Iggy and her Mom just rocked their first set of training sessions! Iggy is so smart and has an incredible memory (she knows where ALL the animals in her neighborhood are) so seeing her learn to walk away from another dog on one of her regular walking routes was fantastic to see. I’m absolutely amazed at how far people and dogs can get once they have a plan in place. Iggy has more goals to work on but for now, celebrating this win with her today 💗🎉😊
Clients often ask me how to get the outside nails with a scratch board - here it is! This is Sunny’s first attempt and she rocked it ☀️😊 When making your own I recommend using a longer piece of pvc so it’s easier to hold. Or I may mount this short piece onto a board for more stability. Yay for less nails to trim! #positivereinforcementtraining
Colter loves his “binky” tug toy so much that his Dad secured it to a retractable key chain for him! Now binky is always accessible, never gets lost and is quickly becoming a self-serve reinforcer! Thanks to Karen By Your Side Pet Behavior Consulting for sparking the idea!
So proud of Vinnie and his Mom for rocking the complexities of working a long line, meeting a new friend and keeping everyone safe and comfortable! This is not easy to do but this team practices so much and their hard work is really paying off! 😊 I love Vinnie’s voluntary break, shake off and sniffing for snacks at the end! #positivereinforcementtraining
Scratch board for the win! Sweet Fern caught on so quickly to this game and I find that most people enjoy this exercise as well. R+ for all involved!
What a huge moment for Griffyn and his Mom today! Griffyn met AND interacted with a completely novel person in this single session. This is a first since meeting me last summer so we are thrilled to see Griffyn choose to expand his inner circle, one person at a time! #positivereinforcementtraining
Lefty is rocking his working walks with his family! Sometimes small changes can have a big impact on increasing overall confidence (and as a result, fewer behavior concerns). Here we switched up some walking equipment, worked on leash handling skills and fine tuned some timing/mechanics and Lefty has made huge improvements. We still have work to do but I’m thrilled to hear things are trending in the right direction! #positivereinforcementtraining
Colter has such a wonderful “drop” behavior that we are able to use his favorite games and toy reinforcers to help him acclimate to novel situations. Here he is in a brand new location where he also successfully checked out several dogs from a distance! Go team Colter! #positivereinforcementtraining
This is from years ago but is such an excellent example of how encountering things “out of place” or novel can always be tricky for dogs, regardless of how social or bold they may be. Georgia was about 8 years old here, and had done this walk hundreds of times- but this day something was different (she would have called it “absolutely incorrect!! 🤣) We all know how cattle dogs like their structure and routine, but it’s awesome how she addressed the “concern”, recovered and then moved on. Georgia was very resilient overall, but dogs can also learn how to cope with stress and become more resilient in the face of stressors!😊💗🎄
I talk about scent work (and sniffing!) with so many colleagues and clients, I finally had to try it out myself! Sunny and I are having a fun time learning together, and she seemed to pick it up really quickly. This is her first session and it was awesome to watch her process things and figure out what we were doing. Next step - the sit alert! 🤞☀️💗
So proud of this little creature for rocking her practice ultrasound at Animal Blessings Pet Hospital! If you can’t tell by the audio in the video, Gaia has quickly become one of my favorite animals to work with at @animalwondersmontana 💗 I’m sure she recognizes my voice and she is so smart (of course I forgot my clicker this session 🤣) Training different species has been so beneficial for my mechanics and all of the things we may take for granted when working with a domesticated animal. Huge props to all the zoo and wildlife trainers out there and a huge thank you to Animal Blessings Per Hospital for helping us practice! And if you haven’t checked out the Animal Wonders YouTube page, you can follow Gaia and the stories of so many other incredible animals! #positivereinforcementtraining
So proud of this little creature for rocking her practice ultrasound at Animal Blessings Pet Hospital! If you can’t tell by the audio in the video, Gaia has quickly become one of my favorite animals to work with at Animal Wonders Inc.! 💗 I’m sure she recognizes my voice and she is so smart (of course I forgot my clicker this session 🤣) Training different species has been so beneficial for my mechanics and all of the things we may take for granted when working with a domesticated animal. Huge props to all the zoo and wildlife trainers out there! #positivereinforcementtraining
Offering in-person and remote behavior consultations and training. Serving Missoula and Western Montana with fear-free, reward based training since 2009.
