Author Archives: astoffel

Let’s talk about portion sizes. How much is your “scoop” of food? A scoop to you might be 8 ounces, a scoop to me two overflowing cups, and a scoop to the guy down the street might be a handful. In order to make sure that your dog is getting the proper nutrients that it needs, we really need to be looking at portion sizes on the food label. This will show you how muchContinue reading “How much are you feeding your dog?”

Is your dog easily distracted? Does she ignore you whenever anything catches her attention? Start having her work for her food! This will teach her that you are valuable and worth paying attention to. Plus, you’ll be able to get lots of repetitions in for any new skills that she’s working on. It’s a win-win!

I often hear people say: “my dog knows how to sit, so we can skip over this step”. But can your dog sit in a variety of situations, for different people, and around lots of distractions? Your dog may know how to get into a sit, but that is just the first step to teaching a solid command. Once your dog knows how to sit, teach them how to do it anywhere, anytime, and forContinue reading “Does your dog really know “sit”?”

Have you ever heard someone say “you get what you pet”? We’re talking about your dog’s energy and behavior. Petting is incredibly rewarding for your dog. When you pet your dog, you are essentially telling her that whatever she just did or is currently doing is good and earns her a reward. So if you pet your dog when she is panicked, jumping, barking, or whining, you are telling her that those behaviors will getContinue reading “You get what you pet”

Hank struggled with the vacuum when I first brought it out, so I wanted to turn this into a teaching moment because lots of dogs struggle with this. However, this fast learner only needed one correction to understand that he couldn’t chase the vacuum. So the video itself is underwhelming. You won’t see a big transformation or any huge learning moments for him. But we do go over lots of important information and strategies onContinue reading “Hank vs. the vacuum: an underwhelming story”

We’ve shown you how to introduce your dog to the cot, how to layer in the e-collar, and now we’re going to show you how to start adding in distractions. This step is really what we’re all working towards, but don’t forget to start slow with our first two videos to make sure that your dog has a good understanding of the place command before moving on to this step. Anytime you’re teaching a newContinue reading “Step three for the place command: distractions”

I love those ears! This was such a sweet moment in Molly’s training that I wanted to share with you all. Molly came in pulling at the end of the leash. And I mean PULLING. As in, you better not let go of that leash because she did not want to be attached to you. She was interested in everything but you. We’ve been working so hard on teaching her to prioritize us over theContinue reading “Work hard for the big rewards”

Working through a dog’s reactivity goes so much deeper than you might think. We have to set up very clear expectations for behavior. We have to teach them how to achieve a calm mindset. We have to teach them to look to us for guidance. And we have to do that in so many environments until it becomes second nature. Scout has shown some reactivity toward cars, and will try to run away from loudContinue reading “Working with reactivity”