Do you have two dogs that have their own agendas on walks? Maybe your solution has been to walk them separate, or to walk them really early or really late in the day to avoid distractions. That sounds exhausting, but we hear this all the time!
What if I told you that you can walk two dogs at once? Yes, even your two dogs that love to pull you around like a sled dog. It starts with setting the right expectation and being very clear about what it means to walk on leash. And it’s not as difficult as it sounds.
Let’s take the time to show your dogs how to walk together. Calmly, respectfully, patiently. You CAN enjoy walks with the whole family, and w can show you how!
For all of our water-loving dogs out there, this one’s for you! Make sure that you save this page and check back before taking your pup to the beach. Water health and safety is incredibly important with dogs, because they can and will lap up that water on a hot day. The last thing we want is a sick dog after a fun day in the water.
Dogs and fireworks don’t mix very well. Fireworks are loud and unpredictable and are incredibly scary for our pups. And every year there are countless reports of dogs that go missing or run away because they were spooked by the big booms that the rest of us enjoy.
So what can you do?
You can take this one easy step to prevent your family from losing your dog. Grab a leash, ideally a slip leash if you can, and KEEP YOUR DOG ATTACHED TO YOU all weekend. Even if you have a fenced in yard, or if you have the best trained dog in the neighborhood, it’s not worth the risk. Dogs can and will do what they need to in order to escape when they are afraid, including backing out of collars and harnesses, jumping fences, and hiding in places we wouldn’t think to look. This one tool can save you so much heartache.
And please, leave your dog at home when you go watch the fireworks.
Did you know we do monthly group walks with all of our program graduates?? They’re one of our favorite ways to stay connected with our clients and provide long-term support.
Despite the cold and snow, we had a fantastic turnout with 13 dogs for our April group walk! These dogs and their owners are working on everything from reactivity, over-arousal, listening around distractions, and so much more. And we can’t even begin to put into words how proud we are of everyone’s hard work. Take a look at this amazing group and the incredible walk we all had together.
Interested in being part of a community of dog owners that not only supports each other, but continuously looks for ways to become more engaged, open, and involved in the community WITH their dogs? Check out this unique program that we offer here!
We are celebrating two years in business today! What a two years it has been. From opening a business during a pandemic, to building our programs and our team in some big and unexpected ways, these past two years look nothing like we could have imagined. And we wouldn’t change it for the world.
We are so thankful for the 77 (wow!) families that have trusted us to help guide them and their dogs into a healthier, happier, more fulfilling lifestyle together. We know that it’s hard to ask for help, and it’s even harder to take that help and truly apply it to make some big lifestyle changes with your dog. So we thank you for welcoming us into your families and stepping out of your comfort zones.
This is just the beginning! We have some big changes in the works that will only increase our ability to help more dogs and their families in the Madison area. So stay tuned, you won’t want to miss out on what’s coming next!
We are dog trainers. I think you know that. Which means we spend a lot of time talking about how to work on your dog’s behaviors, work through issues, reach new goals. But did you know that we also use A LOT of play to help your dogs learn?
Playtime is a great way to connect with your dog, build a strong bond, have fun, release some stress, build confidence, try a new skill… and the list goes on and on.
So while we aren’t always playing with our dogs, it is an absolutely critical piece of the relationship puzzle that we don’t want you to forget about.
Want a well-rounded, confident dog? Get out and play with her. No agenda, no plan, just go and have some fun!
If you’re learning how to work with your new ET-302 system from E-Collar Technologies, you’re going to want to take it slow and really get to know your system. The buttons function differently when you have two dog collars paired to one remote, and it takes time and practice to get used to them.
We’ll run over the three main functions that we believe you need to know when working with your two-dog system:
Setting each dog’s individual stimulus level
Using the tone feature to communicate with each dog
Turning each collar’s LED light on and off
There is so much more to e-collar training than these three basics. So don’t expect to learn how to e-collar train your dog from this video. But it is a great start to fully understand what the buttons do, how to communicate with each individual dog, and how to confidently start using your new system.
If you are looking to train your dog on an e-collar, please make sure that you are using a high-quality brand, and getting the help from a professional trainer. There are a lot of nuances that go into e-collar training, and with so many benefits available to you when working with this tool, we want to make sure you’re set up for success from the start.
Yes! Your dog is never too old for training. And neither are you!
Now that doesn’t mean that age doesn’t have an affect on your dog’s training. The older a dog is, the longer it has had to practice any number of behaviors, both good and bad. But don’t let your old dog fool you into believing that she’s too old and you’re now stuck with her behaviors forever.
Yes, it is true that we tend to see faster results when training young dogs and puppies. Dogs are very impressionable at a young age, they want to please you, and they think that you’re the best thing around. So of course we can teach them a lot!
But there’s also a lot to be said for learned behaviors: the longer a dog has to practice any given behavior, the more ingrained it becomes for her. If your dog gets to bark out the window every day, that’s going to be harder to work through than a puppy that doesn’t bark yet. If your dog pulls on the leash every time you step outside and has for the past four years since you brought her home, you’re going to have to unlearn that behavior and instill a new expectation for your walks. Compare that to a new pup that has no idea what a leash is or just how exciting the world is yet, and there’s a different level of training that needs to take place.
But again, please don’t believe that your old dog is a lost cause. Old dogs can and do learn new things every day, so there’s no reason that yours should be an exception. Take a look at this clip where we talk about how and why we can and should keep training old dogs. It’s god for them, and it’s good for you!
