Pawsitively Polite Dog Obedience Training

03/29/2025

Phineas is an 8-year-old Black Lab/Great Dane mix whom I've been walking daily for over 2 years. He's a serial predator of squirrels, rabbits and cats, and I've been working with him to control his impulse to chase.

03/29/2025

Get a female dog, said the proverbial "they." Female dogs don't mark their territory, "they" said.

My female dog 😯

03/24/2025

Pop quiz: Your dog just heard an extremely loud sound and reacted fearfully. You should immediately:

a) say to her loudly, "Oh, wow! That was really scary, wasn't it?"
b) wrap her tightly in your arms, rock her and whisper, "it's OK, you're OK."
c) get mad and yell at her to "get over it!"
d) none of the above.

If you answered "d," you're correct.

The options "a," "b" and "c" all draw attention to her fear. By commenting loudly, holding her, or yelling, this confirms that you also heard the loud sound and her reaction has just been reinforced. The next time she hears a loud noise, she'll show the same fearful response.

Well, you ask, what should I do instead?

This may sound cold and harsh...but the best thing is for you to act like nothing happened. Why? Because if you appear unaffected, your reaction will reassure her that everything is OK. Our pet dogs take their cues from us and if we remain calm, they'll learn to do the same.

The next time you notice your dog reacting fearfully to a loud noise, continue doing what you're doing and don't bring attention to her response. It'll take time but I promise you'll see a difference in your dog's reaction, as long as you're consistent and repetitive in the way your respond.

03/19/2025

I'm so excited to announce that I received my canine Behavioral Neuroscience certificate from the Association of Professional Dog Trainers. This endeavor took 6 months to complete and I want to share my knowledge of canine behavior and learning with dog owners who are perplexed by their dogs' behaviors.

03/11/2025

Do you believe your dog's behavior is a direct reflection upon you?

Many dog owners think that they're the causes of their dogs' excessive barking, pulling on their leashes, and lunging and growling at people and dogs. This promotes embarrassment, humiliation and the belief that others see them as the origin of their dogs' behavior.

However, these behaviors are usually due to fear aggression and they persist through unintentional reinforcement. If a dog is afraid of something, he'll display certain body language to discourage interacting with the scary thing. If body language works, the scary thing goes away. If it doesn't work, he'll growl to deter interacting. If growling works, the scary thing goes away. If that doesn't work, he'll bark and lunge. If barking and lunging work, the scary thing goes away. If that still doesn't work, he may lash out and bite.

Dogs present particular behaviors to avoid an interaction with something scary. Whatever works to make it go away is reinforcement, in this case, it's negative reinforcement. They posture, growl, bark or lunge to have an effect on the scary thing. If they have to escalate their behavior to have an effect, they will.

None of these behaviors is caused by the dog owner; however, unless the behaviors are interrupted, they'll continue to persist.

If your dog displays these types of behaviors, or any others, please reach out to me. I want to help you understand that it's not something you're doing that makes your dog behave this way and I want to help your dog find a different way to react to scary things.

02/04/2025

What training reward does your dog covet?

For most pooches, it's a tasty treat. But for others, it can be verbal praise, affection, belly rubs or playing with a favorite toy. It's essential to know the training reward for which your dog would do just about anything to receive. This knowledge sets you up for training success.

Not sure what your dog loves? Contact me at 816-686-4766 - I would be happy to help you discover it!

01/26/2025

Munson, the Tree-Walking Coonhound (far left) had a habit of barking incessantly. His owners had had enough of it; so did his housemates Molly (center) and Junior (far right). I trained him to speak (bark) on command such that he would eventually differentiate between barking and being quiet. Each time I cued him to speak, I gave him a treat. Then I stopped giving him a treat when he spoke and only gave him a treat when he was quiet. This guy is so smart that when I cued him to speak, he didn't because he knew he would get treats only when he was quiet! An unintended but totally awesome outcome!

01/18/2025

We get this question all the time. Do we brush teeth?
Well. Once upon a time, we did. The grooming seminars pushed it for an add-on basicly to make more money.
Well. Now, we are more educated and realize that brushing a dogs teeth once in a while does nothing. It may even create soreness if there's tartar or inflamtion. So we try to educate the owners about teeth care. We tell you when we see any health issues that might warrant a vet visit. In our experience, prevention is key. Diet is important. Dry food doesn't keep tartar away. Actually, the ingredients matter more. Carbs create more tartar. Bully sticks and raw marrow bones can really help. We want what's best for your pet and we won't do anything just to make more money.
Thank you!

01/06/2025

12/02/2024

Before you surprise your family or significant other with a puppy for Christmas, please consider the life-long commitment it requires.

Gifting a young pup (or adopted dog) is certainly exciting, however, the thrill and anticipation of Christmas can overshadow the everyday care that the new pet necessitates.

Have a serious discussion with the recipient(s) beforehand to determine their willingness and ability to nurture a pet. It’s heartbreaking when an owner surrenders his dog to a shelter (or worse, abandons it) because he cannot properly care for it or no longer wants the responsibility.

If you do ultimately decide to treat someone to a new puppy, ensure you have a dog trainer in place to teach obedience, how to walk the pup while keeping a loose leash, and how to socialize it. The earlier you start, the more success the dog will experience and the more cooperative your family or loved one will be to care for the puppy for its whole life.

11/08/2024

I just started using a new (to me) technique called Behavior Adjustment Training. It's a dog handling method developed by Grisha Stewart that allows your reactive dog to decide how close or how far away he wants to be in relation to a trigger, something he perceives as scary. Let me explain:

If you're walking your dog and he sees another dog, he may react by barking, lunging and snapping or cowering and hiding behind you. Your options are 1) you and your dog walk the opposite way from the other dog or 2) hide behind a structure until the other dog is out of sight. With Behavior Adjustment Training or BAT, you use a special leash, learn specific leash handling skills and start at a distance in which your dog sees the trigger but doesn't react. With practice, your dog learns he can make a choice to either gradually get closer to the trigger or ignore it, without the usual overreaction. The confidence your dog will obtain from being able to make this choice is indescribable.

I've been using it on my skittish dog, Mochi (in the video) starting this past week. I've seen an increase in her confidence to approach things she normally avoids.

As a trainer who comes to your house, I offer a free consultation to dog owners who live within the I-435 loop. I'd love to show you how effective Behavior Adjustment Training is.

08/13/2024

Let your dog sniff when you walk on leash!

08/09/2024

07/30/2024

54 Followers, 26 Following, 74 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from Debbie Tangen, CPDT-KA ()

06/18/2024

It's summer, a popular time of year to barbeque bone-in meat cuts such as steaks, chicken wings, pork chops, etc.

For those who love to grill: after you're finished cooking, please ensure that, after the meat has been consumed, all bones are discarded properly to prevent dogs from eating them. It's very easy for them to chew up and swallow splintered bone fragments, potentially lacerating their tender esophageal tissues and gastrointestinal tracts.

An abandoned meat bone left on the ground is as attractive to a dog as the aroma of barbeque is to us. And as much as dogs love gnawing on bones, the last thing you want to do on a fun-filled day of eating a barbequed meal with friends or family is to rush your dog to the emergency vet clinic.

06/07/2024

If you get a dog, please ensure you have the time, energy and funds to adequately take care of it. It's a living, breathing creature that will depend on you for its survival.

05/31/2024

Go see Dr. John Carey at Carey Chiropractic. He's very knowledgeable, compassionate & a great listener. He'll figure out what's causing your pain, fix it & set you on your way to a pain-free day!

05/15/2024

Is it OK to continue rewarding your dog for behaviors it already knows?

Think about this: let's say you just landed your dream job. You're doing what you were trained to do, you love your work and you're making a really good salary, getting paid every 2 weeks. Now, fast forward 6 months. Your boss comes to you and says, "You're doing such a great job, I don't need to pay you anymore. But keep up the good work!"

How motivated would you be to continue working? I think we all know that answer.

It's the same with your dog. Contrary to what many people believe, dogs don't perform behaviors out of the goodness of their hearts or to please their owners. They get a payoff. And whatever payoff it is, i.e., food rewards, praise, affection, play, etc., they want the rewards to keep coming. Perhaps you don't reward your dog for every single occurrence of a behavior you ask of it; maybe it's every other time, or every 3rd or 4th time. But keep rewarding your dog because that will keep the desired behaviors alive.