Complete K-9 Academy, Inc.

03/07/2025

This was Argi a few days into her Boot Camp, when I found out she was scared of the kid’s four wheeler. Argi is 7 months old and while it’s not unusual for young dogs to have unfounded fears (for example nobody abused her with a motorized vehicle), it’s something I prefer to tackle head on. See fears don’t magically disappear. They lessen with understanding and exposure. Some call it fear inoculation and I love that term, because it symbolizes the long term benefit of something initially scary or uncomfortable.

Pushing the dog to deal with those silly fears must be done carefully. Our instincts usually fail us there, as we tend to feel sorry for and coddle the animal, unknowingly leading to more fear by sharing affection with the unstable mind of the dog.

By having an excellent obedience foundation first, built on mutual respect, understanding and expectations, we can push the dog in a carefully calculated manner, flooding them with new positive experiences while denying the option to flee or protest. I’ve never seen a dog fail in overcoming “the scary monster” obstacle when I’ve handled them personally, but I couldn’t begin to tell you exactly how to do it, as there’s no one fit all approach.

03/06/2025

If you're a client, please review us on Google.

Reviews rank my school higher in search engines and help other dog owners find us faster. I do not advertise anywhere, as I truly enjoy doing business with highly motivated and realistic clients, and those tend to find me most via referrals. We can all agree that a referral from a friend, relative or another canine professional, as well as an honest review make our decision that much easier.

I truly appreciate it! 😊

Gaby

https://g.page/r/CXFLkxlHzr-REBM/review

5.0 ★ · Dog trainer

03/06/2025

Proper ‘down-stay’ is demonstrated by all in this photo.
Argi (currently in Boot Camp), Owen and Bruce

03/06/2025

Bruce and Jack, a recent Behavioral Rehabilitation Boot Camp graduate. Today was his family’s follow up lesson and I’m pleased to say that everyone is doing great! We went over a few training scenarios at home to solidify the down and stay command, mainly making sure his training gear is on, and we tested Jack with the chickens. Test passed! The boys got to play in the end as a reward.

03/04/2025

The latest evaluations:

Neo - GSD from Plant City, FL
Charlie & Emma - Black Lab and Yellow Lab from Sarasota, FL
Mabel & Opal - Great Pyrenese mixes from Wauchula, FL
Jack - Lab mix from Lakewood Ranch, FL
Otto - Jack Russel Terrier from Palm Harbor, FL
Argi - Yellow Lab from St. Petersburg, FL
Griffin & Murphy - mixed breeds from Tampa, FL

02/27/2025

This is Leo and his owners. A dog who’s made a few really bad choices in his past, but a dog who’s really turned around and is making more and more correct choices today.

Tonight we took Leo and the Harkness family at the busy, dog filled Waterside in LWR. Working a dog active dog here is like entering a battlefield. Not for the faint of heart. Dogs EVERYWHERE, little yappy dogs, giant dogs on flexi leashes, people 🍷 🍺, food trucks, smells, sights, a live band, strollers, kids.

We met judgy people, but we also met dog owners who appreciated the effort and helped us tonight. Including a gentleman with a super dog reactive Malinois, whom I asked to walk Leo around a few times after the dogs exploded at each other. All in all this went way better than we all expected, and I think Leo will sleep very well tonight. The goal was to show Leo’s family how to navigate crowded places, how to scan ahead and around for traps, when to give the dog a break and when to push. But most importantly to unapologetically demand obedience of Leo, and tolerance of all the stimuli which are his triggers.

He’s a proof that when the humans really want to make a difference in their dog’s life, they’ll follow directions and do their homework and I’m so proud of them!
I don’t offer off site lessons anymore as a standard practice, but when I know the humans take everything you teach to heart, they deserve special treatment. It is time well invested into a lifelong commitment to each other.

02/25/2025

Jack making me proud. It’s graduation day, and I can’t ask for a single thing more from him. He’s ✅ all the boxes.

02/25/2025

Here’s a training video of ‘down-stay’ with Jack. There’s not a trace of the sassy mouthy dog or the nervous biter. His confidence has blossomed and he’s been a joy to have. He’s really a wonderful dog and I can’t wait to show his family tomorrow everything he’s learned and began their hands on training.

In this video he got to work with a new distraction, a hard Jolly Ball in the rain.

02/21/2025

A friendly reminder. 😉

One of the very best things an owner can get out of high quality training is a clear insight as to what their dogs are truly capable of.

Great trainers can leverage the right tools, training, and mindset to find answers that many owners would otherwise not find on their own. And even though it’s only a piece of the solution—knowing what is and isn’t possible—is an awfully important piece.

Once an owner sees what is possible, then it is up to them (with the guidance of their trainer) to become the equal of their goals and challenges with their dog. This almost always includes immense amounts of mental, emotional, and physical effort. Skills have to be learned, new ways of thinking and acting have to be developed, and lifestyle needs to be adjusted.

Of course this is a tall order. In the same way that most everyone would love to be in great shape, be financially abundant, and have great relationships with friends and family… these accomplishment all require great effort, great sacrifice, and longterm discipline and commitment.

And because we all know how us humans are wired—instant gratification with longterm costs almost always beat out delayed gratification with longterm benefits—we find most humans know precisely what’s needed, but find that cost simply too high to pay.

So when we proclaim how much we desire to transform our dogs and their behavior, it’s best, if we want to avoid appearing foolish and hypocritical, that we first examine how much of ourselves and our behavior that we’re truly willing to transform.

Said another way, don’t complain about the results you didn’t get from the actions you didn’t take. The results are waiting for you, but only come when you’ve become their equal. ❤️

02/20/2025

“Jack”, my current boot camp student got a test run at Lowe’s. He’s in the Behavioral Rehabilitation program due to making some bad choices using his 🦷, so a much needed change was due.

He’s young still and he’s proven to me to be plenty willing and happy to make the changes. In fact he’s been a joy to work with! He’s not once thought about being inappropriate with me, and has wholeheartedly accepted this new role.

Today’s training session was his first with me in a public setting. The Behavioral Rehabilitation cases get to work off site also, more or less as a way to prove to the owner that the dog is capable. I’ve yet to have a single case, where the dog has made a scene in public. Opposite of what the owners have experienced in the past, of course.

With his family Jack has routinely refused to go when he didn’t want to, has been destructive when not paid attention to and gotten pushy and bossy when made to go to bed, as well as at the vet. But those are just symptoms of the larger problem. The brattiness is fueled by his belief that he’s entitled to make important decisions and dish out justice and his disbelief in his human’s leadership. Decisions which could be life threatening. And that’s why he’s here. I’m happy to guide him and his humans to long term success.
The hardest part is always the human, but most humans already know they can’t do it alone and are willing to make personal sacrifices and work hard to maintain what we’ve done in boot camp. Most, not all.

Jack, and if you recall Bear, the Rehab case I had before him, are a perfect example of this. Committed owners, who follow advise and don’t make excuses. Bear by the way has been fantastic at home. I’ll post about him soon. I

02/19/2025

Fantastic reminders here, perfectly summed up and explained.

There are trainers, who prefer to focus on teaching commands, without addressing too much of the day to day details. And then there are those of us who see the long term success as a combination of major personal sacrifices and lifelong attitude changes. Where the commands the dog learns enhance our ability to communicate, but are only a part of the recipe.

I’ve lived with dogs I’ve allowed on the furniture and dogs I’ll never allow on the furniture. I’ve owned dogs I’ve shared a bed with and those who’ve rearranged my furniture and redecorated my home.

When we advise you to stop allowing privileges and demand your dog respects your personal space, we’re looking at making the transformation easier on your dog. Not on only you, you have to work on it! Clarity and order over chaos and confusion.
With most clients I advise strict management for a minimum of 6 months post graduation and I reiterate this is not a date to put in your calendar and look forward to. When moral improves and the dog is eagerly looking to please you, goes out of his way to make a walk a pleasant experience for both of you, follows commands willingly for long enough, where you’ve forgotten the last time you gave a correction, then you can start allowing more liberties. And be prepared to take them away if they’re abused. For young dogs, a year and a half of age is a good rule before such freedoms are allowed.

Your dog/ spouse/ friend/ child will treat you the way you’re allowing them to treat you. Love is easy, but respect must be earned.

Sean nails it again, he practically lives in my head. 🤪

🐕‍🦺 And if you’re wondering who the interior decorator dog was, it was my late Kaya. Two drywall holes, who happened on my dad’s watch in her defense, put her on my list of the most busy dog I’ve owned. She was 4 years old before I have her any freedom in the house.

02/07/2025

Owen wrote a training manual for all dogs but mostly for “Bear” who graduated today. If you need a reminder of the rules, here’s your sign. 🤪🤪🤪🦮🦮🦮🗣️🥾📺🛻🛋️

02/04/2025

Bear on his second off site lesson. Elevator behavior is on his list of challenges to address, and was the only reason we ventured to the mall tonight. Bear behaved like a perfect gentleman, putting to use his training and his trust in me. Elevators were handled beautifully, stairs were mastered and people were ignored. His anxiety, while being transported is also not noticeable anymore.

Overall I couldn’t be more pleased with how much Bear is allowing himself to be influenced positively by these changes.

We took a bunch of videos for his owners too, where they can see the steps I take in managing him, before he reaches the unmanageable stage. The key with his type of anxious brain is to teach him to focus on a task and demand he executes it perfectly. Then flood him with opportunities and be 3 steps ahead of the bad choices and reward all the correct ones. Correcting the very beginning of the loading up process and not the explosion is how I can help Bear learn to prioritize better.

I’m proud of him tonight!

02/03/2025

Bruce and Leo. Leo Has a major explosive dog and aggression and human aggression when what he claims as his space is entered. Today was his third On Site lesson and it was time for some come to Jesus.
Bruce and my boot camper Bear got to help and represent the non reactive, calm and chill club, which was exactly what Leo needed to practice his new moves around. It was a workout dealing with his antics, but we made fantastic progress.

02/01/2025

The three stooges!

02/01/2025

“Bear” on his first off site adventure to the ice cream shop. This handsome boy is in the Behavioral Rehabilitation Boot Camp and car rides and restaurant outings have been an absolute dramatic fiasco for him. He whines so intensely, he practically screams begging and demanding attention from people, as well as losing his mind if in an elevator and another dog comes in.
So far he’s done fantastic, has calmed down quickly and whined a tolerable amount. His obedience is improving enough for us to do socialization with dogs in my kennel and off site work already. This is day 5 out of 11 for him and I can’t to see all he’ll accomplish here.
He’s a very sweet boy, sensible and sensitive, albeit lacking confidence. He seems to be trusting me rather quickly and falling in line willingly.

01/17/2025

We took Bruce for a long walk, in our favorite spot. It rained the whole time and we got soaked. It was fun to discover new parts of the trail. I’m constantly seeking the unbeaten path when in the forest. Seeing it in the rain, on a gloomy afternoon made it extra magical. And sharing it with my boys is just the best.