JW Dog Training & Behavior Consulting

Anxiety meds, white noise machine, bathroom fan on, lights on to reduce lightning contrast, calm petting, and comforting her in my normal voice…this is how I try to support my dog when she panics during a storm. YES I will be there for her and support her, no that won’t “reinforce her fear.” Luckily her vet-prescribed anxiety meds kick in in about 20 mins and bring her enormous relief. But that time beforehand is stressful and hard for both of us 🥺 How do you all support your dogs with thunderstorm phobias? Share in the comments so we can all get some ideas! 🐶⬇️ #DogTraining #DogTrainingTips #DogTrainingAdvice #DogBehavior #DogAfraidOfThunder #ThunderstormPhobia #DogAnxiety #DogAnxietyMeds #BehaviorModification #FearfulDog #ScaredDog #AnxiousDog

We are spending a LOT of time at Petsmart right now while we raise these kittens 😅 so we bring Lola along for some extra enrichment and quality time with her. Added bonus, she gets her favorite @pupford training treats that are now available at PetSmart! #ad Some errands to pet-friendly stores can be really fun for your dog *if they enjoy* novel smells and places. Always be sure to watch their body language and behavior to make sure they’re enjoying it, like Lola did on this trip! 🐶 #DogTraining #PositiveDogTraining #PetSmart #PupfordPups

“He’s great in training sessions, but it all falls apart in real life!” This is a common sentiment! The problem occurs when we don’t train the skills around all the distractions needed for real life scenarios—there’s more distractions than you think! The best way to increase the chances your dog responds the way you want them to in a real life setting is to get as close to real life conditions as you can when training. AND make sure you systematically work up to those distractions. If you have a real life scenario you want to train for, create a list of all the distractions your dog will need to be able to do the behavior around. This will give you an idea of the training approximations you’ll need to work on. If you have a real life scenario in mind, what are some distractions that come with it? Share in the comments! 🐶⬇️ #DogTraining #DogTrainingTips #DogTrainingAdvice #DogTraining101 #PositiveDogTraining #ObedienceTraining #PuppyTraining

Foundation behaviors have a huge impact on your ability to support your reactive dog! In this video we cover THREE basic behaviors to work on so that you have ways to communicate with your reactive pup. #ad It’s important to be able to get your dog’s attention on walks using their name or other positive interrupters! It’s also important that they are eating treats and you feel comfortable delivering those treats while walking. The @pupford freeze dried treats are the perfect size for using on training walks. Remember, if you’re struggling with your own dog’s reactivity, consult with a qualified professional! What foundation behaviors help you with your reactive dog? Share in the comments! 🐶⬇️ #DogTraining #ReactiveDog #Reactivity #PositiveDogTraining #ReactiveDogTips #PupfordPups

Heat stroke is extremely dangerous in dogs! Which is why during the hot summer months it’s usually important to stay indoors and limit exercise outside. We’re sharing FOUR tips for entertaining your pup indoors! #ad What is your dog’s favorite indoor activity that tires them out mentally and physically!? Share in the comments! 🐶⬇️ #DogTraining #PupfordPups #Pupford #DogTrainingTips #PositiveDogTraining #Enrichment

Finding treats your dog loves is important! Pupford treats can now be found in Petsmart stores, making them easy and convenient to stock up on. #ad Have you been to PetSmart yet to pick up your dog’s favorite flavor of Pupford treats? Share in the comments! 🐶⬇️ #PupfordPups #Pupford #DogTrainingTreats #DogTreats #DogTraining

What YOU think is your dog’s cue might *not* actually be what your dog is perceiving! Cue confusion is a huge reason for slow or non-responsiveness. Where you are standing and what you do with your body when you give a verbal or hand signal cue can quickly become part of the cue! Then if that changes or goes away, our dogs become super confused. One great way to improve your dog’s responsiveness and reliability is to practice your cues from different positions, as demonstrated by @cooperativepaws in this video. Sitting, standing, kneeling, facing away from them…get creative! Remember, you are changing the training picture when you do this—your dog might be confused at first. Help them figure out what you’re asking by breaking it down into small changes. If they make more than one or two errors, consider going back to where they were successful and start from there. What different positions can your dog respond to cues from? Share in the comments! 🐶⬇️ #DogTraining #DogTrainingTips #DogTraining101 #SDiT #ServiceDog #ServiceDogTraining #ServiceDogInTraining #ServiceDogTrainer #OwnerTrainedServiceDog #PositiveReinforcement #PositiveDogTraining #ClickerTraining #DogTrainer

Exposure alone is not enough for puppy socialization! It’s critical to look at your puppy’s body language to gauge if they are feeling GOOD during novel experiences in that critical socialization window (~8-16 weeks). Bad experiences at this age can directly impact a dog for the rest of their life! Ways we make sure socialization is accomplishing what we want—a positive experience—and is not accidentally creating more problems down the road: 👉🏻 Give the puppy an exit at all times. In this case, the door to inside was open and the puppy could retreat out of the rain whenever he wanted 👉🏻 Watch body language closely. If the puppy became still, lowered his tail, didn’t take treats, attempted to hide, vocalized, or tried to retreat, we would stop immediately! That would give us a chance to regroup and figure out how to help him feel more comfortable 👉🏻 Keep it short & sweet. Short, positive experiences tend to be more successful than long drawn out ones where the risk of a negative experience becomes more likely. Especially when puppies get tired, overwhelmed, or overstimulated, the likelihood of a positive experience starts to decrease What are some ways you made sure your puppy had a positive socializing experience to reduce the likelihood of fear or flooding? Share in the comments! 🐶⬇️ #DogTraining #DogTrainingTip #DogTrainingAdvice #PuppyTraining #ClickerTraining #PositiveReinforcement #PositiveDogTraining #Socialization #PuppySocialization #DCDogTrainer #JWDogTraining #PuppiesOfInstagram

Playing around with my cues to see how well Lola knows them 😍 Loud/stern/bigger doesn’t mean a better response! If you can make your cues really subtle and your dog still responds correctly, it can mean your dog has a pretty solid understanding of that cue! When testing this out it’s important she can still perceive them and I’m not being *too* quiet or still (that could be super frustrating for her). This was fun. I love how much Lola loves to work together, even when I switch things up. In her world, different training has never resulted in anything uncomfortable, scary, startling, etc—so she is all for whatever I throw at her! Do you think your dog could respond to a cue said in a whisper!? Share in the comments! 🐶⬇️ #DogTraining #DogTrainingTips #DogTrainingCues #DogTrainingIsFun #HumanCanineBond #DogTrainer #ObedienceTraining #PositiveDogTraining

Labeling a dog “stubborn” does not serve us when we are aiming to change their behavior. Instead, we opt to 1) try to figure out the reason for the behavior and 2) use thoughtful training to teach what we want to see instead. Dogs pause on walks for MANY reasons. We can’t tell you why your dog stops without seeing it in person. However, we can tell you how we typically approach this behavior of stopping. We aim to: 👉🏻 Be patient and wait for the dog to start walking again 👉🏻 Be kind by not forcing the dog to move 👉🏻 Use smart training by rewarding when the dog is moving This is especially important when first introducing the behavior of walking on leash! Part of being a good positive reinforcement trainer is understanding how reinforcement works, including how it can work against us (dogs are always learning!) and how to use it to our advantage. We are always thoughtful about what behaviors and possible behavior chains are being reinforced in our training. Thanks to our brilliant friend Melissa Millet of @the_ultimutts for sharing these videos of her rescue puppy with spina bifida learning to walk on leash 🥹 #DogTraining #DogTrainingTip #DogTrainingAdvice #LeashTraining #LooseLeashWalking #LooseLeashTraining #ClickerTraining #PositiveReinforcement #PositiveDogTraining #ObedienceTraining #JWDogTraining #DogsOfArlingtonVA #ClickerTraining #DogsOfInstagram #RescuePuppy

You don’t need as much space as you might think to get your dog running while practicing your recall! It’s been super soggy in the DC area, and we are also headed into the humid DC summers 🥵 We need a LOT of ideas for exercising our dogs indoors! We love pairing meeting needs ✅ with training games that build skills! 📚 What’s your favorite INDOOR exercise for your dog? Share in the comments! 🐶⬇️ #DogTraining #DogTrainingTip #DogTrainingAdvice #PuppyTraining #ClickerTraining #PositiveReinforcement #PositiveDogTraining #ObedienceTraining #Recall #ComingWhenCalled #Enrichment #RecallTraining #JWDogTraining #DCDogTrainer #ClickerTraining

We talk a lot about housetraining puppies, but what about if you have an adult dog who is still having accidents in the house!? Here are some of our tips! #ad If your adult dog WAS successfully housetrained and then *suddenly* started having accidents, there is almost always going to be a medical or stress-related cause. We urge you to figure out what might be going on. If you’ve ruled both of those out by consulting with qualified professionals, you’ll want to rely on managing your dog’s environment, taking them out frequently, and giving them lots of rewards for going outside! For those occasional accidents, we rely on @pupford’s Oops Eraser carpet cleaner! Housetraining an adult dog is takes effort 😅 but it is possible! #DogTraining #DogTrainingTips #PupfordPups #HousetrainingTips