STORMY ⛈️
Meet Stormy! This handsome Pyrenees has been waiting at Paws Crossed Animal Shelter & Adoption Centre for 2 years—way too long for a dog this amazing! Stormy is a super friendly, and 5 years old. He’s very well-behaved, and since he’s been at the shelter for a while, he’s has plenty of opportunity to work with multiple trainers which makes him a super easy dog to handle and makes him a great fit for so many homes. He can get a bit excited at times, but as you can see in the video he’s super responsive to corrections. He’s the kind of dog who just needs a chance to show how incredible he is.If you’ve been looking for a loyal, gentle companion, Stormy might be the one! Let’s help him finally find his forever home. Reach out to paws crossed animal shelter and adoption centre to meet him!
Threshold Training Success: A Thoughtful Christmas Morning
I recently worked with one of my clients’ dogs to teach them to stay behind the threshold of the kitchen area. To make the boundary clear, we used yellow duct tape, as blue and yellow are two of the primary colors dogs can see. This simple yet effective visual marker helped create a clear and respectful boundary for the dog to follow.
This Christmas morning, the training was put to the test during a busy family gathering, and it worked perfectly! The client shared a video of their dog calmly staying behind the threshold while food preparation was in full swing.
Seeing training techniques like this integrated into real-life moments is always rewarding. It’s a great example of how setting clear boundaries can create a more harmonious home environment for both dogs and their families.
If you’re interested in threshold training or other behavioral modifications, feel free to reach out!
Finding what truly motivates your dog is key to building effective training sessions. Every dog has their own unique ‘currency’—whether it’s food, toys, affection, or the thrill of a chase. If you feel like your dog isn’t motivated by anything, it may be a sign to dig deeper. Motivation can sometimes appear in unexpected ways, like a sudden interest in playing with a stick. When these moments come up, grab the opportunity! Engaging with your dog when they show natural interest helps reinforce their motivation and strengthens your bond. Remember, it might not always be in the perfect scenario, but when you work with what they offer, you’ll see progress. Embrace what they enjoy, and watch how it transforms your training!
Jack and I have been working hard on his door manners, which are especially important in his retirement community environment. Today, we tested his ability to stay behind the threshold, and he did great! Door work is essential for safety and structure, and by showing Jack as many different scenarios as possible—like someone entering or leaving—he’ll know exactly how to respond in real-life situations. Dogs see the world in ‘pictures,’ and the more pictures we can show them, the better prepared they’ll be for new experiences. In Jack’s eyes, affection is the biggest reward, so celebrating these wins with love makes all the difference for him.
This is why I do what I do ❤️
We’ve been working the last couple months helping a new dog migrate into a two dog home. We went at a steady pace, used a lot of distance and structure in the beginning.
I received this update this weekend. The new dog finally initiated some play! This is huge considering Sadie is a bit of an introvert, and struggled getting used to Steve (white dog) rapid movements.
I can see these two being best buds in the future 😊
Recall and release to an indirect reward
Leroy and I went out and worked on proofing some basic behaviours today. Super happy with his down “plats” In Motion. Is it IGP level? Absolutely not. But it’s come along way. It’s also important for a pig head like Leroy to get some forced rest in between our training. This dog will go till there’s no air left in his lungs. It’s impressive to watch him work, but it’s even more impressive for me to watch him rest. He struggles with this, but we are getting better at it.
Working 2 dogs at once
Want to challenge your skills? Try working multiple dogs at once. You would think this is twice as hard, but in my opinion it’s 4 times as hard. You have to make sure the dogs can understand when it’s their turn to act. I do this using body posture techniques and direct eye contact.
This is actually the first time I’ve done this with both, and you can see how just adding one extra dog can amp up the difficulty. For example: I was so concentrated on making sure the dogs knew who I was talking to that I merged my verbal cues with the body language cues. I also marked and went for the reward at the same time a few times, which can make the action of getting the treat out of my bag confused as the marker. but that’s why it’s important to observe your work, and challenge yourself. It’s the only way you’ll improve.
A lot of trainers talk a big game, but when it comes to their own dogs, they struggle, or simply don’t keep up with the work. In the words of @larrykrohn , “shut up and show me your dog”
I’ve been working with Ashley for about a month now and her confidence is really showing! I originally starting working with Ashley because of her fear reactivity. When I have a dog that is lacking confidence, I like to switch the leash to either a long line or flexi. I find it hard for a dog to be confident when they’re glued to your side and not aloud to explore. This doesn’t go for every dog but the majority of the dogs I’ve worked with who lack confidence to incredibly well when they’re able to explore their environment. We just have to let them be a dog, and investigate things on their own.
Now I wouldn’t recommend doing this until your dog has the basics down like a good recall, good engagement, and a strong reinforcement schedule. These things will ensure better control. Still be aware of the thresholds and the environments you’re in so you can set your dog up for success!
Here’s a small clip of me letting Ashley investigate a deer. She let out a little bark, but I was quickly able to get her to disengage, and she moved along. Notice her posture. This is a dog starting to display confidence.
Love this little girl ❤️
After working with so many dogs I’ve learned that easier to work with a dog than against them. Here’s an example. Kenya likes to start off her walks with sniffing, so I grant her that. Once we get up the hill, she likes to run around, so I grant her that by switching to a long line. Once all her energy is out, I start to throw in some more structure, and she’s willing to do so because she’s had her needs met. The change of the environment can completely change the way your dog acts. Once you learn to use that to your benefit and take advantage of the things you can work on when they’re in a current state, you can get a lot more achieved. Another example is at the end when Kenya is walking in a very nice heel. I take the opportunity to reward her position when shes most likely to maintain it, and continue to build reinforcement history for that skill. Which in the future will make her more likely to offer it.
Dog training doesn’t have a blueprint. Every individual dog has different ways of learning, different motivations, and different needs. Once you figure that out, it’s a lot easier to get to get things accomplished.
Kenya and I have been working on addressing some dog reactivity the last couple sessions. I do this from a safe distance where she can see the dogs, but isn’t close enough to have a reaction. I apply basic operant conditioning in hopes to condition a better response. This was our second session today and she had no reactions. Very proud of this young lady. Next week we will begin to work closer to the trigger.
Meet
Ralph!
Ralph is an American bulldog/ boxer cross, and is a beast as you can see. He struggles pretty badly with reactivity and classical approaches hasn’t seemed to work as well with it. As you can see he’s got extreme toy drive. From the minute I grabbed his leash, he found the balls on my belt and pulled me ass to the ground 😂 All though this might of been discouraging to some, I found it a really good thing cause I know his toy drive was next level.
I spent the session bonding with Ralph, and playing with him to gain his trust and respect. We had a great time. We were really put through the test when a dog walked right beside us on the sidewalk. Not going to lie, when I saw this dog coming I didn’t think I had a chance of getting his attention since I was certain he was definitely over threshold, but to my surprise he quickly turned around, ignoring the dog and reengaged in play. Why? Because he found more value in playing with me than the other dogs!
Now in the beginning the play is used for redirection, and gives him something to put his intense feelings into, but over time with constant repetition, his feelings will start to change about seeing other dogs due to the positive association of play constantly being applied at the same time he sees a dog. Now this type of play needs to have a lot of cooperative and competitive aspects to it for it to work. Changing a dogs complete mindset about their triggers can take a long time, but the results are worth the time!
Now this may seems easy and impressive right? Well I would hope so. This is my full time job. The real impressive part of it is yet to come. When I help transfer these skills to the owner to ensure she has the tools to work with her dog not only now, but years down the line. That’s what people pay for. Long term results.
Specializing in Behavior Modification for Reactive and Anxious Dogs
