The Wise Dog Co.

Puppy Training Tip #2: Use daily food for training like learning come, getting on a dog bed and walking next to you on a leash. Note: This works with adult dogs too! This is the first lesson I do with every dog that comes through our training programs.

Lessons from a strong-willed, opinionated, smart, goofy Golden Retriever: ✅ Slow down. Now slow down even more. ✅ Training is not one size fits all. Train the dog in front of you. He is telling you what he needs. It’s up to you to listen. ✅ Get creative. There’s always a solution. ✅ When things get messy or frustrating or you feel stuck, go back to basics.

How to be calm on command

Puppies learn place and other inspiration from Atticus, Juno and resident dog Getty

Puppy Kindergarten is in session! This is the number one thing I recommend doing to start training your dog-no special equipment or special skills required. Atticus is learning the rules of living with humans while burning a ton of energy in the process. It’s a win-win for everyone!

Calling all stubborn dog owners! Just a little reminder that patience and persistence are the magical tools to help our stubborn friends out. Could I manhandle Junior into a down? Sure. It wouldn’t be fun or valuable for either of us but I could do it. Instead, I’m waiting him out. As soon as he lays down, I’ll get him off the place bed and do it again. In my experience, this is a much more meaningful and long term success way of training.

Field trip day for Rosie! The more we expose our dogs to situations that make them nervous while also asking them to follow through on the training they now, the less anxious they become. Practice is pretty powerful 🙌🏻

Frank takes on Sloans Lake! Now that he knows all the rules of walking in a nice heel, we are adding distractions. The goal of training is not to be able to be a perfect walker in a sterile environment (which is why we train in the real world) but to be able to adjust and handle any environment for any adventure. A note from my squishy faced friends-taking lots of breaks with lots of water in the shade is a must! Air flow doesn’t come as easily and they really need the rest and cool down periods.

The dreaded nail clippers 😬😬😬 And how to get your dog to not hate them. Starring Frank the Frenchie! When Frank arrived last week, he would scream his little smushed head off when he just saw the clippers. Now with a little desensitization and using his daily food, he is getting more comfortable with the idea he isn’t going to die from getting his nails clipped. I’d call that progress!

 Training (the fair way) does not make a dog nervous, a nervous dog makes a nervous dog. Training does the opposite- takes away all the guesswork for the dog, eases the mind and allows our nervous friends to make better choices even when it’s hard for them. Meet Rosie! When she came here on Friday she was pulling like she had somewhere to go, would bark and growl at people and lunged towards other dogs. Fast forward three days and she’s walking in a nice heel and although she still interested in other people and dogs she can at least pass them without issue. How did we get here? Clear communication in a way that Rosie understands (and cares about). Also, shoutout to 2BABR, the rescue Rosie’s family got her from and the rescue our infamous, Finnegan was adopted from 4 years ago.

Place in progress! Now that Frank knows how to get on (and stay on) place in the house, we are adding distractions. It’s a little messy (as most new things we try are) but I wanted to show how to work through it to help him understand what I wanted him to do. Stay tuned for a LOL moment from Frank halfway through 😂😂

Recalling with distractions with Sigrid the GSD!