A Better Dog

09/05/2025

WARNING….sensitive content. All information shared with permission of the owners.

We were contacted as a “last resort” after the family’s 4 year old dog (Luna) attacked their new puppy (Senna) causing facial injuries. The owners were at a complete loss with what to do short of rehoming. A home session was scheduled for the next day.

During the session we identified Luna’s strong desire to aggressively guard mom from the puppy. We went over the details of the incident that resulted in the injuries and the changes that should be made including structured walking for Luna; crating Luna a bit more and having mom claim her space around Luna. All of this to reduce the likelihood of guarding.

Fast forward to today when I received the following text from the client:

“Just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate your help. I got my wish- these two get along great now. Have to be hyper vigilant about any food or bones ( every one who comes into the house gets briefed lol) but otherwise things are going well. Thanks again!”

Adding a new dog or puppy can lead to some unintended conflicts. Controlling the energy around this time of transition is vital. If you’re not sure how to best proceed in your situation do not hesitate to seek professional help.

09/01/2025

We took advantage of the great weather this holiday weekend to take our two dogs on a field trip.

This was Jango’s first out of town trip with us which included his first time on the freeway and his first experience with Lake Michigan.

Jango stood up the entire drive 🤦🏻‍♂️. When we got onto the sand that was a bit of a thing for him to process. The Lake was more fun to drink than to step in. Somehow our GSD Emma, who hates water strolled right in.

They shared some water before hitting the road back to town (Jango standing the entire way) where sleeping was the top priority. A little physical work and a little mental work, the best combination!

What did you do with your dog on this holiday weekend?

08/07/2025

A field trip with Finley….

Finley loves to be social and engage with anyone that gives him attention (esp. kids) which causes some issues for mom when he’s at work with her. (See post from 5/26).

Over the last two days we’ve tried something a different. I took Finley out around town without his owner to put him into a variety of different situations “on his own”.

On day 1 we hit a park and then a local store where Finley discovered that he should already be doing his fall shopping. This was a no-contact outing. Just Finley learning to be in public and not be the center of attention.

Day 2 started with a trip to a neighborhood pool where Finley learned to be calm around a lot of high energy kids. We then ran a couple of errands before meeting up with some kids who showed Finley that he would get rewarded (physical touch) for being calm around them first. That went so well I gave them each a chance to walk him on leash letting Finley know that kids aren’t just for playing with.

When it comes to “socialization” remember that controlled environmental exposures will bring about a dog that is better behaved and more attentive to his/her owner in a variety of situations.

08/04/2025

“When is the right time to start training with your new puppy?” We get asked this nearly every week.

A lot of it depends on how things are progressing with the new owner. In Tillie’s case it was 4 days after arrival!

The family was having a challenging time with their new, cuddly and sweet land-shark☹️.

We asked the client to immediately start crating the dog more. It’s common for owners to think if they are home their dog should be out of the crate. With puppies especially, this often leads to overstimulation and yes, an increase in biting. Tillie was an equal opportunity biter of hands & feet as well👎🏼.

During our session we worked on increasing engagement, establishing personal boundaries for her humans, and some basics like sit, down and recall.

The big takeaway from the session was to improve in all of these areas we needed clear communication with Tillie.

So after a little playing, training and potty breaks it’s was back to the crate for some down time.

08/04/2025

Just a quick feel good moment on this Monday…

https://www.facebook.com/share/r/17BouwGJtC/?mibextid=wwXIfr

07/31/2025

07/29/2025

Who wouldn’t want to hang out with Maya?! You’re looking at a very cute example of an 11 week old Rhodesian Ridgeback.

Her dad reached out as a first time puppy owner looking to ensure he got off to a good start with his little lady.

Maya was a bit of a land shark, so naturally we went over several ways to reduce those instances.

We also showed dad how to use food to help Maya learn to focus on him while walking and not chewing the leash in the process.

We discussed best household management practices to reduce Maya’s chances of making negative choices that become negative habits. This included a template for crate usage, furniture privileges & more engagement in the yard.

Maya proved to be a quick learner who really thrived with the proper structure and motivation. Great job👍🏻

07/28/2025

Meet Ms. Maggie….

This 1 year old rescue has been with her mom for the last 8 months. Maggie is very sweet and playful but she’s also described as a bit stubborn. Recently, on a walk, Maggie’s desire to chase prey led to mom getting pulled off her feet resulting in a black eye. ☹️

We looked at ways to increase engagement including (A) no more free feeding and (B) eliminating the dogs ability to go into the backyard whenever she wants through the open slider. The most important change took place on the walk. The retractable leash that had been used allowed the dog to be too far in front and reduced mom’s influence over the dog.
We got the dog on a structured walk where Maggie’s new normal was to walk next to her mom. Now those squirrels & rabbits weren’t as interesting.

Lastly, we made sure that Maggie was respectful of mom’s personal space. No demands for pets or barking This leads to a better relationship overall.

Maggie is a good natured, fun pup who just needed a few tweaks to start showing her true potential.

07/22/2025

Some of you should think about re-homing & we can help. Let me explain…

As you know, when you’re dog gets older and bigger things change. You often end up with equipment that you no longer need or use. That’s where we come in!

From the very beginning we have been re-homing all kinds of things like crates, harnesses, leashes, slow-feed bowls, etc.

Here’s how we do it. We will take your old (insert description) and give it to another dog owner who can use it.

We will NEVER pay for an item and we NEVER sell it. We are simply helping to declutter one home and save money for another.

The item(s) needs to be in very good/safe condition. For example, we will not take crates with damaged bars or trays.

If you have an item(s) that you would like to re-home please message us. Priority will be give to the items most commonly in need. We will be happy to pick up from you whenever possible. Thank you.

07/14/2025

Ranger is a “skittish” 2yr old Golden Retriever who the family got as a puppy. He barks at the vacuum, the doorbell and really any noise.

Ranger is so glued to his mom that he tries to put himself between her and the counter when she is in the kitchen 🤯.

A couple of things stood out to us…
1) no crate use
2) a lot of time outside, unattended ( and a corner lot which meant high stimulation).

The problem with the outside freedom is that it led to mental overload for Ranger. He made reactive choices that were self rewarding which also made his leash manners 💩.

We implemented structured walking to increase leadership for the owner and drain mental energy.

We introduced the Place command to help the dog realize he did not need to track his mom every minute of the day which help move Ranger in a calmer direction. To further help this along we showed mom how to better claim her space around the dog.

We suggested almost no time outside unattended to help correct otherwise poor choices.

We even fixed barking at the sound of the doorbell. All this in one home session.

The next day we received the following text:

“Thank you again for your training. Ranger and I had a GREAT walk this morning. I could count on my one hand how many times he needed correction. We even came across another dog walking. Normally he would have been tugging & barking. None of that today. He needed one little correction to keep walking. It was beautiful.”

Is Ranger now “all better”? No, he’s not. He is now on his way to an improved state of mind and a better, less stressful relationship with his family. 👏🏼

06/30/2025

6 1/2 yr old Scout has to be around his mom ALL the time. The dog will demand bark when mom isn’t paying enough attention to him or if mom has the gall to try and talk with a visitor for too long. Scout also does his best to dampen the family’s love of camping by barking non stop if left alone 🤯.

During our session we got Scout in tip top shape with his leash manners. Making mom, and not the environment the main focus while out and about improves their relationship.

Next we did a small exercise about claiming personal space. Scout learned that being calm around mom was the goal and that the “autopilot” response to sit on mom’s lap anytime he wanted was not an option. It was by invitation only.

This increase in structure and leadership meant more overall calmness and even a brief nap (for Scout).

06/23/2025

We deal with leash reactivity on a weekly basis. In the case of 5 year old Sydney, this behavior has developed over the last year or so. Sydney is a dog that is good on playdates but on leash it’s a different story.

We had Sydney come to a new location (our neighborhood) to work on it. We want the dog to have a high level of engagement with the handler so we changed some things.

The dog was no longer allowed to walk out in front. Instead, Sydney was going to be in a heel position. No more stopping to go to the source of an interesting odor. Instead, Sydney would have to enjoy that scent on the fly! Sydney learned very quickly that to focus her mental resources on the handler and not the dogs in the environment. We rather easily passed loud dogs behind fences and dogs on leash. With each exposure she did better and better. You can see Sydney checking in with her mom mid-walk. Great job!!