Animal Matters Training & Swim

01/31/2025

We are always building on our relationship with our dogs, and while there are times sharing our lives with them gets tough, it typically means their lives with us are tough as well.❤️‍🩹 Work to understand your dog and the lessons they are trying to teach you because we promise they are there!

Dogs are some of our greatest teachers. I believe we share a soul contract with them—each one enters our lives for a reason, often one we don’t fully understand at first. We may resist the lessons they bring, as I did for a long time. But eventually, I embraced all that Cedar invites into my world. ❤️

This is not about spiritual bypassing, nor denying how challenging it can be to live with a difficult dog. It is hard, and not every dog is meant to stay with us forever. Even those who only stay a short time still have a soul contract to fulfill with us. ✨

Sometimes, it is incredibly difficult to accept the lessons these dogs are here to teach us, but I firmly believe that everything is happening for us—even when it feels like it’s happening to us. ❤️‍🩹

If you find yourself stuck in the mud with your pup, take a moment to reflect on these deeper questions.

And if you’re ready to explore the greater meaning your dog holds in your life, I offer connection coaching to help you decode their purpose, shift your perspective, and find the silver lining even in the hardest moments. 💕

01/29/2025

Rio started swimming with us as a way to safely exercise (and build muscle💪) after he was diagnosed with bilateral patellar luxation, and while we were his first introduction to water, he became a pro-swimmer in just a few sessions!🌊 He is quite the clown in the pool and is always excited to get swimming. And of course his toy of choice is the infamous Zippy Paws Floaterz!😉

01/24/2025

Don’t forget to sign up for one of our winter classes!❄️ There are still a couple of spots remaining in the ones starting next week!

Our winter class schedule has been set! All class options available in January & February meet for one hour once a week for four weeks. Classes are limited to 4 dogs, so reserve your spot today!

🐕Puppy Preschool - starting Thursday January 30th @ 5:30pm & Monday February 3rd @ 7pm
Set your puppy up for success by building foundations for basic & advanced behaviors from sit to leave it, gaining valuable socialization experiences, and understanding essential puppy topics such as body language & grooming/veterinary handling introductions!

🐕Puppy Preschool 2 - starting Monday February 3rd @ 5:30pm
Class will strengthen a number of the key behaviors from Puppy Preschool 1 such as recall and loose leash walking as well as introduce new concepts such as stay and cooperative care behaviors. Discusses focus on vital concepts useful for helping puppies through adolescence. *AKC STAR Puppy available for testing at the end of the class session*

🐕Tricks - starting Thursday January 30th @ 7pm
Utilizing foundation behaviors for targeting, shaping, and capturing, we will work through tricks chosen by the class along with those preestablished in the curriculum. *AKC Novice Trick Dog & Intermediate Trick Dog available for testing at the end of the class session*

Class sign up can be done online through our scheduling portal or via email. Class enrollment is $100.

01/22/2025

Ranger joined us last week to start his puppy training, and we are in love with how quickly this 16 week old Weimaraner is to pick up on skills!💓 Like a lot of sporting dogs, Ranger isn’t a big fan of doing nothing, so in addition to foundation behaviors, we’ve been incorporating settling skills and good feelings about the crate into our training sessions. It is always rewarding to see puppies have fun learning and figuring out “what works” and Ranger has been no different! Welcome buddy🌟

01/16/2025

Owners often ask how long it takes for their dog to enjoy swimming and like many things, it depends! Beau is a great example as to how a little progress each session can lead to a lot of progress in the long run!🌟

Beau’s first swim session was in early October where he wasn’t so sure about even getting his paws wet.💦 Flash forward two months and it’d be an understatement to say Beau is a water dog! He LOVES swimming and has even started jumping off of the side to go get his ball.🎾 It’s always fun to remember where we started and how much Beau (and other pups!) have grown with each session!

The last two pictures are from Beau's first two sessions, and you can see the shift in how much fun he has during pool time now that he knows he can swim after his ball!💗

01/15/2025

Ms. Olive is one of those pups that won us over immediately! As a recently adopted dog, she was experiencing a number of changes and her owners wanted to ensure they were doing every thing they could to support Olive in the transition.💪 While she was fairly reserved when she first came home, we’re already seeing her personality blossom as she gets low pressure opportunities to learn and explore.🌟 We always appreciate proactive owners who train BEFORE problems pop up to ensure we are setting dogs up for success! We can't wait to see the fun, confident pup she'll continue to grow into!💗

01/13/2025

Our goal with every introduction to the pool is to keep it positive and fun!✨ Walnut, a 7 month old Brittany, had his first introduction to the pool while he was boarding with TailWaggers Doggy Daycare De Pere & Bellevue over the holidays, and while he wasn’t swimming at the end of the session, he was excitedly running in after his toy!🎾 We have no doubt he’ll continue to gain confidence taking that step as he realizes how fun the water is. 🌊

01/11/2025

Hope & her owners finished up their foundation training sessions, and the dedication (and in turn the success!) this team has seen fills our hearts!💙 This golden girl has a lot of love to give and is often extra exuberant in the way she shares it. Together, we laid out a plan for people entering the home and practiced sequences that will mirror people knocking & entering their house. With building these skills, we were also able to bolster her engagement on walks to support better loose leash walking skills! 🐕

01/09/2025

You may have seen sweet Toffee shared on our page last week, but we couldn’t help but share her again now that she’s officially available for adoption!🎉 If you missed it, Toffee is a 1.5yo pup available through Fox Valley Humane Association who has been coming for swim sessions as she recovers from FHO surgeries. We have fallen in love with her sweet personality, petite size, and adorable expressions and know she won’t last long now that she’s available.💖

To learn more about Ms. Toffee, check the Fox Valley Humane Association’s website: https://www.foxvalleypets.org/adoption/adoptable-pets/.

01/08/2025

Our winter class schedule has been set! All class options available in January & February meet for one hour once a week for four weeks. Classes are limited to 4 dogs, so reserve your spot today!

🐕Puppy Preschool - starting Thursday January 30th @ 5:30pm & Monday February 3rd @ 7pm
Set your puppy up for success by building foundations for basic & advanced behaviors from sit to leave it, gaining valuable socialization experiences, and understanding essential puppy topics such as body language & grooming/veterinary handling introductions!

🐕Puppy Preschool 2 - starting Monday February 3rd @ 5:30pm
Class will strengthen a number of the key behaviors from Puppy Preschool 1 such as recall and loose leash walking as well as introduce new concepts such as stay and cooperative care behaviors. Discusses focus on vital concepts useful for helping puppies through adolescence. *AKC STAR Puppy available for testing at the end of the class session*

🐕Tricks - starting Thursday January 30th @ 7pm
Utilizing foundation behaviors for targeting, shaping, and capturing, we will work through tricks chosen by the class along with those preestablished in the curriculum. *AKC Novice Trick Dog & Intermediate Trick Dog available for testing at the end of the class session*

Class sign up can be done online through our scheduling portal or via email. Class enrollment is $100.

01/04/2025

DeDe here to remind our swim clients that their dogs can dress in layers too! While our pool is heated, a wet dog on a Wisconsin winter day is bound to get cold.🥶 Feel free to bring your dog’s coat and keep a dry towel in your car to keep your pup warm after they’re done swimming!🔥

01/01/2025

Happy New Year! We are closed today but will be back open tomorrow with a busy start to 2025!⭐️

Stay tuned for the upcoming class schedule and some new programs launching for the new year!🎉

12/31/2024

We’ve been seeing sweet Toffee the past few weeks for swim sessions as she’s recovering from FHO surgery for both of her hips and the progress we’ve seen her make is remarkable!💪 This sweet girl has taken everything in stride and walks in to her sessions with a wagging tail ready to get the show on the road. We are so glad we’ve been able to help in Toffee’s recovery and even more grateful for the people at Fox Valley Humane Association for their efforts in setting Toffee up for the best life possible!💓

They have included a link in their post to donate towards Toffee’s care as she continues her journey to become available for adoption!

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1DJXimVvC3/?mibextid=wwXIfr

🐠Look at our little Toffee go!🐠

Toffee has been living in foster since November, keeping up with her regular exercises while she heals from her FHO surgeries! Daily we are impressed with her sweet nature and resilient spirit!

🐠 Part of her rehabilitation process has involved swimming at - not only have they been amazing at helping Toffee get comfortable swimming, but they have also graciously discounted their services to help make this special part of her healing process more accessible!

🐠If you would like to donate towards Toffee's continuing rehabilitation efforts, please consider making a donation here: https://www.foxvalleypets.org/get-involved/donate/

🐠Thank you for being a part of this amazing girl's journey!

12/20/2024

We've been reminding clients as they've been coming in the last few weeks, but Jenn will be out of office all of next week (December 23rd through December 27th)! All scheduling will be paused until the new year. If you are in urgent need of anything while Jenn is away, please reach out to the TailWaggers Doggy Daycare De Pere & Bellevue staff at (920)347-9600. We appreciate your patience in any delays in communication!

12/15/2024

We had three teams join us yesterday morning to help their dogs brush up on some skills to help during the holidays.🎅🎄 We worked on things such as settling while presents are being wrapped, politely greeting guests, and even looking at the camera for pictures - which is a learnable skill! Cooper, Shorty, and Val all showed off their best behavior and secured their spot on the “nice” list😉

Shorty’s participation in the workshop was especially fun as he is currently being fostered and is adoptable through Mit Liebe German Shepherd Dog Rescue! He definitely loves to learn and is very treat & toy motivated. We loved watching his little brain work through each exercise and giving him belly rubs once the work was done. His foster is one of our long-time clients, and we would love to help him find the perfect home to live out his senior years!❤️

12/01/2024

We always love to see new dogs in our pool room, and it’s even more fun when we see how much joy the pool brings a new dog! While Winston has been a consistent TailWaggers Doggy Daycare De Pere & Bellevue dog, he recently got to try out the pool while he was at daycare and he’s undoubtedly in love!💙 This handsome boy wasted no time jumping in after his ball and didn’t want to stop💦

11/28/2024

Happy Thanksgiving! We hope all of our clients are enjoying a day filled with good food and even better company🦃🍂

We are closed today but will be back in the office tomorrow. Reminder that our availability is extremely limited the first two weeks of December for holiday pictures!📸

11/27/2024

Congratulations Izzy, Karma, and Lemmie for completing Puppy Preschool last night!🎉🎓 We always enjoy seeing all of the progress possible in 4 short weeks - especially when teams are as dedicated as these three!💓