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Monday 10am - 8pm Tuesday 10am - 8pm Wednesday 10am - 8pm Thursday 10am - 8pm Sunday 10am - 8pm

Diane the Dog Trainer

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United States
Littlestown, PA
Diane the Dog Trainer

Fun and effective training for your dog, young or old, timid or aggressive. Private lessons done in your home (or wherever your dog has a problem).
(13)

am available through text, phone calls, and email. I use mostly positive training methods. The use of treats, praise, and play are integral to my training. Interacting with you dog should be fun for everyone! Positive reinforcement creates a dog that wants to please you, that is willing to explore, and that is happy. Boundaries are upheld with the least amount of force that will work for your dog, you, and the specific situation.

11/20/2024

This little cutie got a bath and a brush

11/06/2024

Part of potty training is teaching the puppy to go immediately when you go outside. This prevents standing outside in the rain for 20 minutes before work. When we go out, I keep Stella on a short lead. She has 5-6 ft to find her spot to p*e. I take her to the same place every time. If she potties immediately, I praise her and let her off the leash to run around and enjoy some freedom. If she doesn’t p*e within 5 minutes, we go back inside and she goes into her crate for half an hour and then we try again. If you stick to this, your puppy will be mostly potty trained in a week. Stella immediately p*es now every time we go outside. She’s on a mission because she knows all the fun happens AFTER p*eing.

10/08/2024

Pluto is a special needs dog that is being fostered by one of my clients. He has been shot and the one bullet damaged his vagal nerve so he has no control over his bladder, bowels, or tail. I love helping new dogs settle into an existing pack and family. There’s an adjustment period for everyone. Pluto bullies one of the smaller dogs, bolts out of doors, and jumps gates. Darla (the chihuahua mix) is struggling with having a new dog competing for attention.

10/01/2024

Meet Stella. She is a Bichon/Maltese mix that I’m house training for my brother and his family. House training to me is more than potty training. It’s teaching a puppy or dog to have house manners like only chewing on dog toys, not barking excessively, pottying outside, crate training, and how to settle and sleep alone. It’s mostly about preventing bad habits from forming.

10/01/2024

Leyla is a 3 year old Elkhound who has intense reactivity toward other dogs. She has a few dog friends that she plays with but she’s very dog selective and immediately barks and lunges upon sight of any dog. This is our first session but I can tell that she is going to be a longer case.

With all reactivity cases, I work on what could be seen as unrelated things. We work on leave it, stay, leash skills, drop it, playing together, rules for play sessions, and attention work. What do all of these things have in common? Impulse control. Impulse control is severely lacking in most dogs that have reactivity. Improving that skill has a huge impact on reactivity so practicing those things is important.

09/14/2024

Some dogs shape you as a dog trainer. The moment I met Charger, I knew that he was one of those dogs. The dedication of owners to help their dogs never ceases to amaze me. Major behavior issues are hard to cope with and challenging to change. The willingness to stick with it and work with professionals can change your life and the life of your dog. Not all dogs are easy. That’s okay.

09/07/2024

Does your dog enjoy ripping apart toys? Toys made exclusively for dogs can be expensive. Dogs that only destroy toys and do not ingest anything can have children’s toys. There are many places you can buy them for cheap such as garage sales and thrift stores.

08/21/2024

These two girls started off their relationship with fighting. Nothing makes me happier than seeing them bonded and enjoying a play session together.

08/15/2024

Another way I work with my dogs to be safe for medical care is actively teaching skills needed for it. This can be as simple as stepping willingly onto the scale to be weighed or as complicated as holding still for a blood draw. One of the simplest ones I teach my dogs is how to take pills without a fight and without bribing. Boaz outweighs me and is significantly stronger. His jaw strength is hard to beat and he’d be impossible to restrain alone. Teaching him to cooperate is easiest for everyone and less stressful too! In the first video section, I give him his daily pain pill. The second part is him cooperating for a salt water rinse he needed for an injury.

08/11/2024

I always want to ensure that my vet is safe while taking care of my animals. There are several ways I work toward this. One is muzzle training. All dogs are capable of biting. If pushed in the right ways for the individual, they will bite no matter how well trained, well socialized, or well loved they are. A dog that is severely injured, scared, and handled by strangers is highly likely to bite. A muzzle protects those administering care and allows them to help your dog while being safe.

Another is building trust with my dogs and my vet. Tibbers is a typical Akita and can be intolerant of handling by strangers. Because of my dogs’ relationship with me, I am able to ask them to tolerate veterinary procedures. They trust that I will not ask them to do something they are incapable of or something that will be detrimental to them. This type of trust is especially important with stronger breeds like guardians (Rottweilers, Cane Corsi, LGDs) or primitives (Akitas, Shiba Inus, Laikas).

08/08/2024

Penny and Evie
These girls are a joy to train with.

08/02/2024

One of my favorite things is seeing dogs that I’ve known since they were puppies. Tracker in 2015 and 2024. He’s an amazing family dog.

07/31/2024

Zeus’ owners contacted me when he severely bit them for getting close to his food. There are a lot of videos out that make resource guarding seem cute, funny, or cool. The reality is that many dogs eventually bite and others get put down (especially if they bite a child). This is a serious thing that needs to be addressed with a professional who is experienced with aggression and resource guarding. Zeus has made a lot of progress. While he still has some guarding behaviors, he actively leaves his resources and is calmer about people being around his food and treats. He needs more work but he’s making great progress!

07/28/2024

Kipp is your typical, energetic young golden retriever. She is overly excited to greet people, easily distracted, and enjoys barking. This is our first session out in public. After some work to calm her nerves, we focused on active engagement. Active engagement involves a lot of movement and treats to actively keep your dog focused on you. This is one of the foundational skills I teach to help dogs be well-mannered in public spaces.

07/26/2024

If you have worked with me with an aggressive or reactive dog, it is because of Riko. That is why he is my logo. If you have met him in the last 8 years, you have met the version of him after we spent thousands of hours training and working to build a relationship that could guide his behaviors. If you were lucky, you got to meet him and have him work with your dog.

My skill in reading dogs, my quick reaction time, and my passion and understanding all came from working with Riko. Prior to him, basic obedience and tricks were my wheelhouse. With Riko, I faced a variety of challenges. He was an escape artist who could climb anything. He had such intense prey drive that I have bite marks in my car from when he saw a squirrel. His separation anxiety was so bad that if I left him in a crate, he would rip the fur off his tail until he looked like a rat. Not in a crate, he would bark and howl and pace. His dog aggression left him frothing and foaming from barking. His resource guarding caused him to launch himself 20ft from the resource to chase down whatever came too close.

We worked through each issue methodically, with the help of other trainers and the time I spent devouring every resource I could find on dog psychology and training. He was off leash reliable so that climbing barriers became a non issue. I could recall him off prey mid-chase. He learned to love crates so much that he would steal them from other dogs. He became my decoy dog when I needed to work with other aggressive dogs. He learned how to defuse fights.

It has been a week since I had to put him to sleep. He was the best teacher, partner, and friend I could ever ask for. He was my complete heart and soul and I’m shattered without him. Love on your pups for me. You’re never ready for them to go as soon as they do.

Picture of the first day I met him in the shelter and the last day he was with me.

07/11/2024

Some cases take a lot longer than others because some need a lot more emotional work on the part of the dogs and owner. Annie and Bailey (along with their owner of course) have been working with me for 5 months. When we first started, the girls had nasty fights with each other requiring vet visits afterward due to puncture wounds. Now, they are able to sleep together in bed, eat beside each other, and play near each other. While their relationship is not the same as it was before the fights started, it is peaceful in their house again. Bitch fights cannot always be solved to the level where they are able to live in harmony but when they can, it’s a wonderful thing to watch. The hard work is on the side of the owner who needs to learn a whole new skillset to a higher level than required for most dog owners.

07/09/2024

Cookie is a year and a half old Shetland Sheepdog. She’s typical for her breed and enjoys chasing and barking at everything. She’s learning how to ignore cars on walks, how to relax when noises bother her, and how to be quiet on cue. She has an infant human sibling coming in a few months and her owners want her to learn to be quiet when asked. This is a simpler process than one might imagine. It often only requires one or two lessons if there is a consistent, , good follow-through by the owners.

02/29/2024

Annie and Bailey are two female dogs that have started to fight. They have caused puncture wounds to each other as well as to people when they have tried to separate them during a fight. The fights do not happen over resources. Since the fighting has started, Annie has been anxious and stressed. When she is loose in the house, the first thing she does is nervously search for Bailey. Once she realizes that Bailey is outside or put up, she relaxes into the sweet, people pleasing dog that she is. Bailey has actively sought out Annie to attack her.

Their owner has done an amazing job at keeping the girls separated and started to work on being able to have them together. When the last fight happened, he realized that he needed help. Today was our second session. Annie was noticeably more relaxed, which was one of my main starting goals. Bailey is learning impulse control, listening to commands, and how to disengage from Annie when asked. I’m proud of how hard their owner is working and the progress they’ve made in a week.

Address

Littlestown, PA
17340

Opening Hours

Monday	10am - 8pm
Tuesday	10am - 8pm
Wednesday	10am - 8pm
Thursday	10am - 8pm
Sunday	10am - 8pm

Telephone

+14404470441

Website

http://dianethedogtrainer.net/

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Videos

This week Stella has been learning to ring a bell to go out. There's a lot of cool devices out there now! This particular bell rings the receiver but it also sends an alert to your phone. I really like this idea because it ensures that you won't miss when your puppy is asking to go out just because you are out of ear shot. It's also great for anyone who is hearing impaired and not able to hear a typical bell.

Part of potty training is teaching the puppy to go immediately when you go outside. This prevents standing outside in the rain for 20 minutes before work. When we go out, I keep Stella on a short lead. She has 5-6 ft to find her spot to pee. I take her to the same place every time. If she potties immediately, I praise her and let her off the leash to run around and enjoy some freedom. If she doesn’t pee within 5 minutes, we go back inside and she goes into her crate for half an hour and then we try again. If you stick to this, your puppy will be mostly potty trained in a week. Stella immediately pees now every time we go outside. She’s on a mission because she knows all the fun happens AFTER peeing.

Leyla is learning new life skills. Her owners tell me that they are able to walk her in peace most days. She does well with walking past dogs and now we are focusing on being able to relax around dogs. This is a harder skill than directing the nervous energy into movement.

Leyla is making great progress being able to walk past and ignore other dogs.

Stella is going to be the perfect little dog for a family of boys 😂 Just because a dog is fluffy, white, and little doesn't mean it's a delicate purse dog.

We are working hard on potty training. One of the things I do for success is setting up a potty area inside. Many people do this with puppy pads. While they work well in some situations and for some dogs, I have seen a number of generalize from puppy pads to carpet. People then struggle to get their dogs to stop pottying on area rugs and carpet. I prefer to use a tray filled with something you only find outside, like gravel, mulch, or grass. This way the puppy learns to associate outside smells with pottying. The goal is to use the tray the least amount possible but it gives you a way to have your puppy less confined if you must be gone for longer periods of time. Putting a puppy in a kennel for 8-10 hours while you are at work and then again overnight is too long. Having a puppy safe space with a reasonable option for a toilet is a great way to allow your puppy the play space they need. Normally, I would NEVER allow her to potty in the tray while I’m home. I would immediately take her outside but I wanted a video.

Kipp and her mom are working hard on heeling properly in public. “Heel” is different than leash skills. Leash skills is all about the dog giving into pressure felt on the neck by the leash. Heeling is a position in relationship to the handler. The dog’s shoulders must be in line with yours. Because it’s a position and not related to leash pressure, this can and should often be practiced off leash when safe and legal to do so. Notice how when Kipps steps out of position, her owner lures her back into position. There is no tension on the leash to keep the dog in position.

Sassy is making great progress in her reactivity. Her owners contacted me when she dragged one of them to the ground going after another dog. This is her third and fourth sessions with me. At one point, Sassy sniffed Tibbers and allowed Tibbers to sniff her. Not all dogs make progress this quickly because there are many variables that play a role in reactivity.

Leyla is a 3 year old Elkhound who has intense reactivity toward other dogs. She has a few dog friends that she plays with but she’s very dog selective and immediately barks and lunges upon sight of any dog. This is our first session but I can tell that she is going to be a longer case. With all reactivity cases, I work on what could be seen as unrelated things. We work on leave it, stay, leash skills, drop it, playing together, rules for play sessions, and attention work. What do all of these things have in common? Impulse control. Impulse control is severely lacking in most dogs that have reactivity. Improving that skill has a huge impact on reactivity so practicing those things is important.

Rocky is a Corgi mix that loves to chase things, especially the chickens. He has to be tied up or locked inside if the chickens are out of their run. Even when they are in their run, Rocky will rush the fence and pester them. This is the first session but he made huge strides in understanding that the chickens are NOT for chasing.

These two girls started off their relationship with fighting. Nothing makes me happier than seeing them bonded and enjoying a play session together.

Do you have a dog with high energy that enjoys their food? Scatter feeding can be a great tool to use that food drive to entertain your dog without much effort from you. Be careful to do this ONLY with dogs that avoid eating non-food items like sticks, rocks, and dirt. This may take a little bit of training in the beginning to keep your dog motivated to eat all of their food this way. Take your dog’s kibble and toss a few pieces right in front of them on a surface that will be easy for them to find the food. Next scatter a few pieces in the yard. Wait until your dog has found all the pieces and then feed them the rest of their dinner as usual. Continue this process, gradually adding more and more to the kibble that you scatter in the yard and less to the dinner bowl until all of the food given is scattered in the yard.

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Our Story

I take a holistic approach to training so your dog becomes a wonderful part of the home and community. I do private, in-home lessons. For the first session, I evaluate the dog and household. Together, we come up with a plan of attack and I demonstrate how to handle various situations. Typically, we meet once a week for a training session until you are satisfied with your dog's actions. Between sessions, I am available through text, phone calls, and email. I use positive training methods. The use of treats, praise, and play are integral to my training. Positive reinforcement creates a dog that wants to please you, that is willing to explore, and that is happy. Using positive methods does not mean that your dog is allowed to misbehave. I am firm in my requests and expect obedience. But the dog, client, and I work with mutual respect and upbeat, loving methods.