Pawsitive Influence Dog Training

10/02/2025

🍂 4 spots left.
Registration closes Saturday.
Class begins Sunday morning.

Imagine this: It’s a crisp fall morning. You’ve got a hot coffee in one hand and a leash in the other. Your dog is at your side—focused, calm, ready to work. Not just chasing the next idea that floats through their heads, but checking in with you. Waiting for your next cue.

This is what Retriever Foundations is about.

It’s not about wearing your dog out.
It’s about working with them.
It’s about shaping drive into connection, and play into partnership.

Whether your dog is ball-obsessed or just bored with the same old walk, this 4-week class helps you build a clear, reliable relationship—so your dog learns to follow your lead, even when the world is exciting.

✨ Updated drills
✨ Refined instruction
✨ A better bond waiting on the other side

👉 Grab one of the last 4 spots here: https://www.jotform.com/form/251164670595159

Let’s build something incredible—together. 🐾

*****

Training starts the moment your dog enters your house.

Building a good dog takes time, and patience, and maybe a little help from the Pawsitive Influence Dog Training team!

09/22/2025

09/22/2025

🍁 Retriever Foundations Class is almost full! 🍁

Got a dog who gets bored with the same old walk or tired of chasing the ball on repeat?

Retriever Foundations is for dogs who crave variety and challenge—and for humans who want more than just a tired pup at the end of the day.

In this 4-week class, we’ll help you turn natural drive into focus, structure, and a real working relationship.

✨ Nearly half the spots are already spoken for.
🗓️ Class starts Sunday, October 5th—just two weeks away!

For schedule, pricing, and location info, head to the link below:
👉 https://www.jotform.com/form/251164670595159

This isn’t just another game of fetch.
It’s the start of something deeper. 🐾

Sending gratitude to Annie Doctor for these great photos of our Spring class.

*****

Training starts the moment your pup enters your house.

Building a good pup takes time, and patience, and maybe a little help from the Pawsitive Influence Dog Training team!

07/10/2025

Fluffy pt. 2 no leash

07/09/2025

Everyday I get to wake up and help humans build dogs that are perfect. Best day ever!! Fluffy learning how to walk with mom on horseback.

05/16/2025

🥎 New Class: Retriever Foundations! 🥎

Got a dog who lives to chase? Let’s turn that passion into progress.

Starts this Sunday! Register here:

https://form.jotform.com/251164670595159

Our new Retriever Foundations Class is built for beginner dogs who love to fetch but struggle to focus. Or who focus on fetch so hard, the rest of the world could be on fire and your dog would never know!

In just 4 weeks, you’ll learn how to use your dog’s natural drive to build calm, connected behavior—on leash, at home, and in the real world.

✅ Beginner-friendly
✅ Fun, structured fetch
✅ Better focus, better recall, better relationship

This class is appropriate for all dogs 45+ pounds of any breed or mix that loves fetch. (If your dog is smaller than 45 pounds, but has "big dog" energy, reach out to us and we can chat!)

This isn’t just a game of fetch—it’s the foundation of teamwork.
📍 Spots are limited. Let’s get to work!

04/27/2025

🎯 New Class: Retriever Foundations! 🎯

Does your dog live for the chase? 🐾🎾
Retriever Foundations is designed to help handlers tap into their dog's natural instincts—and shape that energy into calm, consistent, and connected work.

Over four weeks, you’ll learn how to start satisfying your dog’s breed-driven needs in a structured way that builds trust, leadership, and responsiveness. When your dog’s deepest instincts are fulfilled through clear, thoughtful engagement, they’re far more willing to shift gears into the "human" side of life—things like walking calmly at heel, relaxing during busy household events, and coming when called (even when there are SQUIRRELS in the yard).

✅ Satisfy your dog’s innate drive in a healthy way
✅ Build a more attentive, willing partner
✅ Teach focus, patience, and clear engagement with the handler
✅ Strengthen your bond through play and structure

By the end of the class, you’ll have a dog who's not just chasing a ball—but choosing to work with you, even when the world is full of tempting distractions.

This class is perfect for:

🐾Retriever breeds or mixes (Laboradors, Golden Retrievers, Pointers, Setters, Spaniels, Portugese Water Dogs, etc.)
🐾Dogs of non-retriever breeds or mixes who live for fetch
🐾Handlers who want a balanced, durable working relationship with their dog

📍 Limited spots available. Let’s channel that incredible drive into something lasting, meaningful—and fun!

Follow this link to learn more (price, dates, details):
https://form.jotform.com/251164670595159

*****

Training starts the moment your dog enters your house.

Building a good dog takes time, and patience, and maybe a little help from the Pawsitive Influence Dog Training team!

03/07/2025

Behavior shaping happens in the small moments, too. 🐶🐾
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I have a few extra pups tonight! This is Taffy, and he’s supervising while I clean up after dinner. (Unintentional kitchen ASMR 😅)
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Taffy sometimes struggles to settle during down time - he’d prefer to operate cranked up to 12/10.
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So we’re practicing being part of things while also being physically still. It’s really difficult for this busy, driven dog.
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If this is also difficult for your dog to do *when you ask them to,* reach out to us. We specialize in helping dogs who don’t know how to manage the intensity of their breed instincts.
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*****
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Training starts the moment your pup enters your house.
‌
Building a good pup takes time, and patience, and maybe a little help from the Pawsitive Influence Dog Training team!
‌

03/06/2025

When you're sick and can't work what do you do??
Why to ball fetch with your big dog that loves to be outside.
Two ball fetch is one of our favorite ways to give our pups good exercise, and build some skills. Rollie is still learning how to manage himself and listen in high stimulus environments and maintain himself in the face of what he wants. So we practice small steps heavy sprinting and then managing a simple sit. Building the game into a tool that helps facilitate calm, obedient behavior.

02/20/2025

We love this drill! It’s great for building:

🐾 Name recognition
🐾 Positive association with kenneling-up
🐾 Impulse control
🐾 Delayed gratification
🐾 Focus
🐾 Better than reliable recall

🧢 Consistent leadership
🧢 Consistent sequencing
🧢 Patience (for you!)
🧢 Calm, regulated behavior (from you!)
🧢 Opportunities to practice

You’ll notice that Christina’s pack has two extra dogs.

Seven is the German Shepherd and Clover is the Golden Retriever. This is the second time running this drill with the whole group.

This is great for homes with only one dog, too!

*****

Training starts the moment your pup enters your house.

Building a good pup takes time, and patience, and maybe a little help from the Pawsitive Influence Dog Training team!

02/15/2025

📣 ANNOUNCING ADVENTURE PUPS (semi-urban edition)

What is Adventure Pups?

This is a class imagined by Christina's dream to empower everyone she meets to go on adventures with their dogs, and made real by Willie's uncanny ability to coach the rest of us to do things we never thought we could, through intentional risk-taking.

With these things in mind, we developed Adventure Pups to equip dog owners to confidently navigate new environments with their dogs.

Many handlers struggle with uncertainty, over-managing their dogs, or avoiding challenges altogether.

This class is designed to build both human and canine confidence by introducing structured (and sometimes intentionally chaotic!), real-world experiences that encourage growth.

Through structured exposure, clear leadership, and controlled risk-taking, handlers learn to trust themselves and their training, while their dogs develop resilience, adaptability, and a stronger bond with their humans.

Adventure Pups is about stepping outside your comfort zone—together—so you and your dog can enjoy a fuller, freer life.

Please note: this class is invitation-only, meaning that we screen dogs and handlers to be sure you're ready for this class. HOWEVER, if you'd like to be considered for an invitation, please leave a comment or send us a message.

Additional note: we realize that Oregon weather can be unpredictable this time of year, so we're planning adventures that are semi-urban to cut down on muddy dogs, muddy humans and overall mud. 😆

Starts Sunday, March 16, 2025. Contact us soon, space is limited.

*****

Training starts the moment your pup enters your house.

Building a good pup takes time, and patience, and maybe a little help from the Pawsitive Influence Dog Training team!

01/20/2025

You call their name, whistle, even break out the special treats... but your dog is so locked in on playtime that you might as well be invisible. 🐕💨

It’s frustrating, it might feel embarrassing, and let’s be honest—chasing them around isn’t how you imagined spending your afternoon.

Here’s the thing: Dogs thrive with clear, consistent boundaries, even when they’re having fun. Teaching your pup how to disengage isn’t about ending the fun—it’s about building trust and showing them that you are the most rewarding part of their world.

Sound familiar? Interested in learning how to build better behavior in your pack? Drop a 🐕‍🦺 in the comments if you’re ready to master the art of the recall and turn those playtime struggles into smooth, confident transitions!

*****

Training starts the moment your pup enters your house.

Building a good pup takes time, and patience, and maybe a little help from the Pawsitive Influence Dog Training team!