Heart Dog Behavior and Training

08/23/2024

Loki and his family have worked hard with us on fear, reactivity, anxiety, and even positive reinforcement based rattlesnake avoidance training, and it shows in the relationship they have with him today. We love helping people build beautiful relationships with their dogs through fun, humane training 🦴

08/19/2024

Back to school isn’t just for our human kiddos 📚✏️ We are back from our summer break on classes and are ready to work with you and your dogs in our Westside Good Manners class!

When: September 7, 14, 21 and October 5 and 13 at 9am (no class will be held on September 28)

Where: An outdoor space located in the Village of Corrales (address will be provided after signups)

What: Good Manners Class; this class covers how to teach basics such as sit, down, stay, recall, loose leash walking and more through positive reinforcement based training

Please visit our website heartdogbehaviorandtraining.com to claim your spot today!

08/10/2024

08/05/2024

We’d love to help Herby’s adopter build his confidence!

LET'S NOT FORGET ABOUT HERBY! He has been in foster care for a long time, due to no fault of his own. He is beautiful, with long legs. Herby has a loving personality and bonds strongly, and is calm and quiet. He is crate trained, house trained, and LOVES his daily walks. He is fearful of strangers, so it takes a couple of days for him to warm up to a new person. Herby needs a forever home!

07/31/2024

Hey Heart Dog community, we’re back with another Training Tip Tuesday! A common complaint that dog trainers hear about is that the dog knows a behavior and can do it perfectly at home, but struggles in other environments- and that makes total sense. Being out in the world can be like Disney World for dogs with so much to smell and see and do. It’s a big transition to ask a dog to go from responding to a cue in the living room to responding to it in an environment full of distractions! One way to help your pup with this is to introduce small distractions into training from the start- train with a hat on sometimes, train in your kitchen instead of the living room, sit in a chair instead of standing up, train in the backyard. When you’re ready to introduce bigger distractions, do so gradually and at a distance so that your dog can practice being successful!

07/24/2024

Help welcome these new little pups to Albuquerque! You can drop off items to ABQ Chihuahua Rescue’s next event on August 3rd, or at Good Shepherd Animal Hospital!

07/02/2024

Albuquerque Animal Welfare is doing free microchips and ID tags before the 4th- go check it out, as today is the last day. Both items are so important to help get a lost dog home!!

06/29/2024

Hey Heart Dog Community! We are so thrilled that we’ve gotten to meet so many of you in our group classes, and we look forward to working with many more of you in the future. We will be taking a summer break from group classes in order to recharge and refresh. We’ll be back soon, and class announcements will be made here and posted on our website as we begin scheduling again! In-home private consultations and dog walking will continue to be available throughout the summer ☀️

06/20/2024

Brilliant Mr. Brody and his mom are rocking our Foundations package! Here Brody is learning to wait at the front door until his mom tells him to go check out who’s in the courtyard. (Please work on exercises like this with your dog on leash if you don’t have a safe, enclosed courtyard or backyard like Brody’s family for your dog to go out into off leash!) Our Foundations package is really tailored to the individual goals of each person and dog we work with; manners at the door and with guests are important for Brody’s family, and he and his mom have put in the work to make wonderful progress on them!

06/16/2024

We have a favor to ask you, our shelter is in need of dog treats. Milk bones, pupperonis, beggin' strips, any others except no rawhides or hard bones. Thank you so much for ANY and ALL donations, the shelter pups will be very appreciative 💛💛🐾🐾

06/14/2024

Jim is enrolled in our Walk & Train program to work on loose leash walking and mild reactivity towards other dogs, and he’s doing great! In our training, we focus on setting dogs up for success and reinforcing them for the behaviors we want to see instead of punishing them for behaviors we don’t. Jim is definitely enjoying being reinforced for calm behavior around other dogs!

06/06/2024

Wondering what your dog might learn in our Foundations package? Helping you and your pup learn how to build a reliable recall is one thing we focus on! This is such an important cue for dogs to know for safety reasons, especially as we get deeper into camping season. Penne clearly loves this game, and her parents have done a fantastic job of making it a fun and positive experience so that she doesn’t hesitate to run to them!

06/01/2024

It’s June, which means now is the time to make a plan to keep your dog safe on the 4th of July! Ensure ID tags are on and up to date, microchips are updated, any necessary medications are available or make an appointment with your veterinarian to ensure you have them in time! Introduce your dog to their safe, cozy indoor spot as the holiday approaches so they’ve got lots of time to get comfortable there. This can be a tough holiday for dogs- start preparing now to make it easier!

05/29/2024

We love seeing dogs get an opportunity to use their brains and solve a puzzle- Clancy is having a great time foraging for his food that’s buried in this box! This is a great way to provide mental enrichment using things you already have around the house. Worried your dog will consume the non-food parts of the enrichment? Try a puzzle toy instead! Some of our favorites are the Kong Wobbler, snuffle mats, and the IQ Treat Ball. Enrichment can increase relaxation behaviors and decrease stress behaviors in dogs (Hunt et al 2022) and we love to see dogs relaxed and happy!

05/29/2024

Looking at the why behind a behaviour is the best thing we can do for our dogs, and ourselves.

When we see behaviour for what it really is, we realise it’s not personal, just practical for our dogs at the time.

05/25/2024

I give you the Westside Good Manners Class of May 2024!

It was an absolute pleasure getting to work with each of these pups and their dedicated parents. Oh, the places they’ll go 🐶🎓

05/23/2024

Billie and her dad reached out to us to help with her reactivity in late April. Billie barked, growled, and lunged at dogs from approximately 75 feet away when we began, and we worked hard from a distance to teach her that dogs predicted fantastic things! Her dad also worked hard between sessions- As her Reactivity Package ended today, she showed relaxed body language and was able to remain engaged with her Dad with another dog just 15 feet away! Training is not a linear journey; there are always highs and lows, good days and more challenging days. By working to create positive associations with other dogs for Billie, our hope is to create more good days for her and her dad 🧡

05/10/2024

Our next westside Good Manners Class is now available for sign ups! This class will be in an outdoor space in the village of Corrales and covers basic behaviors such as sit, down, stay, coming when called, walking on a loose leash and more! This positive reinforcement based class is open to dogs 6 months and older and will be at the same time and place for 5 consecutive weeks. Dogs must be up-to-date on vaccinations to attend. This class is $140 per dog and will be limited to 6 participants, so be sure to snag your spot soon! Head to heartdogbehaviorandtraining.com and click the “Group Classes” tab to sign up. We look forward to working with you and your pups! 🐾❤️

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Helping you build a better relationship with your dog through positive reinforcement training.

05/08/2024

Dan and his family started training with us in the fall to decrease his barking at other dogs while out on walks, and we love getting these progress videos! Through positive reinforcement training, Dan has learned that ignoring other dogs- even those that are barking at him- is far more rewarding than barking at them. Dan’s family knew that changing his behavior would take practice, patience, and persistence, and this video shows just how wonderfully those things pay off! We’re cheering for you, Team Dan 🎉

05/02/2024

Our foundations package is designed to teach you a variety of skills to not only make life easier with your pup, but also to strengthen your relationship with them through the power of positive reinforcement training! These are a few of the official skills that you can learn through this package, BUT the best part is we customize the package to meet each client’s specific needs. This means the skills you have by the end of the package really depend on the individual needs of you and your canine companion!

04/30/2024

We’re so proud of our newest Good Manners graduates and their humans! Fritz, Blackie, and Willow are pictured here (Stormy & Ralph’s families couldn’t make it to the last class, but we’re just as proud of them!) Your hard work, patience, and sense of humor as you learned with your dogs is something to be celebrated 🎉🎉

04/26/2024

Hey there Heart Dog community, Jessica here! I am thrilled to share with you all that I have officially graduated from ’s incredible separation anxiety trainer program and am now a Certified Separation Anxiety Trainer! This work is so important to me, as my heart dog Boots suffered from separation anxiety himself. I know how heartbreaking and stressful it can be, especially when you don’t know how to help your dog move past it, as I certainly didn’t when I adopted Boots in 2011. His memory inspired me to go through this course and become certified in order to help other dogs and their people who struggle in the same way. Peaceful absences are possible, and I would be honored to be a part of you and your dog’s journey to stress-free alone time. Head to our website and click on the “Separation Anxiety Training” link to get started today!

04/22/2024

Happy Earth Day, Heart Dog friends!

For a lot of us, getting out into nature is something we can do with our dogs for mutual enjoyment. Let’s give back to the planet by making sure we are always being environmentally responsible dog owners! Here are just a few tips to keep in mind:

1. ALWAYS pick up after your dog! Dog waste carries all kinds of bacteria and disease that, if left on the ground, will make its way into the nearest stream, river or other body of water and contribute to bacterial pollution of our water.

2. Make sure those p**p bags make it all the way into the trash! Plastic poses many risks to the environment as well as to wildlife. Safely disposing of these bags will keep that plastic out of vulnerable ecosystems.

3. Let your dog be your recycling partner! Recycled items should be thoroughly cleaned prior to recycling. Look out for safe items (be mindful of both the safety of the container as well as the food that it contains for your dog) that your dog can help lick clean. This provides them some enrichment and saves precious water resources. Of course, be sure to always supervise your dog with items for safety!

04/18/2024

Missy & Allie’s parents have been working with us on their manners and foundation behaviors and have done a wonderful job! We’ve tailored their program to their specific needs, including polite greetings, stay, and recall. These adorable scruffy pups and their parents have made great progress! We’re so proud of them 🎉🎉

04/15/2024

While last week was National Dog Bite Prevention Week, we believe we should be talking about preventing dog bites every day of the year! Many dog bites are preventable- ask permission to pet a dog, and teach your children to do the same. Avoid interacting with a dog who’s sleeping, chewing on a toy, or eating, and if you have kids, give your dog a safe space to do these things uninterrupted! Kids are the most likely victims of dog bites, and are most often bitten by family dogs or dogs that they know; practice active supervision when kids and dogs are together, and when that’s not possible, separate them. So many “cute” photos of dogs and children actually show dogs who are displaying signs of discomfort. Learn your individual dog’s body language signs of distress or discomfort and remove them from situations they’re not comfortable in! No matter how big or small or what their breed is, any dog can bite; it’s up to us to help prevent that from happening!

(Statistics are from the American Veterinary Medical Association and the CDC.)

04/01/2024

On this last day of Women’s History Month, we just wanted to share our appreciation for all of you who continue to support our small, women-owned business! We are also both very lucky to have had incredible women mentor, teach, and support us professionally and personally throughout our careers and as we’ve built this business- we are so thankful for each of you. We are also incredibly grateful for the trailblazing women in our field who’ve paved the way for humane dog training, such as Patricia McConnell, Susan Friedman, Alexandra Horowitz, Kathy Sdao, and Pat Miller, just to name a few. The science based, humane dog behavior world is full of incredible women, and we’re so lucky to be surrounded by them!

03/24/2024

While fenced yard access can have its benefits for dogs, fenced yard ownership has been linked to dogs receiving less leash walks (Kobelt et al., 2003, 2007; Scheibeck et al., 2011).

Some owners may believe that letting their dog outside in the yard will result in the dog exercising and that walks are no longer necessary.

However, a 2007 study reported that dogs are actually less active in their fenced yards when left alone (Kobelt et al., 2007). Dogs may actually spend that time waiting for their owner to return by sitting near the door or watching the windows for their owner.

If you are utilizing a fenced yard for exercise for your dog, it may be best to be present in the yard with them. Especially if its one of your dog's only means for exercise! Encouraging sniffing, playing, or just walking along side them in the yard are all excellent choices.

03/23/2024

Our next Good Manners class on the West side will be starting in April and is available for sign ups now. Class will be held outdoors in Corrales. This class will cover basic obedience behaviors such as sit, down, stay, coming when called, and walking on a loose leash, as well as other foundation behaviors using positive reinforcement training. It will also address minor behavior concerns such as jumping up on people and barking at people or other dogs. This class is open to dogs 6 months and over, and will be on the same date and time for 5 consecutive weeks unless otherwise noted by the instructor. Dogs must be up to date on vaccinations to attend. Class costs $140 per dog for this 5 week course, and will be limited to 5 dogs to give each pup the attention they deserve. If you’re interested, head to our website, HeartDogBehaviorandTraining.com and click the “Group Classes” tab to sign up! We look forward to working with you and your dogs 🐶🧡

Helping you build a better relationship with your dog through positive reinforcement training 🐾

03/20/2024

Pearl and Christine graduated from our Good Manners in-home training package in February, but their progress hasn’t stopped! One of the big goals we worked towards was helping Pearl to greet people with 4 paws on the floor instead of jumping, whether at home or out and about. We’re always so happy to get updates letting us know that our clients and their dogs continue to practice the skills they’ve learned and are able to use them in real life scenarios!