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A Better Dog

A Better Dog Offering specialized dog training that works around your schedule. Our focus is to give you the tools to improve your relationship with your dog.
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ABD seeks to improve relationships between dogs and their owners through focused, attentive training sessions to address a variety of issues including pulling, lunging, jumping up, resource guarding and aggression.

03/20/2025

We started something new this week!!

We regularly work with families who’ve had a child suffer a dog bite injury so we have taken advantage of an opportunity to partner with Amberly Elementary to improve child safety when it comes to dog interactions.

We discussed and demoed (with our dog Emma) how to safely interact with dogs they encounter in public. Since most dog bites happen in the home we made sure the children could recognize body language cues their dog may give when nervous, anxious or guarding as well as those times to avoid their dog all together like feeding time or when the dog is napping.

Each class gets their own presentation to limit distractions and increase participation. Super fun!!

03/19/2025

Here’s a quick client update but first, the backstory….
Chip is a 4 year old who is having accidents in the house. The family has tried securing the dog in a certain area of the home with no success so of course we recommend crating. The problem was Chip hasn’t seen a crate in years.
We worked on a variety of tasks like structured walking, recall and Place. With all that accomplished we introduced Chip to the crate. He was a natural. He easily got in and out of the crate and was calm and relaxed when shut in the crate.

This update, just a few days after training came in yesterday.

03/17/2025

Claim your space!!!

This is an important concept that goes a long way towards having a healthy relationship with your dog.

We have clients dealing with issues like guarding, separation anxieity and over arousal (which can itself lead to getting nipped and scratched). All of this from a lack of respect your dog has for personal boundaries.

Dogs can get very excited when they see you on the couch or in a chair because your lowered position is often seen as an invitation for the dog to engage you.

With four month old Riley we have a dog that is very fun loving, friendly and JUMPY. The client had additional concerns for her mother’s pending visit since she is slightly unsteady and a fall of any kind would be dangerous.

To get ahead of this problem we showed the client how to address the issue…before it started.

Every time mom who go to sit down Riley would excitedly come towards her. Each time this happened we had mom stand up and move towards the dog. This would cause Riley to stop advancing and eventually she chose to lay down a few feet from mom. Mission accomplished. This left mom free to invite the dog into her personal space when mom was ready. This keeps things like your coffee from getting spilled or your laptop from getting knocked over. The bigger picture is that this “permission only” set up can extend to other family and guests.

03/14/2025

A recent update from Penny illustrates something we talk with clients about regularly.

Prior to arriving with her forever family Penny was returned for herding animals and kids in the home. When it came to introducing Penny to their newly adopted cats the family followed the process. After our initial session they had Penny around the cats while on leash and muzzzle. Next, she was on leash only and finally completely off leash around them.

Training your dog involves a balance of challenging them while making sure to work at a pace that helps your dog be successful.

See comments for the progression videos.

03/12/2025

Progress in real time…

Roxy is a client we first worked with two years ago.

Recently we got this message from the owner.
“Roxy is very reactive to other dogs. She gets very upset and barks to the point she is huffing, I can tell it upsets her. She is also pulling on the leash when walking and we haven’t been able to correct that.”

During almost all of our sessions I will start on leash with the dog. The following video begins right after mom took over control of the leash. We had just passed a dog that was in its yard barking at us. Mom decided to challenge Roxy right away and went back past that same dog.

In the beginning you’ll see Roxy fixating on the other dog which mom addressed. Next, you see a moment where Roxy briefly bites the leash due to over arousal. Mom did a great job not adding any leash pressure at that time and the moment passed. Roxy then went back to walking nicely while continuing to check in with her mom. All of the barking you hear is from the other dog.
Quite an improvement for just one session!!

Good leash manners are about communication. Consider seeking assistsnce from a professional trainer if you are struggling.

03/10/2025

Reggie…part 2

Reggie needed a bit of help dealing with the two cats he lives with, Jenny and Lt. Dan. Reggie likes to stalk Jenny and has been injured by Lt. Dan duirng a couple of skirmishes. Just recently Reggie caught up to Lt. Dan and pinned him to the floor. The owners wanted a safer enviroment for all of their creatures.

Reggie (like all dogs) generally make better decisions when in a calmer state of mind. We introduced Reggie to Place which gives him “the job” of staying on his bed. We also worked on his recall, both with and without the cats around. This allows the owners to call the dog away from the cat(s) should it look like he’s not going to make good choices.

The more we challenged Reggie the better he behaved. By the end of the session Reggie was happy to put himself on Place leaving Lt. Dan to stretch his legs. Great work!

03/03/2025

Last summer Reggie had the misfortune of receiving a perimeter fence correction on leash. Ever since then he refused to go on leash past the driveway sign where the cable is buried. The family ended up having to load him in the car, drive him to the end of the driveway and walk from there. What a pain!!

To fix this issue it took a combination of building trust (w/ me), tapping into Reggie’s food drive, and clear leash communication. There was no room for comforting this behavior or assurances that “it’s ok”.

After about 10-15 minutes the problem was gone. We even had the clients take turns walking Reggie down the driveway. No problem at all.

If your dog is stuck in a cycle of fearful behavior(s) consult a professional who can help you successfully address these issues. Great job Reggie!!

02/27/2025

Dogs are very resilient…..

I wanted to use our session with Bella to illustrate this point. This 1.5 year old young lady spent her first 6 months living mostly on a tie out and the client we worked with had gotten Bella only 16 days earlier from the SECOND owner.

As our clients know, we have a brief conversation with them prior to training to make sure we get the most out of our session. After speaking with Bella’s parents I was expecting to get growled at when I showed up which we dealt with very easily. What I wasn’t expecting was the calmness that followed. Often dogs that get off to a rough start like Bella, come with some mental/emotional issues.

During our session we worked on a lot of the usual tasks like Place and recall. What wasn’t usual was Bella’s response. Bella was quick to learn and engage. She wasn’t worried about who was handling the leash or where her parents were. Bella was even calm enough to wait for permission to exit the crate, WITH EYE CONTACT! She just did what was asked of her in the most confident way. Bella truly wanted to please and proved to be super sweet.

Regardless of your new dogs’ background remember that they will thrive with structure and leadership.

02/22/2025

“Hello new big problem, almost emergency help”….

This was the start of a client message I received yesterday involving Tonka who is now a 7 month old Dane. We first worked with the client in December ‘24 (orig. post 12/8/24) to establish best practices for the dog to be with mom at the salon she owns. Mom was now messaging us from work because the dog refused to get in the car earlier to run an errand. With work wrapping up in a few hours mom was at a loss!

I got to the salon and worked on re-establishing a rapport with the dog. Luckily for me Tonka is a very sweet girl and loves affection. We moved to the parking lot and after some mild objections Tonka got in the car with me. The next step was to get her to go in on her own..✔️ and after that it was mom’s turn… Tonka got in the car each time for mom ✔️✔️.

Tonka is at a stage of development where some things that she was fine with are now scary (including her crate) so she has learned to object to doing them. It’s important during this time to not let this new found uncertainty or fear take hold.
This wasn’t time for soft talk or reassurances to the dog that “it’s ok”.
This problem was remedied in about 3 minutes using leadership and a leash.

The results speak for themselves.

02/21/2025

What to work on with your puppy?

Tripp is a 4 month old that is very confident and intelligent with high food drive. He’s also pushy and mouthy.

We started with the basics of body handling and grooming using food to keep him busy. We of course started on leash heeling, Place training , Recall and “ leave it”.

We also showed the client how to teach Tripp about personal boundaries. His lack of boundaries thus far had led to nipping and the start of some soft guarding behaviors. This is done primarily through non-verbal communication.

The more we asked of Tripp the more engaged he became. The pushy and mouthy behavior was no more.

02/18/2025

To get the most out of your leash walking you must understand the dog side AND the human side. It’s a team effort.

Pictured is a young (formerly) out of control Golden with our client. What isn’t obvious is our client is recovering from recent back surgery and she really wanted to “ get back out there” with her dog.

We started by increasing engagement before we even left the house. Once outside, we kept talking to a minimum to limit arousal and improved mom’s leash communication. It took just a few minutes, in the first session for these changes to make a difference.

Leash walking is good for your relationship in so many ways. If it’s something you’re struggling with, it usually gets done less often. Do not be afraid to reach out for help. One session could make all the difference for you too.

02/12/2025

Sometimes a refresher is in order…..

We have a working line GSD at home. As a puppy Emma learned to wait for permission to come out of her crate. She’s usually pretty good about it. HiRecently, however she has been less patient when the kids let her out so back to school she went.

You’ll see in the video how accountability leads to engagement.

Make yourself part of the transitions your dog goes through each day. On & off the leash, in & out of the crate, the car, the yard. Don’t just allow your dog to exist on auto-pilot. I

02/07/2025

Getting your puppy (or “new to you”dog) off to a good start is crucial. This puppy had only been with his family for a couple of weeks before training day.

Here we are working with 4 month old Scout. We used the dog’s high food drive to focus his attention on the task at hand.

We spent time introducing him to the crate, Place as well as one and two person recall.

We were also made aware of a small concern Scout had with the vacuum/carpet cleaner. Instead of verbally assuring the dog with “it’s ok” around those items we gave the dog a choice. Be afraid or get fed. Starting at a distance the dog could tolerate, we worked closer and closer to the cleaner until it didn’t matter how close we were. The food choice won out and the dog now had a better association with the cleaner.

Besides increased engagement and relationship building all of this mental work came with another benefit… one tired pup!

02/03/2025

What to do with Aussie doodle rowdiness?

The excitement of adding a new baby to the family unfortunately brought about some negative behavior changes in their dogs. The issues between these two began back during the pregnancy when Cannoli started to display more aggression and anxiety towards other dogs. That behavior grew into Cannoli pinning Mochi to the ground over clothing items Mochi would collect. Mochi also began repetitively barking.. a new behavior. Adding to the stress of this was the fact that Cannoli wanted to always be around the baby.

It was 8 legs of chaos when I arrived. Both dogs were behind a hallway gate frantically carrying on. One dog tried crawling under the gate while the other did their best to dislodge the gate from the wall. Obviously, this level of arousal is not great especially around a small child.

Each dog went on a structured walk where they learned to practice impulse control and increase their engagement with the owner.

Next, we re-introduced the dogs to the crate. Getting this important tool back in use would allow for greater control over the energy level in the home and provide the owner a way to mandate downtime for the dogs when needed.

Both dogs responded very well to the training, even choosing to calmly lay near each other on the bed and enter the crate on their own.

The goal for the next few weeks is to keep the engagement and structure high and develop a new expectation of behavior within the home that benefits everyone.

01/30/2025

This is shocking! We spend a lot of time helping owners learn how to advocate for their young children around their dog. Please remember that is a two way street.

01/25/2025

Approaches to SOCIALIZATION…..

Unfortunately this term has a variety of meanings for dog owners leading to a lot of confusion and stress for both dogs and owners.

First, what socialization is not:

It’s NOT meeting 100 people & 100 dogs in the first 100 days

It’s NOT taking your new dog/puppy with you everywhere you go.

It’s NOT allowing a high number of people and dogs to interact with your dog in public.

These pursuits tend to contribute to a dog that is constantly hyped (or stressed, yes there are dogs like that) for the next encounter. This also impairs the dogs’ ability to calm themselves. This can lead to reactivity, resource guarding, separation anxiety, and even aggression.

Meeting dogs and people constantly creates a patterned response in your dog that won’t involve permission from you to engage. We have a steady stream of clients whose dog blows them off at the sight of a new person or dog who must be there to pet or play with them.

Our goal with Socializing is to help the dogs reach neutrality in a variety of environments.

Instead, have your dog AROUND many more people and dogs then they actually interact with. How many people do you have direct contact with during your day? You might give nod or wave to a stranger but it’s not handshakes and hugs for everyone.

When Emma was a puppy I spent time exposing her to a variety of environments in a controlled manner. With each new positive experience her trust in me grew making our bond stronger.

Socializing your dog takes time and effort. Being able to recognize when you’re dog is comfortable or stressed in these moments is of the utmost importance. Choose wisely.

01/22/2025

This 5 year old was aggressive with men, nips family members during rowdy play and is “protective” of certain family members. The behavior was getting worse.

Knowing the value of a good first impression we had Kingston on a slip lead when we met. The family was shocked at how well behaved & quiet the dog was. In this calmer state Kingston actually had an interest in meeting me. After a few minutes the slip lead was removed and his good choices continued.

We put an end to his protective (guarding) behavior by correcting the dog early in his decision process to guard. This was done in incremental steps such as having mom and dad hug in silence, then adding the increased animated behaviors common during this personal interaction. This kept the dogs’ behavior from escalating.

We used the same approach to improve Kingstons’ over the top response to guests arriving. Individually addressing all of the things that have led to this problem such as knocking, the door opening and later adding the doorbell allowed us to build the dog to a point where he could calmly handle all of these things together.

We introduced Kingston to the Place command to further help with impulse control.

Finally I wanted to see if Kingston would show any guarding tendencies with the family sat in the living room. I fully expected him to go to his person and “claim” them. Instead, Kingston chose to sit by me on the other side of the room. He even tried nuzzling me for affection. How can this be? He hates men?!

Dogs thrive in an environment based on clear communication. In every session I am a yes/no person. There is no “sometimes or kinda” option.

From the start of this session we made communication clear with Kingston. The result was a calmer, trainable and engaged little guy.

01/20/2025

Penny’s progression…..

Penny was a 1 yr old rescue last January when we met. She was reacting aggressively with a child in the home and had begun practicing guarding behaviors.

Jan. 2024: First session. We started the process of adding structure and engagement.

Feb. 2024: Accompanied client to Vet appointment to help teach them how to work through this stressful situation.

May 2024: Phone consult to discuss handling Penny at seasonal campsite & her poor behavior in the car.

May 2024: Second session. Penny’s first visit to a store (Home Depot). Met with client to help them navigate a variety of situations to a positive outcome for Penny.

June 2024: Phone consult to discuss some nipping behavior.

Jan 2025: Third session. Penny has made great progress. She was very relaxed in her crate when I arrived so I suggested giving her a chance to hang out. Now Penny has had her moments this past year so the family has been cautious with her around guests but I agreed to be the test subject 🤦🏻‍♂️. Penny was relaxed and playful (see pics).
We also started the process of introducing her to three cats the family had just adopted. Again, Penny did very well.

We have really enjoyed being a part of Penny’s journey.

I started ABD to show clients how to train their dog to be successful in any environment. Penny is the perfect example of what can be accomplished when we share some of our knowledge and experience with owners determined to make their dogs’ life better. Bravo!!👏🏼👏🏼

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Portage, MI

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Videos

A recent update from Penny illustrates something we talk with clients about regularly. Prior to arriving with her forever family Penny was returned for herding animals and kids in the home. When it came to introducing Penny to their newly adopted cats the family followed the process. After our initial session they had Penny around the cats while on leash and muzzzle. Next, she was on leash only and finally completely off leash around them. Training your dog involves a balance of challenging them while making sure to work at a pace that helps your dog be successful. See comments for the progression videos.

Progress in real time… Roxy is a client we first worked with two years ago. Recently we got this message from the owner. “Roxy is very reactive to other dogs. She gets very upset and barks to the point she is huffing, I can tell it upsets her. She is also pulling on the leash when walking and we haven’t been able to correct that.” During almost all of our sessions I will start on leash with the dog. The following video begins right after mom took over control of the leash. We had just passed a dog that was in its yard barking at us. Mom decided to challenge Roxy right away and went back past that same dog. In the beginning you’ll see Roxy fixating on the other dog which mom addressed. Next, you see a moment where Roxy briefly bites the leash due to over arousal. Mom did a great job not adding any leash pressure at that time and the moment passed. Roxy then went back to walking nicely while continuing to check in with her mom. All of the barking you hear is from the other dog. Quite an improvement for just one session!! Good leash manners are about communication. Consider seeking assistsnce from a professional trainer if you are struggling.

Sometimes a refresher is in order….. We have a working line GSD at home. As a puppy Emma learned to wait for permission to come out of her crate. She’s usually pretty good about it. HiRecently, however she has been less patient when the kids let her out so back to school she went. You’ll see in the video how accountability leads to engagement. Make yourself part of the transitions your dog goes through each day. On & off the leash, in & out of the crate, the car, the yard. Don’t just allow your dog to exist on auto-pilot. I

Oh no, Littermates!! We were contacted to help 6 month old littermates with basic manners and leash training (something they hadn’t done yet). Getting littermates is often extremely challenging due in part to the bond between the puppies that can make bonding with the owner difficult. Our first visit was a bit chaotic, especially when we introduced Ace & Bella to walking on leash. By our second visit three weeks later, things vastly improved. The video in the post came from the client just two weeks after our second visit. I’d like to take credit for the tremendous improvement but that wouldn’t be the whole story. The family did all the heavy lifting. Each dog had a dedicated human sibling who worked very hard to give these two dogs the structure they needed to bond with the entire family. Great job to you all. 🎩🎩 #ABetterDog #dogtraining #puppytraining #leashtraining #dogbehavior #portagemichigan

Puppy training with LILO and her family!

Puppy training with Lilo and her family.

Ms. Lilo is a four month old who likes to use her teeth to communicate. This was made even more challenging by having two young children in the home. We got involved and worked towards adding some boundaries, structure and engagement. Following our session the clients were kind enough to post a recommendation to our page. A couple days later we got a great update with videos. Here is part of that update….. “Wanted to send some videos- our quality of life has literally improved! Thanks again…” “Lots of progress with her being more calm in general and that’s really helping build some positive interactions with the cats. We really appreciate you! Have a great weekend!!!” We can’t say it enough! We love what we do! #ABetterDog #dogtraining #puppytraining #portage #michigan

Meet Charlotte

CHARLOTTE 4yr old GSD This is the face of a nervous, anxious and dog-reactive dog who was attacked twice by dogs last year after… We met for a Walking session where Charlotte introduced herself by hitting the end of the leash expressing her displeasure with me being there. After… Lunging and barking at passing dogs during our walk. After… We implemented a structured walk where she could follow instead of lead. After… Charlotte learned to trust us. The client said that Charlotte has always been skittish and anxious and that she would “jump as high as 4ft in the air and pull away to get to a dog.” We wanted Charlotte and her owner to know that this can get better and it took one session to prove us right! This isn’t a one and done session. It’s a step in a new direction towards a “new normal” that Charlotte and her owner can both enjoy. This short video shows what a truly sweet dog she is. ♥️ #ABetterDog #dogtraining #dogbehavior #germanshephard