Mischief & Manners Dog Training

Mischief & Manners Dog Training Positive, Reward-Based Training serving Frederick, MD & surrounding areas! Offers private lessons,

Training puppies is always so much fun for me, but it’s especially wonderful when you get a puppy who reminds you of you...
11/24/2025

Training puppies is always so much fun for me, but it’s especially wonderful when you get a puppy who reminds you of your own dog!

Lexi joined the Mischief crew for some socialization and she looks just like baby Nova, down to the spotted toes and airplane ears!

Rocky making some new friends at Lowe’s 🎅🏻Puppy socialization and exposure can get difficult in the winter months when i...
11/20/2025

Rocky making some new friends at Lowe’s 🎅🏻

Puppy socialization and exposure can get difficult in the winter months when it’s cold, dark, and not very many people are out walking. I love going to places like Lowe’s to work on confidence building and watching a ton of distractions. The decorations this time of year are always a little scary but a great thing to work through, especially if you live in a neighborhood with lots of inflatables!

11/19/2025

Trying out a fun holiday recipe! You’ll need some Greek yogurt, freeze dried strawberries & raspberries, and I used some of the Calming powder.

Mix up your ingredients and fill your food toy - this would work for a kong, lickimat, or any other fill & freeze toy. I was going for a candy cane look so I used my Pupsicle mold. Freeze for a few hours and let your dog enjoy!

I love trying out new recipes to keep things exciting for our enrichment toys. My usuals are peanut butter, yogurt, banana and pumpkin but there are so many options. Share your dog’s favorites in the comments!

And if you don’t have time (or forget!) to make your toys ahead of the holiday chaos, I am a big fan of the Pupsicle refills that you can keep in the freezer and require zero effort. You can use my special code MM25 to get 25% off all refills through the Woof website now to through 11/21. I definitely would not be promoting something if I didn’t use it myself and I also love a good coupon code 😂

We’ve entered the time of year when the number one question I get is about managing dogs during the holidays. While I th...
11/14/2025

We’ve entered the time of year when the number one question I get is about managing dogs during the holidays. While I think there are some important skills that need to be introduced ahead of time, my answer will almost always be ✨enrichment✨

This could include a long sniffy walk before guests arrive, feeding your dog from a puzzle ball during dinner, or giving them a frozen treat in a quiet room away from the chaos.

I am super excited to be a member of the Woof Pack, so Ripley and I wanted to share some of her favorite goodies! I really love that the Pupsicle gives you the option to make your own treats (I’ll be sharing some recipes later) or, if you’re in a time crunch, just freeze their premade treat pops. The Calming powder is a great additive for lickimats or other frozen treats. It’s one of the only natural calming supplements I’ve ever seen relax Ripley so I’m definitely a fan.

You can use our code MISCHIEF for 10% off your order. Now is a great time to stock up on holiday goodies 💜💚

What is your dog’s favorite enrichment activity?

I got to do something new today with my buddy Theodore - pet wedding attendant! I’ve helped with many photo shoots and e...
11/10/2025

I got to do something new today with my buddy Theodore - pet wedding attendant! I’ve helped with many photo shoots and even an engagement party, but I’ve never escorted a dog to watch their humans get married until today. It was super special and Theo was on his best behavior. How handsome is he?!

If anyone is getting married and wants their dog to join in the occasion, let me know because I’d love to do this again. It was so fun and I really enjoyed helping Theo be part of such a special moment 💜💚

🎉 WE DID IT 🎉I am so excited to announce that we made it to the Frederick News Post’s Top 3 Animal Trainers!!! We also m...
11/05/2025

🎉 WE DID IT 🎉

I am so excited to announce that we made it to the Frederick News Post’s Top 3 Animal Trainers!!! We also made Top 3 Shop Animals again this year, and Mulder is quite proud to have his name included this time.

I am just so grateful and thankful to all the humans and dogs who helped get me to this point. It has been so amazing growing this business over the last 5 years and to make the Top 3 against some much larger companies/franchises feels like an incredible accomplishment 💜💚

Also shout out to my BFF .dogs for WINNING this year. So very proud of Lela - she deserves it. I love that we get to be the Frederick R+ takeover together 🩵

This post may have been inspired by a little internet argument I got involved in 😂I came across a post from a well known...
11/02/2025

This post may have been inspired by a little internet argument I got involved in 😂

I came across a post from a well known trainer stating, “Positive reinforcement utilized incorrectly becomes extremely negative” and I just couldn’t ignore it.

I get the intention behind it, but here’s the thing… positive and negative don’t mean good or bad. They’re math terms: adding and subtracting. Positive reinforcement can’t “turn negative” because then it’s just not positive reinforcement. I think a lot of people misunderstand these terms and it gets confusing.

Bad training exists, of course. You can poison food by pairing it with scary things, or accidentally reinforce jumping because shoving your dog off turns into a fun game. But that’s not a failure of R+, that’s just bad mechanics.

Whatever methods you use, “positive” and “negative” have specific meanings. You can’t redefine them to fit a narrative.

If you hear someone say “positive reinforcement doesn’t work for every dog” or “positive training didn’t work for me”, ask yourself how that’s possible. If it didn’t work, it likely wasn’t being done correctly. It’s more than just giving a dog cookies - it requires an understanding of motivation, emotions and environment.

The takeaway: Learn the why behind what you’re doing and how to adjust for your dog. Set your dog up for success, create reasonable boundaries, and choose compassion over compliance. That’s where the magic happens 💜💚

🦃 November Turkey Trot Snack Walk is Open! 🦃Going into the colder months, we will only have one Snack Walk each month (l...
10/28/2025

🦃 November Turkey Trot Snack Walk is Open! 🦃

Going into the colder months, we will only have one Snack Walk each month (less daylight + holidays make scheduling hard) so make sure you save your spot!

Open to past/current clients, feel free to message if you’d like to join but aren’t sure if it’s a good fit for your dog 💜💚

Something exciting is coming in 2026! Having a reactive dog can feel like you’re part of an exclusive club you never ask...
10/25/2025

Something exciting is coming in 2026!

Having a reactive dog can feel like you’re part of an exclusive club you never asked to join.

Let’s change that!

The Howl and Growl Club - for dogs with Big Feelings!
A supportive space where we understand your dog’s reactivity and the stress that comes with it.

Lela and I are very excited about our upcoming class offering! This class is for dogs who bark, lunge, growl, or just get generally worked up over triggers they encounter during their daily life. Whether your dog is reactive out of fear or frustration, we’ll be discussing a range of management and training strategies to help lower stress levels and enjoy calmer walks. In our final week, we’ll even take our skills out into the Real World!

Follow the link in the comments to complete our intake form to ensure this class will be the right fit for your dog. Feel free to reach out to us with any questions 💜💚

We’ve still got a few spots left in our October Snack Walks! Join us for a scary good time 💜👻💚Snack Walks are open to pa...
10/03/2025

We’ve still got a few spots left in our October Snack Walks! Join us for a scary good time 💜👻💚

Snack Walks are open to past or current clients who want some extra practice around other dogs. Send me a message if you’re interested but not sure if this would be a good fit for your pup!

Today is a very special day for two reasons! In 2020, I announced my return to Maryland and my business name and logo fo...
10/01/2025

Today is a very special day for two reasons!

In 2020, I announced my return to Maryland and my business name and logo for the first time! While it would be about a month before I formally started taking clients, I consider today Mischief and Manners official birthday. Five years old today!

Two years ago, I met this little guy for the first time. He was so nervous at first - shaking, tried to escape from his leash, not at all sure about me. That quickly changed and now he is a very confident, very happy boy. Happy Gotcha Day, Mulder!

Address

Frederick, MD

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Mischief & Manners Dog Training posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Mischief & Manners Dog Training:

Share

Category

About Us

Animals have always been a huge part of my life. I grew up in a house with an assortment of critters; I have cared for not just dogs and cats, but everything from gerbils, to birds, to reptiles. When a relative or neighbor needed someone to pet sit for them, I was always the first to eagerly volunteer. I was a year old when I got my first dog, a Border Collie named Cody. As my family tells it, when I met Cody, there was an instant bond. So strong, in fact, that I began to bark and howl like I was trying to communicate with him and the other dogs in our neighborhood. I like to think that this was the first indication that dog training was what I was made for!

While working on my Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology, I got a job in a pet store and became interested in positive reinforcement dog training. I pursued the position and worked as a trainer while I completed my degree. It was then I realized how similar the field of psychology and dog training were, and discovered my true passion in working with dogs. Over my career, I have worked as a dog walker, volunteered as a training coordinator for a rescue, and managed a training facility. After seven years in the industry, I received my CPDT-KA (Certified Professional Dog Trainer - Knowledge Assessed) through the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers. I am also a supporting member of the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants. Continuing education is extremely important to me to ensure I am able to provide my clients with a variety of techniques and up-to-date methods.

With Mischief and Manners, I hope to help dog owners learn to love the quirky, mischievous, and unique personalities of their dogs. Rather than fixating on “bad” behaviors, I strive to help my clients understand why their dogs act a certain way - whether it’s the ankle nipping of a Border Collie or the squeals of excitement when your Terrier sees a squirrel. Through positive reinforcement training, we can learn to effectively communicate with our canine companions without the use of force, harsh corrections, or physical punishment. Your pup can learn the necessary manners to thrive in our Human World, while embracing the traits that make them who they are!