Wilde Acres: Premier Dog Training and Boarding in Maryland

06/23/2024

Sign your puppy up today! Our newest classes are Tuesday evenings with Carter Wilde and Alexis Taylor. This is a program we’ve been building and perfecting for years, with some new twists! We’re really excited to be offering this course. Contact us today!

02/25/2024

I’m going to tackle a topic that’s crucial for both the safety of our dogs and the success of their training: managing aggressive dogs. Dealing with aggression in dogs can be challenging, but with the right approach and techniques, we can help our canine companions become happier, healthier, and more well-behaved members of the family. They may never be perfect, but they can be better trained dogs.

First things first, let’s talk about what aggression in dogs actually looks like. Aggression can manifest in various forms, including growling, barking, lunging, snapping, or biting. Biting is the last thing we want to happen. It’s essential to recognize that aggression is a natural behavior in dogs and can stem from various factors, such as fear, anxiety, territoriality, or past experiences. Many people want to take too much or too little responsibility for their dog’s aggression. Most of the time, it’s just the dog. We shape the training to help the dog and meet it where it is in the process.

When it comes to training aggressive dogs, effective management is key. What do I mean by management? Well, it involves implementing strategies and protocols to prevent situations that trigger aggressive behavior in the first place. Your dog bites your friends when they come over? Don’t let it get close enough to bite! By managing the dog’s environment and interactions, we can create a safe and controlled space for training and rehabilitation. You’re gonna have to take away some of its freedom during training. The better its obedience gets and the more desensitized to the stressor it gets, the more freedom it can earn back.

Here are some essential management techniques for dealing with aggressive dogs:

1.) Supervision: visual and physical! Always keep a close eye on your dog, especially in situations where aggression may arise. You have to be SUPER vigilant! Have your leash and collar ready. Don’t underestimate how fast your dog can go from one side of you to the other!

2.) Control the Environment: Limit your dog’s exposure to triggers that may provoke aggressive reactions. This could involve using barriers, leashes, or muzzles to prevent contact with potential triggers. Muzzle conditioning is one of the best ways to stay safe in public if you have a reactive dog or an aggressive dog.

3.) Obedience training: Use negative and positive reinforcement as well as negative and positive punishment to shape your dog’s behavior. Focus on getting clear obedience in the face of distractions, and then make those distractions more intense over time. If your goal is to have your dog lie calmly at your feet with 20 people walking around you, then you better be able to have your dog calmly at your feet alone, then with one person, then two, then four people, and so on.

4.) Consistency: Maintain consistent rules and expectations for your dog’s behavior. This helps establish clear boundaries and reduces confusion, which can contribute to feelings of insecurity and aggression. If your dog thinks the environment is unpredictable, it will likely be unpredictable as well. Give your dog a pattern: my handler is always the same, he has no bad days, all infractions are dealt with fairly and the same every time.

5.) Seek Professional Help: If your dog displays severe aggression or poses a risk to others, don’t hesitate to seek guidance from a qualified professional dog trainer. If you’re in our area, Wilde Acres would be happy to help. We can assess the situation and provide personalized training and behavior modification plans tailored to your dog’s needs.

During training sessions, focus on building your dog’s confidence, impulse control, and social skills while decreasing proximity to stressors. Use rewards such as treats, toys, or praise to reinforce desired behaviors and gradually desensitize your dog to triggers in a controlled setting.

Remember, training takes time, patience, and consistency. Be prepared for setbacks along the way, and celebrate small victories as your dog progresses on its journey toward better behavior.

Managing aggression is a vital component of successful dog training and rehabilitation. You’ll never be able to get the training you want on your dog if it bites a child and has to get put to sleep. By implementing effective management techniques and sticking to a program, we can actually keep our dogs safe, and work toward a solution.

If you’re dealing with aggression in your dog, don’t lose hope. With dedication, patience, and the right approach, you can help your dog overcome some of its challenges and thrive in a loving and supportive environment. Here’s to building stronger bonds and brighter futures with our canine companions!

More blogs on wildeacresmd.com/blogs

Carter Wilde

Stay up to date with the latest techniques and proven methods in dog training. Understand why we prefer specific methods of dog training.

02/22/2024

Training Aggressive Dogs can be challenging, but with the right approach and techniques, we can help our canine companions become happier, healthier, and more well-behaved members of the family.

02/21/2024

https://youtu.be/yp_LPp4Jj8g?si=KZ9UCCWd-6F1axu6

On this trip to Home Depot, Carter Wilde, and Jen Hagarman take a dog to work on Public Access skills- a big part of being a service dog. 

02/21/2024

Meet Michael! Alexis is currently fostering this super cute pup. Mikey is looking for a fun home to call his own. He is s***ky, adventurous, and extremely smart. He can sniff food out from anywhere, loves to play tug, and chase the ball around. He has been introduced to many different stimuli, including loud noise, new people, dogs, and the car. He sleeps well in his crate and is working hard on his potty training. We will offer discounted private lessons, as well as a discount for any training retreats!

12/27/2023

The final ones! Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and Happy New Year!! 🐾

12/27/2023

A few more! ⛄️❄️🎄

12/27/2023

We apologize for the delay but here come the rest of the holiday pups in the next couple posts! ❄️🎄
**If you would like a digital copy of your dogs photo, message us on here or contact the office.**

12/25/2023

Merry Christmas from some of our furry friends at Wilde Acres! Keep checking back throughout the day to see more!! ❄️⛄️

11/25/2023

We are hiring! We are currently looking for front office staff and also our for kennel attendants. This is a great opportunity to get into the pet care and dog training space. We are happy to train people with the right attitude from other industries and businesses. These positions are both full time, 40 hours per week, and have weekend requirements. We provide all sorts of benefits to our employees and the environment is top notch. Please go to wildeacresmd.com/careers to apply!!!

11/25/2023

Come in and freshen up your handling skills!

Every Sunday:
Off leash: 10am-11am
On leash: 11:30am- 12pm

Got a puppy?

Best thing you can do is send them for a 2 week retreat at 16 weeks old and then again between 6-9 months old for another 2 weeks. These dogs are real solid!

If your dog is older they can still come for our basic and advanced training retreats!

We offer:
    •    Puppy foundations
    •    Basic Obedience Retreats
    •    Intermediate Obedience retreats
    •    4 week Advanced Off-leash retreat
    •    4-6 week Behavior Modification retreats
    •    Weekend On-Leash and Off-Leash Group Follow up lessons

Short stays for boarding, training while boarding, and private lessons are available to clients and dogs once they’ve trained with us.

Located on 19 acres in Glyndon, Maryland

Visit our website: wildeacresmd.com
Email: [email protected]
Call us for details: (410) 833-2300
Blog: https://linktr.ee/wildeacresmd

   

09/30/2023

Somebody please adopt these dogs so we can train them! We’re also soon to be offering Gun Dog Programs too!!!

07/07/2023

You must take an active role in your dog’s life to make sure that it gets enough exercise, has plenty of exposure to various stimuli, and is allowed freedom to exhibit natural behavior. Learn why your dog needs more yard time and how to provide a rich outdoor life for your pup.

06/26/2023

Loki!! This low riding Bernedoodle is back for a board and train! We have been working on his off leash recall and introduced the e collar. He is doing great and was such a good sport about working in the rain yesterday!

Got a puppy?

Best thing you can do is send them for a 2 week retreat at 16 weeks old and then again between 6-9 months old for another 2 weeks. These dogs are real solid!

If your dog is older they can still come for our basic and advanced training retreats!

We offer:
    •    Puppy foundations
    •    Basic Obedience Retreats
    •    Intermediate Obedience retreats
    •    4 week Advanced Off-leash retreat
    •    4-6 week Behavior Modification retreats
    •    Weekend On-Leash and Off-Leash Group Follow up lessons

Short stays for boarding, training while boarding, and private lessons are available to clients and dogs once they’ve trained with us.

Located on 19 acres in Glyndon, Maryland

Visit our website: wildeacresmd.com
Email: [email protected]
Call us for details: (410) 833-2300
Blog: https://linktr.ee/wildeacresmd

   

05/29/2023

Chewy! This sweet boy came in for a few days for a board and train! We love seeing this handsome guy!

Got a puppy?

Best thing you can do is send them for a 2 week retreat at 16 weeks old and then again between 6-9 months old for another 2 weeks. These dogs are real solid!

If your dog is older they can still come for our basic and advanced training retreats!

We offer:
    •    Puppy foundations
    •    Basic Obedience Retreats
    •    Intermediate Obedience retreats
    •    4 week Advanced Off-leash retreat
    •    4-6 week Behavior Modification retreats
    •    Weekend On-Leash and Off-Leash Group Follow up lessons

Short stays for boarding, training while boarding, and private lessons are available to clients and dogs once they’ve trained with us.

Located on 19 acres in Glyndon, Maryland

Visit our website: wildeacresmd.com
Email: [email protected]
Call us for details: (410) 833-2300
Blog: https://linktr.ee/wildeacresmd

   

04/27/2023

04/26/2023

Fin!
Otis!
Mojo!
A couple of the dogs training with us right now.
Fin is a Bernese x Poodle which we have all the time here. It’s a super popular breed right now. Most of the ones we have are prone to over arousal and almost vibrate when they get excited. It’s endearing initially when you recognize they like you so much, but the poodle genes give them stamina and they can stay in that state for a very long time. The Bernese get tired quicker and therefor the arousal is capped.

Otis came to us from an older couple who were having trouble with his energy level. He’s a Silver Lab, which is a Lab with some kind of diluted gene, maybe a Weimaraner or Dane somewhere back in the bloodline. He is a great retriever and a sweetheart but will jump and nip when he gets excited. We are going to make it easier for mom and dad to manage him though!



Mojo is a Catahoula x GSD, which is one of the most wild Xs I’ve seen. He’s a powerful dog, super suspicious of strangers, but also smart and driven.

04/23/2023

Wally!! This Miniature Australian Shepherd is here for a 4 week retreat to reshape the way he operates. Wally is as smart as can be and has a pretty good understanding of his commands. We will clean them up and create an off leash recall but the majority of our time together will be spent working on some impulse control, reactivity issues, and muzzle conditioning. Wally is full of energy and eager to please so we know he’s going to crush these next few weeks!

Got a puppy?

Best thing you can do is send them for a 2 week retreat at 16 weeks old and then again between 6-9 months old for another 2 weeks. These dogs are real solid!

If your dog is older they can still come for our basic and advanced training retreats!

We offer:
    •    Puppy foundations
    •    Basic Obedience Retreats
    •    Intermediate Obedience retreats
    •    4 week Advanced Off-leash retreat
    •    4-6 week Behavior Modification retreats
    •    Weekend On-Leash and Off-Leash Group Follow up lessons

Short stays for boarding, training while boarding, and private lessons are available to clients and dogs once they’ve trained with us.

Located on 19 acres in Glyndon, Maryland

Visit our website: wildeacresmd.com
Email: [email protected]
Call us for details: (410) 833-2300
Blog: https://linktr.ee/wildeacresmd

   

04/19/2023

‼️SUNDAY GROUP CLASS ‼️

Is off site this week!! Meet us Organ Ridge Park 13555 Beaver Damn RD Cockeysville, MD 21030

Call the office if you would like to attend!

04/18/2023

Here are a couple of cute faces from Sunday group follow up!
After completing a training retreat, here at Wilde acres , students are invited to attend handler classes. Each retreat comes with six of these. Follow up handler classes. This is your opportunity to learn how to utilize all of your dogs, new tricks, and tools to the best of your ability and operate as a team successfully moving forward.

04/10/2023

Join us at Wilde Acres in Glyndon MD for a seminar with

04/10/2023

Jimmy’s Jam!
We used to call this building ‘91 because that’s when it was originally added to the kennel. We unified the multi pitch rook structures and created a much more cohesive look from the outside. This angle shows the before and after perfectly. This was completed in Fall of 2022.

04/05/2023

Come and train with Cameron Ford at Wilde Acres April 28, 29, 30! Contact our office for details and to secure your spot! Cameron is teaching his “Canine Cognition” seminar which is all about how dogs learn. He is a very accomplished and very detailed presenter. It will be a really cool opportunity.

03/21/2023

Our new page is open! This page will be private and just for updates for training retreat dogs at Wilde Acres. will be for educational posts and other fun content!

03/17/2023

Boss!! The Boss Man is crushing his retreat!! We’ve upped the distractions for his recall and as you can see, he is not fazed! Even a cat taking off as Trainer Jen & he entered the woods couldn’t throw him off his game- go Boss!!! He has a little less than a week to go yet and we couldn’t be happier with how he’s doing!

03/17/2023

Sasha!! Don’t know if it’s the rain or the fact that she goes home Monday but this girl has some extra s***k today! We’ve helped this older gal learn to be calmer and more relaxed dogs so her dad can feel more confident walking her and having her on leash around other dogs. She’s always going to need to be given extra space but her dad now has the tools to help her be successful!

03/17/2023

Birdie! This hound dog is headed home tomorrow! Her mom made one request - lots of recall around wildlife! While we know it’s out there in abundance it’s hard to tell exactly when we will cross paths with it! It finally happened and Birdie did amazing! We startled a herd of deer and as they were hanging out in the brush! Birdie was so excited to chase them but responded too quickly to Trainer Mel!! Go Bird Dog!!

03/17/2023

Coco! She is headed home tomorrow after completing her 2nd 2 week retreat!! We focused on the e collar this time around and introduced it for an off leash recall. We worked her around other dogs and lots of people. Coco as usual did a fantastic job! Go Coco!!

03/17/2023

Bella!! She is headed home tomorrow after a 4 week retreat!! This girl has come a long way in just a month! We have given her a whole new set of skills as well as some very clear boundaries. Bella has her behaviors on the pinch and e collar. We also took the time to properly introduce the muzzle to create positive associations with it. Bella is more than happy to comply with or without it - which is exactly the result we were looking for!!