The little red dawg takes her Jolly Ball time very seriously 😉🐊
Zoey the English Mastiff & her owner have been doing a lovely job of keeping up with their maintenance training! Here’s a peek at our E-collar & advanced off-leash foundations wrap up session together guest starring Wren. 💥 There are plenty of wonderful off leash adventures in store for Zoey & her family!
Getting in our recommended dose of Vitamin Sea 🌊 🐶
Miss Groot the Vizsla puppy is starting to generalize her foundation commands. This puppy has enthusiasm, drive, and wants to problem solve - Win, win, win! That’s a great recipe for giving this young pup an opportunity to hunt for behaviors and figure out different training pictures as we make our way through the generalization process. For example, in this video clip, Groot offers to position herself on the wooden bench seat by her own doing. We mark & reward the behavior as a way to reinforce and encourage the dog to keep offering it. Groot is learning that Place could be a variety of surfaces and objects, from an elevated dog cot to a log in the forest. Shoutout to Groot’s sister Lyra for joining us and helping out with our training exercises during the session, too! They’re both two really cool doggos with a dedicated family by their side. ✨
The Fantastic Mr. Fox is settling in back at home with his family following the successful completion of his 21-day custom board & train program! At their go home lesson, Fox’s owner learned valuable leash handling skills, how to use their new E-collar system for clear & consistent communication, and what their new marker system looks like in daily life together with Fox. They are doing a great job of working together as a team and I’m so proud of Fox and all the learning he’s achieved during our time together. Structure and understandable expectations can be incredibly helpful for dogs that show nervousness, uncertainty, and over-excitement at home and when they’re out in the busy human world. These aspects of training are showing love to your dog in ways that help them navigate the world with increased confidence and clarity. Fox’s owner said she was very impressed with her dog’s newly-established impulse control, loose leash walking abilities, and that he settled on Place both in and outside of their home. I love watching owners share in these special moments with their dogs!
Box Work at the Vet with Rhubarb
The little red dawg also rocked her vaccine appointment at the vet, where we used Dopamine Box Work to turn it all into a game that she gets to be in charge of. Rhubarb has come leaps & bounds with her ability to be handled, and to watch her be successful with multiple handlers added into the picture is really rewarding. She popped out of the box while receiving her second vaccine, but I remain impressed with her marked improvements in these scenarios! This dog has taught me how to be a better dog trainer, owner, handler, and advocate. 💥 #deafdogsrock
Box Work at the Vet
This morning, we brought Dopamine Box Work to the vet! I asked our vet care team if I could bring the box along to the exam room for the dogs and provided them with a general rundown about Box Work and why we do it.
Wren crushed his vaccination appointment with plenty of heart & soul! 🧡🔥 Big thanks to our vet team for giving us an opportunity to apply our Box Work training in a new environment and for the amazing care their provide.
Grooming & Husbandry Care Tips for Curly Coated Dogs
Keeping up with grooming needs & husbandry care is important for all dogs. It’s especially important for our curly coated buddies like doodles & poodles! This short video includes some helpful tips. 🐩 *I’m not a professional groomer, but these basic tips can come in handy to help your canine companion with looking sharp and feeling good.
We break it all down, then build back it up piece by piece! Fox is settling in well and starting to chain various behaviors together in patterned sequences. He’s even starting to offer a few behaviors on his own, which I love to see. 🫶Clear communication and outcomes, markers that signal that he’s doing a good job and that rewards are coming his way, and some good back scratches can go a long way! 🤝
Big shoutout to my girl, Norma! Not long ago, watching her perform a down felt like waiting for the last few drops of molasses to pour out of a jar — slow and unmotivated. But today? She was all in! I loaded up my training pouch, got Norma settled on “Place” while I trained Wren, and she was all eyes and ears — ready for her turn! Once Wren was put away, I paused for a few minutes. Then, I gave Norma the release cue and we immediately entered into a free shaping session together. She zoomed over to me with excitement! She offered to drop into a down faster than ever, with so much energy and intention! What a difference! Norma was eager, focused, and completely took the initiative. I didn’t have to coax her at all. She brought the focus to me. I didn’t have to beg her for it. It’s been a journey, and the shift in Norma’s attitude shines through. All those months of intentional training are really paying off. Let’s keep this momentum going! 💪🧡
🚐 🐶 Abbie with RDDT here, bringing you another Driveway Dog Moment! Keep your face out of the dog’s face. Watch this short video to learn why.
🧠 🐺 🐾 Using the jump box as a pedestal for grooming & husbandry work with Lulu - We are going to get started on some new training work later today. But first, we build a connection and slow things down for this ecstatic gal. ….….. #nepopo® #grooming #dogtraining #doberman #woof #pedestal
👋 Welcome our new foster girlie to the RDDT Pack! We’ve decided to call her Edna. (She was listed as “Skye” at the shelter.) After her arrival to Oregon, we took a decompression walk and she got all spruced up with a bath, brush out, and an ear cleaning. Edna seems like a love bug with strong pack drive. She’s thought to be a Kelpie/Shepherd mix. She’s spending some time settling in after arriving from another fantastic foster home. Keep an eye out for her adoption availability through @the_wallflowers_shine_project.
💌 Dear Keyboard Warriors, Strangers on the Street, and Internet Bullies, Stop shaming. Signed, A Reactive Dog Owner Turned Professional Dog Trainer
🧡 We’re over here building heart & soul with new client dog Sage! ✨🐕 All by her own doing, this young German Shorthaired Pointer/Malinois mix started hunting for behaviors at our intro lesson. 🧠 This video shows a nice example of providing the dog with opportunities to think for themselves. You can see Sage perform the down behavior with more speed and enthusiasm as she catches on that the act of performing the down gets her a reward. 🐺 Here, we’re also teaching the client & her down capturing by naming the behavior as it is being performed by the dog, along with using Sage’s reward marker to signal to the dog that rewards are coming her way. Cool stuff, isn’t it! ..... #dogtraining #dogtrainingtips #puppytraining #corvallis #corvallisoregon #dogs #puppies #dog #puppy #malinois #gsp #germanshorthairedpointer #workingdog #brain #body #heartandsoul #nepopo®
🎇 Don’t wait until July 3rd! If your dog struggles with fireworks and loud noises, now is the time to start prepping & training for the Fourth of July holiday weekend. It’ll make life for you & your dog less stressful. Here’s how you can get started: 💤 Create new habits where down time is part of your dog’s daily life. 🎶 Play relaxing music, run a white noise machine, and a fan in the space where you crate your dog to make it a soothing & calm space for them to settle.💡 Turn those lights off, cover your dog’s crate with a sheet, and close the window shades. Think of their crate as a cozy dog den.🌱 If your dog can have CBD or another calming supplement, try out a few all-natural products to find one that works best for your canine companion. 🍖 Give your dog some of their meals with a stuffable enrichment toy, served on a licky mat, or scattered on the floor of their crate. #dogtraining #fireworks #training #freeadvice #dogs #corvallis #corvallisoregon #puppy #dog #woof
Ona B. & I hope you’re having a great Friday! Have any fun weekend plans? 🌞
Here’s your reminder to keep yourselves & your dogs hydrated as temps start to warm up! ☀️
With the help of confidence-building, and proprioceptive- and movement-focused exercises, Zoey the 10-month-old English Mastiff has conquered her fear and hesitancy about exploring new surfaces and objects! Cheers to this big girl & her owner for getting in lots of practice throughout our time training together. Zoey’s owner even built her dog a training platform to practice their skills. As a dog builds up rear end awareness and strengthening, I like to say that dog discovers that they do in fact have a butt and back legs. 🍑 Bonus footage: English Mastiff ASMR 😆
Here’s a sneak peek from this morning’s training session with client dog Zoey & her family. We’re starting to chain together known behaviors with the dog as well as switch up our reward schedules, as needed. You can also see here that Zoey is happy to offer behaviors on her own, such as the down on the Place cot, which is icing on the cake, y’all! Zoey is showing us that she is thinking, engaged, and motivated as we build up her foundation training. Additionally, Zoey & her fam worked on recall and engagement exercises. We introduced heel & Place work, and discussed ways to use leash pressure application and release as a motivator for Zoey, vs. using it in ways that could potentially shut down the dog. Lots of good stuff here! #corvallisdogtrainer #corvallis #dogs #dogtraining #getit #goodgirl #dog #corvallisoregon #willamettevalley #reddirtdogtraining
