Birch & Sage Training

10/10/2025

Any time I’m with dogs 🐶

09/10/2025

Getting in as many training sessions in the warm sunshine before ☃️

07/10/2025

If a dog panics in the crate, it’s not about the crate. It’s about:
• Being tossed in without a plan.
• Only seeing the crate when punishment or separation happens.
• Living in general chaos…so nothing feels safe anyway.

A lot of people confuse “freedom” with “kindness.” The truth is, most dogs aren’t wired to handle total freedom.

Without structure, you get:
• Over alert dogs who can’t stop scanning the world for something to react to.
• Over arousal…barking, pacing, chewing, destroying.
• Rehearsed chaos…the more they practice bad habits, the more automatic they become.

Dogs don’t have a strong impulse control center like humans do. They need us to provide structure. Without it, they burn out.

A dog who knows the rules doesn’t feel suppressed. They feel secure.

A well used crate is like a nervous system reset button.
• Sleep: Dogs need about 17 hours a day. A crate gives them a place to truly rest.
• Decompression: After training or stimulation, it helps them downshift from “on” to “off.”
• Reset: Like how you’d shut your bedroom door for a breather.

Every now and then someone tells me, “I’d never crate my dog. It’s cruel.”
I get it. You don’t want your dog to feel trapped or punished. But crates themselves aren’t the issue. What usually causes problems is how people use them…or avoid them altogether.

03/10/2025

Cinder says it’s training time!

31/08/2025

Many people want to talk about “abuse” when they see a prong collar or an e-collar on a dog. But let’s be honest—where is the real abuse?

It’s not the training tool.
�It’s the dog that’s obese because their owner feeds them junk food and never exercises them.
�It’s the dog that sits in a backyard or crate with zero training, zero stimulation, and no connection with their human.�It’s the dog that gets neglected—not challenged, not walked, not given structure, and then ends up in a shelter because “he was too much to handle.”
A training tool, when used properly, isn’t abuse. In fact, it’s often the very thing that keeps a dog in their home, safe, happy, and well-adjusted.

Abuse is failing a dog by not giving them what they truly need: guidance, discipline, exercise, structure, and love.
We need to stop pointing fingers at responsible training methods and start addressing the very real epidemic of neglect and overfeeding that shortens dogs’ lives and ruins their relationships with people.

At the end of the day, ask yourself: Where is the abuse?

10/08/2025

Anxiety in dogs is often a perceived threat…not a real one. Our job isn’t to bubble wrap them from the world. It’s to teach them that the “threat” isn’t actually dangerous, and that they can handle it. Avoidance might bring short term relief, but it keeps the fear alive. Confidence comes from working through stress in a safe, structured way…not from avoiding it forever. If we want resilient, stable dogs, we have to help them face challenges and succeed… one step at a time.

01/08/2025

Four years ago, this little Belgian Malinois bundle of energy entered the world. Less than a year later, he slammed into mine. I had a choice...either I take him in or he would die. All before his first birthday.
Today we're celebrating not just Cinder, but one of the most incredible breeds on the planet.
Belgian Malinois aren't just beautiful - they're working dogs with hearts of gold and minds like steel. Originally bred in Belgium for herding, these pups are known for their unwavering loyalty, incredible intelligence, and that signature drive that makes them perfect partners for police work, military service, and search and rescue.
But what makes Cinder special isn't just his breed - it's his gentle soul, his playful spirit, and the way he's taught me that love comes with four paws and endless energy.
Malinois need jobs to do and adventures to go on. They're not couch potatoes. They need mental stimulation, physical challenges, and strong leadership.
To anyone thinking about a Mal - they're not for everyone, but for the right family, they're everything. They'll push you to be more active, more patient, and more present.
Happy birthday to my best friend, my adventure buddy, and the goodest boy I know. Here's to many more years of chaos, cuddles, and unconditional love.

17/07/2025

📸 This photo makes you feel something. That’s Ivy.

It makes perfect sense that she looks this intense…because she is. Ivy is the most challenging dog I’ve ever worked with.

In the beginning, it was simple: she wanted to kill every person and animal she saw. No gray area, just pure reactivity and survival mode. Now? It’s a little more complicated. Her nervous system is fried from living in overdrive, and let’s be honest… she’s a female Malinois. She lives for arousal, and her off-switch is… still under construction.

She’s never not on alert. She notices everything. She’s smarter than most men. She keeps me on my toes.

But once we moved past the red zone survival response, a different dog showed up. One who melts into and my family. One who craves connection. One who reminds me daily that sensitivity and intensity can live in the same body.

This has taken years.

Years of showing up. Years of frustration. Years of learning her, adjusting for her, holding boundaries with love instead of just because of love. And we’re still not where I want us to be. Not yet.

But she’s taught me more than any book or course ever could. She taught me to really work the dog in front of me. To understand just how sensitive this breed is. To listen more. To push less. To meet her in the middle, and build from there.

I joke sometimes about giving her away. But I can’t imagine our pack without her.

*photo credit Heartsake Photography

11/07/2025