Music City Dog Training

05/29/2024

When it comes to behavior in dogs (and people too) it’s important to understand that behavior is not who someone is, it’s what they do.

Training doesn’t change who your dog is, it changes how they act and what they do in situations.

When you train with us, we don’t change your dog’s personality, we bring out the best in them! 🖤

05/27/2024

Happy Memorial Day! 🇺🇸🐶💙

05/24/2024

Dogs bring us so much joy 🖤

05/22/2024

FOOD AGGRESSION

Many owners live in fear of their dogs, especially if they have food aggression. This is a problem. Rather than training their dogs and setting boundaries, they’ve allowed their dog to set the boundaries. I’ve met owners whose dogs were showing signs of dog’s food aggression, sibling aggression, or resource guarding and the excuses of temperament, instincts, or the dog retaining ownership over a space or object were common, such as a food bowl or the dog’s bowl.

The truth is, it’s not instinct or temperament, and a dog can’t own anything. The tendency for a dog to show aggressive behavior such as growl, snap, or bare teeth if his/her owner tries to touch something they see as theirs is a simple issue of behavior. This is especially common where food is concerned, and this is known as food aggression.

If you’ve ever tried to pet your dog while they are eating, been snapped at while trying to remove their dish for any reason, or if you have two dogs that bicker or fight over food, you’ve got a case of food aggression on your hands. It can be fixed, with proper training.

Don’t let food aggression affect when your dog eats. Starting working with them when they are young to avoid any aggressive behavior.

05/20/2024

WHY DO DOGS FIGHT?

Dog on dog aggression or “dog fights” most commonly stem from two instincts in dogs. These instincts can be categorized into: the will to be dominate and fear. If you own multiple dogs, and one dog demonstrates aggression towards one of your other dogs, they are most likely trying to be dominant. The dog exhibiting dominant behavior wants to be seen as the leader of the pack and aggression is an effective way for them to establish themselves.

However, if the trigger is a strange dog walking by or at the park, your dog could be trying to show dominance, or it may feel threatened for its safety or the safety of his home/family (which he would view as pack mates).

Although this aggression may never be meant to hurt people or the other dog, unfortunately it often does. There are hundreds, possibly thousands, of stories of owners or children getting injured because they were trying to break up the fight between dogs or were simply in the way of the attacking dog.

05/17/2024

MASTER THE WALK!

If you have a dog that pulls on leash, gets reactive or aggressive then we can help! We’ll help you train your dog to walk nicely on the leash and focus on you instead of the distractions around you.

Learn to master the walk with your dog! Canine Trade Group trainers can teach any dog to walk properly on leash. Visit us online, or contact us to learn more.

05/14/2024

It is always easier to teach your dog manners and instill boundaries when they are young and impressionable. However, contrary to popular belief, older dogs can learn new tricks as well as pick up bad habits. The only difference between training an older dog versus a puppy is that we must first rule out any health issues. We must be certain that your older dog’s aggression is not due to arthritis or that their sudden lapse in housebreaking isn’t the result of incontinence. Once your dog is cleared by a vet we can begin training.

Maybe you’ve adopted a new pet and now your older dog is becoming destructive and fighting for your attention. Or maybe your older dog has always had a problem with their possessiveness and now it has gotten out of control. Regardless of what factors have played a part in your dog’s bad behavior, we can help!

05/12/2024

Happy Mother's Day! 🐾💗

05/10/2024

The sooner you address a behavioral issue the better. It is important to train a dog not only when they are a puppy, but also if they are an adult dog who is going through a lifestyle change.

Moving to a new home is one of the most common stressors that dogs deal with that is often overlooked. We have seen so many dogs slowly revert and/or pick up a negative behavior in their adult years due to a lifestyle change and many people justify their behavior by blaming it on their old age when that is not always the case.

It is important to get behavior problems under control as soon as your dog starts misbehaving!

05/07/2024

When you train with us, you won’t regret it! 🤎

05/05/2024

Enjoy your day! ❤️

05/03/2024

Kids and Dogs

This can be a tough combination. Kids don’t know better, and dogs can only communicate in two ways – fight or flight.

As dog trainers we can never express enough how important it is to manage your dog and your kids. It’s for the safety of both the dog and the children. The image below shows a great comparison of things we wouldn’t allow our child to do to another adult or child, so we should NEVER allow them to do this to a dog.

05/01/2024

Redirecting Aggression

There are several reasons why a dog would redirect on a person or other dog. It usually stems from the dog being over stimulated and unable to control their emotions and anxiety.

This is a behavior that can be corrected with proper training. We’ll help you teach your dog impulse control, basic obedience, and focus. We’lll also teach you how to recognize a situation that could trigger this behavior and get your dog under control BEFORE they get over stimulated.

It’s important to understand that a dog CANNOT be trained when they are in a stressed or reactive state of mind, training can only be done before they get to that point.

When you train with us, we train your dog, AND we teach you how to understand dog behavior.

04/29/2024

Can you trim your dog’s nails?

If you are struggling to trim your dog’s nails and do regular grooming with them, we can help! It’s crucial for a dog owner to be able to handle their dog, whether for a nail trim, to examine them, or groom them.

We’ll teach you how to properly handle your dog during these times and we’ll desensitize them to this handling.

04/26/2024

Happy Friday! 🐾💚

Enjoy these fun dog facts by the AKC.

Do we dog lovers ever tire of learning more about dogs? See what you know (and don't know) with the AKC's 30 fun facts about dogs.

04/24/2024

Dog Behavior Tip:

Just because a dog is wagging their tail DOES NOT mean they are happy and friendly! Can it mean they are happy and friendly? Yes, of course! But it doesn’t always.

Dogs wag their tails for many reasons, like when they are excited, aroused, or anxious. So never assume a dog is friendly just because they are wagging their tail.

04/22/2024

Happy Earth Day! 🌎 🐾

04/22/2024

Training in Public

It’s important to train your dog in public when they are ready to handle it. Lots of dogs are well-behaved inside the home without distractions, but all that training goes out the window when they get in public settings.

When you are ready to start training your dog in public, be sure to take it slow! Don’t rush into those over stimulating situations with your dog an expect them to behave like they do at home. Start slowly and work your way into it. It takes time and patience, but your dog will get there!

04/19/2024

BEST DOG FOODS!

Does your dog’s food make the list?

We consulted experts to help you navigate the many dog food options out there, including organic, natural, canned and grain-free.

04/18/2024

Aggressive dogs are usually seen as “beyond help”, and many dog owners that have an aggressive dog will be at a loss on how to properly handle the behavior. Aggression is a high risk behavior issue, depending on the severity of it. However, even if the aggression seems “minor”, it is something to take seriously and to behaviorally tackle immediately! Owners need to be conscious of how they respond to their dog’s aggression, as they may be unintentionally reinforcing it!

Owners need to be the leader especially when things get tough with their dog and their behavior gets unruly in any way. If a poor behavior goes unaddressed, you may be reinforcing the behavior by doing nothing! For dogs, positive is the absence of the negative, and if there is nothing there to show the dog that their behavior is a problem, then they will see it as fair game and something they are allowed to repeat. Give your dog the opportunity to succeed by training them and showing them the right way to behave and to be a happy dog!

04/16/2024

When it comes to selecting a dog to bring into your home it is important to not base your decision on aesthetics but instead you should choose a dog breed that will be a good fit for your lifestyle and needs. It is important to understand that working dogs are genetically built to fulfill a purpose and they can make a wonderful pet in the right home, if properly trained.

In addition to being loyal companions, working dogs are also diligent workers who are in need of a job. If a working dog does not receive an adequate amount of mental stimulation then they can be susceptible to developing several behavior problems such as anxiety, hyperactivity and/or destructive behavior.

04/11/2024

It's National Pet Day!

Show us a picture of your dog in the comments.

04/08/2024

Each dog is an individual, so they deserve individualized attention. This means we will design a training plan just for you and your dog, to meet the training goals you desire.

04/05/2024

Be safe this spring! 🌻

04/03/2024

We offer a variety of dog training services! All programs are tailored to the needs of the individual dog and owner.

Get in touch to learn more! 🤍

04/01/2024

We proudly follow the LIMA training philosophy! 🐾🖤

LIMA is a training philosophy that means dog behavior modification should be Least Intrusive and Minimally Aversive. This ensures humane practices while helping your dog reach their behavioral goals.

03/29/2024

03/27/2024

Our training techniques are reward-based. This does not mean that our dog training is simply about bribing a dog with treats. While we do use them occasionally, we know that treats alone can’t change a dog’s behavior. What instills positive behavior in dogs is a consistent routine, strong leadership from the owner, and exercises that set the dog up for success.

Some trainers create situations where the dog is tested in a way that they’re destined to fail. We choose not to do this in our training program. Instead, we try to create situations where the dog is set up for success. We focus on the positive rather than the negative because we believe frequent negative instruction—where there is little chance to be rewarded—causes dogs to become nervous. You may be able to train a dog using this negative-reinforcement method, but you’ll get a dog that reacts to commands out of fear and mistrust.

We prefer to practice a Decisions, Not Dominance motto, where we teach dogs to make good decisions because they want to. Rather than obeying due to fear, their training helps them understand the rewards of their good behavior and motivates them to behave well. It creates a better environment for both dog and owner!