Have No Fear Dog Training

12/01/2023

Training a dog using food is as much "bribery" as your boss paying you to work. You're not going to do that work for free and neither will your dog.

06/27/2023

"Aren't I rewarding my dog for bad behavior?"

This question comes up a lot when dealing with fearful and/or aggressive dogs. For these situations, we need to look at what is causing the outward behavior---fear. Fear is an emotion. You can't reinforce an emotion. If you're scared and I give you $100, that's not going to make you more scared.

When your dog is fearful, giving them food or comforting them will not make the fear worse. In fact, it's one of the ways we help it get better. It's more complicated than just giving a treat when they're scared (there are rules to the training "game" that we have to follow) but in a nut shell, having a scary thing predict a good thing is coming is part of how we change the emotion of fear to happiness/excitement.

So don't be afraid to help your dog through scary situations by giving food, attention, pets (if they like being pet) or by playing their favorite game. They'll thank you for it!

06/11/2023

There are different reasons a dog may jump on us, but the most common reason is that the dog is excited and wants to say hello! This is a normal behavior, dogs are actually trying to get closer to lick our faces. Even though it's not a behavior many of us enjoy, how lucky we are to have a dog that likes humans this much to want to be closer (as opposed to a dog that is fearful or aggressive towards people). Jumping up onto smaller or weaker humans (think children and elderly) can be dangerous. Training your dog not to jump is pretty straightforward. Reach out to a qualified, reward-based trainer for help!

06/05/2023

We used to think you should wait until your puppy was fully vaccinated before taking them out into the world. We now know that it is of utmost importance to start socializing your puppy immediately. More dogs are killed because of behavior issues than die from diseases such as parvo. The American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior's position statement on this topic can be found here:

06/02/2023

Pro potty training tip: make sure to bring yummy treats outside with you when you take your dog out. As soon as they are done peeing or pooping, praise them and give them a couple treats. This reinforces the behavior we want: pottying in a designated area (like outside)

A common mistake is either not giving a reward at all or giving the reward too late. If you wait until you're back inside the house to give a treat, the dog will no longer associate the treat with pottying...and may instead just associate it with another behavior (such as returning inside the house).

Moral of the story is to REINFORCE BEHAVIORS YOU WANT BY GIVING YOUR DOG SOME DELICIOUS TREATS IMMEDIATELY AFTER THEY DO THE DESIRED BEHAVIOR

05/18/2023

"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." This saying not only holds up in the medical field, but also in dog training. Did you know that proper socialization while your puppy is still young (up until around 12-18 weeks of age) will help prevent fear and aggression issues from developing later in life?

It's so important that your puppy has many and varied positive experiences while also avoiding any negative experiences during this time in their lives. We can also teach them to like being handled (for grooming/vets/general petting) as well as like having things taken away (to prevent resource guarding).

05/17/2023

Hi everyone! I just added my website link to facebook. It may be simple but it gets the job done.

Science-based

05/16/2023

Buyer Beware!

Did you know there are a lot of important things to consider when looking for a puppy? Check out this article from Zazie Todd, PhD. It goes into wonderful detail about everything you need to know before getting your next puppy

Four essential questions and a checklist of tips to help you choose a puppy.

02/21/2023

I offer basic problem solving, obedience and puppy training via in-person private training, drop in day training, or remote sessions through Google Meet. I also offer pet sitting and walking services for eligible, established clients.

02/21/2023

I hold a Certificate in Training and Counseling (CTC) from The Academy For Dog Trainers. This is a rigorous, two year dog training program created by Jean Donaldson. I am also an AKC evaluator and have been training dogs since 2019

02/21/2023

I provide humane, science-based dog training using stuff that your dog likes as leverage. I never use pain, fear, or physical methods to train your dog. Interested to find out more? Just ask!