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DogFit Dallas- Dog Behavior

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DogFit Dallas- Dog Behavior

DogFit Dallas specializes in creating balance & harmony between you and your dog. We offer behaviora
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We create meaningful, lasting experiences for you and your dog, provide you and your dog a safe space to be your authentic selves, and we do it with joy! We believe in working with integrity and finding creative solutions that maximize benefits for you and your dog. We care about you, your dog, and your experience within the DogFit Dallas community.

08/26/2024

For National Dog Day, we introduce to you our own pack of 7.
Luna
Nala
Honey
Buddha
Pickles
Gracie
NoGi

Let me know the name and age of your dog/s in the comments.

08/09/2024

Look for the good things your dog does and reward those (can be food, a verbal praise, intentional touch). Dog staying a little bit longer on place - capture it. Dog walking nicely on leash for a few steps - capture it. Puppy giving you a random sit and waiting for you instead of jumping - capture it. Capturing the good moments you want to see more of will help them put it together long term as opposed to only waiting for them to “mess up” and then getting frustrated with them. Capture the good.

Drop a YES if you agree. 👍

Happy Friday, everyone!

08/05/2024

A lot of people think jumping is cute when it’s a little puppy (“oh look, they love me so much!”). They hold the puppy’s paws when they’re jumping and start petting them. What this teaches the puppy is, “Humans like when I jump.” Then fast forward to when puppy is now full grown, 60 lbs, and knocks someone over or hurts someone. Then the jumping is not so cute anymore all of a sudden. Who is the one to blame? Most people blame the dog. Not their fault, though.

Jumping is one of those things you want to get a handle on pretty quickly so it doesn’t become a habit. Your dog may not have any bad intentions jumping on people but not everyone likes it, someone could get hurt, and it’s definitely an invasion of your personal space if the dog jumps on you.

So what can you do to stop the jumping? 🛑

1. You can use a leash. Leash your dog and then step on the leash so they can’t jump up anymore. They may still try to jump a few times but will hit a wall and ultimately, they’ll sit down and settle. That’s when you want to reward and give calm affection. If the affection gets the dog excited again, you start over. The dog may not be ready for pets then. It’s also totally fine to ignore the dog a little longer until they fully settle.

2. Place work. Place work is one of those things, when done right, that the dog associate with relaxation. We don’t need them to perform on place. We just want them to settle. So the more you practice place without distractions first the more they’ll just melt into it every time they step on their bed/place board. Then you can slowly introduce distractions. And you’ll see over time that your dog will choose to go to place on their own because they know it makes them feel calm.

3. Make sure you don’t reward an excited state of mind. The more you do that, the more your dog will think that you want them to be excited at all times. When you come home, ignore your dog until they’re calm. Then give calm affection. Don’t reward when they’re running around and jumping. Remember, you get what you pet. So if you reward craziness, you’ll get more craziness. If you reward calmness, you’ll see more calmness.

Do you have a jumper? Let me know.

07/31/2024

Let’s do a little inventory check.

How do you handle stressful situations? Are you impatient, worried, frustrated, emotional? Do you tend to lash out at other people when you’re stressed? Do you try to avoid certain situations or shut down? Chances are you react the same way when your dog reacts.

Do you worry about things that haven’t happened yet? Paint a picture in your head about what could possibly go wrong? Think the worst will happen or think about “but what if…” a lot? You probably do the same thing before you leave the house to go on a walk thinking about what your dog will do when you see another dog.

Do you tend to start projects but don’t finish them a lot of times? Do you have a hard time with follow through? Do you tend to give up when you hit a road block? Does it take a lot of effort for you to establish new habits? Think about working with your dog - it might be hard for you to be consistent with the training especially when your dog starts testing your boundaries. You may ask him to go back to place 5 times but after that you’d rather do something else because you don’t have the patience to ask him to go back 10 more times.

Are you an over explainer and tend to use way too many words to get to the point? Could it be that you’re also talking to your dog way too much and repeat yourself way too many times?

These are just a few examples of how we handle things in our daily lives that will naturally come up when we work with our dogs. Our dogs can be the greatest teachers. They will show us our triggers, our weaknesses and also our strengths. They can be our guide if we are open to listening.

What has your dog taught you about yourself that you’ve then used as a chance to better yourself? What is something that comes to mind now after reading this post that you may want to work on?

Here’s to BETTER BECAUSE OF MY DOG. 🐶

07/25/2024

It’s easy to blame the dog for a certain behavior. Getting on the furniture, jumping on people, poor manners out in public, not staying on the place board, chewing up your shoes when you’re not watching… your dog should know better, right? False.

The thing is that your dog has no idea what the expectation is, and then there’s most likely no consistency, and way too much freedom.

You cannot blame the dog. You cannot get frustrated with your dog. You can only do a better and more consistent job teaching your dog what you want.

Once you know you haven’t been clear and consistent with the things you want your dog to know and you still get frustrated, this type of frustration tends to actually be frustration with yourself. So again, there’s no reason to blame the dog when you’re actually mad at yourself.

We obviously don’t want you to blame yourself either, we just want to you to become more aware of what is happening.

If you think your dog should know something but they don’t, it’s your sign to slow down and go back to basics. Fulfilling your dog’s needs, limiting freedom, keeping a closer eye on your dog, paying attention to what you allow on a daily basis, using a leash inside the house, working on repetitions and maybe shorter increments to work your way back up to success.

Let your feelings of frustration be your reminder that things are out of balance. Then ask yourself what you can do to bring balance back into your relationship with your dog. Be kind to yourself, be kind to your dog.

07/14/2024

Did you know DogFit started as a dog walking company over 12 years ago? This is the first picture that was ever posted on this account. The original three: Emma, Hiro, and Frankie. These were the three dogs that started it all. I didn’t intend to become a dog walker. I would simply walk my three dogs every day in downtown Dallas (unemployed, newly divorced, and close to being homeless at the time) when a woman stopped me and asked if I was a dog walker. I almost felt offended by that comment and moved on with my day. Little did I know that this woman planted a seed within me. I didn’t have anything else to do and was already walking my three dogs every day, so I started walking my friends’ dogs, too. Then I got hired by other people to walk their dogs as well. And before I knew it I was walking large packs of dogs in the middle of downtown. That’s when someone pointed out that I was not only walking these dogs but that I was also training them because most of these dogs normally didn’t get along with other dogs or had all sorts of other behavioral problems. That’s when my training journey started.

All that to say, sometimes you don’t search for your calling but your calling finds you. I’ll be forever grateful that this lady asked if I was a dog walker because that’s where it all started. And I’ll also be forever grateful to the original three - all of them have passed at this point but their legacy lives on.

07/12/2024

Little perspective shift for you. People tend to get so frustrated when their newly adopted dog comes with or develops any kind of behavioral issues. We want them to just be good. Here’s the thing, though. We’re not perfect either. We have baggage based on past experiences that we bring into any new relationship, too. That doesn’t mean that we can’t work on it (human or dog). It’s so good and healthy to work on ourselves in order to feel good. Our dogs deserve the same chance.

So instead of getting annoyed with your dog’s behavior, ask yourself what you can do to help them cope with it better. First, start by seeing them as a dog and fulfilling their needs. Implement structure and consistency so your dog knows what the expectations are and what their role in your home is. And then consult with a professional to help you identify triggers and to see where you may need to make some changes.

We all have baggage. And that’s okay. We all want someone else to understand where we’re coming from and to help us through things. Your dog is not enjoying the behavior they’re displaying. It’s stressing them out, too. They want you to understand them.

That’s why we always say you need to learn how to speak dog. Learn about them, just like they learn about you all day every day. They’re also showing you day in and out what you need to work on for yourself based on the reactions you have when they react. Learn together. Grow together. 🤍

06/26/2024

Puppies. So many things can be true at the same time. They’re so cute - and potty training can take a lot of effort. They’re so snuggly - and mouthiness can be frustrating. They are silly and clumsy and oh so funny - and getting them to sleep through the night can be challenging.

If you put in the work early with your puppy, you’ll reap the rewards long term. We love working with puppies because it is more about prevention than intervention. You have the chance to set them up for a lifetime of success.

We have raised several puppies (including human puppies ;) ) on our own. We get it, it can be a lot of work. And it won’t be like that forever. They really are like sponges, absorbing everything all day and they learn so quickly if you’re clear and consistent with what you ask of them while making an effort to really understand them at the same time.

Have you raised a puppy before? If you have, what was the best and what was the hardest part about it? The good and the hard can co-exist. Let me know in the comments below.

And if you want to learn more about setting your puppy up for success, head over to our Better Because Of My Dog Membership page (link in bio) where we have a whole course just about puppies.

06/13/2024

🎉 MEMBERSHIP LAUNCHES TODAY 🎉

We couldn’t be more excited to share with y’all the BIG NEWS that we now have a monthly membership available for all things dog psychology. Let me introduce the BETTER BECAUSE OF MY DOG - DOG PSYCHOLOGY COMMUNITY.

Whether you're a dedicated dog owner looking to make life a little smoother, or a professional working in the dynamic dog industry, this membership offers a unique opportunity to deepen your understanding of dog psychology, learn new training strategies, and grow as a dog owner or trainer.

There are already over 200 hours of video and learning material available today. We will keep uploading new videos regularly so you can continue your education. We will have weekly community Zoom calls to answer your questions and discuss various topics. We will have guest speakers. There will be an opportunity to add one-on-one mentorship sessions soon, too.
And - there will be a global community because this will all be available for everyone from all over the world.

If you’ve been looking for a place to dive deep into dog psychology, help your own dog, work on yourself in the process, find a like-minded community, look no further. It’s right here!

Click the link in our bio to learn more and sign up. Can’t wait to see y’all there. First group zoom call is this coming Monday!

03/06/2024

Lay a good and solid foundation with your dog from the start, so you can have more freedom and fun later on.

I don’t want to have to micromanage my dog for their entire life. That sounds like a lot of work. 😅 I want to have fun with my dog, not be militant. How do we get there without things getting out of control? By laying a good and solid foundation early on. Make the boundaries clear. Set the expectations and communicate clearly so it’s a given. It becomes a way of life.

Ultimately, I want my dog to make good decisions on their own but they will only do that if I make sure they have the space to do so. If I bring a dog home and let them do whatever they want for a few months or years and then get frustrated if they start taking over my home or start getting into fights over things with my other dog, that’s not their fault.

I want my dog to be neutral to potential triggers so we can live in harmony and I don’t have to watch every single step they take. So the goal is prevention vs intervention.

If I discover issues down the road, I can always go back to basics and start over again. But ultimately, I want to make my life and the dog’s life as easy as possible by laying a solid foundation in the beginning, so I don’t have to become militant.

And yes, there will be some extreme cases where management becomes necessary to keep things safe but that’s not the norm. Those are rare cases.

What’s your relationship with your dog like? Mutual understanding and a solid foundation? Are they running the show? Do you find yourself having to watch every step they take? Let me know in the comments.

Side note: if you have a young puppy, yes, you want to watch everything they do - this goes back to prevention over intervention. Again, you lay the foundation now, so you can have a more harmonious life down the road. 👍

02/10/2024

Disengagement or the lack of connection will make the problems you’re experiencing with your dog even bigger.

If your dog is not connected with you in general, if they are in their own little world, and don’t feel understood by you, they won’t feel connected with you when there are triggers around.

It is important to build a solid foundation and relationship with your dog on a daily basis and make that connection a priority instead of only paying attention to it in moments when you think you need it.

Your dog will most likely blow you off when you try to recall them out of a certain situation, or won’t pay any attention to you if you try to redirect them from reacting to another dog when you don’t have that understanding and connection in the first place.

A lot of times, people are in their own little world (up in their heads, on their phones, distracted otherwise all day) while their dog is present in the here and now. We miss so many opportunities to connect, to reward all the good behavior they’re giving us naturally, to pay attention to how they’re feeling, to truly understand them. We miss giving them the information they need in order for them to feel safe and secure.

Then when it comes to moments of reactivity or any other “bad behavior”, that’s when we all of a sudden pay attention because now it’s more noticeable to us. However, we need to start paying more attention on a daily basis, become aware, be present, and give our dog the consistent information they need in order to feel a mutual connection. So we start connecting in all areas of our lives together, not only trying to connect in moments of stress.

Here’s a challenge for you. For one week, pick one thing during the day that you do with your dog and work on true connection - this can be the walk, how you feed your dog, time outside in the yard, how you reunite when you come home, how you leave the house together, you name it. Pick one, and start being fully present with them. Put your phone away during that time and start paying attention to your dog, be curious, study them, fully be with them. You’ll learn so much about your interactions, and you’ll learn so much about your dog.

02/03/2024

Happy Saturday from our pack. Let’s do a breed guessing game. 1-7, what do you think? (We have DNA test results for everyone but Gracie, so we’ll be guessing that one with you).

We’ll post results in stories tomorrow.

📸: (contact her for amazing pet portraits, we love working with her!)

01/23/2024

Teaching your dog commands like sit and down are great. However, obedience training was invented by humans because it makes sense to us. We use words, maybe a hand signal, and condition our dogs to perform a certain action.

That raises a question - how does the dog feel? What is their state of mind? Wouldn’t it be great to also see life from their perspective and understand their psychology? Why do we talk about energy and body language all the time? And how do we nurture calmness?

If you want to know the answers to these questions, join me this Saturday, January 27, at 3PM CST for my FREE webinar where I talk about all things Dog Psychology.

Plus, all participants will get a special discount code for our upcoming Better Because Of My Dog online mentorship program.

Comment “FREE” to receive a direct link to register for the webinar. Can’t wait to see y’all this Saturday!

01/22/2024

We often think of a miracle as something that just happens. An extraordinary event. Something that cannot be explained but something that we wish for.

We CAN also make our own miracles happen. We don’t have to wait for our dogs to magically be better. We don’t have to hope for them to outgrow a behavior. We can create miracles.

⁃ Be consistent. Sometimes change can happen over night but most often it won’t. Just like you need consistency to create a new habit, your dog needs consistency as well to understand that this is the new normal.

⁃ Be clear. Wishy washy messages will not get your point across. Your dog needs clear guidance and communication. Most of the time, we will tell you to stop talking so much to your dog because all your talking is endlessly confusing.

⁃ Understand that every dog is different. Stop comparing your current dog to your old dog or your friend’s dog, or your neighbor’s dog, or a dog you’ve seen on social media. It’s not fair to your dog and it will rob you of being present with your dog if you constantly long for them to be who they’re not.

⁃ Put. In. The. Work. Working with a trainer is great. We love giving you guidance, pointing out things you may not be aware of, and explain what your dog is going through on their end. We can be the bridge when miscommunication between dog and owner happens. AND - we cannot do this FOR you forever. Just like a dietician can only give you a plan for your body and lifestyle, they cannot change anything for you. You need to want to make the changes.

⁃ Find the FUN. 🤩 Make learning and working with your dog fun. The more you dread going for walks, encountering other dogs, having people come over etc the easier it will be for you to stop altogether. If everything we teach you sounds like hard work for you, we know you won’t keep it up. Make learning fun. Find something that motivates you to keep going, even if sometimes you don’t feel like it. Your dog won’t want to work with you either if you’re negative about it.

Are you ready to create miracles with your dog? How bad do you want it? ✨

12/21/2023

12/16/2023

Having a dog that struggles with anxiety can be stressful. Not only is it stressful for us humans to witness the constant pacing, panting, whining, restlessness etc, it is obviously even more stressful for the dog to live in a state of anxiety.

So what can we do to help our dogs? Anxiety can be tricky and sometimes takes a long time to work with but there are a lot of things that you can try to make your dog’s life easier.

Draining physical energy is one part of it. It helps release pent up energy and move some stress out of the body. We love it. Long walks, a run, swimming etc. Exploring on hikes, letting them use their nose a lot to fulfill their instincts. What’s important is how we start and end this activity. Don’t leave your dog in an adrenalized state of mind, it will create more anxiety. How do we do that?

Helping an anxious dog learn to relax and slow down is crucial. Their brain is going 60 mph all the time so we need to find a way to slow this down.

Tapping into impulse control where they have to learn how to wait for things. Wait for food and only feed them when they’re calm, work on thresholds to build in pauses and time for connection. Have an on and off switch when you play with them instead of go go go the whole time. Massage work to help the body relax. Know that doing this one time is not going to help. Consistency is key. Predictability helps, too.

Another thing is for you to build awareness. Are you an anxious person? You might contribute to your dog’s anxiety. Are you rushing through things because you’re always running late to everything? Your dog will pick up on your hectic energy.

Take time to slow down. Slow yourself down and learn to observe your dog. When are they becoming anxious? Is there a pattern? What creates the anxiety? What can we do differently to create a new, more relaxed pattern?

Another thing you may even want to look into is nutrition. Cheap and crappy dog food can make some dogs anxious. Pay attention to the whole picture. Don’t just look at your anxious dog on the walk and try to fix the obvious. What’s going on all day that can contribute to this?

Do you have an anxious dog? Let us know in the comments.

12/09/2023

A lot of times, people focus on the obvious things a dog does or doesn’t do. They want to stop the leash pulling, the reactivity, the jumping, the barking, the destruction when left alone etc. The list goes on and on.

What they don’t realize is that these are symptoms. And people want to put a bandaid on the obvious thing like use a certain tool or learn one specific technique to fix it. It’s great to learn these things. And - what we want to get to, though, is the root cause. What causes the dog to display these symptoms “bad” behaviors in the first place?
Most often, it is a lack of connection between human and dog.

The human misses the opportunity to truly connect with their dog, to build trust, mutual respect, to fully understand their dog. Your dog studies you day in and day out. But we, the humans, just want our dog to fit into our lifestyle and for them to “function” as if they came with some sort of remote control and a certain setting. It doesn’t work like that. It doesn’t work like that in any relationship. We need to find common ground and build on that. We need to connect.

Learn about the dog that’s in front of you. Be interested in them. Become aware of your own behavior and what you are contributing to the cause. Connect with yourself and connect with your dog.

12/04/2023

Our energy and body language can really influence how our dog feels around us. Dogs communicate through energy and body language all day long, and they’re so great at reading ours.

While they may not be able to differentiate between certain emotions the way we do, they know when something is off.

Nature wants things to be in balance, just like our dogs want to be balanced and they want us to be balanced. If something is off, they may not want to be around it, they may want to protect it or they may want to correct it.

So it’s important for us to feel balanced and good, and have positive energy when we’re working with our dogs. Frustration and anger are not going to help you. Anxiety or fear could potentially make you look weak in the animal world and your dog may want to protect you while out on a walk.

Just like we want your dog to feel good about things/people/dogs they encounter, we want you to feel good about them, too. Which is why we believe it’s important for the human to not only learn how to work with their dog but also learn about themselves. There’s a lot of great tools that can help us come back to calmness when we feel off and to regulate our nervous system. Breathwork, meditation, mantras are just a few of them. And it all starts with building awareness because if we’re not aware that our energy is off, we won’t feel like we need to change anything.

This is just a small part of what we cover in our “Better Because of My Dog” group mentorship program. We want you to be your own best. To show up for yourself, for your dog, and for the world around you.

If this sounds like a group you want to be part of, comment MENTORSHIP and we’ll schedule a free discovery call with you. 🔗 in bio for more info as well.

11/23/2023

🍁Happy Thanksgiving!🍁

We are so thankful for every single one of you. Your trust and support means the world to us. We absolutely adore our community.

You guys keep showing up, you support each other and cheer each other on. It is such a beautiful thing to see.

We are mere the vessel for the community, you guys make it happen.
We hope you get to spend this holiday season with the ones you love (humans and dogs).

Art, Anne, River, Canyon & the pack

PS: Can you name all of our crazy dogs in order? 😉🥰

📸 Also thankful for for this amazing picture! It’s hard getting so many dogs and humans in one photo. You’re incredible, Kara!

07/21/2023

Change doesn’t happen over night. This is just your friendly reminder that sometimes, things take time. And that’s okay. Working with a nervous/fearful dog like Gracie here can take a long time. It takes patience and commitment. It also takes being present because when you are present, you will become aware of tiny little improvements. Those are huge.

Sometimes, change can be almost immediate. It can be as simple as holding or using the leash a little differently that will make a world of a difference. Other times, it can be shifting our energy and bringing more calmness instead of excitement, and you may notice a big change.

And then, there’s other cases where to someone else it may look like nothing is changing. But it’s tiny things that actually ARE changing like Gracie using her nose now, having a different body language in certain situations, eating when humans are around, softer eyes, moments of curiosity etc.

This is not a race. It’s not a competition. Don’t look at working with your dog as “I have to achieve this one particular goal”. Look at the journey, be present, become aware, and find joy in the little things.

12/23/2022

We hope y’all have a wonderful time with the ones you love. We are very grateful for each and every one of you. ♥️

Happy Holidays from our family to yours!

12/20/2022

Christmas came early, y'all!! We are SO excited to announce that we will be hosting our friends at Oregon Tails in March! The Student of the Dog workshop has helped hundreds of dog owners in their journeys to better communicate, grow, and learn with their dogs.

Whether you're a trainer looking to further your education, a new puppy parent, or a seasoned dog owner, each participant in this 3 day workshop will strengthen their bond, improve communication skills, help dogs work through insecurities, build trust, and unlock freedom to truly experience and enjoy life together.

Spots are limited - link is below!

https://www.ortails.com/sotd-tx

12/15/2022

Story time by Anne. Having a dog with reactivity sucks. It really does. It mostly sucks because it makes you anxious and makes you change your lifestyle. You might end up going for walks with your dog at odd times hoping to avoid other people and their dogs. Or you might not go outside at all. You might feel stressed about any interaction you could possibly have, like going to the vet, going through a drive through, having friends come over. I get it.

You know why? Because I went through severe postpartum anxiety with our first born. I was anxious all the time. He is a very sensitive child and got overstimulated by a lot of things as a little baby. Not to mention how much he fed off of my anxiety. Going places with him when he was very little gave me so much anxiety because I was scared that he may end up crying and then I was scared of people’s reactions. Would they look at me weird? Would they think I was a bad mom? Would they think I had a “bad” baby? So I avoided going places for a few months after he was born. Or I would go somewhere and would be incredibly stressed out. We obviously made it through.

And now with our second baby I am so thankful that I don’t have any postpartum anxiety and that I am able to go places. Yes, postpartum stuff can be dictated by hormones and we don’t always know if it hits us or not. And yes, this time around I had a better idea of what life was going to be like with a newborn. However, I also did a ton of work on myself this past year. I didn’t want to end up in the same boat again. I wanted to feel confident. The first few times going places I still felt anxious because of past experiences. But I still went. And sometimes, little baby boy cries because that’s what babies do. And I work through it. I don’t let it bother me. I don’t care what people may think. I zone in on the connection with my baby and nothing else matters.

I’m saying this because I know you can do the same thing with your dog. And know that you’re not alone feeling whatever it is you’re feeling when your dog is having a reaction/meltdown. You’ve got this. We’ve all got this! 🤍

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Dallas, TX

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Monday	9am - 5pm
Tuesday	9am - 5pm
Wednesday	9am - 5pm
Thursday	9am - 5pm
Friday	9am - 5pm

Telephone

+12145855212

Website

http://www.dogfitdallas.com/

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Videos

📣 Introducing DogFit Live! 📣 You’ve seen us post about it in our stories but may have wondered what it is. It is a live webinar where we go over different topics such as place work, leash skills, reactivity, or resource guarding, demonstrate things, analyze videos, give you a game plan and have a discussion about the subject of the day. It’s only $25 to sign up for each live webinar and you can join from anywhere in the world. If you can’t make it to the live, you can still sign up and watch the recording gut up to 72 hours afterwards. The first one is August 6 at 12PM CST. Go to www.dogfitdallas.com/dogfit-live to see an overview of the topics and to save your spot.

Are you wondering what you and your dog will be learning in our MAJIC Fundamentals Group Class? See for yourself. This group class is for all dogs and all behaviors. The important part is that you and your dog build a strong relationship during these 6 weeks and that you have a game plan to face all kinds of challenges. Let us know if you’re ready to change your and your dog’s life for the better. Learn to be better because of your dog. 🤍

We’re excited to announce that we have a variety of e-books on our website now. More to come. Click the link below: https://dogfitdallas.com/ebooks

New look, same DogFit bit with more services comomg!

Experience the DogFit Dallas MAJIC in a whole new way. Check out our new website, full of content to help you be better for your dog and because of your dog. We've been working behind the scenes to make training more accessible and achievable for all! • Training e-books - coming in the next few days • Amazon Storefront with recommended training tools, pet products, and resources • Calendar & scheduling tools so you can easily RSVP to our Social Club events or schedule a training session • Merch - coming soon! www.dogfitdallas.com

What can you expect from our MAJIC Fundamentals Group Class? We only have a few spots left in our next class. We meet once a week for 6 weeks to practice basic to advanced skills in the presence of other dogs. It doesn’t matter if you and your dog are working through reactivity, fear, over excitement, or basic behaviors - the group class will offer support for everyone. Puppies 4-6 months old meet on Tuesdays from 6 - 7:30PM starting July 26.Dogs 6 months and older meet on Wednesdays from 6 - 7:30PM starting July 27. Each group class includes a slip leash as well as a detailed handbook. Email us at [email protected] for more info or visit our website to sign up.

One of our main goals is for you to have a better relationship with your dog. We want you and your dog to understand each other. Nick and Jayna signed up their dog Millie for our MAJIC Fundamentals Group Class because Millie was overly excited, pulling on the leash, and they couldn’t communicate with her effectively. Watch their testimonial video to learn how their relationship changed within the 6 weeks of working with us. Millie is a great dog, and Nick and Jayna are amazing and very committed owners. We only have a few spots left in our upcoming group class which starts May 17. If you’d like to sign up, visit our website for more info or email us at [email protected] 💙

Nothing in life is perfect. Neither will be your relationship with your dog. Let go of the thought that things have to be great 100% of the time. Or that you have to reach a certain level and then it has to stay like that all the time. We all have good days and bad days. That doesn’t mean that on the bad days we’re failing. It just means that we’re having a bad day. You and your dog - just like any relationship we have - is and will be a work in progress. You get to know each other a little better every day. You make mistakes. You have fun. You discover something new. You mess up. You have a breakthrough moment. You gain more knowledge. No matter what it was yesterday, what it is today, or what it will be tomorrow, embrace it, and find joy in it. Maybe all of these things happen in just one day, or one hour. That is not only okay. It is normal, and it is great that way. If you’re having a hard time with your dog because you feel like you’re not getting where you want to be, pause, and just look them in the eye. Dogs will always show you joy and gratitude. Keep that in mind next time you struggle. 💙

💙 Adopt Goldie! 💙 Goldie came to us due to a sad and unfortunate situation that left her homeless. She is now looking for her forever home. Could it be with you? Goldie, a retriever mix, is about 1.5 years old and full of energy. She loves playing with other dogs and has never met a stranger. Due to her high energy she needs humans who can give her an outlet to keep her fulfilled. Lots of walks, hikes, runs, playtime etc should be in her future. She loves to sleep in her crate and walks well on leash. If you are interested in meeting this fun-loving girl, message us here or email us at [email protected].

You have a reactive dog. Reactive meaning your dog has a visible and audible reaction to a trigger (another dog, humans, cars, bikes, other animals etc). The way you carry yourself before and in that situation is part of it. Most of the time when we have a reactive dog, we get tense the second we walk outside. We dread the walk. We say a little prayer that hopefully we won’t see said trigger while we’re outside. If we do see it, we become even more tense, start sweating, wrap the leash around our hands so tight that we almost cut off our blood flow, try to distract our dog (maybe he won’t see it, right?)… and then the reaction happens. We get embarrassed, frustrated, drag our dog away from the situation, maybe apologize to the other person, and think, “WHY does my dog always do this?!”. Does this sound familiar? All techniques and tools aside, we have to learn how to handle ourselves and our emotions as well when it comes to working through reactivity. Our dogs need the confidence and calmness from us to understand that they are going to be okay in the situation and that there’s no need to react. They need to know that we’ve got their back. That’s why, a lot of times the second a trainer takes the leash, the dog doesn’t react anymore. There’s no emotional baggage anymore. Even though the dog doesn’t know the trainer, they can sense the confidence coming from the other side of the leash and know they don’t have to take the lead. How do we get there? By practicing this over and over and over in a safe environment with someone to guide us through it, so we can create both a new story and new muscle memory. We need to learn to relax instead of envisioning horror scenarios. We need to see it to believe it. We need successful moments to understand that it’s possible. 💙

Dogs are pros at being present, we already know that. They don’t think about what happened in the past, they don’t worry about what may happen in the future. Sounds like a dream, right? We can do it, too. It takes time, patience and discipline. The more we can be present, the more peaceful we will be. This will absolutely have an amazing effect on our relationship with our dog. We will stop thinking about our rescue dog’s past because we look at the dog in front of us and focus on helping them in this moment. We will enjoy walks with our dog again because instead of worrying about what could possibly happen if we see another dog, we will be present and handle situations as they occur. We will become more intuitive with our dogs because we can now be aware of the subtle signs they give off before they have a big reaction. Which is something we miss if our mind is on a whole other planet while we’re with our dog. Not only does all of this help us become a better and less stressed version of ourselves, but we also help our dogs so much. They don’t understand why we’re so stressed all the time or why we give them mixed signals and do one thing today and completely different thing tomorrow. It all goes back to us not being present. Learn to focus on your breath. Learn to be still. Learn to marvel at Mother Nature. When you notice you’re drifting off with your thoughts, simply acknowledge it and tell yourself “I’m thinking” and it will bring you back to the present. What other little adjustments have you been making to become more present? Share with the community if you like. 💙

Read that again. Now let’s apply that to your relationship with your dog. We want all the cuddles, all the fun, and all of the great behaviors. That’s the bonus. What we tend to forget is that it takes daily effort, daily relationship building, daily fulfillment for a dog to be truly happy. We expect our dogs to be great at everything, to behave well wherever we go and on top of that we want all the love and emotional support from them. All of that affection, the cuddles etc, that’s for us. That’s the bonus. That is what makes us feel good. Our dogs want leadership, consistency, direction, and clear communication. That’s the day-to-day job. If they don’t get that from us, and instead they only get love and affection, they will a) not be fulfilled, and b) they won’t take us seriously because we present ourselves as the weak link in the relationship. That’s when they start taking over the leadership role and they may start controlling us, guarding us, become reactive, display separation anxiety, and so on. We can’t expect good behavior if we don’t provide fulfillment. And we can’t only look at the parts that are fun for us - the bonus - if we don’t work hard on the daily things that make the relationship work. We have to do the work first. 💙

Enjoy your dog and do what your dog enjoys. You have such a great opportunity to form a strong bond with your dog through activities that you both enjoy. This doesn’t mean watching TV on the couch together all day, or dressing up your dog, or taking pictures with Santa - these things are for you, the human. Your dog will always choose an adventure over any of those things. Do something that your dog really cares about. Exploring out in nature, playing ball, swimming, hiking... things where your dog can be a dog. Watch how much fun they have when they can just be. And notice how much joy it will bring you and how this can change your relationship for the better. You’ll learn to understand your dog better, you’ll become more present, you’ll feel better, and your dog will be fulfilled. What are some things that you’ll do with your dog this weekend that are truly for them? Share your adventures with us. _____________________ The beautiful song is by @cody_francis_music and we’re so glad we found it. 💙

This is a follow up on our post from last week when we talked about the fact that dogs don’t have words to tell you when something is going on. They show you through different behaviors, energy and body language. It is really important to pay attention when your dog has a reaction to something. They might react out of fear, frustration, overexcitement, insecurity... it oftentimes goes back to lack of proper leadership from the human. To paint a picture for you - this is similar to a toddler having a meltdown because there has been a build up of emotions and they do not have the words (yet) to communicate what’s going on. Yes, this an analogy to human children, and no, that does not mean that you should start baby talking to your dog or coddling them in that moment. And it is equally important to understand that simply suppressing your dog’s reaction by harsh corrections or throwing a bunch of treats down in front of them is not going to help solve the issue (just like punishment or candy won’t help a toddler through a meltdown). You want to create a dialogue where your dog feels safe around and understood by you. You want to build a relationship where your dog is allowed to show you when they’re uncomfortable and you pick up on the subtle signs before the big reaction. Then you can help guide your dog through it, so that over time they don’t need to have a big reaction anymore because they know that you’ve got their back.