Dog Training With Maiya

10/11/2022

Hello! I apologize for the lack of “existence” of this page for the past few months. I do want to start posting more regularly, but I do struggle a lot with knowing what to post. Once I figure that out, I will definitely have frequent updates regarding my dog training journey.

For now, here’s an update on Bonnie, my co-own Belgian Malinois.

She is now 5 months old, and has been so much fun to work with. Her favorite activities are spilling water bowls and playing fetch. She’s beyond smart, and quite the challenge for me. But I wouldn’t change it for the world and I will forever be thankful that she was entrusted to me.

08/17/2022

GROUP CLASS REGISTRATION IS OPEN!!!🐕

🐶
September 5th (Monday class) and 7th (Wednesday class) at 6pm INSIDE tractor supply of Greenville

Class duration : 5 weeks once a week
Class price: 300
Group sizes 5-6

In this class we cover sit, down, stay, place, leave it, come, leash manners, socialization through dog neutrality, science behind training, principles of dog training and more!

This class is already filling up fast! I have a very few open spots left so please register asap. Payment is due on first day of class. These classes always fill up before start date !!

07/21/2022

07/07/2022

Meet Bonnie, a Belgian Malinois out of Real World K-9 LLC’s T2 x Kaina. I am co-owning her with Real World K-9. Bonnie is a super smart puppy (and I even accidentally taught her a whistle recall) and I’m very excited to see her future unfold!

06/30/2022

I am learning some things that I never would have thought I would. I am super excited for my future in the dog industry!

06/16/2022

Today, I took my first ever bite (and to be honest, I’ve already volunteered to do it again). Although my face and reaction don’t show it, you can definitely feel those teeth! I’ve really got to hand it to people who decoy, these bites are no joke! Thank you to Christian at Real World K-9 LLC for giving me this opportunity, and thank you to T2 for being my first bite!

06/13/2022

It’s going to be a HOT/HUMID week! Keep an eye on your pups and make sure they have plenty of access to fresh water and shade when outside! We take a lot of breaks in the AC during play time here at Santa Paws!

06/12/2022

I’m currently doing an apprenticeship with Real World K9 in Sheridan, MI, getting real hands on experience working with a wide array of dogs. I’m really excited to see what my future holds in the world of dog training!

06/11/2022

Flirt Pole Fun With Laila! Why are flirt poles incredible training tools?
• it’s a great way to exercise your dog, both mentally and physically.
• it can be a great way to improve your dog’s coordination.
• flirt poles are great tools for teaching impulse control.
• it has a built in reward for training!

04/11/2022

It’s National Dog Bite Prevention Week, and the biggest piece of advice I want to offer? Pay attention to your own behavior because believe me, your dog is.

Dogs are absolutely brilliant at perceiving even the smallest changes in our body language and assume that every motion has meaning. Small movements that you make can result in huge changes in your dog’s behavior.

One of the main times I see people get bit by a dog is while greeting. We humans, like other primates, greet with head-on approaches with our hands extended while making direct, face-to-face contact. This way of greeting is so strongly hardwired in us that it can often override clear signals telling us to stop (either the owner saying no or even a growling/snarling dog). Everything in the human way of greeting is threatening to a dog, and may cause the dog to bite.

The next time you see a dog you want to greet, stop a few feet away, stand sideways rather than straight on, and avoid looking directly into their eyes. Always wait for the dog to come to you, and if they don’t, then the dog does not want to be petted, so don’t pet them. If they do approach you, always pet an unfamiliar dog on the chest or under the chin, reaching your hand over a dog’s head is considered rude, and even threatening.

And hugging? Dogs don’t hug.They may paw at another dog as an invitation to play, they may slap a paw over the shoulders of another dog as a display of social status, but they don’t hug, and they don’t often react kindly to those who do. Honestly though? I’m human too, and the fact of the matter is, sometimes I just can’t resist — and my dogs tolerate it simply because we are not strangers and they allow me social freedoms which they would never accept from strangers. Your dog may benevolently put up with it, but I’ve seen hundreds of dogs who have growled or bit when someone hugged them. I have especially seen many times where little kids get growled at, snapped at, or were bitten in the face when they threw their arms around their dog. While they were thinking warm, loving thoughts, their dogs interpreted their hug as a rude, domineering threat display.

03/13/2022

Our hardwired way of greeting others as humans is so strong that we often ignore signals telling us to stop. We also are guilty of extending that way of greeting onto animals who do not offer these behaviors naturally.

Dogs may paw at each other as an invitation to play, or the may slap a paw over the shoulders of another as a display of social status. But they don’t hug, and they don’t often react kindly to those who do (your own dog may tolerate it, but many dogs growl or bite when hugged). A lot of our natural human behaviors are threatening when perceived a dog.

03/10/2022

Teach children to be dog friendly before teaching a dog to be child friendly!

TEACH CHILDREN TO BE DOG FRIENDLY
“How can I make my dog more child friendly?” The question really should be - “How can I make my child more dog friendly?” It makes far more sense to teach children how to behave around dogs before teaching dogs how to behave around children.
This is a subject that I feel very strongly about and I cannot stress enough how important it is to teach children how to behave around dogs. I often see children treating dogs like toys, jumping on them, pulling them, poking, kissing and hugging, screaming and encouraging dogs to chase them and then tears and stressed parents when the dog nips them or worse. It’s usually the dog that gets the blame when this happens and it really isn’t the dogs fault.
Dogs don’t come with a built-in ability to know how to interact with children and it’s up to parents to teach their children how to interact with dogs. If children were taught from a very young age how to interact and respect a dog’s space there would be far fewer incidents of dog bites.
Children often like to show dogs love by hugging, kissing or leaning against them - this is the human way of showing affection, but most dogs find this stressful and frightening. This normal “human” behaviour could easily lead to a dog bite, which is why it’s so important to always supervise young children around dogs. When a dog is feeling stressed or frightened and their attempt to communicate this through their body language is ignored, they may see no other way to make the scary situation go away than to snap or bite.
Teach children that dogs don’t like being hugged, kissed or sat on. Teach children that dogs like quiet, soft, calm voices and that shouting and screaming scares them. Teach them never to disturb dogs that are sleeping, eating or chewing something. Teach them that dogs are not toys and don’t like to be jumped on, pulled or pushed, chased or teased. Teach them to respect dogs as one sentient being to another.

02/24/2022

Is your puppy biting? Let's address it!

First of all, it is extremely important to realize that biting is natural for dogs and puppies. It is how they explore the world, and also how they communicate (especially as puppies, because it takes time to learn to communicate). But puppy teeth hurt, and in the long run biting is not the most appropriate action for dogs to take with humans.

In order to begin this process make sure that you have plenty of toys/acceptable objects for them to bite and chew on. The goal is not to eliminate biting all together, but rather to teach them an appropriate way to use their mouth.

It is very predictable that the puppy will get in a bitey mood at some point throughout the day, and you will get better at anticipating and predicting when they will bite. For this reason, keep a toy around, and when your puppy begins to enter this mood, immediately direct their attention and bite to the toy. You will want to be consistent with this for a few days.

Once they start to get it though, you can begin raising the bar a little (rather than just giving them the toy) and you can use that redirection for training purposes by holding the toy in front of your face and rewarding them for looking.

"Wait, Maiya! You are telling me that in order to stop my puppy from biting, I have to encourage him to bite?" I know, it does sound counterintuitive. However, like I mentioned earlier, biting and mouthing is how dogs explore their surroundings. We are encouraging them to use their mouths in a more appropriate way. Plus, redirecting them can be a great beginning step to teaching them a very productive and mentally stimulation game: tug of war!

02/19/2022

Things we can and can’t promise in dog training!

02/18/2022

This!

02/17/2022

When greeting a dog, especially one that you do not know, it is extremely important that you understand how your own body language affects them. Dogs are extremely perceptive to acute changes in posture and body language, and they assume that every motion has meaning.

When walking up to a dog to greet them walk in an arch, almost like you are going to circle around them, then angle your body sideways, which takes the pressure off of them and is much less threatening than walking straight up to them and facing them. Then, allow the dog to greet you on his own terms.

02/16/2022

Hello! My name is Maiya Hessbrook. I am certified in dog training and behavior consultation and pet first aid and CPR. I am not actively taking clients, but I do plan on doing so as soon as possible.

My training journey began long before I considered dog training as a possible career choice. I began training 8-9 years ago with my Labrador retriever, Sawyer. However, I recently completed certification through CATCH Canine Trainers Academy, and I plan on eventually taking the CCPDT-KA exam.

02/16/2022