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Monday 9am - 6pm Tuesday 9am - 6pm Wednesday 9am - 6pm Thursday 9am - 6pm Friday 9am - 6pm

A Pleasant Dog

We are Grand Rapids’ premier School for Dogs, offering pet training and behavior support and grooming
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A Pleasant Dog teaches people to communicate with their dogs through rewards and positive reinforcement and without force or domination. We do not believe that punishing dogs to behave better is effective or humane. We believe that modern, gentle training produces faster, better results.

11/23/2024

This is our sweet friend, Paris. When we first met 15 weeks ago, she could not be alone in a room even with her mom just in the next room. Yesterday, she looked forward to eating from her .and.train while her mom went outside the front door for the first time successfully without her. The future looks bright for sweet Paris 🇫🇷 and her mama!

Want help with your dog’s separation anxiety? We have 3 ways to help! Visit https://www.apleasantdog.com/separationanxiety to book a behavior training session or buy our book to work at your own pace; or stay tuned to this channel for pre-sales of our online video training series to walk yiu through the steps. We can’t wait to help!

11/22/2024

We have some exciting black Friday offers planned! Be sure to check back with us for your discount codes for group classes, grooming, behavior consults, and gift cards!

11/22/2024

When your students represent at home with Pleasant and welcoming art. 😊❤️🐶

11/21/2024

In this season, we small business friends have to support each other. When you’re downtown for the , stop by our besties’ at to get $20 off any service or gift certificate over $100.

11/21/2024

It’s true.

11/20/2024

Queen Martha is the best camp counselor ever!

11/19/2024

Fly on over to A Pleasant Dog for new classes and fun at our school for dogs! We have a host of new classes just waiting for you at apleasantdog.com !

11/19/2024

Congratulations to Daisy, Bruce, Walter, and Sven who graduated Rally 101 last night! They did a great job polishing up their skills!

11/19/2024

“Thank you SO much for helping him live to his best life! 🧬 🐾 .”

🛎️ It’s time to ring the graduation bell for Helix and his family! We first met Helix and his mom, Shar, 16 weeks ago when they contacted us for help with his separation anxiety.

❤️ Thanks to help from the wonderful Dr. Swayman at , who helped to treat this boy’s underlying anxiety medically and to address some chronic pain, in just 16 short weeks, Helix graduated from being incapable of being home alone without severe distress, to calmly staying home alone for 3 1/2 hours without sedative medication.

👏👏👏👏 we just love helping dogs, and their people live their best lives. If your dog struggles with separation anxiety, we would love to help! Simply visit https://www.apleasantdog.com/separationanxiety to get started.

11/18/2024

Wow! Rosie, Birdie, Mabel, Miller, and Aspen all graduated Adult 102 class this weekend! We are so proud of them for continuing on their training journey!

11/18/2024

Congratulations to Henry, Louie (Louisiana), Jean Ralphio, and Birdie Bell who all graduated Puppy 101 on Saturday! 🎉

11/18/2024

Our winter classes just hit the web at apleasantdog.com . These babies are already filling fast. Hurry over and register before they are all gone!

11/17/2024

We’ve added some new Reactive Dogs Are Good Dogs Too merch to our bonfire campaign so you can get a jump start in your holiday shopping. That lilac sweatshirt though… as always credit to our favorite for the design.

Link in instagram Bio or plug in: https://www.bonfire.com/reactive-dogs-are-good-dogs-too160/

11/16/2024

This photo might not look like much to you, but it is the culmination of months and months and months of work for Smokey, Bandit, and their parents.

When we first met this family, the boys were fighting every day and were inflicting severe bite wounds on each other, and on their parents. The intensity of the aggression was so remarkable, that they are trainer and veterinarian wondered if there was a neurological disorder causing the behavior. Their aggression had started small but because of well-meaning, but incorrect advice from a Balanced trainer, the boys had been corrected for using non-violent posturing toward each other when they were uncomfortable. So they escalated. To hurting each other. Badly.

By the time we met them, things had gotten so bad that we were not optimistic that these boys would ever be able to live together safely again. And we know that we broke their parents’ hearts when we told them that. But Casey and Kelly did not give up.

This family immediately did everything that we told them to do. They started working with Dr. Jill Sackman at . They divided their home into baby gated sections and kept the boys entirely separate for over a year. They practiced school almost every night, marking and treating the boys for noticing each other, and for looking away from each other. They started muzzle training. They permanently blocked off their kitchen, which had been a resource for the boys in the past.

They worked their tails off. It wasn’t always easy. It wasn’t always linear progress. But this week, the boys finally were able to enjoy unstructured time together in the house.

We could not be more proud of these kids and their parents if we tried. Please join us in a hearty round of applause for Casey, Kelly, Smokey, and Bandit . They sure have earned it! .

11/16/2024

Rhubarb, Hardy, Rocco, and Maverick have graduated Puppy 101! These teams worked so hard, and all have the best puppies! 🙌

11/16/2024

Bored this morning? There’s still space in our cooperative care workshop that starts at 11 today for humans only. Sign up here: https://www.apleasantdog.com/workshops for just $20.

11/15/2024

We will be rolling out our Black Friday sale to our valued clients first. If you are an existing APD client, watch your email next week for first dibs on our sales on services and products!

11/15/2024

Warm summer sun,
Shine kindly here,
Warm southern wind,
Blow softly here.
Green sod above,
Lie light, lie light.
Good night, dear heart,
Good night, good night.

-Mark Twain

TW: death, behavioral euthanasia

We said goodbye to River this week. River was full of life, love, and snuggles. He was fast. He was fun. He was soft. He was a natural clown. But most of all, River was loved by his family, including his mom and dad and his sister, Delta. River got to love and to be loved.

The sad truth is that not every dog who makes it out of a shelter will be able to overcome the trauma they acquired while there or before getting there. River’s family did everything in their power together with the help of Dr. Cannady at to help him feel safe and emotionally regulated, but it wasn’t enough.

Helping a dog who is dangerous to himself and others to a painless and dignified death is the the most selfless and bravest thing a family who loves him can do. But let’s face it, it really sucks for those left behind.

We are honored to have been part of River‘s story, even if it wasn’t as long as we wanted it to be. Please join us in extending condolences to Greg, Amanda, and Delta, as they learn to live without sweet River in this world.

Good boy, River. Good boy.

Address

1430 Knapp Street NE
Grand Rapids, MI
49505

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 6pm
Tuesday	9am - 6pm
Wednesday	9am - 6pm
Thursday	9am - 6pm
Friday	9am - 6pm

Telephone

+16162642532

Website

http://apleasantdog.com/

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Happy Wednesday!

May you find some peaceful moments with your dog today ♥️

Hope you have Pleasant Halloween! We had such a wonderful morning with your dogs! What is your dog’s Halloween costume this year?

Puppy Camp now enrolling for November! Don’t miss out! Give us a call or email today!

Head over to our website to sign your dog up for some fall fun https://www.apleasantdog.com/group-classes

Want help turning your dog into a patio dog? Our trainers can help! Contact [email protected] for more info!!

Reactive Class at A Pleasant Dog!

Our next Reactive Class is now enrolling! Come learn how to support your pupils through their big feelings about other dogs. You’re not alone. ♥️ #reactivedogsaregooddogstoo #reactivedog #dogreactivity #apleasantdog

Got separation anxiety? We’d love to help!

Got a reactive dog? Schedule a private session to find out if Reactive Dog group classes would be a good fit for your pup! #dogreactive #reactivedog #dogreactivity #positivereinforcement #dogtraining