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Free and Balanced K9 Training

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Free and Balanced K9 Training

I help owners and dogs communicate and live peacefully together
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12/22/2023

Stop rewarding your dog for everything they do right or you’re always going to have to have it with you

When your dog always gets rewarded for the same behavior, they become dependent on that reward other wise they won’t do what you’re asking them to do. This gets tough for most owners because there are going to be times when you want or need your dog to listen to you but you don’t have any food with you to reward them with. You might get away with that one time and still get the desired result but if they are dependent on the food, they will catch on quick that you don’t have anything with you.

Using food for rewards is the easiest and most convenient way at to reward your dog so I definitely think you should keep using it in your training, it’s just time to start challenging your dog more and gradually rewarding them less

Fading the reward is pretty simple if you can keep track along the way. When you are working on a command like sit for example, you probably feed them every time you say sit and their but hits the ground. When you’re fading the food, you will want to start delaying the reward by 1-2 seconds. That means their butt needs to stay down for that long before you reward. Each time you say sit, challenge them to wait longer. Every 3-4 times, randomly reward them sooner to help prevent frustration or anticipation.

You can learn more about fading food in my Foundations Course

The Links in my bio

12/18/2023

Your dog is more than a machine with some buttons that turns multiple ingredients into a fast and hearty meal

Your dog has their own perspective and emotions driving their behavior

This is why they bark, don’t listen or take treats when your trying to train them, learn at their own pace or cause stress in the neighborhood and with your guests

But by treating them as individuals who need their own plan and time frame for training to accomplish the goals you have, you’re going to see your hard work pay off and the training get easier and last longer

Foundations will get you there

Link in bio 🐾

11/27/2023

The leash causes a ton of frustration when your dog gets into a fight or flight situation

When your dog gets scared of something like a person, another dog, large truck, or some random object, they have never seen before, they might either try to go after the thing in order to keep it away from them, or try to run away from it. When they discover that they can’t do either of those options because of the leash, that emotion starts to get frustrated and kicks that fight or flight response into overdrive so their behavior becomes more intense

The leash has to be on them though otherwise they might hurt another animal or person or run away and get hurt by a car or other animal

If your following the leash laws then you are doing a wonderful job as a dog owner, you are being very responsible and keeping other people and animals safe

Now it’s time to help your dog overcome that fear response after they start associating the leash with the scary thing so they don’t start practicing redirecting their frustration onto it or worst case, onto you

Start by practicing their leash manners away from anyone or thing that’s going to trigger them. This might be inside the house or backyard or driving to a private place you can rent like Sniffspot

Your going to start pairing the leash feeling with food so they know when they feel the leash tighten, they can turn around to you and get yummy food. Also add in slow backwards steps to this so even if you are pulling backwards on it as you are taking distance, they know they can still make the choice to turn around to you

You’re going to teach them that their name means turn around and get some food

And you’re going to start being aware of when they see something so you can say their name before they get too frustrated and react

During your next walk or hike, make sure to bring extra, extra high value foods so if your dog is still learning the steps above, you can still get them out of a pinch and keep their frustration levels low.

Want more help with your dogs leash manners? comment LEASH below

11/06/2023

Food doesn’t amp your dog up in training, that’s caused by their desire for it and the way you deliver it to them

A lot of dogs love to chase things, it kicks their prey instincts into gear, so if they love food as well, now you have an over the top excited dog who can’t wait to get that food from you

I see so many people stop using food in training because their dog seems to get more amped up by it and that can create more jumping, mouthing, demand barking and bitten fingers from trying to get the food, not fun

Even though it’s tough when you bring out the food, at least your dog likes the food and is willing to work for it, that’s half the battle right there, now you just need to work on slowing your delivery method down

Which means you need to stop letting them chase after their food

11/02/2023

My clients foster dog is a huge barker when new people come over. She usually lets the dog do that behavior in hope that she will see her guests are friends, but that hasn’t been working and the dog is pretty intimidating. I noticed she is a scared but territorial dog at heart.

A scared dog can’t always make choices when they are reactive, their brain is too hyped up with chemicals like adrenaline and cortisol that add more stress to the situation and nervous system, so I needed her foster mama to step in and calm her down before she could make good choices

Within 10 minutes we had her calm and learning new things from me instead of her barking at me and retreating like she was when I walked in, just by using food scatters, preventing her from going up to me again and encouraging words. Now they have a fun and effective process of getting her calm as soon as someone comes over because even though she did great with me, she needs to see more new people in order for the training to generalize. Having a big, loud barker charging guests is scary but can be solved pretty quickly with the right process and consistency.

Need help with your reactive or fearful dog? You know where to find me 😉

10/26/2023

Not all obedience behaviors help your dog calm down, there are certain ones that usually amp them up more

Your not looking to amp them up though, your dogs already really good at getting hyped up, the littlest bit of attention will usually do the trick, especially when your adding food to your training.

What you’re trying to accomplish with your training is calmness in their life and yours, especially when out and about in the world

The obedience behaviors you want your dog to know well, like Sit and Down are s that are going to help them calm down even more in public. Place is great at home but you could use in in public so long as it’s comfortable for them, don’t place them on an uncomfortable rock and expect them to stay there for a long time please, that’s not cool.

So your probably thinking “I already have my dog sit and down in public and they are still not calm”

The trick is having them be calm enough to listen one time and then build up their duration while staying put around different distractions. Next thing you know, your dog is listening the first time you ask and staying calm, which is pretty cool to watch

10/16/2023

Teaching a sit is helpful but if your only telling them to sit during exciting walks or in public places where you want them to be calm, you’re going to frustrate you and your dog, not calm them down.

So turn to spending time on choice based activities instead that makes them think and choose what delivers more value to them.

Because your dog will be having to think for themselves, it’s going to calm them down, which helps you reach your goal faster. Once they are calm, then ask for the sit if they are not automatically doing it.

10/13/2023

I’m not quiet about this topic, I want my dogs to be chill without needing to run them or throw the ball a million times in a row. I’m not an athlete and I don’t want athletic dogs, and I know it’s the same for most of you

Plus a lot of dogs are not fully satiated after those kind of exercises. They wear out physically but it’s short lived, or they are more wild afterwards

So I’ve found some helpful activities that are physical but mostly mental to get them fulfilled, and the best part is, it doesn’t take long unless you want it to and if your dog is willing to keep going. These activities will have you moving too but not a ton or at fast speeds, you won’t need to break a sweat.

You just need to get them up, down, over and across different objects and terrain, this helps with balance, core strength, confidence and gets them using their brains

Find them some lengthy stair cases, they are amazing! You can have them go up and down slowly, one step at a time. This can be a great team building activity because your showing them what to do and they will need to work with you instead of impulsively moving, in order to get through all the stairs and hopefully a tasty treat 😋

Stringing multiple activities together is a sure fire way to fulfill your dog in so many ways and build up your team building skills. They have to follow your lead, even after going through the routines multiple times in a row. You can mix in calming activities with fast paced cardio activities. You can slow everything down and or speed it up.

If you want to have a calm and behaved pup without hours of training and physical activities? Working one on one with me will get you there

10/09/2023

I remember the days of being told exercise was the antidote to my dogs behavior problems, and not just exercise but long amounts of exercise

I couldn’t do it, my dog was a nightmare to walk. The bike did help because she was afraid to get in front of it, but not long term

And exercising her for 1-2 hours a day wasn’t possible either, we worked 30-40 minutes away from home and were raising tiny children

Now I barely exercise my 3 large breed dogs at all

We spend 30 minutes max on exercising activities and I change up those activities each day so it’s not the same thing they get used to doing

The hard part about the old school advice is that doing the same activity for the same duration of time created an athlete who needed more and more in order to tire them out

Taking days off and switching activities is more than enough for most dogs so if you find yourself wondering if you should exercise longer, try experimenting with different activities for a shorter amount of time and see what happens. If it’s no where near enough then you know your dog needs something more difficult for a longer period of time

Let me know what you discover ❤️

10/03/2023

Just like for us, it’s a skill set that has to be learned

It also takes consistency if you want to keep the benefits continuing

So instead of trying to keep your dog busy all day with toys, chews, fetch, jogging, biking, walks or constant outside time…

Opt for teaching them to do nothing instead

09/27/2023

Sometimes you move faster through training even if your dog is not ready, and that is why you are not seeing progress.

I was working with a great family to help their dog who struggled to stay out of their space and relax on her own bed. They couldnt eat in peace without her trying to get up close to their food or move her when they tried going to sleep because she didnt want to get off the bed. As we started the training process, my client was following all the steps I showed them but it still wasn’t working to keep their dog happy on her own bed.

What I noticed as I was watching them go through their repetitions, is that their dog was struggling to move through the steps as quickly as her owners were. Shes excitable and smart which can give off the illusion that shes going to be hard to challenge but when shes learning something new and its challenging, it takes her some time to before she’s problem solving on her own and she looses stamina very quickly.

So by experiementing on what pace she needed to go, I was able to show them how much faster she was going to progress compared to letting her loose interest and resist the training. This is because a motivated dog learns faster than a burnt out dog (sound familure?)

Now shes staying on her bed at night time and during the day when they are eating food. Overall they see a much more calm dog who listens more willing than before the training, which means less stressful days where they are constantly trying to make her do things she doesnt want to do or living with behaviors they dont want to live with

Want results like this? Get into 20 Days of Calm before it closes!

09/24/2023

Prevention of behaviors being practiced solves so many behavior and confidence stuggles

But it also takes away your excuses for not putting in anymore effort with training

You can be upset with knowing effort upfront is going to help in the long run but remember, your dog is the one who is left struggling and insecure

Even though you did your part by going to a trainer, spending lots of money and implementing their lessons, doesnt mean your off the hook if it didnt work

your dog is still struggling

And without you willing to shift your perspective and keep searching for another way, they are going to continue to struggle

I completly understand not wanting to take the time to do the training or set up, when training doesn’t work, it can be discouraging, but victimhood cant exisit anymore if you want to make you and your dogs lives better in the long run

When a behavior is being prevented, this means your dog is not getting rewarded for it

This then gives you the ability to reward the behaviors you do want your dog doing instead, which incresing confendence

The how behind prevention usually changes per dog and household but there are some similar concepts like:

1) Taking the time to set up the environement for training

2) Knowing what the wanted behavior is before giving a reward

3) Knowing what your dog finds rewarding and scary

Ive studied all over to be able to give ideas and tips that help as many people as possible, I understand a lot of methods work well for some dogs, but not for all.

Im here to help the all.

09/07/2023

Healthy separation is being able to leave the room without your dog needing to always be underfoot or jump up when you get up

It takes time for them to build the understanding and trust that you’re going to be back

Without trust, your dog is going to be on edge and work themselves up

Regardless if you are raising a puppy or have an older dog with separation anxiety, my upcoming anxiety series is going to help you get your dog on the path of trusting that you are coming back, so stay tuned

09/06/2023

A lot of people feel bad about leaving their dogs in a crate throughout the day which is understandable

But then the dogs potty in the house, destroy things they shouldn’t, build up anxiety due to the constant pacing and overwhelming options, can’t self regulate their energy, even when your home, constantly scan the window for something to bark at, destroy the backyard and develop other unsavory or dangerous habits

I know a lot of dogs who do well with full range of their homes without developing bad behaviors, but I know a lot of people who struggle and manage the bad behavior because their dogs can’t be crated

I’ve helped a lot of dogs change their tune about the crate so their owners have a high chance of changing their bed behavior in the house

Now I get to help another family over come their dogs aversion to the crate and help him be comfortable and as stress free as possible so they can leave him alone when they can’t take him with them

Make sure to check my stories daily to see his 6 day journey at my house

08/30/2023

These 4 foundational skills should be non negotiable for any training plan, regardless of your dog’s situation

You cant influence your dogs behavior for long term success without a solid and well understood language, and that’s exactly what these foundations give you and your dog

Drop your thoughts or ah-has below ⬇️

08/28/2023

Top 3 tips for a success public trip…

Be prepared

Food your dog usually eats during training AND higher value, special foods for just in case

Don’t keep moving around or walking if your dog is starting to loose the ability to stay calm and focused on you

Helpful? Follow me for more training tips and advice

08/24/2023

Almost any tool can be viewed as a positive or a negative to your dog!

Training with tools is not about the tool itself doing the training, its your understanding of what training is that gives the tool a meaning to your dog

If you put any type of tool like a no pull harness or a gentle leader on your dog and you only think you understand how to teach it to your dog, your dog might not do well with it.

Your not doing anything wrong by buying things from the store and trying it out though, that’s how a lot of us trainers started out in our field

But unfortunately with experimentation, our dogs are the ones who have to endure the learning curve and that can turn into a lot of hard feelings toward us in the relationship such as fear and distrust

I even see professionals who only train a certain way, not understand the dog’s individual learning style, change the dogs association to the tool into a negative one, or worse the situation they are using the tool in can become the thing that has the negative feels attached to it

This is the tough part about dogs, one thing that might work for most doesn’t work for all, this means having a wide range of training techniques and skills is helpful to be able to help as many dogs as possible

As dog owners, your not expected to understand or know all the different training techniques or tools, that’s my job

But what’s helpful in order for me to be able to help you, is an understanding that if the first thing I have you try doesn’t work out as expected, it’s ok and we will try something else

Having the back and forth communication is so helpful when working together so your dog and your household can improve and you walk away with a deep understanding of what your specific dogs needs in order to feel good about training and the world

Have you ever had general advice from trainers or other dog lovers not work for your dog or household?

08/15/2023

I get it, this is a busy time of year and a lot of things sometimes have to be put on the back burner

But if your concerned at all about your dogs behavior but don’t have time to put into changing it, you should at least prevent it from being practiced until you can start the training process and change it for the better

And if your concerned about your dog being bored this summer but you are limited on time, I created a free course that gives you 7 easy and quick activities to do with your dog during their regular feeding time

Since you have to fill their bowl back up or give them their bowl twice a day anyways, why not use that time to give them something quick and fun to do to help their behavior a little bit more

Send me a DM or comment with your favorite emoji to get the link 😊

08/11/2023

Dog on the left who is walking in front is the typical dog I see you walking down the street with

-She pulls a-lot to get to where she wants to go
-She barks and lunges at other dogs and people
-She gets scared by loud buses and trucks and either walks faster or try’s to flee in the opposite direction

Back in the day when I was training dogs to be “well behaved” I would have had her walking like the dog on the right, my girl Booma

I was taught that dogs who are walking in front of their owners and who have behavior issues are pushy, bossy, dominant and taking the leadership role in the relationship

I would have used both E-collar and a prong to teach the dog on the left to only walk next to my left leg and not move ahead

Although I did those methods and my walk with Booma got really good, If I knew what I know now, I wouldn’t have put her through all that unnecessary stress, knowledge has changed so much over the last 5-10 years

Instead I would:
-Teach her to not pull no matter the length of leash by understanding what motivates her personally to do what I ask
-Create safety in the environment so she doesn’t feel the need to be reactive and protect her self
-And I would make going on outings so fun that her fears and insecurities start to melt away

Both types of training require the same level of consistency and time depending on the individual dog and their living situation

But one methods comes with more risk to their emotions than the other, instead of “fixing” the behavior, you could just be reinforcing why they should be nervous and uncomfortable in that situation or environment

But when your aim is to make them feel confident, safe and autonomous, then those risks are much lower

There is no judgment toward those who only train dogs to walk in a specific way with tools next to them, but as a dog owner and lover, you deserve to know your options with all the pros and cons of each

My Calm Dog Walking Guide and How To Video will get the ball rolling on teaching your dog to not pull and be calmer from the start regardless of the tools you use

Go to my bio for the link to get it today

08/01/2023

Ideally you will start training obedience when your dogs a puppy

But sometimes we get adult dogs and not puppies

No matter the age though, you can and should start them with obedience on day one with you

Training anything is both convenient for your everyday life with them but also helps them mentally chill out inside the house

The first obedience command I like to start with is calling them to me

In dog trainer lingo, we call it Recall

Recall when done correctly teaches your dog their name, a reward marker which tells them they did the right thing and they now get a food reward, and that coming back to you is more rewarding that ignoring you

But the only way you’re going to accomplish all these things is by not allowing them to be off leash before they are ready

When you let them off leash too soon, you’re allowing them to practice ignoring their name, recall command and food reward

Then they never learn that coming back to you when called gets them double rewarded, they get a yummy treat and access to the thing they want get to (so long as it’s safe of course)

So if your puppy or grown dog is not coming back when called, that means you are either letting them practice ignoring you by letting them off leash too soon, or your training techniques need to be switched up because they are not working well for your dog

I love teaching and troubleshooting recall so if your worried about your dog not coming when called, if they know the words you taught them but choose not listen or you don’t know how to start training it, my Come Back When Called program is perfect for you!

Send me a DM to sign up and we can get started on training right away!

07/17/2023

Stop trying so hard to get your dog’s attention

Dogs need to know your the right option for where to put their focus without you telling them or begging them

This means they need to be able to make choices on their own to see what gets them what they want

Which means you need to take a step back and allow them to choose

It’s not going to be comfortable giving up the control

You’re going to be tempted to stop them from looking at things that might lead to over excitement or embarrassing behavior

But if you can feel that discomfort and continue to let them choose you, because your the best option, the embarrassing and over excited behavior will gradually become less and less

This was so hard for me, between Booma who would bite other dogs or people in her space and Maple who was barking so loudly while lunging wildly at other dogs, I had to dig real deep into why I felt tempted to just control them instead of training them to want to make different choices

It came down to being embarrassed by their behavior and frustration about having dogs like that, I definitely had a strong expectation of what my dogs were SUPPOSED to look like that was keeping me stuck in making progress

But once I let go of the expectations, I could receive the how to’s from my mentors and begin using both strategy and trust to allow my dogs the ability to make better choices on where they put their attention without me forcing them or begging them

So if this sounds like you:

🖋️ let’s start with figuring out why you feel the need to control

🖋️ Acknowledge your feelings as valid but not necessary anymore

🖋️ Start adding in the strategy needed to help your dog learn how pay more attention to you because they actually want to

What’s your go to way of getting your dog to pay attention to you in public?

07/13/2023

Every single human I know has given their dogs commands while they are off in la la land sniffing some roses

And

Every

Single

Time

The dog ignores the first 2-3 times their owners tells them the command

And guess what happens after that???

Their dog does the command while face completely away from their owner

Or one of my favs is when someone tells their dog to come and the dog slowly meanders around sniffing or look at something else as they head in their owners general direction, they might even stop short from time to time

Although it makes me laugh to watch this happen, it’s also sad because that used to be how it was with me and my dogs too

But obviously I’ve grown past those experiences and now have a very good understanding of my dog so those situations don’t happen anymore

But I still see the frustration that you have when your feeling ignored, I see the hopelessness and the thoughts that there is something off about your dog

Your feelings are normal

But once you can see why your dogs ignoring you, you can get their engagement, help them settle down and then try the command again with usually a much different and better result

And you’ll know it’s not their fault and they need your help to get better

Here is the first part of the antidote, engagement

Start by practicing on a leash and rewarding your dog for looking at you

Then switch to a longer leash or a more distracting environment and so the same thing

Start adding more distance away from them and keep rewarding for eye contact or quick looks

Eventually you can ditch the leash or go into even more difficult environments, keep challenging them

Need some visual demos of engagement games? I have a free summer activities challenge you still have to join, the link is in my bio

https://www.freeandbalancedk9training.com/free-consultation

07/07/2023

I know I’ve definitely been in this spot before, not able to figure out how to make park outings more enjoyable

Chance was so amped up, he NEEDED to pull to every dog we saw and if he couldn’t get to them he started getting so vocal

Booma wanted away from the dogs and people and started misbehaving to keep them away

I bought every walking tool imaginable and I still couldn’t get them to stop pulling me

Going places was a nightmare so I eventually stopped taking them anywhere

Sound familiar?

As time went on I did eventually go to petsmart and join their classes

This gave me some ideas of what to try while at the park, but their advice didn’t help as much as I had hoped

I understand now how different each dog is, advice is given because it’s worked for someone at some point (topic for another day)

My dogs needed something else though so I continued my quest until I eventually became a trainer too

I’ve had to become very disciplined in creating plans and testing them out for each individual dog till I knew what has the most potential to be successful (what success means will also have to be a topic for another day)

So I know the power of having a plan before hand that’s showing results before putting you and your dog into stressful situations

If you need help with this, send me a message

https://www.freeandbalancedk9training.com/free-consultation

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Turning your back and or walking away from a jumping or hyper dog won’t stop most of them from doing it againThis is old advice that doesn’t implement prevention tactics so your dog doesn’t self reward with the unwanted behaviors. You’ve done your research, asked family members and friends who gave you this advice because it worked for them but unfortunately it’s not working the same for your dogIt’s hard in the dog world right now, there are a lot of different tactics to solve the same problem, although it might be easier in the short term to give up, you will still be struggling in the long term. A hard truth about owning dogs is that it takes experimenting to find what works best for them, because they are individuals just like us, which is why we love them so much. So if you have tried the old advice and it didn’t work, here are 3 effective steps you can do instead…1) Know what causes your dog to jump or get super hyper. 2) Prevent the behavior by having a leash on them or use a physical barrier like a baby gate or fence. 3) Teach them a still behavior to do when they get hyped up such as sit, lay down or stand. Make sure to really make this behavior awesome for them and give them multiple chances to choose it instead of the unwanted behavior It’s always messy for the first few minutes of taking them around tough situation, give them multiple tries and help them by luring tasty food in front of them so they do the behavior you taught them. Because each dog is so different, I always have multiple way of helping owners reach their goals. 20 Days To Calm provides 3 great ways to help them calm down and relax this winter, I know at least one of them will work for you and your dog. Doors close this week

It’s a control device but also a key to freedom. I see more conflict and relational issues between dogs and humans because of the leash than from anything else. This is because it feels natural for us to pull back hard on the leash when they start to pull on it. And it’s natural for them to pull even more in response to you pulling back. It’s a pattern we all fall into, especially when your dog is displaying annoying or dangerous behaviors on the walk, controlling them seems like the right fix in the moment When your dog gets tired of it because too many back and forth leash battles have commenced, they start checking out and ignoring you, digging into the ground to get closer to what they want, becoming very loud and vocal and lunging with all their weight. Eventually walking your dog is the biggest and most painful chore in your day instead of the highlight where you both get to go exploring and enjoy each other’s company. If you want to change this and walk a dog who happily walks without ignoring you or constantly pulling, let’s start with changing how they feel about the leash by paring the tight leash with food and a loose leash -Practice in a boring environment-Let your dog go out ahead of you and pull but don’t walk with them, freeze where you are. -Say yes to mark that they get a reward when they turn to look at you. -Make sure the leash is loose till they create the tension in it. -Rinse and repeat with multiple lengths on the leash. Once this is going consistently well, up the d

Understanding your dog better takes time, and when we just opt to doing what we think is the right thing for them such as punishing unwanted behaviors, we could possibly be making things worse for themWhat it comes down to is understanding the motivating emotion behind why they are doing what they are doing When you understand that, then you were able to do some experimenting to see if the way that you are handling the unwanted behaviors and rewarding. The Wanted behaviors is actually resulting in a more positive emotion, or calmer emotion around that situation that you are training them inOne of the most common examples, I see of where an E collar creates more anxiety, and intensifies behavior instead of positively changing the emotion, is with reactivityIf you don’t know what reactivity is, it’s when a dog is automatically reacting to an emotion towards a person or thing like a car, or another dog or animalAnd when they are reacting, they are usually barking lunging, pulling, acting aggressive, making strange loud noises, bouncing around a lot, staring at the trigger. These are usually really tough and embarrassing behaviorsFor a dog that is reacting because they are afraid of the other dog, reacting in an aggressive way, teaches them that they can keep themselves safe. When you punish the behavior with a tool like an E collar, and then not give them what is most rewarding (safety), then that punishment is only going to teach them that the behavior they displayed didn’t work, let’s try something else. They are still afraid of the other dogs though and probably going to still get reactive from time to time But if you stop the unwanted behavior and then give them what they ACTUALLY want, you can start to give them other behaviors to try that you find acceptable and they find rewarding But it all starts with the dogs emotions and wants, not stopping behaviors you don’t likeIf you want me to walk you through a simple formula that shows you how to do all this

I’m small but I can handle pretty large and or strong dogs who know how to leverage their weight to get what they want. Having a dog pull you around on leash is scary, dangerous, uncomfortable and feels reinforcing to them when they get to where they want to go, which means they are more likely to keep doing that to you. So one of the effective ways to help stop them being rewarded for pulling and adding to the likelihood of them doing it again, is making sure they can’t get you to take steps forward or stretch your arms out closer to the thing they want. For some dogs, even the smallest of amount of forward movement when they are pulling can be rewarding to themI accomplish this by keeping my elbows close to my sides, making sure my knees are bent and shifting my weight to the back foot. As I’m walking with my dog, I’m always aware of how I’m holding the leash and walking so I don’t get caught off guard if my dog all the sudden bolts towards something. Does your dog easily get you to move with them due to their size or strength? https://www.freeandbalancedk9training.com/free-consultation. #leashtraining #walkyourdog #seattledogtraining #dogsofseattle #dogtraining

One of the most frustrating things I have ever experienced with my dog is her constant pulling on the leash during walks Over the years, I have met so many people who also struggle and dislike walking their dogs because of the pullingSo here are a few of my tricks that have made the experience way less frustrating 🐕‍🦺 Use a long leash and walk faster till they have visibly calmed down and can slow down to more of your pace. When you use a long leash, your dog has more room to walk at their pace and it also helps eliminate the pulling, not for all of course, I know plenty of dogs who stay pulling even at the end of a 30ft leash. With that long of a leash though, you barely feel it and if you mix it with the next tips, your pulling will start to go away. 🐕‍🦺 As soon as they pull, you have to put the breaks on, moving forward with tension on the leash will only further reward the behavior and keep their brains amped up for long stretches of time 🐕‍🦺As soon as they look at you after pulling or as they are walking along sweetly, move backwards to get them to follow you and get into your bubble. This gives me an opportunity to reward my dog and get them wanting to check in more often. For some dogs it also helps to keep them from constantly staying at the end of the long line. 🐕‍🦺Once they are engaged with you and in your bubble, either reward by feeding them directly or by scattering multiple pieces of food on the ground for them to sniff out. This rewards their engagement as well as keeps them more mentally calm. Have you ever used a long leash for your dogs walk before? I created a free 7 day summer activity challenge that will also help with your frustrating walk, if you want it, send me a DM!

Is this you and your dog? You know what kind of walk you want but getting there is taking longer than you anticipated and it seems like nothing is working or you just haven’t started yet because of x y or z I get it, there’s a lot of different ways to train the walk And then you have time to think about, how do you make time in an already crammed day? But getting a nice walk no matter what approach you try, takes time And not all approaches are going to work for you and your dog, especially if there are a lot of other behavior struggles that are adding to a hard walk But you have to start somewhere if you’re tired of BEING walked by your dog or yanked over to every smell, human or critter they find You have to make the time if you want to start broadening your dogs world in a way that doesn’t cause mental and physical exhaustion to you where you swear you’re never taking that dog on a walk ever again (this was me too fyi 🤪) All you need is 5 minutes a day to start, you can add more time as you continue making progress and as you start to enjoy the process with your furry friend So take the first step and send me a message for details on how we can work together to find the right walking techniques for you and your dog #dogsofinstagram #walkyourdog #seattledogtraining #virtualdogtraining

Working with food is not as easy as it seems. Take using high value treats as an example. It seems like a no brainer to just use something your dog can’t say no to. But it can kick you in the butt later when you realize without that food, your dog still has all those same unwanted issues and emotions and chances are, you are going to find this out after you’ve gotten your dog closer to the struggle, not expecting it to still be a problem I cover all of the ins and outs of using food in training for any dog in my Masterclass that’s now only available in my membership, The Dog Talk Send me a message for the link! #rewardsbasedtraining #virtualdogtraining #onlinedogtraining #seattledogtraining #freeandbalancedk9

On session one I set my clients up for success by only giving them 1-2 new tasks to start with Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither is you and your dogs behavior change So if you want to make a new habit of getting your dog to value food, I’m going to give you 1-2 new habits to start building today such as using your dogs meal for training If I give you too many tasks to try and accomplish before our next meet up, I know the likelihood of consistency is going to be slim Lack of consistency can really impact more in our lives than we realize, that will be a post for another day So let’s just start with one new habit at a time, get the hang of it and then add more as we go Behavior changes takes time What’s one new habit you recently started getting consistent with or want to start today? I’ll post mine in the comments with you! #seattledogtraining #virtualdogtraining #foodbasedtraining #freeandbalancedk9

Food: Training for any dog, even the rebellious and nervous Presale $35 Price goes up to $100 on Monday Send me a DM for the link #rewardsbasedtraining #freeandbalancedk9

Does your dog move away or not approach new people or dogs? Are they tail tucked and noticeable shy or do they just flat out ignore them like they don’t exist? When Booma was a puppy, I forced her into situations she wanted nothing to do with and now she has no concept of being able to move away unless we are outside in a large space. This is a huge problem with her living in a small house with Maple. Maples a bull in a china shop and has no care about how big she is and how much space she takes up so mix that with Booma who doesn’t understand that she can move away when face to face with Maple in a tiny space and you have a full blown dog fight. A lot of multiple dog households encounter scuffles or tension between their dogs. Some don’t because one of the dogs is passive enough and removes them selves from the situation or just gives up and deals with their life situation. But what I hope to see happen is that you learn to read your dogs in the hope that they don’t just give up or they don’t escalate the situation and then your in a place like me and my girls, of having to go back and help them feel better about each other in tight spaces I offer both in person and virtual sessions to help with dog to dog confidence and trust building as well as dog to human confidence building. Send me a DM to get started! #virtualdogtraining #seattledogtraining #dogconfidencebuilding

My intentions were always good, but the knowledge piece took a while to catch up to what I was searching for in my heart, a fair way to train that didn’t leave the owners struggling for years before they started seeing long lasting results2.5 years ago I moved dogs quickly through my training program and by the end there was so much successBut there was also a lot of dependencies on the methods I used and without them, they fell back into old habits while their owners were getting the hang of the training I couldn’t read the dogs back then we’ll enough to know that the dependencies were happening or that they were still not feeling great about what I was doingI’ve learned over time, most of the owners ditched a lot of the things I taught them and some found new trainers to work with These things happen often in this industry, we think we know it all when we really have so much more to learn, including how to teach the owners and also sometimes it is the owner not staying consistent enough and then continuously looking for the magic button from each new trainerI won’t beat myself up over the past because I know my intent to help was just as strong as it is nowSo here are some changes I chose to make over the years… ⭐️ Instead of stepping into the dog or blocking their access, I use food to position them where I want them to be⭐️ Instead of applying Ecollar or leash pressure to get reliable obedience, I build engagement and a choice based system that helps me read why they won’t listen and then fix that for them so we both get what we want⭐️ Instead of forced pack walks where I have to make them behave in the beginning, I use 2 methods of a slower and less stressful introduction using barriers, food and distance⭐️ Instead of waiting for dogs to give up and choose to let me put their collars or leashes on, I create a game where they beg me for it Past me’s methods were not right for me but that doesn’t mean they are wrong for you or ot

Teaching dogs is not always a linear process, there is usually a ton of ups and downs and caveats.As you begin the process of teaching your dog, the complexities will become obvious but I have a plan for you to make it easier! The number one way that you will know if your not successful in teaching your dog something or changing their behavior, is by noticing if things are progressing or regressing with time.If your not able to add enough value to help combat really strong emotions such as fear, you are going to see a regression in your training.So I suggest an audit system to gauge your training or how your dog is adjusting to certain situations or changes by using a system of 3’s.If after 3 days or 3 sessions or 3 repetitions, you don’t see progress happening, that’s your cue to start problem solving, trying new things or pivot into a completely different direction.Dogs learn through a reward system, like most of us. But each dog has a different idea of what valuable is.So by using my system of 3’s, you can see if the reward system you are trying to use for this specific dog is not working, before you get too far down the rabbit hole and the dog completely goes backwards.At that point you are now having to do repair work because the thing you were trying to teach has become aversive or they have found a reward system for the opposite thing you are trying to teach them that has more value than what you were trying to give them.So if you see things slowly getting worse instead of better, stop what you’re doing and either ask for help or try something elseIf you need help with your obedience. commands, The presale for Obedience: The portal to a fun and convenient lifestyle with your dog starts today! It’s $50 But it will go up to $250 on SaturdaySend me a DM for the link 😊

A great little nugget of information from my Resilient Playful Pup MasterclassObedience should be last on your list of priorities when training your dogs and puppiesThe first thing you should focus on is calming your dog down! Without the skills of being calm and focused around distractions, your dog and or pup will need to spend more time on training than if you just focused on these skills first Everything comes easy when your dog is calm and receptive, it also becomes easier to learn what motivates them the best so the things you are teaching them can stick long-term. The process to getting calm varies from dog to dog. Some need an easy win so they don’t become frustrated and check back out. Some need fast paced movement, some need very slow methodical movements. Some dogs need to spend a lot of time looking and processing their environment So as an owner who is trying to take your dog into the world more, teaching obedience to create calmness is not going to yield the results you are looking for, calmness needs to come first. I cover the important skills for calmness and focus in my Foundations course. This is a self paced course with lots of how-to demonstrations, Dm me if your interested If you feel like your dogs focus and calmness is already at a 10 and you do want to add more obedience but are struggling with your dogs understanding or consistency to listen, I have something amazing for you in the works!!! If your too impatient to wait, I can easily and happily teach you how to teach your dog through virtual training or in person sessions, send me a Dm for more information!

My first Bootcamp with @tulsapack was a complete blast! I got to see how impactful on the many owners lives this way of training is! Several of the owners who were in my mini pack had done other boot camps and I could tell based on their handling and how their dogs were interacting with them 🥹 If you’ve heard of virtual training before and considered it but have only seen the options for zoom or live sessions once a week, I’m here to tell you, there is a better option! At Tulsa Pack, you don’t have to be in the same time zone or meet up live. You get same day feedback or answers to your questions plus bite sized demonstrations that won’t leave your brain spinning but still gives you something impactful to practice till the next days lesson If your interested in working virtually with me or in a group bootcamp with multiple Tulsa Pack trainers, send me a Dm!

When you teach your dog language, there has to be enough of an incentive to listen and you have to practice multiple times a week in a controlled or semi controlled environment (if your dog feel like it’s in danger where your at, they won’t be able to learn and retain the info, leaving you both feeling frustrated) If your doing these two things and still struggling then I suspect there might be a minor tweak or two that needs shifting in your technique. Sometimes your subtle body cue or leash handling could be putting a sour taste in your dogs mouth during training Show of hands in the comments 👇 if you’ve struggled to get your dog to constantly respond to your taught words

A deeper look at how I calmed my nervous system this morning with Denali On the inside, I’m a chicken when it comes to conflict with dogs But doing the type of training I’m doing, and helping the types of owners I’m helping, means being able to be afraid but still think clearly in those moments Todays success is due to my ability to not dwell on the training before I’m in that moment. Instead I focus on the tasks on hand leading up to the training such as setting up the camera or prepping the other dogs Breathing in a way that works for me during the session is my other necessary calming technique. I know there’s so many different breathing techniques but in the moment I forget them all so just noticing my breath is what I do Then there is taking intentional breaks so both you and your dog can re-coup before going back, if your in public, this might mean 10 minutes in the car or a slow sniff walk away from the trigger The nervous system in both humans and dogs amazes me, so much is effected at a quick rate by the body without us realizing it, but once you see that you can also effect it with your thoughts, breath and prep work, you start to feel very mighty, like you can do anything! But before you go fly to the moon, start with today, with this moment, with your next steps www.freeandbalancedk9training.com/services

My Birthday was amazing! First time in a long time that I didn’t let the negative emotions take over my day. We played for a few hours at the museum then went shopping for some new albums. Amelia got two that she’s been wanting, Billy Eilish and an anime one. I can’t resist some older rock bands. We then made BLTs and watched Soul. That movie was amazing btw, I highly recommend it!

Not everything is black and white and what we may think is happening for our dogs may not actually be what they are experiencing. The only way we will know Is by giving them an opportunity to express their behaviors and experiment to see what they are trying to tell us. Sometimes we know right off the bat but sometimes we don’t. And when we just go into correcting the behavior, we could be making their feelings worse or destroying trust in the relationship. When ever I speak about letting dogs have their voice, I never mean it as let them run wild and do what they please, regardless of other people or animals, but there are ways to give both sides a real shot at communicating. No one likes being in a one sided relationship, even your dogs. So let this be a funny reminder that they deserve their voice just as much as you or I do

The walk is not about who is in front, it’s about the two parties working together and enjoying each other’s company. My rules for any dog on the walk is -respect the leash and don’t pull on it -pay attention to their name -pay attention to my body movement cues -have fun exploring with me For reactive dogs, all of this applies to them, the biggest difference is that I don’t walk them in places with their triggers till I know they can succeed at the rules listed above.

Well it’s been quite the week but I ended up being contacted about a tough Husky who needed out and away from a bad home she’s been in for two years In order to not be taken to the pound and put down. After working with a family member who took her in temporarily, we managed to find a rescue to take ownership of her so I could foster/rehab her. Yesterday she was bit snarly when I went to take her out of the crate so she stayed in there till she was ready to come out. She’s a slow intro dog so I’m not pushing it and I’m going to go at her pace for a while. Her name is Denali and I will be posting a lot about her in hopes to get this deserving dog a home with some one who is Husky savvy and has the time to help her learn how to be with humans the right way.