Author Archives: astoffel

What is your mindset when you take your dog out in public? Is it:🔴 We’re going to have a perfect heel through the entire store!🔴 I’m just going to run in quick to grab something, my dog can handle that.🔴 I’m going to read my book at the coffee shop and my dog is going to sit quietly by my side the entire time.🔴 We’ve practiced this at home, he for sure can do thisContinue reading “Your mindset matters!”

101 Dalmatians is out! Do you know what that means? That means people are going to be adopting Dalmatians that probably shouldn’t be adopting that breed. Listen in as I talk about the difference between family pet training vs. movie training, why you really need to do research on any breed before you bring it into your family, and how this movie can make it difficult for some Dalmatian owners.

Working through car sickness can be tough. It’s slow, takes patience, and takes a lot of work to get your dog up to the point where they can feel comfortable in a moving vehicle. Shelby used to get sick driving more than 5 minutes. We’ve laid the groundwork and now we’re getting her moving. A 20-minute drive today, no issues! We’ll keep working hard over the next few days to make sure she can handleContinue reading “Shelby update: working through car sickness”

We love our monthly group walks, and not just because we get to see all of these sweet faces again. We love getting the chance to support you on your dog training journey! Dog training isn’t a once-and-done thing. It’s a lifetime commitment, and we’re committed to helping you through it. For current clients: come on out to work on those leash skills around distractions! We miss you! For our not-yet clients: we’re ready whenContinue reading “Free monthly group walks”

A message to all owners of fearful dogs: please stop forcing interactions between your dog and strangers. The fastest way to lose your dog’s trust is to force them into something they aren’t comfortable with. If your dog is showing any signs of discomfort with a stranger (ears back, tail between the legs, barking, trying to back away, nervous peeing), please listen. Provide space so that your dog doesn’t feel the pressure to interact. IfContinue reading “Stop forcing your fearful dog to meet strangers”

Remember Bruno? I finally had a chance to put together some of his walking clips to show you guys his progress. He came in pulling and leash reactive to other dogs, and just completely uninterested in the person at the other end of the leash. He’s a big guy and could easily pull his family around, and with a little one in the stroller, that just wasn’t safe for anyone. So we got to workContinue reading “Bruno’s leash progression”

This video is from Wednesday, just three days into Bentley’s training. We’ve already started taking him on field trips, which is pretty atypical this early on. But in this case, he needed the extra challenge. He’s an anxious little guy and if we only work where he’s comfortable, we’re not doing our part to help him. Listen in as I talk through why we’re going on outings this early and I show you how we’reContinue reading “Working through public anxiety with Bentley”

Car manners! I see way too many dogs sitting in their owners’ laps with their heads sticking out the window, or jumping from front seat to back barking at everything they see. It’s just not safe. For you, for your dog, for anyone else on the road. When you get your dog in the car, ask for a down. And then hold your dog accountable for that command for the entire ride. The easiest wayContinue reading “Car manners”