The Mindful Dog MA

The Mindful Dog MA The Mindful Dog’s training program is rooted in the belief that, through training, we can teach our dogs to become more mindful.

A mindful dog tends to be happier, less impulsive, more thoughtful, better able to handle stress, and more fun to live with!

The relaxation activity we taught Lyla has paid off big time!Dog guardians are often a little skeptical that we can teac...
06/05/2025

The relaxation activity we taught Lyla has paid off big time!
Dog guardians are often a little skeptical that we can teach their dogs relaxation. For this girl, it was crucial.
It’s important for dogs to know how to relax without us always having to ask them.
Here, you can see Lyla choosing to relax without any prompting, which is not something that happened much before we started working together. A beautiful thing!

Is your dog a bit too excited around guests? Gambit really loves guests, and one strategy we’ve been using to help him b...
05/16/2025

Is your dog a bit too excited around guests? Gambit really loves guests, and one strategy we’ve been using to help him be calm is a Pupsicle. These awesome little chew toys can be game changers!
What Gambit really needs is something to take the initial excitement off when it comes to seeing a new friend enter his house. Once he has finished the Pupsicle, he is more calm than he was, which puts him in a better position to demonstrate polite behaviors around guests.
You simply fill the silicone mold with something tasty, freeze it, and pop it into the toy. If you use something low-calorie, you can get away with doing it multiple times throughout the day.
Low-fat cottage cheese or yogurt, pumpkin, Honest Kitchen dog broth, and canned dog food are options my dogs enjoy. I like to top them with a smidge of peanut butter and pop them back into the freezer before I give them.
Gambit’s people have done a great job of consistently applying this strategy, which has significantly reduced the guest-related behaviors in question.
They have also been working SUPER hard preparing Gambit for the baby who will soon arrive, particularly focusing on getting him to go to bed on cue, as well as on a relaxation exercise. Great job, guys!

Bailey is working on her retrieve!This activity is part of our enrichment plan, which involves finding fun ways to meet ...
05/07/2025

Bailey is working on her retrieve!
This activity is part of our enrichment plan, which involves finding fun ways to meet her needs, and is important to our overall goal of improving her behavior.
That orange thing is a bumper, which is used for dogs who are going to be retrieving in water.
Bailey is going to have lots of fun with it when it’s swimming pool weather!

The other day, Truvie took her first unassisted steps since before she became paralyzed in her back legs in December!It’...
04/28/2025

The other day, Truvie took her first unassisted steps since before she became paralyzed in her back legs in December!
It’s been a long four months, with three of those months filled with rigorous physical therapy, but she’s getting better! I’ve been working really hard to help her.
This is a photo of her using the water treadmill, which she’s been getting in addition to laser therapy and electroacupuncture.

The result of good crate training is that a dog views the crate as their safe space and doesn’t mind being in there.One ...
04/28/2025

The result of good crate training is that a dog views the crate as their safe space and doesn’t mind being in there.
One thing that really helps is feeding dogs and giving them various things to chew in an open crate with all sides open (if there’s more than one door).
Here, we are doing a session over Zoom. Max is rewarded for going into the crate and choosing to stay there.
This smart boy caught on quickly and seemed to really enjoy himself!

We had to get creative with Lennon and triggers. This sweet girl has a hard time at campgrounds, but campgrounds are a b...
04/27/2025

We had to get creative with Lennon and triggers. This sweet girl has a hard time at campgrounds, but campgrounds are a big part of vacation life for her parents.
Attempting to manage Lennon’s responses to triggers was putting a real damper on vacation relaxation before I started working with Lennon and her folks.
The situation was tricky, as the vacation was coming up quickly. Lennon would soon be in very close proximity to many triggers.
So what did we do? We taught Lennon to go into her crate on cue, away from triggers, for a reward. I also wanted a way for Lennon’s people to be able to reward her without getting up, since camp life is way more relaxing when you can stay sitting!
For this, we used a remote-controlled Treat & Train machine, which dispenses treats with the push of a button.
Now Lennon can be asked to move away from triggers on the path next to camp, where her view is then blocked by the crate and she is heavily rewarded by the Treat & Train. Lennon’s mom worked hard to generalize this behavior.
I just got a lovely update with photos from their vacation. Lennon is doing wonderfully with what she was taught, and is also demonstrating reduced hypervigilance. I’m so proud of these guys!! Well done!!!

3 often overlooked signs your dog might be feeling nervousThe other day, I liked how the light was hitting Wyatt’s fur j...
04/23/2025

3 often overlooked signs your dog might be feeling nervous

The other day, I liked how the light was hitting Wyatt’s fur just so.
I knelt down in front of him, almost lying down on the floor to take a number of photos in quick succession.
Right away, I noticed that this strange behavior from me seemed to be making him nervous, and stopped what I was doing.
Here’s what I saw:
1.) lip lick
2.) yawn
3.) head turn
The more we can be aware of our dogs’ subtle body language, the more we can prevent problems, address them, and deepen our relationships with our dogs.
Did you know about these bits of body language? Share if you think somebody else could benefit!

Rascal is going to be living with a baby very soon! Here he is working on “place,” which is when he is cued to go lie do...
04/23/2025

Rascal is going to be living with a baby very soon! Here he is working on “place,” which is when he is cued to go lie down in a particular place.
This can come in really handy when there are changes in the house, such as when a dog is used to always having the option to sit in your lap on the couch, and won’t be able to do so with a baby. Rascal can be asked to go lie in a specific nearby spot on the couch so he can still feel loved while giving the baby some space.
Place is also a handy cue for getting a dog to move away from a child when either the child or the dog show signs of feeling at all uncomfortable. It should be noted, however, that a dog should never be asked to continue lying in one spot while a child is making them uncomfortable.
An uncomfortable dog should always have the option to get up and move away, and the slightest sign of discomfort should result in immediate intervention from us (ideally before the dog even feels the need to get up and move ). This is assuming that a dog is at ease around the children in the house in the first place.
You might wonder why Rascal is lying down on a tiny piece of cloth. The nice thing about “place” is that a dog can generalize to many things, like bathmats, kitchen mats, and bandanas. The cloth he’s lying on will eventually be used to indicate to him which spot on the couch is his. Great job, guys!

Melody the Bernese Mountain Dog lives by the ocean and is full of sweetness and fun.Did you know these dogs originated i...
04/22/2025

Melody the Bernese Mountain Dog lives by the ocean and is full of sweetness and fun.
Did you know these dogs originated in Switzerland and were used to pull carts?Pretty cool!
Some people still do carting with them, which gives them a nice job to do.

As a dog who lives in a building with many other dogs, it’s important for Oakleigh to know how to wait patiently before ...
04/22/2025

As a dog who lives in a building with many other dogs, it’s important for Oakleigh to know how to wait patiently before entering an elevator. This gives people with (and without) dogs time to exit the elevator.
Oakleigh’s people are also helping her to feel safe while she’s in the elevator, as this is a relatively new situation for her.
I’m enjoying gaining the trust of this beautiful girl as we help her to navigate the world with more confidence and less fear.
Her people are working hard, and I love hearing about their successes!

Looking through some old pictures. Louis was thinking hard in this one!One thing to remember when we train is that we so...
04/22/2025

Looking through some old pictures. Louis was thinking hard in this one!
One thing to remember when we train is that we sometimes need to give dogs a little time to process our words when we cue them to do something.
They are learning a foreign language. People process things at different speeds, too. What might look like stubbornness could just be a dog who’s taking a moment to figure things out.

Studies have shown how being around nature improves human mental health, and our dogs are no different.Decompression wal...
04/18/2025

Studies have shown how being around nature improves human mental health, and our dogs are no different.
Decompression walks, a.k.a. Sniffaris, are hugely beneficial for dogs, and can result in improved behavior and overall wellbeing.
This concept refers to giving a dog off-leash (or close to it) time in a natural area. If a dog does not have a reliable enough recall to be off leash, then a long line can be a good alternative.
If you have two or more large dogs, then handling 2 long lines safely can be difficult, so regular-length leashes may be necessary, but you can still get your dogs out sniffing around in nature.
So get out there and enjoy the springtime!

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Nahant, MA

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Monday 10am - 6pm
Tuesday 10am - 6pm
Wednesday 10am - 6pm
Thursday 10am - 6pm
Friday 10am - 6pm
Saturday 10am - 6pm

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+16174109852

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