Like a lot of professional trainers, I got into dog training by teaching party tricks to the family pets growing up.
I was fortunate to grow up with a variety of animals— from lizards, bunnies, and birds to cats, dogs and more. Dogs became my deep passion in middle school, when my family would find me spending my spare time with our Border Collie mix, trick training her in the kitchen with cheese, as she was far too reactive for any of us to control her on-leash for an safe walk together.
It’s funny to look back to realize that those early interactions were actually kickstarting a lifelong passion and career.
I definitely didn’t know about markers, classical or operant conditioning, proper use of any tools, or any of the advanced concepts or technical jargon involving dog training.
What I did know, was how to read and bond with this special animal. I was a kid— it wasn’t rocket science. Treat them well, provide them resources, spend time with them, and they’ll “get it”. Right?
I’m extremely grateful to my many mentors, the authors of excellent books and various studies, and other solid content out there that helped myself and others progress our skills that fuel this passion.
One of my favorite (and most humbling) activities to frequent throughout my career is to free-shape as many advanced skills as I can with a puppy. Free shaping is a technique that relies on a lot of moving parts to be successful— the environment, relationship, motivation, timing, and consistency must all be cohesive in order to see progress. There’s no additional outside input in true free-shaping.
Currently, I’m working with my own puppy, Voltaire, on free-shaping his focused heeling. Voltaire just turned five months old this past weekend, and he is a puppy who’s very full of himself, comedy, and life! Free-shaping is just one part of our big journey together, but he’s reminding me in this of how much fun it is to be both a student and teacher in dog trai
It can’t be all work and no play when training dogs!
Just ask camper Samurai how he feels about school that includes snow-day-recess! His face says it all 😂
Samurai is a teenage Cane Corso who we’ve been working with periodically since the day he arrived to his family last summer! He’s currently staying with us to progress his skills while his people are on vacation, and we were lucky enough to introduce Sammy to his first snow day today ❄️
We hope everyone is staying safe out there! #canecorso #snowday #dogtraining #playwithyourdog
Hero is an animated cattle dog mix that is ready to find a family that likes to live life on the wild side! • This clever guy is always ready for the next big adventure, especially if that means spending time with you. He loves hiking, is a nosework savant and all things “go”! • Hero has wonderful obedience skills and is very we behaved in public, but his new home will have to be committed to keeping his skills sharp so his understanding doesn’t backslide. • Hero is being fostered with our trainer Rachael through ACDRA. Please feel free to share Hero with anyone you know who may be looking for a Hero of their own! 🐾
Showing off some fun stuff with Mr. Moby 🐾
Dog training isn’t just about sit, down & stay— the limits are quite literally ⭐️endless⭐️ once you learn to master the basics!
Creating a solid relationship, having a clear line of communication, and knowing how to motivate your dog are the key pieces you need to achieve any training goals.
Once you have the foundational necessities in place, it’s pretty fun to get to push yourselves to see what more you and your dog can learn together!
We all know an exercised, trained dog is a “good dog”, but providing mental enrichment and giving your dog little brain challenges that they can accomplish with your guidance is such a good way to meet their needs. And trick training is one great way to do that!
Mesmer the teenage Cattle Dog is showing off some of the fun skills he’s learned with us! 🤓
Nine month old Beagle mix Archer was exhibiting separation anxiety and strong distaste for confinement. We have been working with him and his owners to help improve his basic obedience in addition to his association with the crate so that they can all enjoy a more harmonious life together!
Here’s a brief breakdown of the process we use for early crate training that’s demonstrated in the video:
🔸We first make sure that Archer’s needs as a young dog are met: he has had recent exercise and training enrichment
🔸The crate was pre-loaded with a tasty treat to enjoy once he was inside
🔸The crate has comfy bedding (note : this is only suggested for dogs who won’t destroy and ingest the bedding!)
🔸I like to choose crates that are mostly enclosed (with ample airflow) so that it is a quiet, private space for them to relax in
🔸The crate is in a main spot of my house, not in a back room all by himself, as it’s helpful to have them get used to seeing you come and go while they’re in their own space
Crate training is such an important part of dog ownership. Crates allow our dogs to be safely confined for travel, protects them from getting into harmful things in your home when you aren’t looking, aids in house training, and gives them a private place to eat and relax— which is completely natural for a canine to crave.
One year old Zhuzhy looking pretty as she works on progressing her sit-stay skills 🌸🐾
The moment you realize you might’ve charged the recall marker just a *liiiiittle* too much…😂🐕🌪💨💨💨 #belgianmalinois #malinoispuppy #dogtraining #puppytraining
In this video, Anneliese is working with three different young dogs on developing proper play skills.
This is done via toy and play-retrieve (being the ball back!) with a ball-on-rope toy.
Anneliese’s puppy is first in the clips, and while he is young and has so much more to learn still, he is used to demonstrate some of the key pieces that we want to see in appropriately balanced play between dog and handler.
This includes the dog knowing that the toy is far more fun when his or her handler is involved in the game, instead of them just possessing is on their own! As well as dropping the toy on cue, being able to have the toy used as a reward, knowing the difference between accessing the toy from your hand vs. getting it from the ground, as well as the importance of appropriately targeting the toy (and not accidentally biting your hand in the process!).
11 week old Malinois pup Leia and her human here, showing off their proper usage of markers and cues! 🙌
Subtle, but important things that this team is demonstrating in this clip :
• Cue, then follow through : Notice that Leia’s handler says “sit”, and then follows through with the gesture. This is a critical piece for how we don’t become reliant on visual cues!
• “Good” = duration, “nice job, keep doing what you’re doing! The reward will come to you!”
• “OK” = their release word. “The behavior is complete, you are free to break from position now!” (In this case, a sit-stay)
Nice job, Leia and Natalia! 👏
May your Monday start with as much excitement and drive heading into the week ahead as Little Miss Tegan’s 😂😉
