How 2 Speak Dog

4 things I wish all dog parents knew: It’s better to prevent problems than it is to fix them. The longer you wait to fix it the harder it becomes to fix it. Fixing behavior problems doesn’t have to take a long time. Yes some behavior problems are complex, but most are not. You can see improvement instantly in many cases. I did, with my foster dogs over and over again. It’s not just about training your dog but about understanding where they are coming from. Once you understand your dog’s POV, it opens up so many opportunities you never dreamed were possible. And it helps you make sense of why your dog does what they do. Dog’s have their own agenda. The trick is to get them on board with YOUR agenda. It’s not as hard as you think. If every dog parent truly understood their dog and why they do what they do. More dogs would behave better so they could stay in their homes. Want to learn how easy it is and how I did it? Sign up for my next FREE masterclass “How to Speak So Your Dog WILL Listen”. Link is in the comments

Does your dog bark at your front door or window every time someone or something approaches your house? Someone at the door, delivery trucks, people walking by, etc. Does it interrupt your thoughts and make you crazy because it happens multiple times a day? Just when it gets quiet and you think you will finally be able to watch your show in peace, you have to pause and rewind AGAIN because you missed something due to your dog barking. Are you at your wit’s end and just yelling at your dog because you don’t know what else to do? But your dog is STILL barking? Most popular methods of trying to stop dogs from barking at the front door or window are actually mistakes. They are mostly mistakes because they don’t work or if they do, it’s for a very short time then you have to do [insert stop barking method here] AGAIN! I have created a FREE Guide called “Barking Blunders Busted” that has eight different methods that are commonly used to stop barking but that don’t work long term. In the guide I explain why these methods are mistakes and what you can do instead to stop the unwanted barking for good. Link is in the comments

Things change, so we need new skills and ideas to keep our dogs and us happy. An adolescent dog has different needs than a puppy or a senior dog. Dog training isn't just a 6 or 8 week class, and that's it. Obedience skills will not solve problems like chewing, digging, jumping, escaping, etc. Discovering how your dog thinks and why they do what they do will help you solve those problems and more. Im running a FREE masterclas next month abd that is exactly what im going to be talking about. Comment THINK and ill make sure you get the details when they are finalized

Dog not listening? Do you repeat yourself more than twice when you ask your dog to come to you or stop barking or stop getting into things? If you have to repeat yourself or raise your voice when trying to get your dog to listen, you've been using the wrong strategy to train your dog. You have to take your dog's POV into account to figure out why they are not listening. So that you can understand what they are thinking and train them differently. In a way they understand. So they WANT to listen and do what you want them to do. It IS possible, and in our upcoming masterclass, I'll show you how. Interested? Drop your favorite emoji and I'll put you on the list to notify as soon as the date is confirmed.

Join our Upcoming FREE Workshop to Uncover the TRUTH About these Mistakes & WHY they are Mistakes link in comments SAVE this post to remind you not to make these mistakes when trying to get your dog to stop barking. 🚨 🚨 WARNING:  These mistakes will make the barking worse! If you are a dog parent who has been trying to get your dog to stop barking but can’t, you might be making mistakes which may be making your dog’s barking worse. If you just can’t get your dog to stop barking you have likely: - Been embarrassed by your dog's barking - Gotten confused about why nothing is working to stop the barking - Felt others judging you and your dog The reason this is happening is because you are looking for ways to stop the barking and have never considered why your dog may be barking And in order to fix it I bet you have tried any or all of these : 🚨 Yelling at your dog to stop barking 🚨 Correcting or punishing your dog for barking 🚨 Saying No or No Bark to your dog 🚨 Spraying your dog in the face with water when they bark 🚨 Shaking an empty can with a few rocks or pennies in it or throwing it in your dog’s direction when they bark 🚨 Pulling or dragging them away from whatever they are barking at 🚨 Using a Bark Collar 🚨 Allowing the barking to continue sometimes If this is you don’t worry I have helped thousands of dog parents learn how to control their dog’s barking. Join our Upcoming FREE Workshop to Uncover the TRUTH About these Mistakes & WHY they are Mistakes link in comments SHARE with anyone who needs to see this.

Join our upcoming FREE Interactive STOP Barking Workshop on Tues, September 10th. Sign-up Link in Comments Ever wonder why your dog barks at seemingly nothing? First of all, dogs have super senses. They pick up sounds, smells, & sights we miss entirely. Other times, you think you know the trigger, throw your hands up, and say: “Why are they barking at that UPS truck? It's JUST a truck!” Or “It’s JUST a leaf rolling on the sidewalk.” Or “It’s JUST the Christmas decorations in the neighborhood (and YOU enjoy the Christmas decorations during your walk so you think your dog would too).” But for your dog, it might be a BIG DEAL. How scared are you of spiders ️or public speaking? Well, that UPS truck, leaf, or decoration could be just as scary to them. It's all about perspective! Not everyone likes or is bothered by the same things - your dog is no different! So what should you do? Validate their response: They're reacting to something real for them. Try to identify the trigger: Is it a distant noise, a hidden animal, or something else? Help them feel safe: Remove them from the situation if needed. Until you can change how they feel about the thing that worries them. Ready to stop apologizing for your dog's barks and help them feel secure? Join our upcoming FREE Interactive STOP Barking Workshop on Tues, September 10th.

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Comment POV, and I will send you the link to our workshop coming up in September, especially for barky and reactive dogs. So-called 'little dog syndrome' is not about a little dog just thinking they are a big dog. I get it. I’ve had at least one little dog my entire life. And I’ve heard it literally millions of times. And the proverbial if I had a nickel for every time I heard “oh he/she thinks they are big don’t they?” every time my worried little dog growled, barked or lunged when someone got a little too close, I’d be a gazillionaire! I’m not entirely sure what people who say that really mean when they say it. And what benefit would a little dog get from “thinking they are big” anyway? Doesn't make much sense, does it? The truth is, little dogs don’t THINK they are big. But they are trying to APPEAR bigger and scarier. Because they ARE scared, and they want the thing they are barking at to go away. In fact, that is what ALL dogs, regardless of size, do when they are afraid and want whatever they are afraid of to back off. Big dogs can be scared too. Dogs see the world differently than we do, and lots of things we think are no big deal are really worrisome for our dogs. Realizing that the next time your dog barks lunges or growls will help you to look more at what may be bothering them so you can help them as opposed to thinking they are doing it to “think they are big”. So would you rather know your dog’s POV so you can help them better thrive in this world, or would you just prefer to stick to believing our dogs shouldn't be scared of the things they are. Comment POV, and I will send you the link to our workshop coming up in September, especially for barky and reactive dogs.

If any of these 5 things are true for you and your dog and you are ready to help them get over their fears, comment SCARY and I will get you some resources that will help. Reactivity is when your dog’s response to something is stronger than it should be for the situation. Many dogs with reactivity are labeled as aggressive. Sure they are showing some aggressive behavior, but 99.9% of the time they are NOT aggressive dogs. Most likely they are in a situation that has them scared, anxious or both. It’s like someone who is scared of spiders being put in a room full of them so they will just get over it. More exposure to what they are scared of or anxious about will NOT help and it will actually hurt. The kindest thing you can do for a reactive dog is to avoid the situations where they are reactive long enough for their nervous system to reset.  Then gradually start to expose them to what is causing their fear at a distance they can handle so that they are able to see and learn that it is nothing to be scared of. That is impossible to do up close because the dog is in fight or flight mode and can’t learn anything. If any of these 5 things are true for you and your dog and you are ready to help them get over their fears, comment SCARY and I will get you some resources that will help.

Let’s talk about it in the comments We live in a punishment based society so it ISN’T common sense to recognize that dogs don’t need punishment to learn.  Plus their behavior often angers and annoys us right?  So it is easy to WANT to punish the behavior.  But what if they didn’t KNOW it was ‘bad’ or bothered us?  What if they were only doing it to get THEIR needs met? When I first started training dogs in the early 80s punishment was all we knew.  But I was training large, 80-90 lb. Labrador Retrievers and I was a 110-120 lb girl. I wasn’t able to punish them physically.  When I tried they thought I was just rough housing and it was a game.  Not effective at all. Early on I had to find alternative ways to get my dogs to listen.  Luckily for me they were super smart and easily motivated by playing fetch. Problem was, I didn't know that was what I was doing…motivating them.  When I started to train smaller dogs that I could physically force, I met with resistance from them fighting back.  THAT was not fun.  I LOVE dogs. I didn't want them NOT to like me. So I resolved to find a better way, this is when I learned about the concept of positive reinforcement. INSTANTLY I got results with a dog I had already spent years fighting and avoiding doing anything with. Positive reinforcement is NOT just clickers and treats. What positive reinforcement does that punishment doesn’t is it takes the dog’s feelings, motivations, and prior learning experiences into account.  It allows the dog to make choices without negative consequences.  And causes the dog to try things to see what gets the reward rather than not trying anything in fear of negative consequences. What finally did it for me was the instant change in attitude and compliance from my little fighter dog.  Before we had a like-hate relationship.  After it was ALL love on both sides for 11 more years.  Because I realized MY ACTIONS were what caused her actions. 

Curious how learning about your dog's POV can make a difference for you? Drop an emoji in the comments if you’re ready for real results with my help! You know how you can actually get your dog to listen and WANT to do what you ask? You learn what their POV is and what they are trying to tell you. Then, you learn how to respond to their POV and communication attempts in ways that make them feel secure and heard. It’s impossible to do those things and try to be alpha at the same time.  Being alpha never takes your dog’s POV into consideration. Being alpha focuses on dominating your dog, intimidating your dog, and forcing your dog to do what you want. That sounds negative, mean, and exhausting to me. Plus, it makes your dog think they have to either flee or fight back. Which makes their behavior worse! Wouldn’t you rather know your dog is doing what you ask because they WANT to not because you are making them?  So let me ask you. Do you really want to keep thinking that you need to be alpha in order to get your dog to listen and possibly make your dog feel like they have to fight you? Or do you want to learn all about YOUR dog’s POV and have them listen because they WANT to?  Curious how learning about your dog's POV can make a difference for you? Drop an emoji in the comments if you’re ready for real results with my help!

Feeling defeated by your dog's unwanted barking? Flip the script when it comes to stopping your dog's barking and check out my FREE pdf called "Barking Blunders BUSTED!" LINK in bio Most of the common methods suggested to stop a dog from barking are based on punishing the dog for barking. Punishment is especially ineffective for barking because dogs only bark to tell us something. So that would be like punishing a person for trying to communicate. My FREE pdf "Barking Blunders BUSTED!" explains in detail why all the commonly suggested methods don't work and can actually make barking worse. It also tells you what to do instead. So if you are feeling defeated by your dog's unwanted barking, Flip the script when it comes to stopping your dog's barking and check out my FREE pdf called "Barking Blunders BUSTED!" LINK in bio