The Dog Blog

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. If

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 work

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’re

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 way

Field trips are a huge part of our board and train program. We want to make sure that your dog understands how to focus and perform all of their commands, whether at home, or in a busy environment. Check out this clip of Opal and Loki working at a local park last week. We had different goals for each dog, but the process is really similar. For Loki, we are building up her confidence around

Dog training isn’t about restricting our dogs or shutting down their personalities. It’s about bringing out that personality… at the right times. There are times I’m going to need a dog to sit silently by my side while I pay at the cash register.There are times I’m going to need her to stay focused on me and in a tight heel as we walk through a busy market or cross a busy road.And there are

We’re increasing the challenge for Opal by taking her out to a wide open field with another (well-behaved) dog. We have a long line on for safety, and just have her dragging it in case we need to grab it. In this session, we’re having some off-leash fun, working on our sit-stays and down-stays, and recall. She actually likes hanging out close to us, so recall isn’t the biggest challenge for this girl. It’s learning

Dogs don’t need exercise to be calm!We have two dogs with very different behaviors and needs, but both are starting their days the same way: with the place command! Calm is becoming the standard for them every day. We’ll allow fun and play later, but we don’t want that to be their default mindset.*Please excuse my shaky camera skills.