DuBay Dog Training

04/24/2025

Cooper is now extremely cooperative when getting his harness on! Yay!! This means we get to start moving along. Here we're just practicing Cooper snuffling with me following him around. He's used to snuffling in the grass, but usually I'm off to the side. But he, so far, seems unfazed by me following him! Woohoo!

This is just a tiny snippet of this session. I followed him around for about 15-20 minutes as part of this exercise. Cooper managed to stay calm like this the whole time with people unloading semi's a few businesses down and a car backfiring multiple times. I'm so proud of how far he's come ❤️ The first time I met Cooper the sound of his tail hitting the wall would cause him to jump! So this progress may look like nothing, but it's everything 🥰

I've decided I'm going to keep sharing Cooper progress updates to help give a more accurate depiction of what working with extreme anxiety and fear looks like. It takes time and patience and may not always move as quickly as you like, but it's important to reflect on where you started so you can see the progress that has been made, even if it's not the end goal!

04/24/2025

With all of the craziness, I never got a chance to post my puppy graduates!! We had a challenging class with a wide array of personalities 😅 But, I think everyone in the class would agree that huge steps were made from every pup! I'm so proud of everyone and hope to see you all again! ❤️🎓

04/22/2025

***EDIT: We are back up and running again!!! Woohoo!!!

Announcement!!!

I'm in the process of upgrading my scheduling platform and I managed to mess it all up 😅 it will be down for a little bit. If you have an emergency, please reach out to me directly! Otherwise I hope to have everything back up and running in the next 24-48 hours.

Thank you in advance for your patience!

04/22/2025

And the next steps have started!!! The only time he turned his head away was when I messed up getting his leg through and took too long. And we had a little fumble with taking it off the first time 😅 but he came right back ready to do it again! This means a lot, because I've taught him that if he doesn't come back to the towel, we absolutely do not have to do it again and he will still get a tasty treat for telling me he isn't okay with that. So proud 🥹

04/21/2025

Cooper update!!

The fosters have been working hard and I can tell it's paying off. This is Cooper at the end of our second handling session today 🥹 soon we'll be able to move on to the next step!

04/14/2025

And my accountability picture from last night!

Notes:
• Nova did a lot better this time so I'll stick with the plan as it is for now. Kris was with me as well so I'll take that into account and see if that is a factor
• Pluto took awhile before calming down, but I think he was just a little on hyper side yesterday

04/12/2025

Another accountability picture.

My goal is to do this twice a week, as that's about all I actually can do right now 😅. Some notes from this round:
• Nova took a long time before she could actually focus on her treat. I might have to try changing the treat up, or start with the activity outside or with the door open so she can step outside if she's feeling overwhelmed. Also thinking of trying some calming treats before heading to the building to see if that helps. I will do a few more reps and pay attention to her behavior before changing any factors.
• Pluto took to the treat immediately vs previously staring at me for a while before finally settling. After he was done with his treat, he curled up on the couch for a nice rest. His progress will most likely be much faster than Nova's as he doesn't have general anxiety like she does.

04/10/2025

Here's another little insight into Cooper's daily activities with me! The noises outside are scary right now, so I use frozen snacks as a way to promote calmness within the environment that he's struggling with. When Cooper first started coming, we did this inside of the building because that's where he initially was afraid! And we still do that sometimes if he's having a tougher day. But now that he has come out of his shell while with me, we typically do this outside to help with desensitization to the sounds, sights, and smells. And if it's ever too much, Cooper now knows he can go to the door and we will go right back inside for our activity. I'm proud of him today, as he had a hard time with this on Tuesday and we wound up moving the frozen treat inside, but bounced right back to try again today despite the scary construction noises in the back!

04/08/2025

Cooper leg touching update!!! Proof that choices and respecting boundaries works!

04/06/2025

Accountability picture:

04/04/2025

The homework I give you is the same homework I give myself.

I want to be able to bring these pups to the building with me. I am working crazy hours right now, and having to go home and play with my dogs on top of it after I get home is exhausting. They also both have their own maladaptive behaviors I would like to work on that are currently just being managed. (The trainers' dogs get trained last!)They've both been here to play, but never just to chill out, and I can see the effect it's having on them. So now we're going to come here during off hours and do all of the calming activities. I want their bodies to walk into this building and feel calm and relaxed. That means it's time to switch up my activities!

04/03/2025

I want everyone to take a peek at this video. I know it's a little long, but even just watching part of it there is great information!

When I first started working with Cooper, I was under the impression that he had great body handling and wasn't bothered by touch via people he trusts. So as we worked together, I had just been handling him however I needed to. Not to be mean or forcefully, but just typical stuff, like putting on a harness. Then I started to notice all of the little gestures he was making and realized he might not actually be comfortable.

I brought back out our choice towel to work on some things. And just look at his response to me reaching towards his leg. I was missing that!!! Me, a professional! Now imagine how many regular dog owners might miss these signals. Missing these signals is why we see a lot of "aggressive" displays. It's sometimes the only thing we listen too. But if you stop and watch and listen, you can clearly see what the dog in front of you is trying to tell you.

Now I can help Cooper realize that he has a choice with his body, or at least as much as I can give him, and we can rebuild a trusting and cooperative relationship. And I can pass this off to his fosters so Cooper can start to realize that this will be universal. And that is how we start to get a dog's communication signals back instead of the immediate barking/growling/lunging.

04/01/2025

If you can spare it, Fetch would love to keep the momentum going with Cooper's training but could use some help raising the funds! Check out some adorable videos of him on my feed and maybe you'll feel inspired ✨

Cooper came into foster care as a tiny puppy, and now, three years later, he’s still waiting. Not because he isn’t a good boy—because anxiety has made his journey harder than most. He wants so badly to be the perfect companion, and he’s been working endlessly in training to overcome his fears. But training is expensive, and we’ve already spent nearly $3,000 to help him.
We refuse to give up on Cooper. He deserves a chance at the love and security he’s never had. Can you spare just $10 to help him keep fighting for the future he’s been waiting for? Every little bit brings him closer to the family he dreams of. ❤️🐾

Venmo:
https://venmo.com/code?user_id=2756077955317760353&created=1670375736

Paypal:
https://www.paypal.me/Fetchfosterandrescue

Mailing address:
5820 N. 35th Ave, Wausau WI 54401

03/28/2025

Story time!

I'm sure you all remember the video I posted of Mr. Cooper eating my floor 😅 but let's talk a little more in detail about this little guy.

Cooper has been with Fetch Foster and Rescue since he was a baby. He was adopted out, but it didn't work out the way we had planned and I evaluated him for a return where we discovered he had grown to be quite an anxious little man. His home at the time was not interested in working with him on it causing him to go into a foster home where he's been for, I believe, over a year.

The fosters were having a tough time with Cooper. His reactivity was getting progressively worse as I had them stop doing things that the previous owners were doing that were suppressing the behaviors. You see I didn't want Cooper to live in a state of suppression, I wanted him to learn how to address his feelings in a different way. But it turns out, his feelings were BIG and he needed a little more help.

Today, after almost 5 weeks of work in my day training program, we are finally starting to see Cooper make choices for himself that feel good. When he was overwhelmed today, he looked at me for help, and I was able to get him in a better spot. When he went home this afternoon, he was able to be outside with all sorts of triggers, and the foster was so happy he had to call me to tell me about it ❤️

Cooper's work is far from over. But seeing the sparks of him putting all of the pieces together that we've been working so hard on for the past five weeks brings all of the joy and happy tears 🥹❤️ just the most perfect way to end my day 🥰

03/26/2025

Last night we had a graduating class of SEVEN kiddos!!! (Chester was feeling camera shy). Every single team showed up to every single class ready to learn! So proud of every one of these graduates! ❤️

03/17/2025

Everyone meet Vinny! Or Vincent van Goon as I call him. Vinny has been with me working hard on his reactivity to cars over the past 5 weeks. We went from barely being able to be outside in the front of my building to going on short walks, GO VIN!!!

Now that this is going so much better, I'd really like to start on his reactivity towards people during our last few days together this week. If any of you have time around 12/12:30ish or 2/2:30ish on Tuesday (tomorrow), Thursday, or Friday (Friday is open to any time) this week to help me out, I'd love your assistance! It would only be 20 minutes of your time.

Thank you all in advance!

03/07/2025

With permission from the owner, I want to share the story of Gatlin and Tobi ❤️

Laura reached out to me last October regarding her two pups, Gatlin, the black pittie mix, and Tobi, the old English bulldog. They started out as best buds and would play together, but a dynamic shift in their home with their eldest dogs passing caused them to start brawling in common living spaces within their home. As you can imagine, life became very stressful for the owners.

I came out and did a consultation and learned that Gatlin had terrible anxiety and was guarding Laura from Tobi. On top of that, Tobi was in more pain than the owners thought due to a previous injury causing exacerbated reactions to Gatlin's guarding. Together, we formulated a plan that suited their lifestyle while also addressing the needs of Tobi and Gatlin. Gatlin was put on an anxiety medication and Tobi was reevaluated for his pain which is managed much better now. Then the owners put in WORK. And I mean WORK. They did hundreds of reps of a counter-conditioning exercise I gave them on top of keeping up with management and desensitization exercises. But they did it, and now Gatlin and Tobi can BOTH snuggle with Laura, AT THE SAME TIME ❤️

I am so proud of this entire family and everything they did. They really showed what can happen when the work is put into something. They aren't completely done with everything yet, but the fact that they can be all out on the couch in the living room is HUGE.

**Please note, the video does show two dogs fighting. Do not watch if this is something that bothers you!!

03/07/2025

Someone in a group I'm in posted this and I love it ❤️

"When I started training, I was taught if a dog resists when you're teaching them a new behavior, you must persist because if you back off, or change your tactics, you're letting the dog "win" and prolonging an inevitable power struggle.

30 + years later, I can tell you that's nonsense.

Almost every "power struggle" I've had with a dog was because I insisted on making something about my authority instead of about the dog "getting it."

Dogs rarely (if ever) resist for the sake of resisting. They resist for reasons.

Taking a few moments (or days even) to figure out why and make appropriate adjustments isn't caving. Training isn't a competition and it shouldn't be about power (mine or the dog's)

The dog doesn't "win" if I see him struggling and I change my approach to help him succeed.

Actually, I guess he does win, but not at my expense.

I get what I'm looking for, and he gets to feel good about doing it. To me that's both of us winning.

As Buck Branaman says "No one has to lose for me to win."

There is no need to view training as a competition between the trainer and the dog."

I used to think like this too, but I'm so glad I was able to learn differently fairly quickly. This is why every case is so different and why I tailor everything to a specific situation. Out of the hundreds of dogs I've met, no two have been exactly the same.