Nadia B. - Epping PetSmart Training Group

12/06/2023

Love this! Does your dog "hide" their accidents by eliminating in unorthodox areas of the home? Does your dog steal off the counter the moment you look away? They only walk next to you if you're using a 2 foot leash?

This is why rewards play a massive role in training. We are changing the way our dogs make choices, like stealing your food or not, by making the RIGHT decision more rewarding the wrong one. Dogs are opportunists, and they will choose the opportunities that are most rewarding for them. When you fail to make the right decisions valuable, in their eyes, you become the "cop" - your dog may act avoidant of you, display frustrated behavior like whining, barking, and pacing, and seem to misbehave the moment you look away. You become the only thing between the dog and what the dog wants. Is there more to the theories I'm talking about? Absolutely! And I could talk about it for hours!

This is why we use science based methods, do you see how much deeper training goes than simply punishment and reward?

12/01/2023

🎉Friendly reminder that your stories make a difference!! Reviews mean the WORLD to me, and help others decide if our classes are right for them! Sharing your training story on the Epping Petsmart Google Maps page should only take a few minutes, but you will help thousands (yes, reviews on our Google reach over 1000 people!) of people learn about what we do and how training can change their life!!

This link should bring you to the Google review page:
https://www.google.com/search?gs_ssp=eJzj4tFP1zfMSDYtM0vJKTRgtFI1qLCwTDVKMzQxMjdONTC2SDK1MqgwN0tLMzYxMzQ2NLA0MzVP8eJPLSjIzEtXKEgtKc5NLCoBAKwgFGA&q=epping+petsmart&oq=epp&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUqFQgEEC4YJxivARjHARiABBiKBRiOBTIGCAAQRRg5MgYIARBFGDwyBggCEEUYPTIGCAMQRRg9MhUIBBAuGCcYrwEYxwEYgAQYigUYjgUyDQgFEAAYkQIYgAQYigUyEAgGEC4YrwEYxwEYgAQYjgUyCggHEC4YsQMYgAQyEAgIEC4YrwEYxwEYgAQYjgUyDAgJEAAYQxiABBiKBdIBBzk2MWowajSoAgCwAgA&client=ms-android-samsung-gs-rev1&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8 =si:ALGXSlZecm6tmUOK1xCxA3-cJblF3EeOR9fg-qrmLxwIq8Uqjre2GxYnzKvfVMKK__UxE8G91EfPi6RPEFnwdGhay5sGakY_IbmV2BKspc5Gny3RfqNtoo5AvmHuBzADdRQmYVmvL6k2

11/22/2023

RUTHIE has graduated ADVANCED!! And with flying colors!!🎉🎉🎉 Ruthie's goal each week was to make all of us smile, laugh and say "aww"... but only after impressing us all! Ruthie can pick up a new trick in minutes or less with her quick sharp, herding-breed brain!

Sooo happy to graduate this team!!! I will miss seeing Rufus and Ruthie every week so much!! ♥️♥️♥️🎉♥️🎉

11/22/2023

LOVE THIS TEAM!! Gretchen and her young Newfoundland, Rufus, have been so much fun to work with!! They successfully passed Puppy, Intermediate AND NOW ADVANCED!! Gretchen fought through the puppy blues, teenage twos and never gave up.. and now has so much to show for it!! Like their awesome heeling!

CONGRATS!!!!♥️🎉♥️🎉♥️🎉

11/20/2023

HEALTH ALERT:
I want to address the virus that has been affecting many dogs here in NH this year. I do not want to fear monger, but it is quickly becoming a real fear for all dog owners, including myself. There is an unknown respiratory illness that is supposedly airborne, and can progress to canine pneumonia and has a high fatality rate. Symptoms include coughing, panting, lethargy and more. PLEASE do not bring your dog in if they are coughing!!! I already know people personally who have dogs on antibiotics due to this illness (NONE in my classes, but people local to me).

I will be taking extreme precautions in my training arena to keep the room disinfected between each class. But with the large influx of dogs in the store, and possible airborne transmission, I still urge everyone to be very cautious with exposure to other dogs.

11/20/2023

One of the most common questions I get is...
"WHY DOES MY DOG GET ANXIOUS IN THE CAR?"
Many cases of travel related anxiety come down to motion sickness. As many of us humans know, motion sickness does not always lead to vomiting, but causes great anxiety and discomfort!

Dogs that learn that they always start feeling sick on car rides will develop an aversion to entering the car at all, and this often misleads people to believe the problem is something different than Motion sickness!

With studies showing that between TWENTY AND FIFTY percent of dogs experiencing motion sickness, it may be worthwhile to consider this possibility and talk with your vet!

11/20/2023

Door boundary training is an essential habit in any dog household! We cover this in week 3 of our Puppy and Beginner classes and expand on it as we progress ahead into intermediate and advanced classes.

11/14/2023

I always encourage owners to prepare any house guests to IGNORE their dogs! Whether their dog is fearful, or overstimulated in the presence of unfamiliar people, making visitations calm and uninteresting will help foster a more NEUTRAL emotional response towards guests.

The place command can be exceedingly helpful for taking the first steps towards calmer behavior around guests!

11/14/2023

HEEL should feel like a dance.. both parties are willingly partaking, no force involved, and both are acutely aware of the other's positioning!

Heel is more than a command for walking, and working towards precision can be a super fun challenge for some teams!!

Our heel isn't perfect, but we have endless fun working towards that!

11/08/2023

FREYA HAS GRADUATED INTERMEDIATE!! And with flying colors, to say the least!! Anyone who has seen her in class would certainly agree! Freya came in to impress each week.

Intermediate is all about getting our known behaviors to be more reliable, as well as introducing some new commands like heel, settle, and place! Freya's owner set an amazing foundation for these complex behaviors in Puppy class, which helped them succeed in intermediate.

Super happy to award these guys with their Intermediate Certificate!!

11/03/2023

Halloween classes have been POSTPONED by one week! Anyone who had a class this Tuesday, was contacted by me or my manager early this week! Your classes will continue this week as normal, and will resume right back where we started :)

I hope everyone had a great holiday!! I personally enjoyed sleeping sound in my bed after watching lots of creepy videos, and eating some candy and food.

10/15/2023

🎉🎉CONGRATULATIONS KODA and handler VICTOR!! Truly an awesome team by all means. Victor is familiar with Northern breeds, and accepts every challenge that may come with them in stride. He is even preparing Koda for Ski-joring!! The only challenge Koda gave me was that sometimes, our lessons were just too easy for this boy!

Our team loves hearing Koda's signature howl each week and we will dearly miss him until Advanced!! I mean, just look at him!

10/15/2023

CONGRATULATIONS TESS!!! Tess is an absolute little workhorse of a Yorkie! And she was lucky enough to find herself in a family of Yorkie lovers that understand the terrier nature! I have loved working with both Tess AND her parents! A very well deserved graduation from INTERMEDIATE♥️

10/13/2023

10/13/2023

Hey friends! We have an absolutely crazy deal going on right now, you can get a two class package for only 60 dollars more than one single class!

Single classes (beginner, puppy, intermediate, advanced) will run you $149.

The fundamental package or advanced package will only run you $209 until the 15th!

If you or anyone you know has been thinking about signing up, this is seriously the time! You can sign up in 5 minutes on our website here:

PetSmart Services Booking

10/06/2023

If your dog has any fearful behaviors, you need to save this picture right now!!

Desensitization and counter conditioning are both powerful tools in altering your dogs emotional response to a stimulus, but very often, I see it done WRONG! And unfortunately, when done wrong, you may be unknowingly contributing to your dogs fear.

We go in depth on these tools in our Puppy and Beginner classes, and even further in Intermediate and Advanced. We don't just train our dogs for our own enjoyment, but to improve their lives and let them live happily and confidently! For dogs with serious trauma, please sign up for privates and we will address it head on in our Handling and Grooming one-on-one seminar.

09/18/2023

And you'll only come home to them so many times! Never take your dog for granted ♥️♥️♥️

09/16/2023

SCHEDULE ALERT‼️

I will not be here today, Saturday Sep 16th. My immune system is launching a blitzkrieg on my body, probably due to the temperature changes. Classes will NOT run today, and will simply be extended by one week. I am so sorry for the trouble this might cause and thank you guys for always being so flexible. My wonderful leader Brian is making all necessary phone calls and will reach out to anyone effected!

I WILL be in the store tomorrow, Sunday, so if you have questions please leave a message with Brian and I will give you a call back tomorrow!

09/14/2023

Hey yall!! On petsmart.com, we have ZERO training reviews! A large majority of customers sign up for classes on petsmart.com, and I would love for anyone browsing the site to hear about your awesome experiences in our classes! 🥰🎉

If you have even two minutes to spare, it would mean SO much if you could leave a short review!! I will probably be so happy that I print it and put it on my fridge. Your stories have all warmed my heart and to see all of your relationships with your dog improve for the better is such a great feeling! I want other people to hear about it too!

Thank you in advance, you guys are awesome!!

09/14/2023

🎉🎉CONGRATS🎉🎉 Brody the GSD and Daisy the Bassett!!! What a fun duo to have in class, neither me or my coworkers can wait until these guys are back for Intermediate!

09/11/2023

09/09/2023

CONGRATULATIONS BEGINNER GRADS!!
Scout, Neela and Kirby! What an excellent group, couldn't be more happy to welcome them back in Intermediate on the 27th!

09/04/2023

🎉HAPPY LABOR DAY!

The Epping PetSmart will be open until 💜6pm tonight and I will be available! If you have the day off and don't know what to do with yourself, come on in for a FREE evaluation and we can find the best option to achieve your dog goals. Or just come on in and visit!

If you've got plans for your long weekend - have a great time - this weather won't last forever! 💜

08/15/2023

😱REACTIVITY😱

Reactivity is the most common behavioral issue that I see. Reactivity is when a dog "over reacts" to a trigger, such as another dog, people, cars, bikes, and more. Exercising and socializing a dog is very difficult and stressful for both the handler and the dog.

I briefly cover reactivity prevention in the second week of Puppy and Beginner classes, but I do offer more targeted help on reactivity in private sessions.

My rules for preventing/worsening reactivity are as follows!

1. Do not knowingly put your dog into a situation that you are certain will cause a reaction.👍 Often times, these reactions are environmentally reinforced. When they bark and lunge at a person innocently walking by, chances are, that person is going to hastily get away from you. The dog learns "When I want someone to go away, barking and lunging seems to work best." Or, maybe you force your dog to interact with people in a way they don't like.. you may teach the dog "you won't protect me from things I'm scared of, so I have to protect myself."

2. Find DISTANCE from the trigger until your dog is comfortable enough to occasionally disengage with it, take treats, and respond to you. You will work at this distance and only start getting closer when the dog is telling you they're comfortable with it. The point is to help the dog, not you, so train at the dogs pace instead of the pace you desire.

3. Remember that dogs have good days and bad. I have seen many people give up on their dogs reactivity because of one bad day. Dogs will act different for many reasons we can't see, and they can't tell us what is wrong. Its our job to be considerate of that and be ready for every day of training to look different.

4. The goal IS NOT to make your dog into a social butterfly!!! Many dogs will never be that, just like many humans may never be either! What we want to see is a neutral or positive emotional response to the trigger we are working with, and to be able to maintain full control around those triggers. Ideally, we want the dog to not care about the trigger at all.

08/15/2023

IMPORTANT SCHEDULE ALERT‼️

Classes are NOT running today, 8/15. I picked up the flu on Sunday and it is truly at it's worst today! Out of care for the health of my clients and the quality of my teaching, I have POSTPONED all classes today. All students affected by this were contacted by 8pm last night!

Classes will resume like normal next week!

I cannot thank my students enough for being so kind and understanding, you guys are awesome and I will see you next Tuesday!!♥️ I will miss you guys this week!

**Only 8/15 classes are affected. Classes occurring later this week will still be in normal operation!

08/05/2023

😊🖐"IT'S OKAY, HE'S FRIENDLY!!"

If you have ever stepped foot outside with your dog.. you have probably heard this yelled from 50 feet away before.. and probably while that person's dog made a mad dash towards you and your dog.

I don't like to anthropomorphize dog behavior, however, this is a great chart to assess just how "friendly" your dog is! We don't shame humans for being introverted (okay.. we do.. a little, but let's work on that!), so there is no reason we should be forcing our introverted dogs into a hypersocial phenotype for our own ego. There is nothing wrong with a dog that doesn't value interaction with strange humans or dogs!!

Just for fun.. if you had to put YOURSELF somewhere on this scale.. where are you? I am strongly introverted, believe or not! And if someone came running up to me golden retriever style, yelling "HIIII HELLOOO"... I would run!!!