Lumos Dog Training and Behavior Services

07/07/2022

Hi friends! I have been sharing a couple training videos a week over on Instagram. I’d love if you followed us there, too!

2,345 Followers, 972 Following, 118 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from Hallie Wells | Dog Trainer ()

10/06/2022

New blog post is up about canine adolescents and tips to get yout through it! What helped you and your dog get through that stage?

Tips to help you understand canine adolescents. Read more about training your teenage dog.

07/06/2022

Agency, choice, and control are essential for psychological integrity.

07/06/2022

New blog post up! If you’ve struggled teaching your dog to reliably drop, this is for you 🙌🏻

How to teach your dog to drop on cue every time!

26/05/2022

Our new blog post about puppy socialization is up!

Don’t forget to follow us on Instagram for training videos, too!

The basics of puppy socialization: Why, when, where, and how to socialize your new puppy.

28/02/2022

Voting ends 3/4 so keep voting for me (Hallie Wells) and your other favorite trainers!

Please click the link to complete this form.

22/02/2022

Hi friends! I (Hallie Wells) was nominated for one of the best positive reinforcement trainers in Georgia would love your support through voting!

Voting can be done every day and you can vote for multiple trainers, so give them some positive reinforcement, too!

Please click the link to complete this form.

01/02/2022

Hi! I know it’s been a while since I’ve posted and I’m so excited to jump back in to sharing and learning more from this community. This break was longer than expected, but it was much needed and I’m really glad I took it. My last board and train pup leaves tomorrow and I’m so glad I could focus my time and energy on the dogs in front of me without the pressure of creating content for a while.
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As a small business owner, and one that provides services, there’s a LOT of pressure to showcase and share on social media. I love it! I love sharing and creating content for everyone here. I’m happy to say I’ll be back to it.
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Tell me something good! Doesn’t have to be about dogs, it can be something small. I’ll start: I added two new bird feeders to my backyard and it’s been so fun watching the birds fly around and hang out in the area. Arthur loves watching them and I’ve been getting my computer work done by the window so I can take breaks to see what they’re doing 🐦

07/12/2021

I’m taking a content production break until January. This has always been a higher activity time of year for me with board and trains in my home, planning and celebrating with my family and friends, and squeezing clients in between the holidays.
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Instead of putting one more thing on my plate and pushing out content to share, I’m focusing on the activities I have going on right now.
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I’ll still be checking in periodically, but you won’t see new stuff from me until the new year.
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I’m tagging some of my favorite trainers in the post, feel free to drop yours below so people can find them!

23/11/2021

Many service dog partners use alert cues in their every day life. This isn’t an inclusive list, but these are some of the antecedents we focus on for our service dogs to alert their partner.
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Alert cues can be trained as a nose push on the leg, pawing, or even barking depend on their partner’s needs! We most commonly train for a persistent and firm nose push.
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Nightmare interruption can help someone that needs to be woken up from sleep. We often pair pressure therapy and/or turning on the lights with this task.
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Service dogs can alert their partner to repetitive behaviors that can be harmful like picking at their skin, hair twirling, or scratching. Some clients prefer to have their dog alert to stimming behaviors as well to prevent dissociative episodes, too.
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Physical health changes like blood sugar drops, heart rate changes, environmental allergens, and oncoming seizures
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Most of our service dogs are trained to alert to environmental changes whether it’s for noises like a phone ringing or alarm going off to someone approaching from behind.
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ID mustard yellow background with faded illustrated stars in top left and bottom right corners. At the top it says Alert Cues in white bold. Below that there is a up and down line graph with the topics nightmare interruption, repetitive behaviors, physical health changes, and environment changes in white colored plain text.
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19/11/2021

The holidays can be a time of family and friends, traveling, and gatherings in your home. Prepare your pup for this season, too!
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Prevent counter surfing! Keep your counters clear of tempting food. Use gates, covered dishes, and ask your dog to settle outside of the kitchen when you’re cooking or food is being served. Ask guests to only place food and drinks on surfaces your dog can’t reach to prevent a sniffing nose or wagging tail from knocking them over.
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Prep enrichment! If you’re having guests over or you’re going to be in and out of the house, go ahead and make some tasty frozen enrichment to help your dog relax. Set up a quiet space for them if they don’t like being the center of attention and set timers to give them breaks as needed if they like to socialize.
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Plan decompression! Many people feel a bit frazzled during this season and our pets can, too. Set aside some time for the both of you to bond by taking a sniff walk together, training, or just snuggling on the couch after everyone’s left for the evening.
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ID a dark green background with a picture of a huge brown turkey standing on a counter, looking out the window. Next to the picture to the left the text says in bold white Don’t leave your turkey on the counter! And below that it says in smaller text and other tips to help your dog succeed during the holidays.
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17/11/2021

Social media can cause unrealistic expectations and deplete joy if we aren’t careful. What keeps you in check when you’re scrolling on this app?
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Defining your own success can be the biggest release of unrealistic expectations. The mantra “good for them, not for me” comes in handy when you’re having a rough day and you feel like your feed is full of perfectly behaved dogs.
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Remember that social media is usually a highlight reel! If you’re feeling dissatisfied at where you are with your dog’s training, make a list of all the things they’ve improved on! Maybe they don’t jump on people anymore, or their recall is spot on! No matter where you are, you’re at least one step ahead of where you started and that’s enough.
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I cannot stress this enough. Look for the good! Shifting your mindset will make training easier, build trust in your dog’s relationship with you, and allow you to accept your dog for who they are, not who you want them to be.
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ID mustard yellow background with faded white illustrated stars in the top left and bottom right corners. There are two columns with arrows pointing left to right at each point. The top left says instead of and the top right says do this. Expecting perfect —>Define your own success, comparing to others —> comparing to where you started, focusing on flaws —>Focusing on the good.
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15/11/2021

Zeek was adopted by his new mom from the a few months ago and she reached out for training so Zeek could feel more comfortable in his new home. Here’s what he’s learning:
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Loose leash walking-we’re teaching Zeek that he can explore and sniff on his walks without pulling the person walking him. He’s grown more and more confident over the last couple weeks so he wants to be out and about!
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Desensitization and socialization-Zeek wasn’t too sure about the ongoings of his new neighborhood like kids playing, other people on walks, delivery trucks, and loud cars. We’ve spent time teaching Zeek that he’s supported by whoever is walking him and he won’t be forced to interact or engage with what’s overwhelming him. He’s become more confident with slow exposures and giving him time to build trust and acclimation.
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Touch-Zeek was jumping on people when they walking into the home so he’s learned a hand target instead of jumping!
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Leave It-Zeek has shown interest in small critters around the neighborhood like squirrels and chipmunks. We’re teaching leave it so he learns how to disengage and prevent chasing.
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ID green frame with faded illustrated stars in the top left and bottom right corners. “Zeek” is in bold, white text in the top center. The picture is picture of a tan brindle boxer face. He’s looking at the camera with a soft expression and he’s wearing a bright red harness and the background is the gray pavement
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11/11/2021

Teaching your dog to settle on their bed can be an extremely useful skill for your dog. We love teaching clients how to use this behavior to prevent unwanted behaviors and build good habits in and outside the home. That does not mean you should expect your dog to lay on their bed with nothing to do for hours on end. Utilizing this behavior should be beneficial for both of you.
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Teaching your dog to settle on their bed when you’re cooking or eating meals can prevent them from being underfoot so they don’t get stepped on and you aren’t having to shuffle them out of the way. Start with their bed in the kitchen so you can easily deliver food to them and move it farther away over time.
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Utilizing your dog’s bed for polite door manners can prevent jumping on guests and door dashing. Teach your pup to stay on their bed as you open and close the door and let friends in. Practice in training sessions a lot and even utilize a helper to open and close the door for you when you’re practicing.
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Settling in public is an extremely hard skill! There’s so much for your dog to see and smell and listen to! We teach our service dog teams to utilize their pup’s bed when they start introducing settling in public and we love transferring that skill over to pet dogs, too! Practice this skill at home and then set goals of a few minutes at a time practicing in places your dog is already familiar with.
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When you’re working from home, teaching your dog to hang out and relax when you’re on video and phone calls can be useful! Give them something to do while they’re hanging out and they’ll catch on that work time for you means chew or enrichment time for them!
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ID in the comments and alt text
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09/11/2021

When you’re training and teaching your dog, practicing the same thing over and over doesn’t always mean you’re going to get it perfect. If you keep finding your practice isn’t productive or moving in the direction you want, break it down and see if you can make improvements.
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Are you offering a variety of reinformcent and giving enough reinformcent for the stage of training your in? If you’re teaching something new are you offering frequent and high value reinformcent? Changing your reinforcement in different environments can be a game changer, too! Throwing the ball for a fetch loving Labrador might be the key to getting a quick middle behavior. A belly rub and some snacks might be the answer for a dog learning to settle in a café setting.
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Have you practiced the training in variety of environments? Generalizing cues and behaviors is challenging for a lot of dogs. Start slowly, like moving to a different room in the house, adding sound distractions, or changing your position.
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Does your dog need a break from training? Breaks are needed and necessary! A lot of our expectations in training are physically or mentally demanding for our dogs. If you feel like your dog is struggling with the task at hand, take a break.
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Are you practicing clean mechanics and communication? Providing unclear cues or having messy mechanics can often confuse or frustrate our dogs. Take a video of your training sessions to see if there’s anything you can clean up.
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ID mustard yellow background with faded illustrated stars in the top left and bottom right corners. There is a text box in the middle that says Practice doesn’t always make perfect.
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04/11/2021

Going into a training session without a plan can be frustrating for you and your dog! Having a step by step plan if you’re teaching and training will provide clear commutation and keep it fun!
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Arranging the antecedents means you’re really taking a look at the environment, your body language, and your cues to see what your dog is processing and how they’re responding. Setting them up for success during a training session might be picking up the toys in the space, using a white noise machine to block out other noises, or practicing during the time of day your dog is ready to engage in training with you.
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Practicing clean mechanics is something we all, even seasoned trainers, can do! If you’re using new treats practice delivering them a couple to your dog before getting started. Film a training session and look for still hands and mouth, neutral body language, and food delivered quickly after you mark your dog. When I’m getting in the flowI sometimes let my hand creep and hover about my treat pouch or get sloppy with food delivery. Practicing mechanics will make it easier to clearly communicate!
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ID Green background with faded white, illustrated stars in the top left and bottom right corners. The white text box says training session tips in bold on a search bar and below it says plan your training sessions in advance, arrange the antecedents, practice clean mechanics
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29/10/2021

We get it, seeing a working assistance dog in public can be really exciting. As a service dog trainer, I often get feedback from the public that prompted me to share this information with you.
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Not all disabilities are visible. People partner with service dogs for a number of reasons. Our public perception that someone needs to appear physically disabled to deserve a service dog further perpetuates the issue that many people run into of not being disabled “enough” to deserve treatment, advocacy, or accommodations.
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Service dogs aren’t robots and they aren’t perfect. We have huge expectations for service dogs to be exemplary at all times. They’re working in various environments throughout their day, some of them highly stimulating. We need to let them do their job and remember they won’t always be the stoic, perfect, disengaged dogs our society has become to expect.
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People who are training or working with a service dog do not owe you an explanation. They shouldn’t have to be at the public’s inquiry or be subjected to the invasive what’s wrong with you, why do you need a service dog, your dog doesn’t seem fully trained, or I had a dog just like this once but it died stories and questions. Would you walk up to every person you saw wearing a green shirt and ask them why they need to wear green ,how they deserve that right, and how your close family member died tragically in a green shirt? Didn’t think so.
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The best thing to do when you notice a service dog team working in public is nothing if possible. They probably want to run their errands just as quickly as you do.
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ID in the comments and alt text
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27/10/2021

One of the best compliments a service dog partner can hear is “I didn’t even know a dog was here!” As they get up from where they were sitting with their dog. There’s so much work that goes into making sure a service dog is comfortable and can settle in public.
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Chief and his littermate are both in training and learning how to settle in public when they’re together. When we start training for settling in public, we make sure the pup has their needs met, they’re comfortable, and they have something to occupy their time if they don’t want to rest.
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You can see both dogs have blankets, a chew, and plenty of space under the table.
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Teaching a service dog to settle like this takes a lot of patience, focus from their partner, and dedicated training sessions on stimulus control in various environments like restaurants, coffee shops, waiting rooms, libraries, etc. We love seeing progress like this!
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ID two women are sitting and talking at a booth table. Underneath the table there are two black and white bully type dogs. They’re both on mats and have chews. The dog in the back is chewing and the dog in the front is looking out with a calm, relaxed face.
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26/10/2021

Our society loves labels. We love to put people and animals in boxes to easily identify and define them in ways we understand. Instead of doing that, ask yourself why? When I started diving deeper into behavior and working with dogs and their people, I started critically thinking about why I was using these labels and accepting them as truths.
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Instead of thinking my dog is stubborn bad, or not listening, ask yourself why your dog performing behaviors you’re expecting of them.
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And really ask yourself, do they need to be listening or engaging with you? I suggest watching your dog’s body language when you want to use these labels and see what they’re telling you. There might be stimulation, being pushed past their learning threshold, mental or physical fatigue, or just enjoying the environment.
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In my career working with animals, I’ve started to look at myself instead of blaming the animal. I observe the environment, my body language and behavior, and what antecedents are influencing the dog’s behavior.
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Acknowledging dog’s behavior and interaction with us requires us to be introspective. We’re quick to use these labels because they push the blame off to someone else. But, when we start allowing our dogs to be our partner and teammate, that blame can be placed on us. And that’s intimidating! So instead of placing blame or labeling your dog as stubborn, annoying, bad, etc work with them! Set realistic goals and ask yourself these questions to understand their behavior.
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ID a half white on the left, half golden yellow on the right background with light pink text. The top bold text says instead and try this. The bottom texts says my dog isn’t listening with the arrow pointing to text that says why aren’t they listening? My dog is stubborn! With the arrow pointing to text that says what would set them up for success? The last row says my dog is bad! With an arrow pointing to text that says how can I help my dog thrive in my life?
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22/10/2021

Mention the puppy witching hour or nighttime puppy zooms and most people that have raised pups know exactly what you’re talking about. It’s normal behavior and here are some tips to help them settle down and unwind.
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Chewing helps relieve a lot of the puppy “zoom” energy. If you’ve ever been around babies or toddlers, you know they get fussy when they get tired and can’t settle down. What do most caregivers do? They give them a pacifier, bottle, or teething toy. Same concept! Chewing is soothing for puppies and can help them unwind and prepare for sleep.
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Depleting some mental energy before bedtime can help them calm down. Think about doing calm behaviors like a chin rest, body handling, and duration and stationing. No need to start a new trick or high energy behaviors before bed.
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Modeling calm behavior really helps! Turn on some quiet, relaxing music, start a bedtime routine, and take a few minutes for deep breathing. You can sit on the floor or couch with your pup and pet or massage them with slow, calm pets.
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Giving predictable cues that downtime is about to start helps pups start winding down for the night. Maybe it’s a long walk after dinner and then coming inside for a lick mat, snuggling on the couch together for reading or tv, or even some low key training. Doing the same activity before bedtime can help them understand it’s time to wind down.
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Anything that helped you combat the puppy zooms?
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[ID Light blue background with illustrated stars in white. The center of the square is a white square with text. The bold text at the top says help your puppy settle at night and below that there’s four rust colored circles with check marks and the texts says give them something to chew on, deplete some mental energy, model calm behavior, give them a nighttime routine]
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20/10/2021

We’re back at it! Enrichment means providing a variety of of options and that an apply to food enrichment, too! Tell us in the comments what your dog’s favorite would be!
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[ID in the alt text and comments]
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15/10/2021

It’s normal! Puppies bite! Puppies nip! Puppies need to chew!
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They’re teething, exploring their environment, and getting energy out when they chew.
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So, what do you do when your puppy starts biting and nipping? You give them something else to do! Chances are, there is a correlation with your puppy becoming a land shark and their need for a nap, energy outlet, bathroom break, or they need something the chew on.
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Be proactive! Have their toys easily accessible. Pay attention to when your pup gets nippy or gnaws on you so you can offer outlets before it happens.
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We get it, those puppy teeth HURT! But, we also get that puppies need to bite and chew so set them up for success with lots of chewing resources. The need to chew isn’t just a puppy need, many dogs still need a variety of resources and outlets for chewing.
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ID in the comments and alt text
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14/10/2021

Great training sessions don’t just happen because we grabbed a handful of kibble and started telling the dog what to do.
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Learn how to set yourself up for success so you can do the same for your dog!
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What has helped you improve your training sessions?
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ID in the comments
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12/10/2021

Learning new skills is really hard. So is changing your mindset, but it’s never too late to improve your relationship with your dog.
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As a crossover trainer, I felt completely overwhelmed and I like I was so far behind when I got started. But I put the effort in and made small changes that rolled into bigger ones!
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Once you recognize you can do better, there’s only one way to go and it’s onward. Mistakes will happen, errors will be made, but you’re doing your best and that’s what matters.
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ID light blue backgrounds with sketched white stars in the top left and bottom right corners. In the center there’s a white block with text that says calendar invite in bold with a calendar icon to the left of the text.. Below that, in regular text it says it’s never too late to start positive reinforcement training with your dog.
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11/10/2021

Preparing garden beds is so much like management. But, you can’t just plant plop your seeds and seedlings outside, you have to cultivate and prepare the space. You amend the soil so it’s conducive for your plants to thrive, you add compost throughout the season, loosen the soil, and take out any weeds.
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Management is just like prepping garden beds! You’re arranging the environment so you can see your dog’s ideal behaviors flourish, you’re meeting their needs with enrichment just like amending the soil. You’re preventing unwanted behaviors from occurring, just like pulling weeds prevents unwanted plants in the garden space.
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Planting is such a fun time of year! Early spring has been prepping and watching my little seedlings grow inside as I make spreadsheets, drawings, and plan where each plant will be placed so they can flourish.
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Planting sounds familiar if you train your dogs, right? You start with these big ideas-you know if you plant tiny little dahlia tubers you’ll get gorgeous flowers come late summer. We know what the final behavior is going to be, but we have to start with that tiny little seed or seedling to get everything started. We plan and prepare, we have sessions where we carefully train for the desired behaviors, just like I lovingly plant my tiny tomato seedlings in their garden beds come spring.
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Harvesting varies with each plant. Tomatoes start flourishing and a burst of them can ripen all at the same time. My fig trees have taken years to produce fruit. It can be so satisfying to cut a bouquet of zinnias to place around the house after caring for them all season before they flowered.
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Seeing all your management and training sessions build success in real life is just like biting into a homegrown tomato slice after an evening of pruning and harvesting. Having a successful annual check up with your dog at the vet is bound to feel satisfying after you’ve been training for cooperative care. Same goes for recall as your dog bounds towards you in an open field. The rush of happiness I feel watching a client and their dog walk past the dog’s trigger and the dog happily disengage means all the preparing and planting paid off.