Outa the Dog House

08/22/2024

Let me just say once again that dogs are one of God’s most magnificent, thoughtful, and most generous gifts to mankind.

07/17/2024

I just love texts like this.

This is HANK. Hank is young and carries a. lot. of joy in his big golden doodle body. He has the. best. mom. After Puppy Class and then Continuing, this is how he acted in the vet’s waiting room this am.

Behavior outside of home and becoming a ‘Welcomed Guest’ is a huge focus of our Continuing Class. Hank’s mom sent these pics today with a text said, “Came in and settled at the vet.”

OH, LORDIE. This is such a victory. PEACE. This is consistency and hours and practice and work. The is the *absence* of shock collars. This is kindness and peace and success.

I just love texts like this.
Happy Happy Happy!

07/10/2024

When circles turn to spins. ❤️
SMITTY! You have my heart.

07/10/2024

This handsome dude earned his Novice Trick Title and his CGC last night and scores as the BEST male Staffordshire Terrier I have ever met. He loves to learn, is super fun, is super photogenic, and is just an all around great sport.
What a gift he is! Tor and Angie, we adore you.

07/10/2024

Janet and Ollie.
The sweetest, most genuine and gentle duo ever.

07/10/2024

Who has the best job ever?
That would be me.

And Lanette and Bodie, congratulations!
Pure goodness right here❤️

07/04/2024

06/30/2024

A different perspective.

In this lifetime, all we can control on our *best day* is what happens in our own lives and within the walls of our own homes. The endless posts about *hating* people who set off fireworks, who celebrate the Fourth of July early, or those who continue celebrating afterwards… accomplish… nothing.

We live in America. People love fireworks.

If we really want to make a difference in the lives of our beloved dogs, we need to control what we can control.

Use Thundershirts. Try covering their crates. Stay home with them. Model Peace. Use medication, if necessary. Take the “perfect, well-trained” dogs who “don’t need a leash” outside ON A LEASH for the week, because terrified, startled dogs literally *can’t think*, forget their names, and often can’t even recognize their beloved owners.

And- for goodness sake- do *not* leave them outside in your ‘secure’ backyard for the days before or after the 4th- because they WILL surprise you and escape, trying to run ‘from’ the terror they’re experiencing in the yard that previously felt safe to them.

No more hate posts.
Be kind.
Control what you can control.

06/30/2024

I love notes like this. How special is this?!
What a gift. I’m so blessed by the people I’ve met along the way! Bonny was SO MUCH FUN to work with. I remember telling Rene, “This a great dog, and you are a great handler! Find more things to do with her! The opportunities are endless!”
(And apparently they are.😘 Thanks, Rene!)

Deb Mileur, so glad to see your name! Hope you remember one of your former students, Bonny, the Westie. She's participating in agility, fast cat (2nd fastest westie in the country) and is certified as a therapy dog. I credit her early training with you for her success.

06/27/2024

One of my favorite exercises! Susan Garrett’s ‘It’s Your Choice’ builds confidence in cautious dogs and patience and peace in overly zealous ones. It’ll change the atmosphere of any room, regardless of the number of pups or their varying temperaments. Shown here: Sunda, my assistant, and FeFe the Superstar Staffie.

06/26/2024

Bodie for the win! lol.

Is he not the CUTEST?!

06/26/2024

Ollie, “Unroll your mat!”

Oh, be still my heart. I have the best job ever.

06/26/2024

Tor in a box❤️

The most handsome little model ever.

06/25/2024

Dude. Next session begins July 2!

Apison. 5 Tuesdays.
Puppies. Adults. Continuing. Therapy. Tricks.
Call 423-580-3582 for a space!

This ad is lovingly sponsored by Smitty.
Thank you, Smitty❤️

05/24/2024

When little baby Lewis came to class, I had no idea how much I would come to love this little family. Lewis went through Puppy Class and then Continuing Class, and is now an AKC Canine Good Citizen. And what a good citizen he is.

I am so deeply grateful for the people who invest in their pups. The return is exponential. Immeasurable. People really do have the power to change lives. Theirs. Their puppy’s. And the people who they meet along the way.

Thank you, Lord, for my beautiful life.

05/23/2024

Little baby Smitty passed his CGC with flying colors.
He came to us as a puppy, then went through Continuing Class, and then aced his test last week. Poor guy kept failing asleep during his photo shoot. lol.
It’s hard to stay up late when you’re a baby…
And magnificent.

I’m so thankful for this beautiful life.

05/11/2024

Sweet Ellie, and the Aurora Borealis!

04/22/2024

Love this. ❤️

04/14/2024

This right here. ⬇️

This represents everything I stand for and believe in and care about and am proud of.

Straight collars. Loose leashes. Bonding. Focus. Relationship.

This puppy is four months old, and this picture was taken by his human mom on week three of training in our group Puppy Class, surrounded by six other on-leash puppies.

I will forever be grateful for my training journey… moving as far away as I can possibly be from shock collars, choke chains, prong collars, and fear.

Behavioral Science makes sense to me.
Kindness makes sense to me.

Thank you, Lord, for my beautiful life.
Thank you, Weller.

04/11/2024

Who has the best job ever?!

We have only TWO spaces left in our upcoming PUPPY class (beginning Tuesday, April 16)!
Call 423-580-3582 to reserve your space!

(And Weller⬇️… just to make you smile.
Oh, my goodness. I adore him.)

04/10/2024

Who has the best job ever?!

People!
Our April 16-May 14 is filling VERY QUICKLY!
Call 423-580-3582 *pronto* to claim a space.

Bonding, relationship, safety and focus make sit/ down/ stand/ stay/ come/ and how to walk on leash without pulling EASY. PEASY.

03/08/2024

Bravo! What an extraordinary post!

03/04/2024

Note: Our *March 12- April 9* is now full.
Call 423-580-3582 to reserve your space in our April 9 session!

❤️I just love returning clients.
These were taken 8 years apart.
Two different puppies.
Two different seasons in the life of one very lovely family.

02/28/2024

It’s time to train some more PUPPIES!
NEXT SESSION BEGINS TUESDAY, March 5, in APISON.

It’s just the best thing ever❤️

423-580-3582 to reserve your space.

01/11/2024

APISON!
Join us for five Tuesday evenings, beginning January 16.

Puppies, Beginning Adult Dogs, and Therapy Dog Readiness.

423.580.3582.

And say hello to POPPY! Her mom and dad came to us through a private lesson, and then attended a group class.

She’s now described as “just so adorable!”. They sent her Christmas pic and a message, “You were right! She has become such a special dog!”

01/06/2024

LOOK! AT! THIS! FACE!

Y’all. This little nugget is starting classes on January 16 and… yes… I DO HAVE THE BEST JOB EVER.

(Let us know if you’d like a space.
We have just a few left.)
423-580-3582

12/21/2023

Going through some old articles this am, and stumbled upon this little gem.

Thank you, Lord, for the best year ever, again. I’m still thankful❤️

****************************************

I Am Thankful:
•for the One True God, who loves and pursues all people.
•for the endless number of pictures He paints so I might know Him better.
•for every face of every child who interacts with a well trained, gentle, lovely family dog.
•for every touch and moment of comfort a therapy dog brings to any person in a hospital bed, a hospice setting, or an oncology unit.
•for every service dog whose *eyes* and heart help a sightless person find their way safely across a busy street.
•for seasons and crops, reaping and sowing, planting and harvesting.
•for our Sequatchie skies… God’s artistry.
•for the freedoms we experience in the United States: the ability to dream, to own businesses, to share thoughts, and to share our faith- out loud.
•for Outa the Dog House- my heart that became a business, and a business that became a GIFT.
•for the freedom to be able to share God’s goodness, out loud, every week in class.
•for the freedom we have to gather, in Jesus’ name.
•for God’s desire that the earth would be filled with the knowledge of the Glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.
•for the churches that dot our countryside bringing beauty, fellowship, encouragement, peace and friendship.
•for my family.
•for your families.
•for the parenting of sons and daughters- reminders of God’s Son and His own greatest gift.
•for the gifts of the next generation: for the insight they bring, for the future they steward, and for the wisdom they walk in.
•for the profound wisdom of God in using the ‘foolish things’ to make us wise. He shares Himself in such perfect, easy to understand packages. For me, those often come through dogs, puppies, adoption, pictures of covering, honor, authority, integrity, and unconditional love.
•for working dogs and their masters.
•for partnership.
•for love and do-overs.
•for lessons learned while training.
•for people who long to speak the language of dog.
•for healthy relationships.
•for the countless friendships birthed out of dog classes.
•for people who take broken, weary, old, unlovely dogs, and nurse them back to *life*... simply because they see the promise within.
•for God, who does the same with us.
•for the rescuers.
•for the techs.
•for unseen acts of kindness.
•for 3,000 families and counting who have shown up, invested, and spent the *time* necessary to create extraordinary companions.
•for people who have returned to train their second, third, and fourth dogs, because it’s FUN and necessary and encouraging and relational.
•for our neighbors.
•for newspaper articles, and the encouragement and texts and emails and comments on the street that follow.
Thank you for those.
They are so meaningful.
I have such a beautiful life.
•for mornings spent waking up with a good, sleepy companion dog at the foot of our bed, followed by a perfect cup of coffee, overlooking the lake.
•for small towns and big dreams.
•for our beautiful, restful Sequatchie Valley and its lovely, vast mountains that surround us.
•for challenging puppies, brilliant puppies, for bold ones and for the shy ones. They all change me, and they all make me better.
•for the hearts, families, stories, and dogs that people bring to class.
•for Ellie, who was a gift to me.. and for you, dear friends.

I am thankful. Merry Christmas❤️

(Copywrite Deb Mileur/ Outa the Dog House. Originally printed in the Bledsonian Banner.)

03/18/2023

Next session begins Tuesday, MARCH 28th, and we have just a few spaces left! 423-580-3582






Ain’t nothin’ like it. Guaranteed.