A pet owner typically wants their dog fully integrated into family life, including meeting friends and family, and maybe even going on vacation. You didn't know that your dog would struggle seeing other dogs or when kids were playing nearby, or when traffic drive by. You didn't know you'd be staying home more and that you'd be looking for specialty pet sitters. It's not your fault that this is confusing. Even if you 'did the research', it's easy to end up in this position. A rescue dog living...
about 16 hours ago â˘Â 1 min read
When you've done training with your dogâwhether in person or onlineâhave you really understood why you play each training game? Why your instructor wants you to hold the leash a certain way, or deliver a treat at a specific moment or in a particular way? Or do you just try your best to follow instructions, trusting that your instructor is leading you down the right path? It's time to empower yourself. My goal isn't to hand you a recipe to follow. Recipes break the moment one thing changes! A...
1 day ago â˘Â 1 min read
Did you miss it? Want to watch again? The main presentation is first with all of the Q&As at the end. There were some great questions! YouTube Link (Video Replay) Would you rather listen while you walk your dog? I uploaded the audio version to my podcast đ Listen on Apple Listen on Spotify Dream Dog is designed to teach you how to train your dog in a way that makes sense for YOUR dog and for YOUR goals. It's individualized training in a small group format. Dream Dog is OPEN for enrollment now...
2 days ago â˘Â 1 min read
Are you just following a plan, or do you really understand what your dog needs? My goal as a dog trainer isnât to train your dog for you, and itâs not to give you a recipe to âfixâ your dogâs challenges. My goal is to help you truly understand your dogâso you can think for yourself, make good decisions together, and build a relationship that works for both of you. I was chatting with Susan yesterday and this is what she said: âI feel that up until now I have only been doing what people tell...
4 days ago â˘Â 1 min read
If you've been following me for some time, you know that I emphatically believe that how we train our dogs is NOT a one-size-fits-all. Trainers on TikTok or wherever you see them might love to tell you that you just need one method - to fix one thing - and your dog will totally transform. The real problem is that most training strategies, general advice and ChatGPT all treat every dog the same. They assume every dog has the same baseline, when every dog has their own unique personality and...
5 days ago â˘Â 1 min read
The free webinar is just 4 days away! Do you notice that people are struggling more with dogs now than they did in the past? If your parents or grandparents had dogs, did they spend the time, money, and energy training like you do? Likely not! So what's going on? Are we too busy? Too soft? Is it because we let them sleep on the couch and in our beds? Or maybe ... are dogs just different? We will be discussing this and more during the Free Webinar on July 15th. Bring your questions! If you...
6 days ago â˘Â 1 min read
Jade is just over a year old and is navigating some typical teenage feelings about the world. Her person is learning when to use high-arousal cues to help Jade, when to use low-arousal cues, and when to let Jade figure things out on her own 𼰠Jade is also learning a default "settle" behaviourâso when her person stops to chat, she relaxes instead of going on patrol! Superstar pup 𤊠Teaching our dogs to regulate their arousalâboth up and downâis an important skill, as is giving them space to...
7 days ago â˘Â 1 min read
6 Tricks to Training a Dog Who Actually Listens (WITHOUT LOSING YOUR MIND) Do you sometimes feel like you train and train and train, but when it really counts, your dog ignores you? Your training doesn't hold up? That happens to a lot of us and it is SOOOO FRUSTRATING. There's always a reason for it beyond the concepts of dominance or intentional disobedience. Dogs are very smart, but also very simple in a lot of ways. Dogs do what works, what feels good, or what makes sense to them in the...
9 days ago â˘Â 3 min read
Big Feelings? Energy Matters! In puppy classes, most of us were told to be exciting, be upbeat, sound happy.. and that is great advice - when you want to excite your dog. With our big feelings dogs though, we often want to calm them down, slow them down, help them relax. When calmer is the goal, use your "Morgan Freeman" voice. If your dog has big feelings, your energy matters - and it matters a lot. Match your energy to what you're actually asking for. When you want excitementârecalls,...
11 days ago â˘Â 1 min read
