Author Archives: astoffel

Copper turns 7(ish) today! He came into our lives five years ago today, and little did I know how unprepared I was to help him. He had separation anxiety, couldn’t walk on a leash, didn’t know how to socialize with other dogs, hated cats, couldn’t be left alone, wasn’t house trained… Our first year together was very difficult as I realized that loving a dog wasn’t enough to give him the life that he deserved.Continue reading “Happy birthday, Copper!”

Treadmill training. Why do we do it? How do we do it? What are the benefits? Take a look at Ginger’s experience with the treadmill and how it’s helping in her training. I didn’t even mention that it’s great for building confidence! Ginger now LOVES the treadmill and asks to go on it regularly.

Sometimes training is active and fun and messy and meant to challenge both you and your dog. Sometimes I’m going to ask you to move differently, try new things, learn new skills, get a little uncomfortable.And then other times, I’m going to ask you to sit quietly and wait. Wait for that magical transformation when your dog chooses to relax into the moment. That moment when she accepts your guidance and you can watch theContinue reading “Worth the Wait”

I’m going to give you all a little tough love here: strangers don’t need to say hi to your dog. In fact, I don’t want strangers to say hi to my dog or any dog I’m working with. It teaches the dog to look to other people for love and affection and takes the focus away from me. This is especially true when we’re talking about fearful dogs. We need to create space and advocateContinue reading “Your dog, your rules”

Training doesn’t need to be overly complicated. It should fit into your daily routine. A few months ago, I had bought a new crate for the car. Rather than let the dogs run around like hooligans, I used this time to practice their self-control. They don’t need to be part of everything I’m doing, but they also don’t need to be stuck inside all day. Teach your dogs to be patient when you need it.Continue reading “Training for everyday life”

Let’s stop striving for perfection. It’s an exhausting and never-ending endeavor.Let’s stop striving for a perfect day, a perfect home, a perfect body, a perfect relationship, a perfect dog.Instead, let’s strive for progress. Let’s strive for effort.These are achievable, and they allow us to celebrate all of the little baby steps along the way.You’re never going to reach “perfect,” but you can always make progress.

This is a video I snagged from a lesson last week with Rastus. This dog pulled his owner to the ground and through a parking lot a few months ago. Look at him now! Change like this doesn’t come overnight. It takes hard work and committment. His owner said that it felt new and weird to slow things down and to think about walking his dog in a new mindset. Remember, we’re training your dogContinue reading “Trust the Training Process”

Dogs with impairments are just as trainable as any other dog out there. We may need to alter how we communicate with them, and we may need to get creative with our strategies, but there is no reason why these dogs can’t live full, happy, enriching lives out in the community. Don’t let anything hold you back from training a well-rounded dog!