hikes.

General Maintenance: Support with general upkeep is needed too.

If any of these points resonate with you, or you'd like to help in any way, reach out to the Koppies Committee or come to Koppies Central between 8 and 11 AM on Sundays and fill in a form!

The Monthly Walk With Dogs

Other July happenings on the Koppies include the Walk with Dogs coming up this weekend on Saturday, 5th July. Join, Tony, David and I (Aubrey) as we guide hikers with their dogs on Melville Koppies West from 8 AM sharp.

• You don't need a dog to join us. 

• Wear comfy shoes as we'll be walking rocky terrain. 

• Informal security provided.

• Meet at the entrance in the cul-de-sac at the top of Arundel Road on 3rd Avenue. 

• It's R40 per person.

Merle's Monthly Stories

Then the following Saturday, 13th July, Merle Grace will host her popular storytelling events at Melville Koppies Central from 9 AM. Kids love these as Merle gets very animated, acting out the stories. Parents get into it too!

Normal Koppies entrance fees apply: R100 per person, R50 for under-18s, and under-5s go free.

Icing On The Cake 🍰 

If you read our article about the CIB/CPF patrollers, brought in by the Melville Business Association to help deter crime, you'd know what a great impact the initiative is having. It's definitely not a silver bullet, but a solid step towards a safer business node. There are stats to back that statement up!

Well, this payday weekend, sh*t just got real! The MBA took it up a notch and brought in very serious, no-nonsense-looking Goni Security.

Now these guys look tough! Cobi, of the MBA, helped facilitate the project. She spent Friday and Saturday night on the strip with the new security team in Danny's absence (sick leave) and watched them in action!

She reckons they stopped a few petty thefts, reported zero phone snatches, even helped alleviate traffic and stopped public drinking. These guys seem like the real deal.

There's been a crime spike over the last couple of weeks, and we couldn't have thought of a better time for the MBA to launch this. It's still early days, and this was just a trial over payday weekend with one more weekend to go.

We hope that businesses that don't contribute to the safety initiatives on 7th Street see the massive impact this will have on the business node and chip in so they can come in permanently!

Way to go, MBA. We've got to start somewhere!

Thank you! 🙏

Thank you for joining us for what we hope was a very informative Melville Untold! If you enjoyed the read, why not give us a tip?

You can also support the newsletter by advertising your business or services if they can benefit the community positively with us. Reach out to Aubrey at 060 529 3425 or reply to this email and enquire!

Keep safe, keep striving, and stay sexy, Melville!

We dey go! ✌️