Packwise Dog Training

Downtown work with Trubel! When she first arrived and I got to candidly see her dog reactivity, I knew we had our work cut out for us. Lunging, barking, hackles up… she was in her own world in those moments. The addiction she had to those outbursts was a strong one, and the high she got every time she lost her mind at another dog was just what she needed to fuel her addiction. This girl came here with tons drive, but needed to learn how to manage it and channel it in appropriate, acceptable ways. We had to peel back layer after layer so that we could truly address her reactivity. Tomorrow is part one of her pick up and then she heads home Sunday morning. Her work is far from over, because there is no such thing as the work being over, but her owners are so ready and dedicated to this new lifestyle with her. I remember them saying they couldn’t even imagine taking her through a Home Depot, now they have the world at their fingertips to grow together as a team with Trubel. The goal is ALWAYS progress over perfection, and being apart of Trubel’s progress over this last month has been a true honor and joy. • •

Ahri is here for a 3 week train and board to work on her fear, anxiety, and reactivity. We are just about two weeks into her program and she is doing incredible. 🙌🏼 From cowardly to confident. From reactive to reliable. Today we took the challenge and went down “dog alley” as I like to call it. It is a road in our neighborhood where every house has crazy dogs barking their heads off, running up and down the fence line. Ahri kept her heel and her focus on me with no outbursts. She didn’t need to question what to do, because I provided her with the leadership and guidance she so needs in life. Beyond excited to see how far we will get in her last week here! 🤘🏼 • •

What comes to mind when you think of canine anxiety? 🧐 Maybe barking, panting, whining, or shaking. While those can all be symptoms of anxiety, it is important to remember that your dog’s anxiety can manifest in many different ways. Take Juice for example. In the beginning of the video, she is bouncing off the walls crazy. Many people may see this and think ‘Oh look how happy and excited she is!’ without ever realizing how unhealthy of a mindset she is living with. At the start of this video, Juice has no idea what to do. She is asking so many questions like “where do I go, what do I do, can I sniff this, should I jump, maybe I’ll pull this way..”. The lack of guidance and structure is acting as a disservice to Juice in this moment. It is forcing her to guide herself. Imagine having to guide yourself through a world that you were not designed for, where every instinctual desire you have sets you up for failure. That is exactly what our dogs experience when we leave them to guide themselves. We immediately add in structure and guidance. What is the result? Juice can exist with a clear and calm mind. She does not need to ask any questions because we have given her all the information she needs for the time being; simply hang out on place and relax. Make sure you’re not mistaking your dogs anxiety for excitement or happiness. • •

From crazy to calm.. Kooper is yet another dog whose life has been transformed through our Train and Board program. 🙌🏼 Want to know something cool about Kooper’s life with his owners? They live out of an RV together to travel and experience “van life”! 🚐🌈 Because they are on the road and travel to so many different places, it is critical for Kooper to remain calm in public, be reliable off leash, and have his impulses under control at all times. Of course, Kooper’s continued success will rely on his owners stepping into this leadership role and guiding him through life. I have no doubt that they will step up to the plate flawlessly and be the incredible leaders that Kooper needs. Koop still has 4 more days here, which means we still have a lot of work to do together. 👏🏼 Stay tuned on our story to see all of the amazing things this guy will accomplish over the next 4 days! • •

The time has come and, after 3 weeks, Kobe goes home tomorrow as a calm and confident boy! When Kobe first came for his program, his owners listed their #1 goal for him was his leash reactivity. They had dreams of going downtown with him and bringing him along to patio restaurants, but were not able to because of his outbursts. They are local, so we were able to have their owner coaching session in person downtown at my favorite cafe. (It’s my favorite because we are able to set up so I can advocate for a dog’s space while also having them exposed to countless other dogs who are all leashed) I asked his owners if they would mind sharing their thoughts after we met up and here is what they had to say: “We were both excited and nervous to see our Kobe! We missed him after two weeks. When we met with Kassidy at Tourist Home for lunch we were blown away by what we saw. Not only was our crazy Kobe calm and collected, he was by far the best behaved dog in the whole place. There were at least 10-15 dogs there that were barking or would approach Kobe, and our little dude payed them no mind. We were amazed. A complete change in his demeanor, you could really tell he was more confident. Kassidy was so informative and thorough about her whole program. On top of the fact that she’s one of nicest people you’ll ever meet. She answered all our questions and made us feel fully prepared for what to do to make sure we are able to keep up with Kobe’s training once he comes home. She’s kept us up to date with all his progress and it’s the highlight of our day seeing our little pups new skills. She’s honestly been a pleasure to work with and we are truly thankful for her time with Kobe. 🤍” I am so thankful to have clients who are so dedicated to their dog’s success. I know they are going to be incredible leaders for Kobe, and I can’t wait to join them downtown again for some coffee with their boy. 🐶 • •

Remember Cameron? She completed her train and board program a little over a month ago. Cameron suffered from moderate to severe leash reactivity depending on the situation, and her owner was ready to make changes & enjoy all that life has to offer with her sweet girl by her side. Cameron made incredible progress during her train and board program, and her owner has been working hard to keep it all going! We met for another follow-up lesson and it was so wonderful to watch them casually take a walk through the busy park together. No outbursts. No lunging. No growling or barking. Just pure enjoyment between an owner and her dog. 💛 • •

Intro to off leash work with Cameron!! 👏🏼 This is one of the many reason why I LOVE e-collar training. It gives us the opportunity to work on off leash drills, when appropriate, so we can start working towards full off leash realibility. The e-collar allows me to give Cam guidance since we no longer have the leash there for that guidance. It also works as a back up or safety (like a virtual leash) for those “just in case” moments. We don’t wear a seatbelt because we think we will need it, we wear it just in case we need it. Same thing applies with wearing an e-collar for off leash work. No matter how well trained a dog is, it is our responsibility as the handler to have their e-collar on, not only for guidance, but for those just in case moments. • •

Cameron has gone from extremely leash reactive towards other dogs to confident and focused on the jobs I give her (heel, down, etc). Because of Cam’s hip dysplasia, she gets uncomfortable/stiff sitting frequently, so instead of a sit she finishes her recall by going to my left side and waiting for further guidance. I don’t expect her to always go into an auto sit because of her hips, just as long as she is keeping a tight heel and is focused on me. We are working with a slip lead and I am making sure to put little to no pressure on the lead. She knows what is expected of her now, and I want to encourage her to make educated decisions while in her heel, instead of me simply dragging her around. I want to empower her to be the best version of herself- that’s the goal here. To make dogs the best versions of themselves through guidance, balance, clarity, and encouragement. I love working with this sweet gal. 💛✨ Ps. She coughs on her treat because she must not have chewed it enough. Wanted to point this out incase anyone was wondering. ☺️ • •

Working towards full off leash reliability 🙌🏼 Tito glances over towards another dog while we were walking, but that’s not a problem for us anymore. After a quick verbal “uh-uh” correction, his mind was back on track. So, what does it take to have a 9 month old pup off leash reliable? 1. Consistency 2. Expectations 3. Structure 4. Leadership 5. Guidance These results don’t happen by chance. They happen by change. • •

A lot of people ask me if the prong collar is a “forever” thing. I always give them two answers: 1. It is a tool to help teach. 2. If you’re wanting to rush through using a tool, odds are you won’t use it correctly and won’t be consistent with it. There is no set time for using a tool to train. Watch your dog & understand their needs. Don’t be in a rush because YOU want to be done with the prong. Make sure you’re prioritizing what your dog NEEDS (ex. more time with the prong collar) instead of what you WANT (ex. wanting your dog to walk in a perfect heel without any tools). Cameron and I have been working hard every day on her leash reactivity. She used to explode when she would see another dog, but she now understands that I will guide her through those situations. I started her on the prong collar and have been transitioning her onto a slip lead. Even though she has been responding wonderfully on the slip lead, I will send her home with a Herm Sprenger prong collar (as I do with every dog who comes here). I encourage owners to use it for every walk and outing once their dog returns home. This gives owners the time to understand how to guide their dog & how to use leash pressure to communicate. It also gives them time to gain confidence using the e-collar since prong collars communicate pressure much clearer than a slip lead. As confidence and leadership is gained by the owner, and the dog understands, “Oh same owner new rules”, they can then start to incorporate slip leads into their training in place of a prong. It is important to make sure you’re not comparing your dog’s progress to others. Some dogs use prong collars for years, because they need more constant, clear communication. Other dogs are quicker to transition to a slip lead or flat collar. Tools are not a bad thing- they are there to teach. Just like some kids may need training wheels for longer than the kid down the street, your dog may need a prong collar longer than your fr

Mini Educator Ecollar heel exercise you can do at home ⬇️ Tito and I went out to the back of the property to work on his heel today. While I had Tito off leash since we were on our private property, a leash is always beneficial in this exercise (and most all other exercises) to provide more guidance. For starters, you will see in this video that I am on level 9 out of 100. Very very low. When I turn my body away from Tito, I double tap the ecollar remote twice, which applies a gentle blunt stimulation, and say “heel”. Doing this communicates to him that when he does not stay near my body while heeling, a pressure is applied. Kind of like a tap on the shoulder saying, “Hey buddy this way!!” This makes my expectations for Tito very clear. Distance in a heel equals pressure, while staying close to my body does not. Please do not purchase a cheap ecollar at PetSmart. I invest and supply only Mini Educator ecollars to all of the dogs and clients I work with because it is one of the best and most advanced ecollars on the market. The ecollars I use never apply a shock. Ever. They use medical grade blunt stimulation, similar to that of a TENS unit (what your physical therapist uses when they put those patches on your back), to communicate to our dogs with the use of pressure and release of pressure. Think about how when you get into your car if you don’t buckle the beeping comes on reminding you to buckle up. It is a little bit annoying, so we buckle up to make it stop and will most likely buckle up quicker next time to avoid that beeping. It is the exact same idea with the ecollar. This is called operant conditioning. When I apply the stimulation of the ecollar, Tito thinks, “Hm how do I make this tickle stop... oh I moved closer and it stopped. That must mean when I am asked to heel I stay close to my handler’s side!” This clarity makes it so much easier for our dogs to thrive because they know exactly what is expected of them. This was not because

Follow up with Roni went beautifully! 🐕☑️ For the past 2 years, Roni’s family hasn’t been able to enjoy a walk around the neighborhood with him. Between his fear and reactivity, they could not even get across the street without Roni losing his mind. Even a faint bark would set him off. Roni is the hardest dog his family has ever had, and he was one of the hardest dogs I have ever had come through my program. His reactivity was unmatched and his extreme fear was a constant reminder of the delicate balance involved in dog rehabilitation. Roni’s family is thrilled that they can enjoy life with him now. Home life with him has been beautiful and they are able to see a new side of him that they have missed out on for so long. Roni’s work is not done. His family understands the commitment it will take to continue on a path towards success, trust, and a strong relationship. There will be ups and downs, but they understand we are constantly thriving for PROGRESS over PERFECTION. Rehabilitation is not easy; both for the handler and dog. However, rehabilitation is one of the most beautiful journeys I have ever set out on with a dog. Having an aggressive, reactive, or fearful dog is hard. But know there is hope, and you have a community of balanced trainers ready to help give life back to both you and your dog. ♥️ • •