Modified K9 Corp.

05/03/2025

Trainer Tip #304

Muzzles are great! We see people having so much hesitation when it comes to getting a muzzle for their dogs training and we want to break the stigma that it is negative to use a muzzle.

There are so many benefits to muzzle training your dog. From safer vet visits, less stressful family events and especially behavior modification! Once we get a dog comfortable on a muzzle we are able to progress with their training so much safer and efficiently. You, your dog, and my team (furry members included) will be able to relax throughout our training. Our dogs are picking up our stressors and emotions constantly and if we can have a safety barrier when training in stressful scenarios it will help our dogs relax as well.

So with that being said, if you see someone out with their dog wearing a muzzle smile and wave! They are working on something and trying to keep everyone around them safe. Muzzles don't mean that they have a mean or bad dog! It means they have a responsible owner that isn't going to allow their dog to make a bad decision that may end theirs or anyone else's life.

If you need help taking the next step with a dog that may be nervy, aggressive, reactive or even have a bite history, reach out for help. We can help properly pick and fit your equipment so you can start breaking through these troubled behaviors right away!
509.540.1578

02/03/2025

What a fun day in the sun! It was a challenging day for dogs and owners but we all pushed through and saw so much progress by the end!
Great work everyone!

02/03/2025

This is a great way to look at your dogs reactivity. This may help find what pieces of the puzzle are missing in your dogs routine!

Want to become a professional dog trainer? Visit Institute.methodk9.com

26/02/2025

Trainer Tip #225

This week we are going to talk about building your dogs confidence! It may be hard to believe but many dogs behavioral issues are stemmed from a lack of confidence. We work many dogs through their reactivity, fear and even aggressive behaviors by creating a form of communication and building up their confidence. We enjoy doing this though obstacle courses and what some will call "functional agility". These courses will stress your dogs mentally and physically but in the end will build a level of trust between the two of you to help your dog handle all the stressful situations down the road.

You don't need anything fancy to really challenge your dog with something like this, one of our favorite places to go is children playgrounds when they are unoccupied to challenge my dog to do some of the obstacles. The wobbly bridges, the see-though floors, jumping up on the rocks, or even going up/down the slides are so much fun. If your dog isn't ready for a public appearance, set something up in your backyard! Your dog will love it and it will challenge your creativity!

In the video we show a dog being challenged to do a new obstacle we created with a couple ladders from the shed and some spare wood we had laying around. You will see that early on in the video the dog really hesitates and struggles with the obstacles but not long after they are doing the obstacles nearly unassisted.

When we are challenging our dogs we want to build their confidence gradually but making small challenges each time, not by pushing them in to scenarios that may further their fear of the world! Start with something simple, jump over a log, climb on a bench or even load in to the car. This little challenges, paired with some good obedience training will build up your dog to the calm companion you are looking for!

If you would like a private lesson to focus on building your dogs confidence and pushing them through an obstacle course shoot us a message and we will get you and your pup ready to hit all the parks this spring!

24/02/2025

We are starting to build new courses for our functional agility nights again! My pups are excited to be the difficulty testers! Who is ready to join!?

23/02/2025

Who is ready to begin our outdoor classes again! We are excited to see some warmer weather in the forecast so we are ready to begin another outdoor drop-in group class Saturday March 1st. Not only is this a great socializing opportunity for your dog, it's also a great chance to freshen up on their obedience skills or leash walking. We will plan to meet at Riverfront Park at 2pm. Class will be $50 per family, so bring the whole family!

Text in for the meeting location or with any questions!
509.540.1578

22/02/2025

We appreciate it when stores set up places for our pups to hang out on while we are working on our doggy decompressions!

18/02/2025

Trainer tip #218 This is another controversial one but i think it may help many owners!

There are many people that enjoy the dog park with their dogs. I can say that we love the idea to let my dog go play with dogs off leash as well! With that being said this is not the place to work on fixing reactivity, aggression, learning new social skills and my biggest pet peeve is PLAYING FETCH!!!!

If you are looking for a conflict with your dog at the dog park bring your chuck-it, bring a pocket full of treats and stand and talk at the entrance. This is a recipe for dog fights and negative interactions.

If you opt to go to the dog park, make sure your dog has had some positive experiences beforehand with well balanced dogs, that they have a great recall or are trained to a tool to enforce a great recall and keep moving while you are there. These tips will help with the probability of a positive outcome, but cannot guarantee it.

Even with these tips the dog park is a risk and you cannot control the other dogs in the park. For us and our dogs we opt to play fetch at private areas, we practice our recall at home and we invite friends and family to join us at a Sniffspot to give us a safe off-leash dog interaction.

If you are needing help socializing your dogs and don't know where to start contact us and we will facilitate a safe social environment for you and your dog to have the best experience.

11/02/2025