The WoofPack

Relationship Based Dog Training and Socialization.
(2)

09/09/2024

WOOFPACK GROUP CLASS ENROLLMENT 🥳🥳

WoofPack1 and WoofPack 2 will be offered Sundays at 11am starting 10/6!

WoofPack 1 is for any WoofPack clients who have not taken a WP group class before. You will practice obedience and state of mind around other dogs while learning handling and new obedience skills!

WoofPack 2 is for any WoofPack clients who have taken a group class with us. This is to practice and learn more advanced obedience and handling skills!

These classes will be combined but each class will have its own trainer and curriculum! The classes are $200 for 6 weeks of classes and will take place at Nevin Park in Charlotte

Sign up before we fill up! Message me if you have any questions!

08/31/2024

Being a good dog owner means showing up for your dog the way they need you too not the way you want to.

Dog ownership looks different from person to person and from dog to dog. While we can definitely find so many similarities when looking at each dog, we also have to honor our dog’s individual needs. The hard part is when the dogs needs don’t align with what we, as owners, want.

That’s really where a true test of character comes in (at least in my opinion). As a dog trainer, it is not uncommon for me to be recommending a client do something that they would otherwise prefer to not have to do. This can range from asking a client to do a daily training session with their dog to following a crate schedule or the things people really struggle with which is implementing boundaries or limiting affection. I think that expressing how you feel about having to do these things is totally understandable and acceptable but refusing to do them is a whole other story.

Having a pack of 9 dogs of my own-a pack of varying personalities, needs and temperaments- I can relate to most everything that my clients are going through. I empathize and I understand. It’s not uncommon for me to put my therapist hat on (one of the most common hats us dog trainers wear) and to talk through the struggle and emotions with my clients. I get it. I really do. What I don’t get, what I don’t understand is when a client is not willing to do it. When I see a dog struggling so immensely and clearly the owner does too (hence why they called me in the first place) but they aren’t willing to do what their dog needs because it makes them as owners feel uncomfortable or is inconvenient to them.

In most cases, I’m not asking anyone to take drastic measures. I pride our training program on its ability to work with owners to make the changes that are needed as seamlessly as possible and to introduce new things/rules in easily digestible steps. Willingness is really all that’s needed. A willingness to look beyond yourself and make the changes your dog so desperately needs. To give them the structure and training they crave. They deserve it!!!

07/26/2024

The essence of all growth is a willingness to make a change for the better and then an unremitting willingness to shoulder whatever responsibility this entails. 💪🏽

07/06/2024

Let’s talk quality of life.

What is quality of life? It’s defined as the overall enjoyment of life (general well being). More specifically the degree to which one is healthy, comfortable, and able to enjoy the activities of daily living.

Why is it important? I believe that ensuring quality of life is one of the biggest responsibilities we have as dog owners- but it is often overlooked. For a dog to live a happy balanced life, we need to ensure that they are comfortable mentally and physically. Dogs (or any living being for that matter) aren’t meant to just survive. As our dogs age or as they have medical issues, it tends to be easier for us to accept a lower quality of life. Age and health status should not be cause for a lower quality of life though.

QOL always has and always will be very important to me when it comes to my dogs. I find myself reflecting on this a lot lately, as we have 3 dogs that are 12 years old and 3 dogs who have chronic medical issues. QOL looks different for every dog- whereas one dog may still be able to have a high QOL despite having some activity restrictions, another dog may suffer greatly not being able to be active.

How do I gauge QOL? I have a list of what a high QOL looks like for each of my dogs, as well as a list of non negotiables (like not being able to hold their urine/feces, not being able to get around on their own, having to undergo excessive vetting to stay alive, ect). These lists help me if/when I’m going through tough times with any of the dogs. Because in the thick of it, our emotions tend to take over, not our logic. A trusted vet or pet professional can also be a great source to help you gauge QOL.

I personally would rather have my dogs live a shorter life at their best than live a long time as a shell of dog. Dogs don’t understand time like we do and they don’t live life with regrets. They can become depressed and stressed though if they are struggling mentally and/or physically. Now ideally my dogs would live long full lives but that’s not always under my control. What’s under my control is advocating for my dogs and making sure I’m not looking past my pets QOL for selfish reasons.

06/17/2024

WoofPack Urban Training Day 🤩

Our Urban Training Day dogs were each paired with a WP trainer and brought out to a busy environment to work on improving a bunch of different skills! Having one dog per trainer allowed us to individualize our approach which really helped us focus on each dogs specific training goals. These dogs got some great training in today and had a blast while doing it!!

WP clients➡️Want to take advantage of this unique and beneficial experience for your dog? Let us know! We will be offering this one Monday a month and only will be accepting 3 dogs each time. Don’t miss out on Julys Urban Training Day!!

06/09/2024

Don’t quit before the miracle happens.

Bindi…the anchor of our agility team. My clear headed, steady, reliable teammate. When we walk into the building, she walks next to me- focused on me and neutral to her surroundings. When we walk into the ring, she is confident and ready. She exudes a steady calm(while I attempt to take deep breaths to calm my jitters😂). One look at her and I swear her eyes tell me “we got this”. When I can’t calm myself, I rely on her energy. It is not uncommon these days for Bindi to carry me through our trials. She excuses my mistakes and handles my poor handling moments with ease. She’s my rock and my role model.

But that wasn’t the story a few years ago. Bindi was nothing but trouble. She caused pure chaos and turmoil in my house/pack. I would look at her and feel immediate resentment. Nothing about her made me feel calm- she actually had the opposite effect on me. Her presence was enough to shift my whole energy to an anxious, frustrated state. Multiple conversations were had about rehoming her. Many tears were shed over this dog that just didn’t seem to get it.

How could this be the same dog?! How crazy is it that I can rely on her now to help hold our team together when I’m struggling(in agility and day to day life). A dog I used to feel so disconnected from is now a dog that makes the best partner. We flow fluidly as a team, her responding to my smallest cues and knowing exactly what I want from her in an instant. I run our courses feeling like she is an extension of me, or me of her. We just connect and go.

It’s a miracle. And no I don’t feel like I’m being dramatic when I say that. This miracle didn’t happen overnight and this miracle required a lot of work. I made mistakes, I failed her at times, she failed me at times but we didn’t quit. We woke up and kept at it. No. Matter. What.

I could have given up on Bindi at many different points and just accepted the turmoil we lived in. And trust me, at times I was tempted to. But with the right guidance and support we persisted! Don’t quit before the miracle happens. You never know how close you could be to it, and I promise, it’s worth it.

06/06/2024

Just want to give a quick a shout out to all of our amazing DayTrain clients! Your hard work, commitment, consistency, and dedication does not go unnoticed by us (or your dog!!). Couldn’t ask for a better group of dogs and people to work with on a weekly basis 🥰

05/16/2024

ITS BACKKKKKKKKKK🥳🥳

We’re relaunching our monthly Adventure Day!! We took a little break but we’ve been listening to all the requests for its return!!

Adventure Day is for WP DayTrain clients only. It is $85 for the day. Treat your dog to a day filled with training, play, exercise and most importantly ADVENTURE! We have limited spots so don’t delay in reserving one for your dog!

Payment will be required at time of booking and there will be no refunds. Adventure day does NOT substitute for your dog’s weekly day of DayTraining. This is an additional service!!

Our first one of this year is going to be Monday June 17th!

05/12/2024

Happy Mothers Day to all the Moms in our WP family. Human moms, dog moms, cat moms or whatever kind of mom you are!!

Super grateful to a be a mom to not only my 4 legged kids but also sweet Nellie. Also equally as grateful that my 4 legged kids have been such welcoming brothers and sisters to the human puppy!! 🥰

05/07/2024

Training is a journey, not a destination.

Goals are great, don’t get me wrong but being so focused on the end game not only can lead to frustration, burn out and disappointment but it also robs you of celebrating small wins and enjoying your dog through the process!

As time goes on, goals may change and new problems may arise- which is totally ok! Take it one day at a time! Work towards your goal(s) but most importantly, enjoy the journey with your best friend!! Remember, they are your goals not your dogs!

05/02/2024

We will be CLOSED for DayTraining on Thursday May 16th. Please plan accordingly 🫡

04/14/2024

The next round of WP group classes is officially open for enrollment! We’re excited to offer our WoofPack 1 class again along with 2 new options!

WoofPack 1- Practice obedience and state of mind around other dogs. Learn handling and new obedience skills.

Social WoofPack- Bring your dog for an hour of structured socialization. A great way for you to learn how to handle your dog in social situations with other dogs and for your dog to have some fun with their WP friends.

WoofPack in the Wild- Take your training to the next level. This class will meet at a new location every week. Work on exposing your dog to new places/situations with the guidance of a WP trainer. (Not all dogs are ready for this, ask us if you’re interested!) 4 SPOTS ONLY IN THIS CLASS

Email, text or message us if you want to sign up! At this time we are still only offering class to current or past WP clients only.

03/20/2024

The hard dogs. The dogs that require more than you expected. The dogs that make you lose sleep at night wondering what you’re going to do with them. The dogs that ended up not being what you wanted…

…but exactly what you needed. They are the dogs that teach you more about yourself than you ever wanted to know. The dogs that push you to be a better owner and person. The dogs that teach you the meaning of true patience and acceptance. The dogs that make you throw everything you thought you knew out the window. The dogs that need you to be so incredibly selfless, that need you to show up for them every day, that redefine what you thought dog ownership would look like.

I know they’re hard. I know somedays you will want to quit. Somedays you will question everything you’ve ever done with them. But the reward of owning these dogs far outweighs the burden. Every second of training, every tear shed, every bad day is worth every good day- every good training session- every good outing.

I love my easy dogs. I have such an appreciation for being able to walk without constantly scanning for a trigger, for being able to go on an outing without analyzing the risk factor of something leading to a bad experience and for being able to go through my day without having to worry about what mood they’re in at any given moment. But nothing compares to the love and bond I have with my hard dogs. We’ve seen each other at our worst and we still walk into every day, hand in paw, ready to tackle what comes our way, good or bad.

The hard dogs are the best dogs once you accept them for who they are. For those of you with the hard dogs, you’re not alone. And you are doing a great job. 💙

02/14/2024

BIG NEWS!!! WoofPack Group Class is officially open for sign ups!

Group class is for WoofPack clients only (including training clients past and present). It will be held on Saturdays from 3pm-4pm starting March 9th through April 13th(weather permitting- if a class is cancelled due to weather it will be pushed out a week at the end). Cost is $200 per dog. Location is TBD(no, it won’t be at the Biltmore 😂). Once sign ups are complete, we will send out the definitive location(thinking a park in Charlotte).

DM me, text me, or email me if you want to snag a spot. Once you do that I will email you an invoice! Don’t wait- spots are limited!!

01/12/2024

Dog training is not about perfection. It’s about bringing out the best in your dog. Stop striving for perfection and instead make your goal to have a happy, fulfilled dog who trusts you. Remember- progress, not perfection!

12/31/2023

2024- we’re ready for you!!

It’s going to be the year of juggling 9 dogs, a baby, the agility careers of now 4 dogs, being a business owner, returning to work, getting back into shape, picking back up with my running coach to improve my speed/agility (even though I’m already one of the fastest people around, right 😂) and a few behind the scenes moves to grow bigger and better than we ever have been.

Happy New Years WoofPack fam!! Love you all, thanks for being on this wild journey with me!

10/23/2023

WoofPack will be CLOSED for DayTrain/Daycare the week of thanksgiving (11/20-11/24). Please plan accordingly 🦃

10/14/2023

10/10 recommend taking your pup(s) to the mountains to see the beautiful fall foliage over the next couple of weeks! 🍁🐾⛰️

We found a shorter hike (~2 miles total) because hiking at 36 weeks pregnant is not for the faint of heart😅. This hike was not super crowded but the trail was narrow so I would not recommend it for our friends struggling with managing reactivity. If your dog is doing well managing their reactivity, this is totally doable! We had to pull to the side with Shenzi a few times but by body blocking her and rewarding eye contact (she has copious amount of practice with this) she had no issues!

If you want a recommendation of where to go with your dog, message us! We’d be happy to help!

10/07/2023

“You can never cross the ocean unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore.”

Happy Columbus Day weekend from this adorable boarding crew 🐾

09/19/2023

Last WoofPack Adventure Day of the year has officially been completed! We had a nice big group and went on a nice 5 mile long hike (and by nice I mean a steep, rocky hike where the three of us definitely struggled😂). The happy tired dogs and the view were so worth it though!!

Adventure Day’s are our favorite days of the month so we will be excited to get them started again once I’ve had my human puppy and I’m back from maternity leave!!

Thank you to all of our customers who trust us to take their dogs on these fun days with us!

09/04/2023

Love your dog.

And no that doesn’t mean just shower them with copious amounts of affection, baby talk and snuggles.

That means train them. Support them(this looks different for every dog). Teach them boundaries. Play with them. Travel with them. Go on adventures with them. Accept their flaws while helping them overcome what they can. Groom them regularly. Keep them in good shape (chunky is not cute or healthy). Bring them to the vet regularly. Socialize them(in ways they enjoy). Be patient when necessary. Don’t give up on them. And most importantly, show up for them.

Loving your dog is a lot more then affection and isn’t always the “fun” things. But we owe them that. They love us unconditionally, they deserve us to give them everything they need💙

08/08/2023

Bindi says LISTEN UP!!! 📣📣

Our last Adventure Day of the year will be Monday 9/18! So sign your dog up ASAP to guarantee them a spot!

Also a reminder that we are CLOSED FOR DAYCARE on 8/10 and 8/11 this week!

08/07/2023

This pack walk brought to you by respect and coexistence💙

Some of these dogs have never met. Some are dog selective. Some are reactive. Some LOVE other dogs (almost too much 😂). Some are insecure. Some have never been on a hike like this. But given all of that, this hike was still super successful, fun and positive for all the dogs and us!!

These are our personal dogs and we work hard on training our dogs coexistence over interaction. How to read body language(and respect it). And most importantly, how to prioritize us as their handlers over the other dogs. These things are the key to having a well balanced dog that you can take places and have peace of mind!!

So proud of all these dogs and of my team for working so hard with them to get and keep them in good standing with their training!!

06/12/2023

⛰️+🐾+🌤️= ideal adventure day 💯

06/04/2023

The power of play 💥

Sully just completed a 3 week board and train with us and as much as we love obedience and counter conditioning with food rewards, we sometimes need more tools at our disposal.

Sully is a sensitive guy who has struggled with reactivity, fear and overstimulation. I found using food on field trips didn’t help, it actually sometimes made his desire to engage with me worse and it most definitely wasn’t making him feel better or more confident.

So then enters play. His parents have worked on increasing his play drive and I started on that immediately when he came to me. When we started doing field trips this past week, I quickly pivoted to play when I saw the effect using food was having. And man did that make a huge difference.

Sully had a blast…he was eager and excited! If something grabbed his attention he was quick to come right back to play, he didn’t get lost in stressing out about whatever was going on around him. He was able to play with people, kids, strollers and dogs passing. All things that I had seen him fixate on and immediately ruin any chance of engagement I had with him on previous field trips.

The play created an environment of willingness and desire not compliance and frustration. And it made him feel SO much better about the environment he was in.

Play is an incredible tool in dog training. It’s often underused or used in inefficient ways. For this dog, it’s going to be an invaluable tool for his parents throughout their training journey!! We LOVE food motivation but it’s always important to remember there are other motivators and to pay attention to the effect each motivator is truly having on how your dog feels!

05/14/2023

Happy Mother’s Day to all the dog moms out there who make these 4-legged hairy beasts the center of their whole world💛🐾💐 (No matter how much they drive us crazy!!)

05/09/2023

We are FULL for boarding 6/15-6/19. Reminder that we will be closed for daycare 6/15 and 6/16!!

04/24/2023

‼️REMINDER‼️
The WoofPack will be closed for ALL services from 5/25-5/31. We will resume normal operations on Thursday June 1st.

In addition DayTraining will not be offered on June 15th and June 16th. If you have an existing boarding reservation those dates, you are all set. Further boarding spots are VERY limited for 6/15-6/19 so get requests in ASAP and plan accordingly.

Thanks!

04/18/2023

Virginia is for (dog) lovers ❤️🐾

Props to and .kayla for not killing me for signing us up for a straight steep climb up this mountain 😂😅

03/29/2023

Leave your dogs food alone. Period.

I’ve heard it over the years but recently I’ve heard numerous people say it to me…that they have been putting their hands in their dogs food. Or that their dog doesn’t mind when they reach into their food. This is not a safe or constructive way to train your dog to not resource guard their food.

Sure, some dogs will never mind. Some dogs won’t mind, as long as it’s one specific owner doing it. But this is a dangerous approach. It can actually cause frustration and distrust over time and make a relatively non food aggressive dog become snappy and protective. This also is not a safe way to ensure that your dog won’t bite a friend, other dog or child.

The safest way to to prevent resource guarding or food aggression is to leave your dog be. Instruct others to leave your dog alone while they are eating. If a child is involved, feed your dog behind a baby gate or in their crate. I also teach my dogs a solid “out” command. So if they are eating something (whether it be a treat, their meal, or something random they find on the ground) I give them that command and when they drop it I reward them. This totally gets rid of ever being in a situation where I need to reach into their food or mouth and mitigates any tension/conflict when it comes to higher value resources like food/treats.

Could I reach into my dogs bowls? I’m sure I could and they wouldn’t care. But I would never. I don’t want to make them nervous, distrustful or tense when they are trying to eat! If you want to work on fixing resource guarding issues with your dog or learn ways to ensure they don’t happen, reach out to us or another trusted trainer!!

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Cornelius, NC
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http://TheWoofPackNC.com/

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Videos

When you’ve been working on threshold manners with the dogs this month..and it is showing!!! Getting a whole pack of dogs to wait at a gate, with a simple “wait” command, is not easy. But after working with each of them one on one to solidify this behavior, it was a breeze!!!

No matter how eventful the adventure is, it’s always worth it and always a good time ☺️

2022 was a huge year for us. A year of growth, uncomfortability , setbacks, wins, lessons learned, connections gained and connections lost. And all of it led me to exactly where I am supposed to be. Thank you to all of you for supporting and following along with us. To our amazing clients, I get to work with some of the most dedicated and incredible people, we wouldn’t be here without you guys. My mentors and support systems, I know I way over use you guys and I’m grateful everyday for all the help and support you all have provided. The WoofPack isn’t a me thing, it’s a we thing. Now let’s see what fun adventures 2023 brings us, I am ready for it!!! ☺️

WoofPack Success Stories: Maya

I’m always so proud of this team and they are a great example of training the dog in front of you. Maya’s an incredible dog and through training, consistency and patience, her family now enjoys a wonderful and enjoyable life together. They travel to the mountains, walk through busy streets, have lunch on patios and much more. All things they didn’t think were possible before they worked with us. So grateful to have such a wonderful dog and family as a part of our pack 💙

Here at The WoofPack, we don’t use the word “adventure” in adventure day lightly😅 Yesterday, we hiked to our favorite waterfall/swimming hole, got caught in an hour long thunderstorm on the way back, walked through swarms of bees, someone fell in the water when trying to get the perfect group shot, and our tires *almost* got stuck in the mud. BUT, we had fun and the dogs enjoyed themselves too (except Sheldon, he has requested to never go in an adventure ever again 😂) Huge shoutout to Kayla and intern Kristin for their good attitudes through our adventure yesterday 🙏🏼

The Good Life with The WoofPack!! Want your dog to come on an adventure with us? If your dog comes to us regularly, they are eligible to attend!! Adventure days provides incredible real life training, a good physical workout, mental fulfillment and overall happiness for your dog!

POV: part of your job is taking dogs on adventures every Monday

Never measure your progress using someone else ruler 📏 This video seems like nothing out of the ordinary, just 2 dogs walking happily.But this video documents some HUGE progress for Ginger! Ginger has some severe dog reactivity that her mom and her have been working with me on for the past couple months. We’ve spent a small handful of sessions working on their overall relationship and communication before we worked with Ginger directly on her reactivity. With that foundation we introduced Ginger to a controlled, on-leash situation(shout out to my best helper dog, Kloi💕) Ginger and Kloi started off at a distance and slowly Kloi and I got closer to Ginger and her mom. We took our time to give Ginger space and allowed her mom to help guide Ginger through her emotions without them getting out of control (or reaching the dreaded “red zone”). Within 20 min, Ginger went from staring, pulling and wanting to lunge towards Kloi to standing next to her with totally neutrality. Ginger just needed the proper guidance with some good communication, that she could understand. We used food and marker words to reinforce engagement with Mom and to reinforce calm reactions to Kloi and I. We stayed calm and kept her moving when she was disengaged and reacting towards Kloi. Ginger needed to see that it would actually be ok to not flip out at a dog. That it actually feels better not too. She needed to feel safe but also not be allowed to just run away from the situation. The results were just beautiful. Ideally we would keep our dogs out of situations that stress them out but it’s just not realistic. So we need to show them how to cope in these situations and make it a point to practice with them. Controlled situations like this are a great way to set your dog up for success when it comes to practicing. I am so proud of Ginger and her mom for all their hard work and excited to see this team continue to progress!

Fear is the result of a lack of confidence. A lack of confidence is the result of not knowing what you can do. A lack of knowing what you can do is caused by a lack of experience. A lack of experience is caused by a lack of doing something new. Brodie is full of fear. To the untrained eye, his aggressive and intimidating antics make him seem like an overly confident and dominant guy. But that is furthest from the truth. Brodie is scared, mostly of the unfamiliar, which unfortunately is a lot of things. It’s a vicious cycle, his aggressive ways have caused his world to become very small, which means he doesn’t experience a lot of new things. Which only feeds his fear. When we would go out for a walk, he was glued to my side and would freeze or react when we walked by someone. He didn’t care to interact with the world at all. A dog who sticks right by you that doesn’t care about anything but you- what a dream, right?! No, wrong. A dog should be a dog, they should want to sniff, they should have a healthy curiosity about things and want to explore. So, I encouraged Brodie to disengage with me. I focused on building a healthy state of mind-not so much leash manners and obedience. I brought along some moral support on one of his walks, his best friend, Shenzi. He watched her sniff, pull and explore. Monkey see, monkey do. In no time the dog who previously would stand next me,stiff as a board, started frolicking, pulling, and sniffing. He was acting like a REAL dog. And for the first time, on our way back home, we passed a man and Brodie didn’t bark or freeze. He sniffed the air at him, he pulled slightly (out of curiosity) and then wagged his little nub and continued on his way. Confidence people. State of mind is always more important than obedience. I can fix obedience and bad leash manners rather quickly if I have a good, confident state of mind. Without that, all the obedience in the world isn’t going to help. We are excited to continue to help

Calm—> Play—>Repeat 💣 Finding calm before they are allowed to play and then taking breaks in play to restablish a calm state of mind is imperative to successful playgroups!! We practice this everytime so the dogs are conditioned to be calm in the presence of dogs until given permission to interact/play. Which leads to very pleasant and fun playtimes!

Anyone else guilty of constantly pushing their dogs and forgetting to SLOW down sometimes? I took it easy with training over the past week with Shenzi, I kind of got the vibe I was burning her out a bit. She was still performing well but her enthusiasm was going down a bit. I want her to WANT to work with me, not see it as a chore. So this week she just enjoyed being a psycho little heeler. Tonight when we trained her enthusiasm was through the roof!! Training is a resource- limiting a resource builds drive in it. So by limiting how much we trained, it built up an eagerness and desire to work. THAT is what we want- although it’s difficult for me because I just want to do ALL the things with her 😂. I have plenty of time though and I need to remember to slow down a bit and focus on just building an incredible relationship with her- everything else we can work on over time! I’m very thrilled with the dog she’s turning into but trying to enjoy every second of puppy Shenzi while it lasts! Side note-yes I know my running skills are 💯💯💯 😂

I shared part 1 of this video earlier this week of Peep in the lobby of our vet and asked you guys what you saw. (Part 2 is the second half of this video, taken this morning) On the surface, most people saw a dog who was engaged and checking in. While yes she is checking in, she is definitely not engaged with me in a secure way that I want. She’s going through the motions of eye contact and responding to sit/down commands but her mind is not with me, it’s more concerned about everything else going on behind her. You can see her darting eyes, her ears flicking back, her head turning back and the dead giveaway for Peep- her tail is not wagging at all. So how do I help shift Peeps general state of mind from insecure/fearful to secure and happy? Well, in Peeps case it’s by using obedience- in particular obedience cues that she finds very exciting. (Side note- I would not use this same approach for every dog, not all dogs enjoy performing like this as much as Peep does 😂) I have done so much obedience training with her and heavily reinforced it to the point that she LOVES performing for me. So you see in part 2, she is engaged with me with a lot more enthusiasm. I’m using movement in her favor here and utilizing “get it” with her. This rewards her away from me and then draws her back to me to check in again. I’m still doing eye contact like the first time but adding in the movement vs having her be stationary-which clearly puts her in a better place. Her ears are alert and attentive, her eyes are far less shifty, she is more confident in her movement and again the dead giveaway- that consistently wagging tail 🥰. These videos really magnify the difference of a dog who is just going through the motions but still in a bad place mentally vs a dog doing what is asked with conviction and excitement, in a much better head space. She has such a positive association with a lot of her obedience cues so the hope is that over time we counter condition her

Underneath that scared and shutdown exterior, I knew there was a very sweet and special soul. I was not wrong 🥰 Give that broken and hopeless dog a chance, I promise you won’t regret it.

Are you even a dog trainer if you don’t make yourself look absolutely ridiculous to proof a dogs down? 😂 Lou is a VERY excitable guy who really struggles with impulse control, especially when he sees one of his favorite people. Luckily, I am one of his favorite people so I was able to assist @thewoofpacknc.kayla as she worked him through holding a down stay while I distracted him. You can see Lou struggle in each scenario but as we practice, he becomes more desensitized to the excitement of me. We also are building a positive reinforcement history with holding the down so that becomes a better option than coming to me. You see every time he breaks his down and comes to me, I freeze and ignore him, thus making coming to me less rewarding than staying in his down! This crazy guy continues to make incredible progress. He can be goofy and silly which causes him to be a bit naughty at times but there’s just something about Lou where you can’t help but to fall in love with him and his antics🙈💙.

Attack of the Peep-saurus 🖤🧡🤍

Class is in session 🐾📚🧠 THIS is what proper dog socialization looks like! Yes they do get to play and interact but not until they can be calm and coexist first. We reward calm states of mind not overly excited and over stimulated ones. 👊🏼✌🏼👏🏻 If you’re dogs daycare doesn’t look like this, find a new one 🙈#sorrynotsorry

A confident little hippo❤️‍🔥

Had this girl for less then a week now and today she finally opened up (it just took the psycho cattle dog puppy to bring her out of her shell 😂) Excuse me while my heart melts. Billies Buddies Animal Rescue