PAWSitively Calm

24/06/2025

Dogs don’t forget.

They don’t forget how to Sit at doorways. They don’t forget how to wait for food. They don’t forget how to Heel behind your left leg. They don’t forget how to STAY. They don’t forget that they shouldn’t jump. Blah-blah-blah…

And they also don’t forget how good it feels to NOT have to actually DO any one of those things!

The human has simply forgotten that all dogs are pleasure-seeking missiles, eager to fulfill their own desires ahead of all else. A dog’s desires don’t just up and vanish without reason. So if they can, they will.

And so, the dog readily tallies every selfish advance that was dismissed or brushed off by its human, and runs with it.

Here’s the thing… A dog’s choices are ALL selfishly motivated. They are only going to do and act on their own desires, most especially when they bring pleasure. If rudely blasting past their person through the door brings instant gratification, you can guarantee its continuation, and intensification. If attempting to walk a few inches ahead of you on leash brings more joy than displeasure, your dog will continue to walk you.

It is OUR job to enforce boundaries when our dog’s desires trespass our own. Always.

A dog is going to become really proficient at “something.” Whether that’s rude, disrespectful, and reckless behavior, or polite, mannerly, and mindful, that “something” is entirely shaped by us.

So at the end of the day, we cannot blame our dog for a lapse in their memory. We can only blame ourselves for a lack of follow through and consistency.

23/06/2025

It’s so easy to fall into the trap of feeling sorry for dogs that skew heavily to the unstable side of the spectrum. I know from tough experience how we humans tend to make things far worse, before we actually consider changing our ways.

I truly believe we get the dog we need in order to come into our full knowing. Porter was my greatest gift. His legacy lives on in each and every client we coach.

23/06/2025

I often get comments from dog owners that I must be performing some sort of sorcery or magic to get their uncontrollable dog to finally listen, behave, and respect my wishes—that they’ve tried EVERYTHING, and to no avail, have had very little success.

I’m here to tell you... There’s no MAGIC being used here ;)

No matter how magical something may seem, there is always a practical formula behind the mystery. It only seems like sorocery to those that don’t know the formula. Once you learn the formula, YOU can become the magician, and provide what others now see as magic!

There’s nothing starry-eyed, special, or magical about Cesar Milan or a dog trainer. Why? Because there is a practical formula behind the magic act. It’s YOUR job as your dog’s benevolent Leader to find and decipher that magical formula that works to serve you both.

Perfect dogs don’t exist. Nor do perfect humans;) And although clear expectations, consistent guidance, clear-cut rules, dependable structure, and accountability may not guarantee perfection, they certainly will positively impact your dog’s overall behavior for the better.

So, when it comes to having a respectful, well behaved dog, Leadership is the closest thing to magic you can perform to help your dog become his best self. Within that construct is a formula based in structure, boundaries, rules, and accountability.

So no sorcery or magic needed. Just what works best... benevolent, loving, firm Leadership—the best guarantee to your magical transformation.

22/06/2025

If you take the time to carefully observe a dog that has been granted unbridled freedom to come and go as they please — left to navigate life all on their own, no boundaries, no structure, no guidelines, versus one that has been given highly defined rules that are STRICTLY ENFORCED, which do you think looks less stressed and anxious, and more comfortable and confident?

Hopefully you guessed the latter;)

In the absence of believable Leadership, an anxious dog is left disconnected and alone, struggling to make sense of their reality. Yet when given a very specific job with direction, their FOCUS on the task given, will ultimately override the panic and overwhelm they feel without.

When we teach a nervous dog some pretty rudimentary commands, provide them with a highly structured life, and hold them accountable for how they maneuver through it, we help build balance and a skilled confidence. A dog holding Heel, Place, or a Down in the face of uncertainty learns that they CAN gut it out and move through the very situations that elicited panic in the past.

Learning to exist (without reflexive reaction) in busy, unpredictable, worrisome environments requires a solid handle on Basic Obedience, unwavering Leadership, the right tools to enforce it, and sloooow exposure to ever-increasing challenges. Not only does this allow for a more inclusive, freer life with you, but it also develops confidence, resiliency, mental fortitude, and better coping skills... clearly a happier, more stable, and healthier dog.

This low key, passive form of training is so often overlooked. However, EXISTENCE — learning to be calm and uninterested in the world around us — yields the greatest state of mind benefits.

21/06/2025

What do you think is the most VALUABLE thing in the world? It may not be what you may think.

Not riches, love, or even time? Nope. This “thing” comes BEFORE all else, and is responsible for everything that occurs in your life.

It’s your ATTENTION.

What controls your Attention, controls your life. It’s your Attention that determines the experiences you have, and the life you live. Control your attention, you gain control over your life.

Owning a well behaved dog starts with our Attention acute awareness: a hyper focus & an intent on every singular interaction, molding and patterning choices, until the dog is capable of make healthy decisions on their own.

In order to ensure your dog grows to become a well behaved, respectful, stable canine citizen, we need to avoid opportunities for them to routinely practice bad habits when OUR Attention is directed elsewhere.

Good or bad, what they practice is who they become.

Paying Attention and your intent are fundamental to shaping a well balanced, healthy, happy dog. Trapped in our pasts, what needs to get done, or what has to happen for tomorrow, we rob our dogs of the Attention needed in becoming their most balanced selves.

Every singular interaction is a conversation. It’s up to you to listen. Dogs provide us a fast pass to the present moment, and it’s within this space that we can discover what our pets need to be truly happy.

20/06/2025

Lil Clover is starting her Public Access training! Only a little over a week ago it would have been impossible to walk this insecure, reactive cutie-pie ANYWHERE without her barking at EVERYTHING!

We’ve been working hard on conditioning Clover’s mindset to defer to her person, and look to the them for guidance. Tuning out the world and listening to her human are critical in overcoming her insecurities. This has involved a comprehensive program based in PERMISSION ONLY ACTIVITY, where every step is managed and dictated by me. This slows down Clover’s processing, creating a lot more self awareness!

We headed to Lowes, to continue solidifying her obedience around unfamiliar stimuli. This place is loaded with things a dog has never seen! And for Clover, unfamiliar anything can have her flip to an unhealthy space of reactivity!

Working around a ton of distraction like this desensitizes Clover to the unfamiliar, and helps her defer to ME when confronted with triggers that concern her. Having a Leader to guide her through the experience, while also holding her accountable for any irrationality or lack of focus, is key. She then learns to look to her human instead of being overly concerned about everything else around us.

Awesome job cutie-patootie!

20/06/2025

Are you worried about hurting your dog’s feelings, or that saying “No” will ruin or prevent the bond you THINK you’re forming by withholding constructive instruction?

Do you just plain feel bad about disagreeing with your dog’s crusty or rude behavior?

Well…. Unfortunately, you both will stay stuck right where you are, and struggle will continue to ensue.

Your current issues will also slowly grow to become exponentially more problematic as your dog matures and learns they can take advantage, all while they become more entitled, brattier, bossier, defiant, and increasingly more disrespectful.

Behavior (good or bad) is defined by what we reward, ignore, or disagree with. It’s as easy as that.

We want more of something, give it attention, food, or affection. Even if we dismiss or ignore, we will get more of the thing we are shrugging off. Want less of something, firmly disagree & discipline.

When feeling mean, too restrictive, abusive, guilty, remorseful, or oppressive overrides the responsibility for teaching right from wrong, the dog ultimately suffers. Without reason to listen or respect rules, a dog will continue to push boundaries, and test the waters to see what they can get away with.

We all know how easy it is to love on, dote, snuggle, play, and give loads of treats to our dogs! And it makes us feel good when doing so! But it’s the clarity of knowing right from wrong that defines and drives all behavior. Without knowing, we can assume disrespectful behavior will worsen, and that “bond” we claim to have will most certainly weaken.

19/06/2025

Early life experiences are incredibly powerful. These pervasive associations create the filter for which all new experiences must pass, and form the lens through which our puppy views and navigates the world around them.

Every single interaction, from the moment we bring a new puppy home, carries with it information about who you are, and how the dog should behave around us. A relationship formed only out of endless pampering, oodles of unearned privileges, and loads of freedom and the liberty to come and go as they please, creates a deeply entrenched perception… one that which involves a lack of believable authority. Do this long enough, and we will have a great deal of arduous undoing in the near future.

If your wish is to have a well behaved, ADULT dog, then you have to become acutely intentional and completely engaged with everything that happens between you.

You are the creator of your dog’s lens and filter. Are your interactions, no matter how small, setting you both up for clear success, or undermining and blurring your future?

18/06/2025

Calling all written testimonials from those clients whose lives we’ve impacted over the years! We’ve created a prize wheel to those willing to write us a review on Google and Facebook. Once your testimonials are submitted, spin this wheel, take a screenshot of the result, text it to us, and we will get you your prize the next time we see your sweet face!

A BONUS wheel will be offered to those willing to offer a video recording of their testimonial with their dog! These prizes will be much more substantial in value. And we will supply the questions so that you don’t have to think about what you’d like to say!

1. What was life like with your dog BEFORE you brought them to PAWSitively Calm?
2. How has life changed now that your dog has been trained with PAWSitively Calm?
3. What was your BIGGEST take away from your experience with PAWSitively Calm?
4. Would you recommend PAWSitively Calm to someone else struggling with their dog?

Let us know if you’d like see the Bonus Wheel Options, and we’ll send the link!

Wheel of Names is a random name picker tool. Spin the wheel. Perfect for classroom activities, raffles, and contests. Free & ad-free! By Seating Chart Maker.

18/06/2025

Jumping, non-stop wiggling, twirling, pacing, whining, nipping, barking, and over the top excitement are so often mistakenly confused for happiness, or a dog just being a dog. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but…

A dog incapable of self-regulation or stillness, who is nervy, spastic, and reactive to their surroundings, is the furthest from stable and happy.

An owner blessed with the insecure, nervy, spastic dog that cannot lean on, depend on, find comfort in, or defer to—SOMEONE IN CHARGE, will be faced with negative, knee-jerk responses to a world that oftentimes feels overwhelming, confusing, and scary to them.

Alone to sort out uncertainty and unpredictability, the skittish become increasingly more fearful of the world around them. Anxiety and stress escalate, and behavioral issues magnify... where reactivity manifests into eventual full scale assaults as an attempt to create comfort or order.

Fearful dogs unravel when leadership is too soft, and rules are negotiable. A lack of believable boundaries and daily structure will magnify the fearfully reactive dog’s issues and responses to uncertainty. The easily frazzled, overwhelmed dog that reacts without intervention will offer more unhealthy choices filtered through the fear lens in the future.

Believable Leadership, and consistently enforced rules (NOT rules that are sometimes enforced here, and oftentimes left ignored there), help the nervy cope and behave in a healthier way. When left to sort it all out on their own, the insecure will always choose the easiest, quickest path to relief, avoiding any real transformation. And sometimes this easier road to relief is a nip to your kid’s face!

True leadership helps our dogs cope in the scary world by overriding their initial knee-jerk reactions, and patterning a healthier response. A leader that cannot be trusted to actually lead, will produce even more insecurity for the already anxious. It is entirely up to us to direct our flaky pups through any behavior that doesn’t serve their long term well being.

Even sweet, yet skeptical dogs, allowed to practice nervy/reactive behavior long enough, can become conditioned to the level where their worried barking or growling can become unsettling. A dog who’s bark or growl WORKS to evade pressure grows exponentially more dangerous. So cutting it off at the pass EARLY ON is 100% necessary.

17/06/2025

Calling all written testimonials from those clients whose lives we’ve impacted over the years! We’ve created a prize wheel to those willing to write us a review on Google and Facebook. Once your testimonials are submitted, spin this wheel, take a screenshot of the result, text it to us, and we will get you your prize the next time we see your sweet face!

A BONUS wheel will be offered to those willing to offer a video recording of their testimonial with their dog! These prizes will be much more substantial in value. And we will supply the questions so that you don’t have to think about what you’d like to say!

1. What was life like with your dog BEFORE you brought them to PAWSitively Calm?
2. How has life changed now that your dog has been trained with PAWSitively Calm?
3. What was your BIGGEST take away from your experience with PAWSitively Calm?
4. Would you recommend PAWSitively Calm to someone else struggling with their dog?

Let us know if you’d like see the Bonus Wheel Options, and we’ll send the link!

https://seatingchartmaker.app/wheel-of-names/?s=RWNvbGxhciBQb2NrZXQgTWFnbmV0cwpFY29sbGFyIFF1aWNrc25hcCBDb2xsYXIKTWluaSBFZHVjYXRvciBFY29sbGFyIFNraW5zClBBV1NpdGl2ZWx5IENhbG0gTGVnYWN5IEhhdAoxIE92ZXJuaWdodCBCb2FyZGluZwoxIERvZ2dvIERheWNhcmUKQmF0aCAmIEJsb3dvdXQK&c=WyJyZ2IoMjU1IDE4MiAxOTMpIiwicmdiKDE3NiAyMjQgMjMwKSIsInJnYigyNTUgMjIyIDE3MykiLCJyZ2IoMTUyIDI1MSAxNTIpIiwicmdiKDI1NSAyNDAgMjQ1KSIsInJnYigyMjEgMTYwIDIyMSkiXQ%3D%3D&t=11

17/06/2025

A dog’s frothy, on leash tantrum isn’t the REAL issue.

It’s the compounded effects of their daily living that ignite the fuse, & carry the most weight.

Unchecked moments of unhealthy irrationality, paranoia, restlessness, pushiness, & disrespect are green lights for much larger scale issues. Alerting to the mailman, barking out the front window, barreling through Thresholds, rocketing out of the crate, always having to be reminded, constantly having to repeat commands, demanding attention, incessant whining, hyper-arousal, nonstop fidgeting or movement, or gobbling food before your “okay” all weigh heavily on a dog’s perception of reality.

When we let the small stuff go unchecked, we invite the rude, dismissive, unhealthy behavior to symptomatically fester into a much larger scale issue that cannot be ignored. Neglecting to address the smaller offenses, will inevitably guarantee a deepening and intensification of bad behavior.

The key to getting ahead of, or even preventing another embarrassing or scary episode, lies in our daily living arrangement. Try to examine all of the smaller moments that can go easily ignored, but shouldn’t. Get a handle on the small stuff, & the big stuff may never happen again!