Thompson K9

Thompson K9 Thompson K9 is a small, family-owned balanced dog training business based in Ypsilanti, MI.

Nova at Cabela’s 🦌
17/11/2025

Nova at Cabela’s 🦌

17/11/2025

Alcona started practicing some off-leash training recently and is doing great so far! She’s learning to remain engaged and still follow her commands even when she knows the leash isn’t on. 🐾

13/11/2025

As close to a hidden sleeve “introduction” as we get. 🤣

It seems every other bite work video I see is a dog’s “introduction” to a new piece of equipment, slowly and carefully acclimating them to every change to the point where it’s making a bigger deal out of it than needed - and also sometimes missing the entire point of said equipment. 😅

IMO an “introduction” shouldn’t be necessary when it comes to new equipment. If the dog is supposed to bite and something is there, the dog should take it, if it’s trained properly.

Butch is a perfect example of that.

She has never bitten hidden equipment, and for the last couple of months all of her actual bites have been on the bicep and on the red sleeve I present to her in the video. A very visible piece of equipment.

She had zero hesitation in committing to biting my arm and staying exactly where she stuck it. She didn’t know I had a sleeve on, and not slipping the sleeve and hoodie at the end of bite kept it that way.

This is in no way meant to shame people for being proud of their dog’s accomplishments. It’s a big deal to a handler when their dog is progressing and reaching milestones, and that’s amazing to watch.

My point is directed towards the work itself, and at the end of the day, it might not even matter, depending on your goals. It’s just an observation. 🤷‍♂️

Ladybug at Lowe’s 🩷
12/11/2025

Ladybug at Lowe’s 🩷

Roo at Lowe’s 🧡
11/11/2025

Roo at Lowe’s 🧡

Sending your dog to a board & train program is a big commitment: to the time your dog will be away from home and to the ...
08/11/2025

Sending your dog to a board & train program is a big commitment: to the time your dog will be away from home and to the effort you’ll put in working with them when they return, and it’s a financial investment in their longterm wellbeing and behavior. It is also a huge exercise in trust - and it can be hard to know who to trust with your dog.

Some of the top questions and concerns we hear from owners thinking about sending their dog to B&T involve their dog’s safety and living conditions, as well as the more emotional side of things for the owner (and we get it; being away from your pup is difficult!). We also work with a lot of owners who have already been through training that didn’t help them or their dog, so they’re understandably doubtful about if anything will actually work.

We prioritize owners feeling comfortable and confident with us and our process before moving forward with B&T for their dog. We want to meet you and your dog, to answer any and all questions, and to get on the same page early on in the process. We value honesty, transparency, and communication. We understand how much trust owners place in us, and we don’t take that lightly.

When owners commit to having us train their dog, we commit to making sure their dog becomes the best they can be.

07/11/2025

Rigby the GSD puppy’s first session working on duration place was a very clear visual example of a dog learning to settle.

Our rules for place are: stay on the cot, remain lying down, and maintain a calm state of mind.

Rigby started out whining, huffing, and barking - at everything and at nothing. He broke (sat up, stood up, and/or tried to walk off the cot) a couple times. He was looking for anything to entertain himself. He didn’t know how to handle doing nothing.

But as the session went on - and with a few verbal reminders not to bark or get up - Rigby relaxed, both physically and mentally.

In the beginning, though he was lying down on the cot and technically looked like he was “in place,” he was never mentally there, never truly relaxed. The start of the session was him practicing a learned obedience behavior; the end of the session was him making mindset shifts.

03/11/2025

Too often, people think that they have to get their dog neutered to get it to behave better. That is the wrong reason to have that procedure done.

To make this simple.
Neuter for health and birth control reasons.
Train for behavioral reasons.

Some other things to consider:

Yes, neutering has the possibility to affect behavior. But even then, it does not give the dog any skills.

Too many people remove their dog's means of producing hormones that help its muscular and structural development too early in its growth and maturity. They are impatient about their puppy or adolescent dog not calming down yet and instead of showing the dog how to gain control, they neuter.

Many neuter their dog because their vet advised it. Keep in mind, this is a huge part of a veterinary practice's means of business, and surgery (and pills) is what they have to offer.

Finally, most of the male dogs that come to me due to behavior issues, including aggression, reactivity, and wild behavior, are neutered already.

I'm not saying "don't neuter your dog". But, my point is, do it for the right reasons. Not because you think it will be the easy way to improve your dogs behavior.

*To discuss if training is the direction you want to explore, let's talk.
https://www.premierdogtrainingmi.com/free-consultation

Welcome to Thompson K9, Nova! 💫Nova is a little dog with a big attitude joining us for a 4-week board & train to work on...
03/11/2025

Welcome to Thompson K9, Nova! 💫

Nova is a little dog with a big attitude joining us for a 4-week board & train to work on:

🐾 a total mindset overhaul - she’ll be learning to be calm, confident, and neutral (no more incessant demand barking, biting hands and ankles, reacting at anything & everything, or resource guarding)

🐾 crate comfort & potty training - she’ll have a safe space & predictable routine (no more freely using the house as her bathroom)

🐾 engagement & reliability - she’ll be learning solid obedience both on- & off-leash (no more running away & disappearing for multiple days at a time, ignoring what her owners are asking, etc.)

We’re excited to create some positive change in this pup so that she and her owners can better enjoy their life together.

02/11/2025

Something we make sure to work on with every dog is impulse control / neutrality around the leash being unhooked.

When the leash comes off, whether because it was intentionally removed or because of an accident or equipment failure (👀), our ideal picture is no response or change of behavior from the dog.

The leash shouldn’t release your dog. Your permission and verbal command should.

So many dogs default to darting the second they realize their owner/handler doesn’t physically have a hold of them anymore - even if they’re just taking a victory lap or a quick zoom and not actually running off. But this can be so dangerous.

The leash itself shouldn’t be the only thing keeping your dog near you. Your relationship (and training) should do that.

01/11/2025

ℹ️ Real-time example of advocating for your dog’s space

During Leia’s training trip to Lowe’s, we encountered another dog. While the owner wasn’t initially paying as much attention as he could’ve been, the dog seemed neutral and well-mannered enough - and even probably had friendly intentions when pulling over towards us.

Leia, however, does not like other dogs. She came to us with reactivity and had learned throughout her B&T to be neutral and trust her handler - and this was the perfect opportunity to reinforce that.

Just because she didn’t growl or bark like she would’ve prior to training, and essentially she showed no outward signs of discomfort, does not mean she would’ve been tolerant or accepting of another dog.

Allowing the strange dog to greet her because it seemed like she could handle it, or out of a desire to see how she’d respond, would’ve been not only unfair to Leia but a betrayal of trust.

Through training, she learned that she doesn’t need to step in and take care of things she views as stressful, that her handler has her back and control of whatever situation they may encounter, and that she can actually feel less stressed because of that.

Deviating from that script at this point would’ve set her back and put her on edge again in new environments and around triggers.

Instead, she received confirmation of what she’s learned to believe: that the person with the leash has things handled.

Neither dog had a bad experience; the encounter was a nonevent and therefore a success.

Address

MI

Opening Hours

Monday 09:00 - 19:00
Tuesday 09:00 - 19:00
Wednesday 09:00 - 19:00
Thursday 09:00 - 19:00
Friday 09:00 - 19:00
Sunday 12:00 - 19:00

Telephone

+19893940004

Website

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