The Good Dog Co.

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Minneapolis, MN
The Good Dog Co.

Kelsey Smedley, BA•CACTP
(4)

11/03/2024

I said goodbye to Echo today after a very sudden decline in his health. For the past 10 years, every decision I’ve made was made with him at the center. I do what I do now because he taught me everything I know about managing a dog’s big feelings.

He was never the dog that loved everyone, but once he chose you, he loved you forever. He was the dog I didn’t pick, but the universe knew I needed and I’ll be forever grateful to have been loved unconditionally by him. He was the other half of my soul and, more than once, my reason for getting out of bed in the morning. Dogs give us their absolute everything, everyday. We owe it to them to let them go when they’re ready.

So, to my best boy, I’ll love you forever and it was an honor to be with you until the very end. I am truly forever changed, as a person and a dog owner because of you 💙

To my wonderful clients, please bear with me as I might be slow to respond in the next couple of days.

12/03/2023

We had a setback recently in which Echo tried to show the neighbor dog, Courage, that he’s the toughest dog on the block.
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I’ve had Echo for 8 years and there have been very few days that managing his big feelings hasn’t been a challenge. And, truthfully, that’s my favorite thing about him. He pushes me to learn more and train more and has taught me exactly how to help all of you.
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He is the reason that I do what I do. However, I think, as consultants and trainers, we have such high expectations of ourselves. If our own dogs aren’t perfectly trained, perfectly behaved, how can we ever be qualified to help someone else? And when this happened, that is exactly what I thought. Am I qualified to do this? How could anyone trust me to help them?
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It’s funny because I tell my clients all the time, training dogs like this is a lifetime commitment. You will have bad days. Don’t you dare be so hard on yourself.
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And, yet, it took me weeks to be this kind to myself. I’ve always said that if a consultant or trainer tells you they have a perfectly trained dog, they’re lying to you and you should pick a different one. And I stand by that now. We know what you’re going through because we’ve been there. We know how it feels because we’ve felt it. And I think that makes us uniquely qualified to help you fix it.
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To my fellow consultants and trainers, if you wouldn’t say it to your clients, why would you say it to yourself? We’re allowed some bad days too.
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And it doesn’t hurt to have a great support system telling you that you’re not a failure.
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Happy Sunday and happy training. Eventually us trainers will believe in ourselves just as much as we believe in all of you. 🖤
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11/08/2023

Many trainers are against dog parks due to the risk associated with taking your dog to one. I, personally, do not recommend them, but it is important to keep this in mind if you are going to take your dog to dog parks.
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Dog parks are a place for well-socialized dogs to socialize. They are not a place to take an under-socialized dog to “get them used to other dogs”.
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They are not intended to teach your dog HOW to socialize. We often see that taking a nervous, under-socialized dog to a dog park makes those behaviors worse and creates bad habits.
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11/07/2023

Charlie is hanging out with us for some training time! His favorite activities are counter surfing and sock stealing and he’s perfected the majestic doodle p**f. 🐾
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11/01/2023

Happy Halloween, friends! 🎃
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10/31/2023

Do you have family and friends visiting for the holidays? Is your dog used to the activity, the noise, and the smells of having several new people in their home?
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If not, now is the time to start getting them ready and setting them up for success!
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• Teach a ‘place’ command to help your dog settle.
• Think about where your dog can go when they are overwhelmed.
• Talk to your family about giving your dog space and time to calm down from overstimulation.
• Most importantly, learn your dog’s cues if you don’t already know them.
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Our dogs are counting on us to not push them into situations they can’t handle and they do their absolute best to communicate with us. It’s up to us to listen. 🖤
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07/18/2023

•Xena•

She is a four year old rescue looking for a home! She is a very sweet girl and up to date on all vet care.
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Her current family is unable to keep her due to babies in the home. She would do very well in a quieter home without a lot of stimulation.
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She needs to be the only dog and cannot go to a home with very young kids. The family loves her very much and is looking for a good fit for her.
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She will come with several pet supplies and a training session with The Good Dog Co is included for the family that takes this sweet girl home.
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DM us for more info!
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07/16/2023

Happy Sunday! We hope everyone else is enjoying their summer as much as we are. 🐾
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05/30/2023

The first thing we always focus on in any training plan, no matter what your behavioral concerns are, is the bond you have with your dog.
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It’s about trust and communication. Building that bond is easily one of the most important steps towards a happier, calmer life for your dog.
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This isn’t to say that everything will be fixed once your dog trusts you; it still takes time and patience and consistent training, but your relationship with your dog always comes first for us. 🖤
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10/17/2022

We have another dog needing your help! This is Turtle and she is looking for a home.
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She’s from an American Bulldog breeder and is about 1.5 years old.
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She’s a very sweet girl, but will have to go to a home without any other dogs or cats.
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She’s fully potty trained, crate trained, and knows basic commands.
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Message us if you are interested or would like more info!

10/13/2022

Everyone meet Chewie! He’s a 6 month old sheepadoodle looking for a home. He’s great with other dogs and kids and LOVES people. He will need some general training, but is fully potty trained.
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He’s an excellent dog and has been well socialized. He’s fully vaccinated and neutered.
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If you’re interested in more info or meeting him, just reach out to us here!
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09/12/2022

Archie is our newest graduate from puppy class! Our puppy course is a 6 week program to teach all the most important basics of having a puppy. Check out the website for more info! 🐾
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06/18/2022

Spending this weekend enriching my dogs’ lives 🖤
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05/20/2022

Guess who has stopped having accidents in his crate?!
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Socks will now whine when he needs to go potty instead of going in his crate.
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The key to fixing this is catching him before he p*es in the crate and making sure all of the bedding or blankets are clean.
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In order to do this, we were up about every two hours for the first three nights.
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It isn’t a matter of him being unable to hold his bladder. It is the fact that he has learned it is okay to p*e in the crate. Because of this, he will go as soon as he feels the need.
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It’s a difficult issue to fix, but not impossible! And Socks is killing it 🖤
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05/19/2022

I often ask my clients what their dogs truly enjoy.
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If your dog could do their absolute favorite thing, what would they choose to do?
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People say things like “bark out the window all day” or “pace in circles”. These are anxiety based, reactive behaviors.
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Your dog isn’t CHOOSING to do these things. It’s very enlightening and helpful to think about how well you actually know your dog, especially when it comes to their enjoyment.
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So, if you allowed your dog to have a choice, when they’re at their absolute best and anxiety free, what would your dog choose?
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05/15/2022

Everyone meet Socks. He’s a Biewer Terrier and our newest board and train puppy.
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He’s super smart, but struggling a bit with potty training. He’s one of the few puppies that will potty in his crate, so that will be our goal for the week.
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In my professional career, I’ve only come across two other puppies that will have accidents in their crate (not related to anxiety or being left for too long).
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Who else has struggled with this with their pups? I’ll be posting tips on how to retrain this throughout the week 🖤
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05/11/2022

It doesn’t matter how old your dog is or what you are working on, training NEVER stops.
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You won’t ever be done because your dog will never be done learning and thinking.
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You will get over certain hurdles only to run into new ones or have the need to touch up on old ones.
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But more than that, you should always be challenging your dog. To try new things. To be more independent. To learn something just for fun.
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Training doesn’t always have to be the big, hard things like reactivity and separation anxiety.
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I always give my clients one thing to work on just for fun. A trick that is easy and will always allow them to have a win, even on the toughest days.
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Training is never done, but isn’t that part of the fun of having a dog?
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04/07/2022

We’ve got some crazies in this round of puppy classes, but that’s what makes it fun!
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Cookie rocked her first week and look at that sweet, floofy face 🖤🐾
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As a reminder, check out the website for more info and to get signed up with your new pup!
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Address

Minneapolis, MN
55406

Website

http://thegooddogcomn.com/

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Videos

We’re at day 2 and Socks knows sit, down, touch, place, and kennel with varying reliability. - Tomorrow we’ll be focusing on increasing that reliability and introducing loose leash walking. - Overnight, we had no accidents in the crate! The best way to potty train is to allow NO accidents if possible. - Tomorrow, Socks will be coming to puppy class to get some much needed socialization in and test his skills with distractions. - Overall, very impressed with this pup 🖤--#thegooddogco #thegooddog #gooddogs #dogtrainingtips #dogtrainingadvice #pottytraining #puppylove #puppylife #puppytraining #biewerterrier #biewerpuppy #place #sit #puppyclass #cratetraining #looseleash #looseleadwalking #minneapolis #minnesota #minneapolisdogs #minnesotadogs #canineenrichment #caninebehavior #caninebehaviour

What a beautiful day for some off-leash training! No dog should be off-leash without having near perfect recall. - To work up to this, it’s important to start somewhere with no distractions and still on leash. - You slowly start adding in distractions and a longer leash, giving your dog more freedom in a controlled environment. Keep working this way until you can trust that your dog will return to your side when called! - Just because your dog is friendly doesn’t mean it can roam freely! This is how dog fights and injuries happen. Your dog is your responsibility, friendly or not. 🐾 - - - #thegooddogco #thegoodsog #gooddogs #gooddogmn #minnesotadog #minneapolisdog #reactivedog #dogtrainer #dogtraining #dogtrainingtips #happysunday #trainingtips #rescue #rescuedog #adoptdontshop #minneapolisdogtrainer #reactivedogtraining #offleash #offleashtraining #offleashdog