Beyond the Dog - Dallas

Beyond the Dog - Dallas Beyond the Dog offers private in-home pet training throughout the greater Dallas area.

06/04/2024

DON’T MAKE THIS DOG TRAINING MISTAKE 👇

One of the biggest dog training mistakes we see people make is that they expect their dog to listen around super difficult distractions without ever practicing in front of those distractions or nailing the basics first.

Here’s how to prepare your dog for advanced distractions!

1) Begin Fading Food: Get the food out of your hands and into a treat bag and delay the time it takes from saying the command to giving the treat.

2) Do Normal Activities but Remain Focused on Training: If you are practicing a down stay, pretend to check your email or get “distracted” by your phone. Start a load of laundry or begin unloading the dishwasher. Break the everyday activity into bite-sized pieces and reward your dog at short intervals for holding a command like “stay.”

3) Get Your Dog Practicing Obedience Outdoors: Remember, your dog’s nose is much better than your nose, and smells can quickly become very distracting. Go back to the basics you started with when you change environments from indoors to outside.

4) Moving to Advanced Distractions: Ensure your dog complies with verbal cues then start to change your positioning when you ask the command. Once your dog realizes that the command has little to do with the position you are in, it is time to teach them to comply with your command no matter what they are doing.

5) Target Problem Behaviors at Difficult Times: For example, work on jumping after your dog hasn’t seen a family member for a while or practice recall by a squirrel.

Remember, go back to the basics for a few minutes anytime you increase the level of distractions. As you progress through these steps, you will have a well-mannered dog and one that is compliant with commands around advanced distractions without yelling and screaming from you.

Want a professional dog trainer to do the heavy lifting for you? Our in-home dog training programs are crafted from decades of experience training dogs. We know exactly how to give you the results you want in the most efficient way of training possible!

Link in bio to learn more!

As dog trainers, our main focus is what will improve the quality of life for dogs and their owners!Your dog’s mental hea...
05/21/2024

As dog trainers, our main focus is what will improve the quality of life for dogs and their owners!

Your dog’s mental health is our priority every month, not just in May.

You can protect your dog’s brain health by focusing on eliminating or avoiding regular stressors, making room for joyful social interactions, striving to create an entertaining and predictable environment, and of course training.

Good brain health leads to good mental health and a long, happy, healthy life with your 4-legged family member extending well beyond May!

Check out the blog post below to learn more!

https://beyondthedogtraining.com/dog-training/protecting-the-mental-health-of-dogs/

In honor of all of the hard-working, amazing moms, we will be giving 10% OFF ALL DOG AND CAT TRAINING PROGRAMS (three we...
05/10/2024

In honor of all of the hard-working, amazing moms, we will be giving 10% OFF ALL DOG AND CAT TRAINING PROGRAMS (three weeks minimum) from NOW UNTIL THE END OF THE DAY, FRIDAY, MAY 17TH.

This offer is valid at all of our in-home training locations (Austin, Dallas, Houston, and Kansas City) and for our virtual training programs available worldwide!

After treating 1000’s of dogs and cats across the US, we are uniquely qualified to address any pet behavior!

Common behaviors we address in our training programs include:

🐾 Dog Reactivity, Aggression, and Fear
🐾 Dog Resource Guarding
🐾 Dog Separation Anxiety
🐾 Dog Touch Sensitivity
🐾 Puppy Manners (Jumping, Chewing, Play-Biting, Housebreaking, etc.)
🐾 Cat Aggression and Fighting
🐾…and so much more!

Our team will work with you to identify why your pet is engaging in any problem behavior, and the severity of the behavior, which allows our team, under the guidance of our Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist, Dr. Echterling-Savage, to develop a step-by-step treatment plan, directly targeting your concerns.

We also offer in-home and virtual comprehensive puppy and kitten training as well!

Simply give us a call, email, or schedule a free training consultation through the link in bio, and let us know you are a mom so a 10% discount will be applied to your training program!

Happy Mother’s Day!

04/26/2024

Meet Howdy, our Dallas Dog of the Month!

Howdy the Beagle Mix enrolled in one of our in-home Dallas dog training programs to learn calm loose leashing. This is his progress after only two weeks of training!

We can’t wait to see how much this sweet boy learns by the end of his Dallas dog training program!

04/18/2024

If you see another dog or your own dog showing this behavior, the dog park is not a good place for you and it’s time to leave!

1.) If a dog enters the dog park, is greeted by other dogs, and immediately runs away with their tail tucked oftentimes vocalizing.

2.) If a dog is overly physical, constantly chasing and biting other dogs without ever reciprocating vulnerable body positions.

3.) If a dog is showing clear signs of aggression such as hackles raised, consistently stiff body language, and growling and snapping towards other dogs.

If your dog has good social skills and you want to take them to the dog park, always stay on the sidelines first and watch if any dogs are exhibiting the above behavior. If they are, wait for those dogs to leave before entering to ensure safe, positive fun!

If you tried socializing your dog but something still isn’t clicking, we are happy to help! Link in bio for professional help with dog socialization, dog reactivity, or any other dog behavioral issue! We offer both in-home (in select cities) and virtual training sessions.

Socialization might be THE MOST IMPORTANT skill you can teach your puppy! Some people think that socialization simply me...
04/15/2024

Socialization might be THE MOST IMPORTANT skill you can teach your puppy!

Some people think that socialization simply means bringing your dog to the dog park as much as possible but this is NOT the case!

Want professional help with hitting your puppy’s socialization goals? Link in bio to book one of our in-home or board and train puppy training programs designed to properly socialize and train your puppy at the same time!

04/10/2024

Some dogs should not go to the dog park and that’s okay!

Poor candidates for the dog park include…

❌ Young puppies, specifically those in the critical socialization period of 3-12 weeks (we recommend being extra picky about the group of dogs your puppy plays with until they are at least six months of age)
❌ Unneutered males over 8-months-old
❌ Adult males who have recently been neutered
❌ Dogs that stay by your side the entire time and have no interest in playing with other dogs
❌ Dogs that just want to play fetch with their owners and have no interest in interacting with other dogs

Stay tuned for part 2!

03/29/2024

If you notice avoidant or fearful behavior in your puppy, let us know and we can help treat the behavior right away! We have both in-home and virtual puppy training programs that can be customized to fit you and your puppy’s exact needs.

Start your puppy training journey with us below!

https://calendly.com/petbehaviorteam/15min

After treating reactivity in thousands of dogs, here are our top tips on how to help any reactive dog! Dogs are reactive...
03/21/2024

After treating reactivity in thousands of dogs, here are our top tips on how to help any reactive dog!

Dogs are reactive to distance themselves from unfamiliar people or dogs.

Consider a dog who becomes reactive towards other dogs on walks. The owner and the other dog continue moving, creating distance even if creating that distance is unintentional.

The dog’s reactivity resulted in an increased distance from the other dog, achieving the reactive dog’s goal of distance. That distance created strengthens the dog’s reactivity in the future.

However, with consistency and behavioral modification training, reactivity can be treated!

Start your training journey here: https://calendly.com/petbehaviorteam/15min

03/18/2024

All puppies bite. It is simply how they explore the world when they are young.

However, it’s super important to pay attention to the context in which your puppy is biting to differentiate between normal vs. abnormal biting.

❗Does your puppy hover over a bone, toy, or food?

❗Does your puppy growl when they’re picked up or while woken up?

❗Does your puppy act aggressively in response to being restrained?

❗Does your puppy grab things and run away?

❗Does your puppy try to swallow items like mulch, trash, or bones, whole?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, your puppy might be showing early signs of resource guarding.

To prevent resource guarding from worsening, practice approaching your puppy when they have a toy or bone, give them a treat, and walk away.

Don’t play with your puppy’s food or take it away mid-meal. Instead, approach them while they’re eating, drop a tasty treat in their food bowl, and walk away.

This helps create a positive association with your puppy being approached with valuable resources. The goal is for your puppy to happily await you approaching them.

Over time, you can prevent resource guarding from worsening with age!

If you need additional help with puppy biting, we have virtual puppy training programs and would be happy to help. Link in bio to learn more!

02/27/2024

Ruby enrolled in one of our Dallas in-home dog training programs to address some of her avoidance behaviors relating to the crate.

Her trainer also flagged some early signs of touch-sensitivity which was critical for Ruby as the behavior could’ve escalated into severe aggression like a bite if it wasn’t addressed early on.

Ruby learned commands like crate, place, touch, heel, and more! Go Ruby!

Link in bio to learn more about our personalized in-home training programs!

02/23/2024

Resource guarding is a complex, social behavior that is typically caused due to a multitude of factors including genetics, early environment, training history, and the behavior of other dogs in the home to name a few.

It is not caused because your dog no longer “sees you as the alpha”!

If resource guarding is left untreated, the behavior could escalate into your dog biting you or a family member.

Luckily, resource guarding can be treated with behavior modification! We treat resource guarding using a combination of classical conditioning and positive reinforcement that ultimately teaches dogs to look forward to being approached by loved ones.

Learn more about resource guarding below!

https://beyondthedogtraining.com/dog-training/why-is-my-dog-resource-guarding/

02/09/2024

If your dog only listens to you when you have treats, it’s not because they don’t love or respect you enough.

It’s because they simply don’t understand what is expected of them.

In a healthy relationship, you don’t assume the other person isn’t listening to you due to a lack of love. The same applies to your relationship with your dog!

Let your dog in on the Super Bowl LVIII fun this Sunday with these dog-friendly Super Bowl snacks!Exercise will help you...
02/07/2024

Let your dog in on the Super Bowl LVIII fun this Sunday with these dog-friendly Super Bowl snacks!

Exercise will help your pup be the perfect host if you plan on having people over when the game begins. Start the day right by warming up with your own wide retriever. From slants to comeback routes, your dog will love catching the ball with you.

Prepare these dog-friendly Super Bowl snacks and avoid human ones such as chicken wings, onion rings, alcoholic beverages, and any food with toothpicks inside.

We hope you have an amazing Super Bowl Sunday and GO CHIEFS!

Recipes inspired by !

01/26/2024

Dog reactivity can be an incredibly stressful behavior for pet parents to manage. Many owners and trainers try using shock to treat reactivity. In many cases, shock is seemingly very effective in getting your dog to immediately stop barking or lunging.

But do the ends justify the means when it comes to using shock for reactivity?

Shock often addresses the symptoms of dog reactivity (barking and lunging) but it can mask the underlying cause of the reactivity, the desire to get unfamiliar people and dogs to go away.

The use of shock can make a dog stop barking and lunging but the negative association a dog has with unfamiliar people and dogs can be heightened. After using shock, the dog will associate other people and dogs with an even more unpleasant and painful experience. Classical conditioning is always at play!

Research supports this as studies show the levels of the stress hormone cortisol remain high after the use of shock. Research also shows shock can elicit aggressive behavior!

In our opinion, the ends DO NOT justify the means when it comes to using shock on behavioral issues such as reactivity. It is simply not worth the risk of long-term side effects.

Behavior modification using principles from classical conditioning and positive reinforcement is the best and most ethical method to treat dog reactivity.

For more information on this topic, check out our latest dog behavior blog post below!

https://beyondthedogtraining.com/dog-training/does-it-matter-how-you-train-your-dog-the-effects-of-aversive-training-techniques-on-well-being/

Dry January is much more fun when your dog is enjoying a mocktail with you! We hope you enjoy these dog-friendly mocktai...
01/17/2024

Dry January is much more fun when your dog is enjoying a mocktail with you!

We hope you enjoy these dog-friendly mocktails! If you’re not doing Dry January this year, feel free to spike any of these recipes with alcohol of your choosing.

We recommend sticking to one serving of these mocktails for your pup as to not upset any tummies! You can also give your pup a smaller serving if they are fun-sized.

SAVE this post the next time you want to have a DNO (Dogs Night Out) and follow us for your guide to everything dog-friendly!

*Recipes inspired by SidewalkDog*

01/09/2024

Some people think the far left has taken over dog training and that’s why trainers have stopped using aversive methods such as shock collars and the alpha roll. They believe you must assert your dominance over your dog or they will not listen to you, period.

But is this true? Is positive-based dog training too soft?

No. Research has proven time and time again that behavior modification is the most ethical and effective way to train your dog.

Classical counterconditioning is the foundation of behavior modification. Also known as pairing, classical counterconditioning is when an association between two stimuli is developed.

The most famous example is Pavlov’s dogs, who began to salivate at Pavlov’s bell simply because the bell was paired in time with meat powder. Counterconditioning, habituation, and systematic desensitization are all classical conditioning techniques behaviorists use to treat problem behavior with dogs.

By providing high-value foods in the presence of aversive stimuli, trainers can reduce the aversiveness of those contexts. For some dog-reactive dogs, feeding high-value treats in the presence of other dogs reduces reactivity. This means of treatment is much more ethical than relying on punishment procedures or avoiding these circumstances altogether.

If you are interested in seeking professional help, it can be hard to know where to look. These days, anyone can call themselves a dog trainer without receiving any certification. Who can you trust when it comes to your beloved furry family member?

Look for an organization where you can be supported under the guidance of a Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist, a Certified Behavior Consultant, or a Veterinary Behaviorist.

Our resident CAAB, Dr. Echterling-Savage, has a fantastic research paper on the effectiveness of classical counterconditioning in treating dog aggression. You can find this paper and more research on Dr. Ectherling-Savage’s behavior blog linked in our bio!

Address

4514 Cole Avenue # 600
Dallas, TX
75205

Opening Hours

Monday 7:30am - 7pm
Tuesday 7:30am - 7pm
Wednesday 7:30am - 7pm
Thursday 7:30am - 7pm
Friday 7:30am - 7pm

Telephone

+19452690506

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