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 you don’t heed those signs, your dog will stop trusting you and will likely try to control the situation herself (cue reactivity, running away -a lost dog, or a bite).

Shelby here is a nervous girl. She came in barking at everyone and everything that blew the wrong way in the wind. She was nervous. She was fearful. She didn’t trust anyone outside of her core group of humans. I was lucky enough to gain her trust quickly (maybe a little less about luck and a little more about strategic interactions). So then it became my job to not only protect her space, but help introduce her to this scary world. But first and foremost, it’s my job to make her feel safe. That means creating space, coaching people on how to interact with her (hint: Don’t. Don’t look at her, don’t say her name, simply pretend she doesn’t exist).

By removing all pressure from other people, it gives her the chance to understand that strangers are safe, that I have control of the situation, and that only if she chooses, she can interact with them. That last piece is huge for her to understand.

This picture is of my husband, Clayton, and Shelby. This is day 6 of her training program. Over the past 6 days, she’s seen him, heard his voice, even went on a short walk with him. But she didn’t trust him -he’s tall, has a deep voice, a giant beard, so I don’t blame her. 😉 So he just kept ignoring her and simply existing in her space. And then today she decided, “hey, he’s not such a bad guy. I think I like him!” And just like that, she was in his lap, giving him kisses, asking for belly rubs.

Give your dog time. Six days may seem like a long time, but in the grand scheme of things, it’s really not. We can’t force fear out of your dog, but we can show them that the world is safe. And that takes time.

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 on day one with leash skills, introducing him to the appropriate tools, and teaching him our new expectations.

He’s a smart guy and picked up on it. But here’s the deal with a stubborn dog like this: just because he knows the expectations doesn’t mean he’s always going to choose to follow them. It’s much more fun and rewarding for him to pull away and do what he wants. So his family is working hard on consistency, not only in their overall expectations of him, but between family members. Once he understands the clear boundaries, he’ll start to internalize this as the new way we do things.

His family is active, so he has a wonderful life full of adventure ahead of him!

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 working him through some of his anxiety. It’s all about building this guy up and showing him that he can do the hard things.

*Please ignore the slight time lapse in the first clip. Several edits later, and technology is still working against me 🤪

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 to do this is to use a crate, doggy seatbelt, or have someone else in the car that can help you if your dog breaks command. When you open the door -nothing changes. Your dog should hold that command until you have gathered your bags, unbuckled the kids, and are ready to move.

Not there yet? Take it slow and practice in the driveway. When it comes to safety, let’s practice and get it right.

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 things she usually finds scary and overwhelming. The balls hitting the rackets, the people running around and yelling out calls… they’re all overstimulating for her. And typically when she feels that way, she lunges, barks, or runs away. So we’re teaching her how to deal with that stress in a healthy way, and hopefully convince her that the world isn’t such a scary place!

For Opal, we’re working on impulse control. This girl loves to be right in the middle of everything, so we’re working on heel around lots of people and noises, and lots of down-stays and recall. All of this practice will solidify our expectations for her: stay focused and calm, and wait for my OK to go be silly and play!

Both dogs did great and I’m so proud of them.

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 times that I’m going to want to play frisbee and tug-o-war and simply watch her enjoy what she loves most.

We’re not here to restrict our dogs. We’re here to teach them how to handle structure, and how to handle freedom. That’s when life with a dog becomes really fun!

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 to stay in a command away from us that is hard. So we’re working through that, and you’ll see a couple of corrections as we help her understand the expectations. She’s doing a great job and we’re so proud of the effort that she’s giving us. Way to go, Opal!

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.