Dog Lovers Obedience School

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Richmond, VA
Dog Lovers Obedience School

Dog Lovers Obedience School Dog training services: We offer group training, board and train, and at home training sessions.
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Dog Lovers Obedience School offers puppy and adult dog obedience training programs in Richmond, Virginia. Our puppy and dog training classes teach basic and advanced obedience commands, enhance social skills and help build healthy relationships between the dog and the owners. We offer private training sessions for dog behavior modifications. Emily knew from a young age that her passion for dogs wo

uld eventually
lead her down a path to dog training. She started out dog walking and pet
sitting for neighbors and family friends. She graduated from the Veterinary
Science program at Hermitage Technical Center and has worked with
breeders, at kennels, and as a veterinary assistant. Emily became a puppy trainer with Canine Companions for Independence
(CCI) a nationally recognized service dog placement organization.

09/04/2024

Come out to support a good cause Sept 14th

09/02/2024

Happy Labor Day! Reminder that we have no classes today. Enjoy the holiday!

This week’s dog of the week is Zesti, the Portuguese Water Dog! Zesti is learning how to do the job of a sport dog, show dog, and service dog for his owner and handler. He’s come to us for half-day drop-offs and classes, and has already graduated from puppy and beginner! Next step…intermediate!

Stay tuned for next week’s dog of the week!

08/28/2024

Caption: Reminder that Intermediate Classes will be $10 off for the month of September as our back to school sale! Now’s a great time to take your dog’s training to the next level, or refresh their skills!

*Graduation from beginner is a prerequisite*

08/26/2024

This week’s dog of the week is Juppi the puppy! Juppi loves to “air hug” people and dogs, and has made a second home at DLOS! He’s been learning lots of new skills through board-and-trains, and is practicing to be a well-mannered adult dog.

Stay tuned for next week’s dog of the week!

08/23/2024

Courtesy post: Two dogs are looking for new homes.
Stella’s owner sadly passed away and is looking for a new home. Her info and contact is on the flyer. Stella was trained through DLOS, very sweet girl looking for a good strong leader!

Sabre is an AKC registered American Staffordshire Terrier (M@ch Speed Sabre). He is 9 months old, neutered, housebroken, crate trained and is doing well with his obedience training. He loves to play and is very food motivated. He graduated a puppy kindergarten class and did really well in class. He also loves going on dog friendly outings and stores and we take him a lot of places. Riding in the car is his absolute favorite thing. He would do better in a ONLY dog household. Please DM us for owner contact.

08/21/2024

Tethering is when your dog is hooked to a leash attached to a door, furniture, or secured to a wall while on their regular (flat) collar. It’s great tool for puppies, new rescues, and even older dogs.

Why we like it:
- It helps teach an off-switch, or “the art of doing nothing”. Your dog doesn’t have to be entertained all the time!
- It keeps them out of trouble. They can’t get into the trash or knock someone over if they don’t have access to more than a couple feet of space at a time.
- It’s great for potty training. Dogs typically won’t potty if they don’t have enough space to find the perfect spot away from where they’re hanging out, and if they start to show signs they have to go out, they’re already on leash.
- It prevents anxious and pushy behaviors like excessive pacing, jumping up on people, and soliciting attention.
- It helps reinforce the “place” command by keeping them on their spot. Once your dog has a solid “place” command, you may start to fade out tether training, but it’s a great tool to help you get there!

*Tethering should always be done while you’re in the same room to avoid injury, and on a 4-5 foot leash to prevent pacing and tangling

Do you find tethering helpful? Let us know in the comments!

Have questions about tether training? Ask us about it at your next class, drop-off, or private session!

08/19/2024

This week’s dog of the week is Kona! Kona is a sweet girl who’s a bit of a fashionista, she always comes to us wearing a different bandana! She is a pro at “place” and loves lounging on cots when it’s not her turn to work.

Stay tuned for next week’s dog of the week!

08/12/2024

This week’s dog of the week is Axel the hound! Axel made his way through all 3 levels of classes we offer at the school, and has popped in to some half-days too. He lives with two dog siblings, and is always looking for fun!

Stay tuned for next week’s dog of the week!

08/11/2024

Here is a really good documentary! Also the organization Emily is a part of is in this film! Check it out!

08/09/2024

Congrats Emily and Verl! Emily was raised for 18 months and today she handed over the leash to his new person! Verl will give his person so much freedom and independence !

08/07/2024

Are you doing your homework? 📝

Training doesn’t stop in class, change starts at home! Just like their people, dogs need to “use it or lose it” when it comes to their skills. Without any structure or consistency at home, your pup won’t be able to be successful in classes. So what kind of homework do we recommend?

Your dog’s training should fit into your lifestyle, and your expectations should be consistent. Homework to try:

🖍️ 30 minute downs, grounding, or place work
🖍️ Allow your dog on furniture by permission only
🖍️ Practice door manners (knock on the door, walls, etc. and reinforce good behavior)
🖍️ Waiting to be released (“break”) at all household exits and for meals
🖍️ Structured walks (try incorporating auto-sits every couple of mailboxes)
🖍️ Tether time while you do chores to encourage an off switch
🖍️ Long-line distracted recalls outside
🖍️ 5-10 minute structured training sessions (working for their meals is a great way to incorporate this into your dogs’ day)

Try 2 or 3 of these exercises per week and see the difference in your dog!

Need more tips? Give us a follow or register for services today!

08/05/2024

This week’s dog of the week is Bingley! If you keep up with our stories on half-day days, you’ve probably seen this face before. Bingley comes to us to keep his manners and commands in tip-top shape, but he also loves when he gets to play! We often use him as an example for newer half-day pups, demoing various commands and neutrality.

Stay tuned for next week’s dog of the week!

08/01/2024

If your dog’s ball rolled under the couch…what would they do? Would they utilize tools like their paws or muzzle to retrieve it, or would they bark incessantly until you retrieved it for them?

If your dog would try using their paws or muzzle first, this is a good indication that they’re a problem solver!

Problem solving is an important skill for your dog to develop. It’s the difference between relying on their handler to do everything for them in life, or being independent, confident thinkers. The more willing your dog is to work through challenges, the less likely they are to have behavioral issues like reactivity, insecurity, or resource guarding.

Ways to increase your dog’s problem solving ability:
- Cheering them on through confidence building activities
- Take them to a group class and practice their skills in a more distracting environment
- Try a food puzzle

How do you let your dog problem solve? Let us know in the comments!

Need more ideas? Register for services today!

07/29/2024

This week’s dog of the week is Sox! Sox is an Australian Labradoodle named after the Boston Red Sox. He has been coming to us since he was a little pup for half-days, privates, and boarding. It’s been so fun to watch him learn and grow into the dog he is today!

Stay tuned for next week’s dog of the week!

07/24/2024

As dog owners, we all want to be the most important thing in our dog’s world. That being said, you may be losing your value without even realizing it!

Things that may lose your value:
⁃ Going to dog parks
⁃ On leash greeting with dogs
⁃ Saying “hi” to every person you see on walks and outings
⁃ Letting your dog get away with everything
⁃ Letting your dog solicit attention from everyone they meet

Things to get your value back:
⁃ Playing engagement games (like the name game)
⁃ Keeping training sessions fun and rewarding by finding what is “high value” to them (see our infographic on how to reward your dog based on motivators) and keeping sessions short to avoid burnout
⁃ Keeping strong boundaries with your dog
⁃ Giving your dog direction (they thrive under leadership)

Why is this important? The better your relationship with your dog is, the more likely they are to be willing participants in your training! The more value you have as the handler, the more motivating you are, and therefore the better the behavioral outcomes.

Want more tips? Give us a follow and register for services today!

07/22/2024

This week’s dog of the week is Ollie the hound mix! Ollie has been coming to us for a few years, and recently earned his CGC (AKC Canine Good Citizen) title. He’s got quite the strong hound nose, but when he’s in work mode, he’s all ears!

Stay tuned for next week’s dog of the week!

07/17/2024

Intermediate will be $10 off for the month of September!

Once your pup has graduated from beginner class, they’re ready for intermediate! Has your dog already graduated from intermediate but needs a touch up? You’re welcome to sign up for another round and hop in too!

In intermediate, we work on skills like…
- Listening to both verbal commands and hand signals
- Increasing the 3 D’s (distance, distraction, duration) of commands
- Preparing dogs for off-leash work
- Rear end awareness and the heel position
- Impulse control challenges
- Generalizing commands in different scenarios

We also play lots of fun games in intermediate, each class is a little different!

Interested in joining intermediate? Contact us today!

07/15/2024

This week’s dog of the week is Murphy the Bernedoodle! Murphy has been training with us since he was a puppy, back in 2022. He lives on a farm with emu and chickens, and loves his little brother Moose.

Stay tuned for next week’s dog of the week!

07/10/2024

You’ll often hear us remind clients “you get what you pet”, but what does this mean?

It’s important to be mindful of what you’re doing with your hands, so you’re not accidentally praising your pup. Touch is very rewarding to most dogs, so anytime you touch them, you’re telling them “good job”. This means that if your dog is jumping up on you and you push them off with your hands, you’re saying “good job”. If you’re petting your dog that’s whining or barking to try to console them, you’re saying “good job”. With nervous dogs, it’s especially important that you’re not toeing the line between encouragement and coddling. Being aware of when you’re touching your dog is a great way to make sure you’re being their cheerleader and not reinforcing unwanted behavior or emotional states.

Did you find this helpful? Leave us a comment below! Need training help? Reach out to us today to get started!

07/08/2024

This week’s dog of the week is Henry the black Labrador Retriever! Henry comes to half-days once a week, and we always get so excited to see him! He’s a pro at “place” and can often be found napping on a cot in between his turns working. When he gets excited, he hops up and down a few inches off of the ground and wags his whole body.

Stay tuned for next week’s dog of the week!

07/03/2024

Reminder that there will be no classes tomorrow for July 4th. Have a fun and safe holiday!

07/01/2024

This week’s dog of the week is Lucy the Golden Retriever! We’ve known Lucy since she was a young puppy, and she just graduated from intermediate class! She and her mom have worked really hard on her impulse control, which is super hard for most goldens. Lucy has grown the most in her excitable greetings, she just loves people! When she comes to half-days, she likes watching Mr. Crab run around.

Stay tuned for next week’s dog of the week!

06/27/2024

When you’re greeting a dog, remember “four on the floor”. A dog should have all four paws on the ground at all times when saying hello. This means no pawing or jumping up on people. They don’t have to be in a perfect sit-stay, as long as they’re not being rude or pushy! If your dog does jump up while greeting you or someone else, provide a quick correction and praise when they’re displaying appropriate behavior.

06/26/2024

We’re starting a new weekly post…dog of the week!

This week’s dog of the week is Ellie the Scottish deerhound! The American Kennel Club describes these dogs as “dignified, gentle, and polite”, but once Ellie warms up to you she’s a big goofball! She loves to be by your side and lean against your legs. She’s taken a liking to our trainer, Mary, and likes to follow her around during half-days.

Stay tuned for next week’s dog of the week!

06/23/2024

Congrats to our nine students who passed the Canine Good Citizen test! Way to go! We will be offering this class in the fall! Let us know if you are interested so we can add you to the list! Some of the dogs that passed today next step is therapy dog test!

06/21/2024

Is your dog a selective listener? Do they not listen until the 4th or 5th time you say a command? It may be because you’re repeating commands without reinforcement.

The more we repeat a command when our dog isn’t listening, the more opportunities they have to blow us off. So what can you do instead?

Enter, the command sequence! The command sequence is a way for us to teach our dogs that commands are not optional. Either they listen the first time they hear you, or you’re going to help them out. Swipe to the second photo to learn how to use this sequence!

Need help learning how to reinforce commands? Contact us today!

06/14/2024

Dog parks may seem like an easy way to exercise and socialize your dog, but easy does not always mean safe. While it may seem fun and rewarding to take your dog to a dog park, there are some risks you should know:

🐾 Dog parks are a cesspool for parasites and disease.
- You don’t know the vaccination history or preventative care of any of the dogs in the park but your own.
🐾 Dog parks can be dangerous.
- You likely don’t know the behavioral history of the dogs in the park, even the “regulars” may have concerns that you’re unaware of. This puts your dog at risk of having a bad experience or even being attacked. It’s not always “if”, sometimes it’s “when”.
🐾 People aren’t paying attention.
- If you look around a dog park, there’s a good chance that the people there aren’t even watching their dogs. They may be socializing with others in the park, scrolling on their phone, etc. This means that if dogs are giving warning signs that things may escalate, there’s a good chance that they’re being missed.
🐾 Most people don’t understand body language and dog communication.
- This can lead people to correcting behaviors that are acceptable (i.e. yelling at a dog for correcting a dog for being pushy or rude), but then not stepping in when it’s actually necessary. No one is truly advocating for their dogs at dog parks.
🐾 Dog parks aren’t good for your dog’s mental state.
- Chances are that most dogs in the park are over-aroused, and this is not a healthy state of mind for a dog to be in! Even the sweetest dog can have a bad moment when overtired and forced to socialize with no escape.
🐾 Dog parks can cause behavioral problems such as reactivity.
- If every time your dog sees another dog they think they’re going to be in an off leash high-energy situation, they’re not going to know how to be neutral around dogs in your community, especially on leash. This can lead to frustration and ultimately reactivity.

Need a safe way for your dog to practice dog neutrality? Consider signing up for classes or a half-day drop-off with us on the Thryv portal!

06/13/2024

Yesterday I saw a video from a well-known trainer on social media that discussed how there is no such thing as “too much exercise” for dogs. This discussion was accompanied by b roll of dogs fetching balls in a variety of places.
I don’t usually get involved in trainer arguments but I need to say something about this.
There ABSOLUTELY is such a thing as too much high-arousal exercise. And you probably don’t want to find out for yourself what happens next.
Activities that tend to *physically* wear dogs out the fastest are also the ones that create the highest excitement levels. Fetching balls. Playing frisbee. Racing around at the dog park. Chasing water from the garden hose. Running next to a bike.
All of these are physical exercise, but they also create intense arousal states. And if you put your dog into high-arousal states repeatedly you better know how to train around this, too.
I have a lot of students who fell into this trap. They got a high-energy dog (a GSD, a herding breed mix of some sort, a retriever etc.).
They figured out that the fastest way to make the dog physically really tired (the tongue-hanging-to-the-floor-kind-of-tired) was by playing chuck-it for half an hour. Or by taking the dog to the dog park every day for a wild romp.
The dog started to crave these arousal states (as programmed in their DNA).
But at the same time, no impulse control training happened. So now we have a dog who knows the fun of adrenaline and who seeks it, without having been taught to listen and regulate when in a state of high excitement.
This dog will start to show other problems. They might get frustrated to the point of redirecting when they cannot access fun immediately. They might be vocalizing or unable to settle and then I get messages that say “My dog just cannot be normal in public”.
If your dog gets to enjoy a high-arousal activity every time they leave the house, they will start to expect (and eventually demand) a high-arousal activity every time.
And this is not fun.
Your dog needs a balance of high-arousal and low-arousal activities. Furthermore, the more high-arousal activities your dog has, the more you have to balance these with impulse control training. It’s not fair to make our dogs crazy without teaching them the skills to un-crazy ;)
“Exercise” can have four quadrants:
- Low-arousal, not physically demanding (sniff walks)
- Low-arousal, physically demanding (hiking)
- High-arousal, not physically demanding (excited waiting while another dog works)
- High-arousal, physically demanding (fetching)

Make sure you are aware which type of exercise you are providing for your dog, and try to reach a balance that works for your dog.
If you are unhappy with your dog’s arousal level or impulse control in daily life, look at whether this is amplified by the type of exercise you are providing.

06/05/2024

As balanced trainers, we use both “yes” and “no”. “Yes” can be reinforced with treats, toys, verbal praise, pets, etc., but how to you reinforce a “no”? That’s where corrections come in.

Corrections are a part of life. They tell your dog what not to do, so you have the opportunity to show them what you want instead.

Corrections should always be quick-and-done and given with a level head. A correction should be given to provide information to your dog, not out of frustration. Corrections should be emotionless. But what does a correction look like?

Every dog is different. For some dog, a stern “no” or verbal correction is enough, others may require something more. This could look like a quick tug back on the leash, correcting with a spray bottle or training collar, using spatial pressure (I.e. putting your knee up when a dog jumps), or more!

Need help finding the right correction for your dog? Want to learn more about balanced training? Contact us today!

05/27/2024

Happy Memorial Day! We hope that you have a safe holiday! Remember to keep your pup safe if they’re afraid of fireworks.

Address

1127 Gaskins Road
Richmond, VA
23238

Website

http://www.dogloversobedienceschool.com/

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Videos

Our intermediate students took on the recall obstacle challenge today!

Please welcome our new apprentice trainer, Lore! Lore has always been passionate about anything and everything dog related, but really became interested in training when they started working with their current dog, Ruthie. After Ruthie graduated from Dog Lovers, Lore was eager to learn more and help more people connect with and teach their dogs, and thus began their apprenticeship. In this video, Lore goes over some of the basic commands that we use at the dog school. Stay tuned for more demo videos! ———————————— #doglovers #rva #dogs #dog #puppy #obediencetraining #dogtraining #dogsofrva #balancedtraining #pets #reactivedog #reactivity #behaviormod #workingdog #doghandler #petdogtraining #dogtrainers

Long video but worth the watch. She goes over what we preach! Move! Keep walking !

Friendly reminder why your dogs shouldn’t be riding in the front seat.

How we feed multiple dogs at Emilys house! Structured feeding time and quiet time after meals.

Intermediate fun! We are always thinking of new ways to challenge our students!! Good job pups!

Welcome to the next installment of the video series Bombproof on a Budget! This series is designed to help families who have little access to popular dog training tools find good alternatives without breaking the bank. We welcome you to try this and tag us in your videos or posts! Let’s see those happy dogs! Happy training! —————————————————— Follow us for more training content! • • • • • #dogs #puppy #dogsofrva #doggos #doghandler #dogtraining #balancedtraining #pets #petdogtraining #dogtrainers #rva #workingdogsofinstagram #k9 #canine #workingdog

How to appropriately hold a dogs leash. We see a lot of different ways to hold a leash but the most efficient and safest way to hold it is overhand with your arms relaxed at your side. If your dog pulls heavily, wrapping your hand around the leash can lead to rope burn, dislocations, or breakage should you be unable to drop your leash if needed. Having a constantly tight leash is management and not training. Your dogs pulling will not get any easier, it will get HARDER as your dog becomes comfortable and desensitized to the pressure. Message us today if you are struggling with leash manners or go to our website @ Dogloversobedienceschool.com. —————————————————— Follow us for more training content! • • • • • #dogs #puppy #dogsofrva #doggos #doghandler #dogtraining #balancedtraining #pets #petdogtraining #dogtrainers #rva #workingdogsofinstagram #k9 #canine #workingdog

Yes!! So true!! We get clients that tell us “ look at what tricks my dogs can do!!, or yea my dog knows sit, and shake!!”. I am more impressed by a dog that can settle when told 😁😁

We had a housekeeping 101 class! 😜 We worked on place while practicing vacuuming. Good job pups!!

Welcome to the new video series: Bombproof on a budget! These videos are designed to help families find ways to work with their dog on building their confidence without breaking the bank. Dog training should not be a privilege! We welcome you to participate in the video challenges and tag us as you work with your dogs. We love to see happy families training their beloved family pets! Happy training! —————————————————— Follow us for more training content! • • • • • #dogs #puppy #dogsofrva #doggos #doghandler #dogtraining #balancedtraining #pets #petdogtraining #dogtrainers #rva #workingdogsofinstagram #k9 #canine #workingdog

Here is a clip of Emily doing a training session with Charlie! He was a little jumpy in a new environment, watch as Emily works him through it without coddling. Emily is using Charlie’s breakfast for reward along with affection and verbal rewards.