Trust Your Mutt

02/09/2025

Look familiar?

Although Finnigan has grown since we saw him last, he has not gotten any less cute, and has developed one of the best head tilts we’ve ever seen.

When things just click between owners and their dog, it makes our job so rewarding. (Doesn’t hurt either when the owners have kiddos at home who act like you’re their bestie the second you walk through the door 😆)

Can’t wait to see how this little man progresses over the next couple of months through practice and repetition. He’s in great hands to become an even more amazing dog! 🩵

02/07/2025

There are so many amazing breeds out there. Loving and admiring them versus believing you can live with them with ease are SO different.

There are many breeds we know we would never choose to own. Why? Our lifestyle. Our location. Our time away from home. Our work schedules. Our personalities.

Be honest with yourself.

And if you’re adopting? Amazing. Proud of you. But don’t just choose a dog because of a picture on the internet. Learn about them. Ask questions. Meet them and interact with them. You are NOT making a short term decision.

Choose a dog with THEIR best interest in mind, always.

Here is a hard truth.

Breed matters.

Anyone that tells you otherwise is either: a) not a knowledgable resource or b) has a reason they want to keep the truth from you.

Being 💯 honest with yourself about the time you can devote to training, and exercise is a crucial first step in finding a dog that is right for you.

If you are a in poor health, fairly sedentary, or want a dog to be your "emotional support"...there are a LOT of breeds that are not going to work out for you.

Prioritize the dog's quality of life in your decision making process.

Weigh your choice carefully by making characteristics like activity level, sociability and potential for guardian "watchdog" behaviors more important than how "cool" "cute" or "trainable" the dog is.

12/25/2024

11/28/2024

We hope your day is filled with cold walks with your dogs, way too much food, and so much love from family and friends!

How many dogs do you get to share your Thanksgiving Day with? We have 5 in attendance this year! 🫶🏽

11/20/2024

Finnigan has us thinking maybe a 3rd dog in the house wouldn’t be so bad… 🤔😍

This little babe is brand new to his family but already has a puppy consultation under his belt because that’s how much his owners understand the importance of getting him started off on the right paw! He has two young human sisters who are so excited to be able to play with him and love on him, so its important all family members understand what boundaries are needed while he’s learning how to adapt to what we need from him as a pet!

Puppy consults are best suited for dogs under 5 months of age, and include any and all things puppy raising. If this is something you’d like to set up let us know! They also make a great Christmas gift for someone you know who has or will be getting a puppy soon! 🎄

10/24/2024

Don’t let the calm eyes deceive you, Chip has a lot of puppy left in him! 😍

His owners know the life he deserves, and are determined to give it to him. Baseball games, duck hunting, and making other dog friends are a few things Chip has to look forward to, so it’s important he knows how to handle any distractions thrown at him while behaving nicely for Mom & Dad. After all, at only 6 months old he’s not going to be getting any smaller!

The three of them are off to a great start building the foundation of a well socialized pup! We love clients who put in the time and work that their dog deserves! 🩵

09/07/2024

When a thoughtful client gives you homemade treats, you call on the official taste tester.
Opal approved. ☑️

09/02/2024

Doggy do list created by 5-year-old Lucy.

Let the dog sleep ☑️
Playin with its favorite toy ☑️
Runnin around ☑️
Teachin it to sit ☑️
Lettin it to eat ☑️
Walkin a dog ☑️
Let the dog swim ☑️
Give it water to drink ☑️
Brush the dogs teeth ☑️
Brush the dogs fur ☑️
Givin it a bath ☑️
Cut their toenails ☑️
Rollin in the grass ☑️

Hope your pups had as many of these checked off as Opal and Kiwi did this weekend! 🩵

08/24/2024

Which version of Junie’s ears are your favorite? 😍

I can’t pick, because a week ago I hardly got to see these beautiful ears showing at all. Adopting a dog from a shelter is such a selfless act, and it’s cases like these where it really shows.

Junie went home with the most lovely couple at roughly 3 months of age. The love they have for her is undeniable. They’re a phenomenal trio, but very quickly they started to see how underdeveloped she was socially. There are not many things she doesn’t have some sort of fear towards, including people and moving objects. They have been tousled around by various trainers/behavioralists that just weren’t the right match. Not only were they misreading what Junie was feeling, but they were giving downright bad advice for how to get though it and teach her how to “dog” in this world.

However bad the advice, I’m grateful because it landed them with me through a very kind referral by an old friend. They went from fearing they wouldn’t be able to safely keep her, to feeling hopeful for the life they WILL get to enjoy with her.

Believe it or not this isn’t a plug for myself. I know there are so many amazing trainers in this world who would have been able to help them. This is a plug for Junie’s owners. They were in over their head and I don’t blame them for knowing where their limit was. I’m incredibly proud of them for not giving up when they had every reason to. They made one final call, to a total stranger, and are putting their total trust in me to help her live the life she deserves, slowly combating the things that terrify her.

We still have a long way to go, but for only two sessions under her belt, I’m beyond obsessed with the ears and personality I got to see out of little miss Junie today. 🩵

08/22/2024

We had a chance to meet everyone at Natural Carnivore today at their new storefront located in Johnson Creek. Talk about our kind of people. 🙌🏽

If the amazing products they sell alone won’t get you through their doors, I sure hope sweet little Rain will!

08/16/2024

Kiwi showed up to see her bestie today and we couldn’t help but take a picture when we saw which shirt he had on.

Opal’s resilience and drive have taught me just as much as a trainer as Kiwi’s stability and ease have. I’m so thankful to have a dog that pushes and humbles me, while simultaneously having one who slows me down to enjoy the small moments.

Demo dog, emotional support animal, wild child, therapy dog, rotten fruit, bestie, the list could go on and on of unofficial titles this little girl carries. We love her for them all. 🩵

06/26/2024

We’ve been rather quiet on this page, making more time for life changes and opportunities that we are very grateful for.

We’re all three still living our best lives, and still more than happy to help you live yours with your dog(s) as well.

Please let us know if there are ways we can assist you through any stage of your dog’s growth, from puppies to seniors. It’s never too early or too late for dogs or their humans to be learning. 🩵

-Taylor, Opal, & Kiwi. 🥝

03/17/2024

Pluto is a unique dog with unique needs when it comes to training (and when it comes to getting him to smile for a picture - see video 😆).

Life would be easier and people like me honestly wouldn’t be necessary if all dogs fit into a cookie cutter mold of what it took to make them happy and well-trained.

I applaud Pluto’s owners for seeing that his obedience wasn’t the whole picture. He can do his skills, and he can do them well. However, there’s something that didn’t click mentally for him even though they did exactly what they were taught to do with their other dog. This connection not being made for Pluto ultimately led to a nervous and uncertain dog who they knew needed and deserved better.

I’m proud of them, and I’m proud of Pluto for the progress seen after just two weeks of small changes. Happy to be a part of unlocking a whole new world of happiness for this sweet boy in the weeks and months to come! 🩵

01/05/2024

I shared these pictures with a trainer friend so she could enjoy some of my pain, and the response I got from her was I should reach out to someone who could fix this problem for me. We laughed as this is a very normal question we both get asked.

“Can you train my dog to stop destructing my house?”

Simply put? No we cannot. Why? Because you are raising a dog, not a human. You cannot explain to them in words that household items are not actually meant to be destroyed. So what can you do? You can realize you gave too much trust too soon, and put your trust back into your dog’s kennel to help manage their love of destruction.

Kiwi is 1 and was unsupervised for 40 minutes. She has been left in bedrooms many times for extended periods of time while I left the house. Why did she choose violence this one time? My best guess is boredom, and as soon as she realized the sound of fabric ripping was SO FUN it was game over for my bedding. 😂

So what have I done about it? First of all, I didn’t get mad at her. Was I mad? You saw the pictures, of course I was. But at her? Not a chance. I did not catch her doing this, the damage was done by the time the door was opened. I grabbed some evidence for laughs, cleaned up the mess, accepted that she’s over the Christmas sheets, and we moved on. Most importantly she is also back to being kenneled anytime I leave the house for two reasons:

1. I want to keep her safe. Luckily I don’t think she ingested any of the fabric, but she very easily could in the future or she could choose something else to chew that could be very dangerous (peep electrical cords right next to the bed).

2. I like my house, and I like it better when it doesn’t have ripped furniture, chewed trim, scratched doors, etc. which are all more likely now that she found a more fun hobby than napping while I leave her.

Long story short: we love kennels for keeping our dogs safe and our houses intact. Having problems teaching your dog to tolerate or even enjoy their kennel? Let us know how we can help. But for now, enjoy knowing that trainers dogs aren’t perfect dogs either. 🩵

01/01/2024

Reflecting back on some of the happy faces we were able to work with in 2023.

Here’s to many more tongue out adventures in 2024! 🩵

12/30/2023

Did you wake up to a puppy under the tree on Christmas morning?

If so, we’re so excited for you! You’re in for such a special relationship with your furry new pal. Let us help you start it off on the right paw!

We offer Puppy Consultations for you and your new family members where we cover topics such as play biting, potty training, simple obedience, socialization, and many more. It’s also a great time for you to ask any questions you may have and set some realistic goals for your puppy’s future!

If your puppy is between 8 weeks - 5 months old, let us know how we can assist you!

12/25/2023

Merry Christmas from these two happy faces. ❤️💚

“Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift.” 2 Corinthians 9:15