The Companion Coach

01/28/2025

According to the Yerkes-Dodson Law, there’s an optimal level of arousal for learning to take place. However, just like us, dogs can slip into a more relaxed or frustrated state, making it harder for them to focus and learn.

If your dog slips into a relaxed state, check if they need a nap. If they’re not tired, try getting them engaged with exciting toys, introducing new challenges, or offering some physical or mental exercise to get their energy up.

If your dog is frustrated or anxious, give them breaks, try calming techniques like massage or soothing music, or create a quiet space for them to reset. Letting them sniff or lick something can also help them decompress.

Remember, self-regulation is a process, just like it is for us. We all learn to regulate our emotions at different stages in life, and the same goes for our dogs. Take it one day at a time and celebrate those small wins for both yourself and your dog!

12/31/2024

Make sure to scroll all the way to the last goal—it’s where I’ve saved the most important one 😉❤️

I’ve come up with a few fun New Year’s Resolutions you can easily do with your dog anytime this year! Forget ‘New Year, New Me’—you and your dog are stepping into 2025 with an open mind and a playful attitude.

I’m still here to guide you with obedience training, education through play, and body language. And if you’re planning a field trip but feeling a little nervous, reach out to me for support while you plan. I can’t wait to see all the amazing things you and your dog will achieve this year!

Have any other resolutions to add? Leave a comment—I’d love to hear them, and I’m sure other pet parents would love the inspiration! 🐾

12/25/2024

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from our family to yours! ❤️

Ellie (our CEO) has an important announcement for all her fellow pups: She hopes Santa spoiled each and every one of you and that your day is filled with love, laughter, food, more food, and even more food!

I also want to thank all the humans for being part of our journey this year. I’ve loved playing, petting, teaching, talking, and celebrating all the small wins your dogs have achieved!

Stay tuned for Ellie’s New Year’s picture—she’s going to look adorable! 😂

12/13/2024

Before becoming a dog trainer, I spent years in counseling positions helping men and women heal and thrive. During that time, I encountered many different anger styles, ranging from those who didn’t allow themselves to feel anger at all, to others who became very volatile and had little self-control in the face of this emotion—and everything in between.

What I learned is that every single person feels anger. The key is learning how anger shows up for you and then using that insight to take specific actions that help you become more comfortable with it.

You’re not a bad person if you feel anger towards your dog, partner, child, or friend. In fact, I’d argue that you’re actually awesome for recognizing and naming how you’re feeling in your relationships.

My DMs and comments are open for your thoughts. Feel free to share this post with a fellow pet parent as well. ❤️

12/10/2024

Let’s put a face to The Companion Coach!

Hey, my name is Amanda, and I’m a certified dog trainer based in the Milton/Halton area of Ontario, Canada 🇨🇦.

I started my business because everywhere I turned—on TV, YouTube, Instagram, and even in my own neighborhood—all I saw were dominance-based training methods. The relationship-building aspect between humans and their dogs was often missing entirely.

I’ll never forget when another trainer turned to me and said, “Oh, positive reinforcement is great for puppies…” as if older dogs needed punishment-based tools to learn. That moment made me realize how important my voice and perspective are in this industry.

Too often, I hear stories about how dogs are treated, and it drives me to do better—for the dogs and their humans. My goal is to help dogs learn in a humane environment that’s built on patience, love, joy, and fun. I also aim to equip pet parents with the skills and knowledge they need to avoid relying on tools that could cause more harm than good.

Every animal (us included) deserves a safe place to learn, grow, and make mistakes.

So, welcome to my page! Take a look around, get to know me, and feel free to reach out—I’d love to connect and be a part of your journey with your dog.

12/09/2024

Enrichment is more than just walks. Like humans, dogs get bored and need activities to occupy and challenge their minds.

Here are 14 activities you can try with your pup. I included some popular ones and a few that are a little out of the box!

Which one does your dog love most? Did I miss any of your favorites? Drop them in the comments ⬇️😊

11/01/2024

Did any of these resonate with you? Did you want to share your own? Let me know in the comments! 👇

10/31/2024

Big E, The Ello G, Boss Lady K is in the house! Haters don’t faze her. 😎

In the last photo, she was supposed to be me (a dog trainer), but my shirt with my name and logo doesn’t fit her! 😂😂😂

Happy Halloween 🎃👻

10/30/2024

🎃 Halloween is near! Here are 4 tips to set your dog up for success tomorrow night!

I personally love number 4 for all the pups who are like, “Trick-or-treaters? Heck no!” They’ll appreciate your creative thinking by using the driveway, sidewalk, or any other out-of-the-box idea for handing out candy.

Tag and share with your friends! Hope everyone has a safe and happy Halloween! 🐾🍬

09/23/2024

There’s a lot of conflicting information in the dog training world—much of it extremely outdated. One of my goals is to guide my clients and their dogs to run and hide from these statements and misconceptions, just like Lorelai and Rory are hiding from Emily ;)

In the post above, here are five common ones that I hear a lot, with an honorable mention:

‘Rub his nose in it when he has an accident’ when a puppy is first learning to go to the bathroom outside.

Are there any misconceptions you hear on a daily basis? Drop them in the comments below; I’d love to hear them! 🩷🐾

09/11/2024

Whether dogs like it or not, they often have to follow human rules—feeding times, what they’re fed, when to walk, when to lay down, when to heel, when to stop sniffing, when to train, and the list goes on.

Personally, I know that being constantly told what to do would drive me nuts! 😉

Here are 5 simple and easy ways to give your dog more choice, more freedom, and let them be the boss of their own life.

Trust me, this will do wonders for your relationship ❤️

09/04/2024

I had an amazing opportunity to sit down with Scott and Danielle from Experience Milton to share all about my business and passion for training dogs and working with pet parents.

Shoutout to Zephra for joining me on one of my sessions and taking amazing photos as well! It was a very cool experience 😊

Please check out this article 🐾🩷

Amanda Malott, owner of The Companion Coach, is transforming dog training in Milton with her relationship-building approach. Read more inside!

08/30/2024

Real talk:

I see many pet parents passing their dogs off to others with a request like, “Please train them and return them to me.”

Here’s the problem: By doing this, you miss out on learning and growing with your dog. The trial and error process is crucial and is lost when you don’t take an active role in training.

Another issue is pet parents who book just one hour of training, receive homework, and then never follow up. Change doesn’t happen in one hour. Behavior modification requires consistent practice in various environments and situations.

Instead, let’s embrace the journey with our dogs. Forget the “all or nothing” mindset and the idea that you need hour-long sessions every day. Short, consistent sessions can be very effective. And remember, those longer sessions with your trainer are really for you 😉.

We trainers are here to support you. Most of us became dog trainers because we want to be by your side, cheering you on and helping you reach your goals.

I’d love to hear your goals! Send me a DM, and let’s kick off this adventure together!

08/14/2024

Ever wonder what’s happening in your dog’s brain during reactions like resource guarding or leash reactivity? It’s not just them being difficult—there’s a lot going on neurologically.

Both humans and dogs have a limbic system and a cerebral cortex. While our brains are more advanced and capable of logical thinking, even we can lose control in highly emotional situations, allowing the limbic system to override the cerebral cortex, which handles higher-order thinking.

The same goes for our dogs. Their brains are less advanced, so keeping them below their stress threshold is crucial for learning. As explained in Slide 5, while humans can recall past experiences and regulate emotions, dogs rely more on direct reinforcement, learned associations, and routines. Slide 4 outlines the importance of keeping the limbic system and cerebral cortex balanced for effective training.

When you hire a dog trainer, they’ll assess the environment to ensure your dog’s limbic system, cerebral cortex, and body language (since dogs rely on non-verbal communication) are all aligned for learning.

I’m here to help you and your dog on this training journey. Send me a DM to book a free consultation call—let’s get started!

07/26/2024

Here’s a common pitfall I see in my sessions with pet parents: not acknowledging the behaviors they enjoy from their dogs. This isn’t intentional. From a psychological standpoint, our brains are wired to focus on the negative aspects of life or behavior for survival purposes. Additionally, we tend to avoid feelings of pain or frustration, which is often why people seek out training services in the first place.

However, dogs are constantly displaying behaviors, both “good” and “bad.” Ignoring the “good” and focusing solely on the “bad” signals to your dog that there’s no value in the positive behaviors they’re showing, due to the lack of reward or praise.

For example, young puppies are typically excellent at checking in during walks, making eye contact frequently. I love teaching loose leash walking to young puppies because they are so eager to look at you and receive a smile. Most people don’t notice how much a young puppy actually checks in on leash, so this AMAZING behavior goes unreinforced. As a result, as puppies grow into adolescents and adults, they stop.

Then, you book a session with me and say, “My dog never pays attention to me on walks.” The truth is, they did when they were young, but they stopped because there was no value in it for them. Of course, we can retrain this behavior, build up the reinforcement history, and show them that we actually LOVE eye contact, apologizing for not noticing sooner.

For one week, make a conscious effort to highlight and praise at least three positive behaviors your dog displays each day. Share these moments with family or friends or even send me a DM to keep yourself accountable and notice all the positive things your dog does all by themselves. 🐾🩷

07/10/2024

The Five Freedoms were established in 1965 by the Brambell Committee to enhance farm animal welfare. Originally designed for farms, these guidelines are now universally applied to all animals, including pets like our dogs 😊.

While widely embraced in animal welfare, the Five Freedoms are not typically specified in every country’s laws. Instead, they influence how laws are crafted to safeguard animals. These principles have significantly influenced global standards in veterinary care, animal husbandry, and training.

The Five Freedoms include:

• Freedom from Hunger and Thirst
• Freedom from Discomfort
• Freedom from Pain, Injury, or Disease
• Freedom to Express Normal Behaviour
• Freedom from Fear and Distress

Here at The Companion Coach, we make sure to follow these freedoms because they are essential for creating a positive and enriching training experience that respects your dog’s physical and emotional needs. By prioritizing these principles, we ensure that every training session promotes your dog’s well-being and strengthens the bond between you and your pup.

Still curious and want to learn more? Send me a DM 🐾🩷

06/16/2024

I recently heard a story about a dog trainer who told their client that the dog views the relationship as transactional and that the dog doesn’t respect them.

If you’ve been following me for a while, you would have learned that dogs don’t think in terms of respect or disrespect. They are very in-the-moment animals and are driven by what they are seeking at the time.

The dog doesn’t react to a fearful thing and then think, “Oh, I’m doing amazing at disrespecting my human.”

The other part of this poor advice is that dogs view the relationship as purely transactional, with no emotion involved. These slides provide you with five different theories disproving that statement. I personally found eight different theories supporting the human-dog bond.

While I’m not that trainer and can’t know their thoughts, I do wonder if they convince themselves first, and then the pet parents, that dogs don’t love us as a way to rationalize and justify the punishment activities they recommend for their clients.

Please enjoy reading my post, which provides you with an alternative way of thinking and hopefully feeling 🐾🩷

06/02/2024

Let’s tackle some myths in the dog training world! Amidst conflicting information, I’ve compiled 7 myths that deserve debunking. Each is supported by studies from the Journal of Veterinary Behavior to the Journal of Applied Animal Behaviour Science, and beyond.

Enjoy the read, and feel free to share, comment, or like if you learned something new! 🩷🐾