Positively Loved: Dog Training

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Positively Loved: Dog Training

Hi there, my name is Lexi! I’m a certified dog trainer with a KPA-CTP

12/09/2024

Stress free, restraint free nail trim on 7-8 month old Percival! Husbandry skills don’t have to be stressful!

Depending on your dog most of them need their nails trimmed at least monthly to maintain them at an appropriate length, long nails can cause discomfort and early onset arthritis for your pup. I cut my dogs nails very often, while we only need to take small slivers off when we do it helps me to stay on a consistent schedule!

Does your dog struggle with nail trims? You’re not alone! While some dogs have a poor experience with nail trims, others are simply born being more adverse to it. Consider cooperative care or a solid training plan to set your pup up for success! If you and your furry companion are struggling we would love to hear from you!

29/09/2023

✨ Cooperative Care ✨

Here is a real world example of training and the progress we’ve made!

Pyro found nail trims aversive from the day I brought him home, while he could be bribed with some food to do his nails it only became worse as our nail trims continued. This happened despite the fact that I never held him down for nails, cut his nails too short or made any of it a bad experience. In fact he always got yummy treats and lots of praise during the nail trims. Sometimes it doesn’t take anything big and scary for a dog to decide they don’t appreciate something.

About 1.5 months ago I decided to take a cooperative care approach to nail trims rather than the desensitizing and counter conditioning we were doing before. While they do work and have a place in dog training, I feared damaging our relationship or making him feel like he has no other choice if he wants the reward.

Cooperative care allows him to opt in and out of the training as he pleases, at no point do I withhold a reinforcer, punish him for not engaging/moving away or force him into anything he doesn’t want to do. This helps maintain the strong bond I’ve worked very hard to create and creates a trust between the two of us, at no point will I force him into something he finds scary or aversive unless it is absolutely necessary. It’s a promise that I will always work with him to maintain his comfort and mental wellbeing, even if it makes taking a little longer to do things.

This is our progress so far, working on our nail trims about once a week for around 10 mins for the past 1.5 months. In total about 60 minutes of training. Due to his age a few things have taken priority so this has been sitting a bit on the back burner, if we had invested more time I am positive we could be much farther along. But real life can sometimes be hard to fit in even a 10 minute training session with everything else! This last session we fit in just before heading to work this morning!

I am very happy that I can now trim most nails as long as we have breaks and plenty of reinforcement, we still have progress to make but this shows that really even a small investment of time can make a world of difference in the long run. I do plan on making this more of a priority for Pyro very soon, so keep an eye out for future posts!

As always please reach out if you would like to learn how to do the same with your dog!

19/09/2023

Have you struggled having your dog examined by a vet? It can be so stressful for both you and your dog! What if there was an easier way?

Cooperative care!
This is a type of training that uses consent to have your dog not only accept but actively participate in exams, nail trims, ear cleaning and so much more!

Attached in the comments are two videos of Pyro happily participating in some common things you’d see in an exam. He’s offering a chin rest that he can leave at any time he’d like, but instead he chooses to stay where he is and remarkably still for a 6 month old Border Collie puppy!

If you’d like to learn more please visit my website or message me! I would love to work with you and your furry family members!

Positivelyloveddogtraining.ca

18/09/2023

Meet Chip!

The cutest, and smallest, orthopaedic disaster out there! But maybe I’m a little bias 😉 This little man enjoys laying in the sun and snuggling up to a warm blanket. He’d prefer to live out his days retired, no more training! He wouldn’t mind if the treats kept coming though! Some dogs love training, but Chip knows he’s too cute to have to work for his food!

Chip has bilateral luxating patellas and hip dysplasia, our work on cooperative care has made his at home exercises easy and stress free for both of us! It also helps to maintain our relationship when he needs any husbandry procedures!

Chip is a 1.5 year old Chihuahua at only 3.5 lbs, he’s far too cute for his own good! You might see Chip in some future videos using cooperative care or some fun tricks on a day he’s feeling up for it! For now he’ll enjoy his snuggles with his grandma and friends as he continues his recovery ❤️

If you or someone you know is looking for training please don’t hesitate to reach out!

25/08/2023

Meet Pyro!

The cutest little 5 month old ball of fluff! This little man is a Border Collie! He’s so happy to meet everyone/everything and so ready to learn! Food and other dogs are his favourite things!

He’s crazy but I wouldn’t have it any other way! As Pyro continues to grow and learn he’ll become a very important part of my training system, both helping me to teach group classes and to use as a demo dog. He’s insanely smart and so eggar to please! I can’t wait to see everything he accomplishes!

He looks forward to meeting everyone!

24/08/2023

Muzzle training!

This is such an amazing tool to teach every dog! You never know when you might need one incase of an emergency or somewhere you’re bringing even the best behaved pup might require them to wear one!

Muzzle training is a great way to keep your pup stress free if that situation ever comes up! It’s also something I find when trained right they have a lot of fun with!

Here’s Pyro in only his second session! If you’d like to learn more please don’t hesitate to reach out! 🩷

22/08/2023

Meet the reason for it all!

This is Cookie, the girl who started it all for me! I adopted her from a shelter when I was 18. I really had no idea what I was getting into!

The struggles we faced everywhere from reactivity to a significant bite record, this girl put me through challenges I never could’ve expected. I learned through our ups and downs, and boy was there a lot of them! No one is born with perfect skills in dog training, so it is completely normal to struggle! I think being transparent about my own struggles will help me not only be a better trainer but connect with everyone a little more. We aren’t perfect but our pups make us want to be! I never would’ve made it to where I am today without the help of some amazing dog trainers in my life!

Cookie was the most loving and amazing dog I could’ve asked for, her love for her people and how much she adored training helped us grow together. The progress she made still makes me so beyond proud. Unfortunately we said goodbye last year, every part of me wishes she could be here to see what we did together. I made my logo in honour of her, a perfect girl who wore her heart on her nose for those she let get close 🩷

This girl sparked a love for training that has made me want to learn and grow, to help people who struggle just like I did. To help them see how amazing life can be with their dog, even if it doesn’t seem like it in the moment.

Everything I learned has made me into a strong and skilled positive reinforcement trainer. I take pride in the training I’ve done with both my own dogs and clients dogs.

My dogs I have right now are my training partners! Pyro, a young, smart and confident Border Collie who you will be meeting officially very soon! And Chip, a petite chihuahua who loves nothing more than to snuggle up on a couch and play with his toys. I completed my KPA-CTP program with Chip! He considers himself retired now so you will be seeing less of him 😂

I strive to always do better, to never stop learning and help in anyway I can along the way! Thank you Cookie, for starting me on this amazing path 🩷 You will be forever in my heart

20/08/2023

Hi there! This is my official launch of my training program! I look forward to continuing to learn and helping owners and their beloved dogs!

My website is:
Positivelyloveddogtraining.ca

Please check it out 🥰

Address

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+15196397953

Website

http://positivelyloveddogtraining.ca/

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