Tree Frog Farm Dog Training

01/12/2025

Succinct

Walking with worried dogs can make walks hard, emotional and even scary. It's important to remember that even when a dog lunges forward, they are just trying to stay safe. We can help you to understand your dog and learn howe to make walks better, just drop us a line below.

01/12/2025

Holiday tricks class with party favors!!!! Three weeks of fabulous fun. This is designed to keep you working and playing with your dog during this class gap time of year. We are all very busy and our dogs don’t know why. They still have needs:) This holiday tricks class starts on Thursday, Dec 4 at 10:15 and runs til Dec 18

01/12/2025

Margo and I went for a parallel walk with our neighbors today. This is a strategy I often do when desensitizing dogs to other dogs. Most dogs are dog selective. Relationships need to be built rather than assumed. Margo is dog curious but insecure and reactive. She has always been. I’m not sure why. I have a few insights but I’ll never really know because dogs can’t talk. I need to work with the dog in front of me. The neighbors are active and visible just outside our fenced in yard. Margo goes bananas. I am willing to put up a visible barrier, if needed. We’ll see how getting to know the neighbor goes before taking the plunge. This video is at the end of our walk. Our neighbor dog is an angel. She’s a kelpie:) and very dog savvy. We will do this again!

01/12/2025

Repost. See previous story for deets:)

01/12/2025

CRITERIA OR Q???? What criteria means is matching the standard of the trained behavior; two feet on two feet off the yellow zone in this case. What a Q is, is a run that qualifies you toward a ‘leg’ toward a title, enabling you to move up to the next level of competition. In the video case, there was no guarantee toward a Q but there absolutely was the opportunity to correct a blown contact to practice criteria in a high stress environment. My quick thinking 🤔 chose the latter. It seems I would have gotten a Q but I feel better about redoing the dog walk. Oh. Did you notice the weaves???? First attempt!!!!!!!

01/12/2025

Enjoy a little while you watch Margo search for a frisbee. I like to incorporate searching with toy play. It’s less impacting on the body than fetch and tap’s into the dog’s natural search tendencies. Watch her tail flow. So beautiful. Margo had a strong search tendency so she will search until the item is found. This exercise taps into the inner dog.

30/11/2025

Canine fitness for fun class starting this Monday at 6:15 PM. Super fun. Super thoughtful. Good for building confidence in body and mind. Four weeks. $160

30/11/2025

Today I was at an agility trial and had a few minutes to kill before our run. I was waiting in the waiting room and Margo was amped and barking at me. I decided to do some foundation training that happens to be a hole in my training with impulse control around toys. I just got Margo her first tug leash and she was ‘game’ without being cued to tug. No bueno! It’s a problem:)
I decided to dabble in “It’s yer choice” by Susan Garrett. I had treats in my closed hand and I was waiting for her to back away. She kept hitting my hand with her paw. I realized this was the technique I used when I taught her to shake. I went to the next step which was an open hand. She kept putting her chin into my hand. I realized this was the hand signal for chin targets. She was right on! They don’t forget.
This is one thing I do when there is a “problem”. I do my best to figure out why a dog is offering a behavior and adjust as needed.
Margo has a quick trigger and I often find I need to make adjustments to help her be successful in non training scenarios as well. Over the last three years I have learned so much about behavior from this dog that has so much to say with her vocalizations and actions.
We had a great day, despite my foibles. Her agility foundation skills are very good. I’m learning how to handle this race car in real time. Today I took in my mistakes and saw her great potential. She loves the sport (if she didn’t we wouldn’t do it). I’m so excited to keep playing this game with her.
Agility is what I do with my dog, for her and for me. What I do for my clients is work on teaching foundation skills to help cope in chaotic environments. About 60% of my current training is private lessons with “reactive” dogs.

25/11/2025

This is great news. We should work through our problems rather than suppress them. We also need to understand why the dog is behaving a certain way rather than squelching it. This has been my belief for a very long time. I did not renew my certification with CCPDT because they were not standing by their previous mission statement and now they have changed it to leave the option of aversive training open, when no other options are available. This is wishy washy. I am so thrilled so many reputable organizations are standing together to advocate for our dogs

This is a HUGE deal, as various hugely respected dog training certifying organizations all have come to an agreement on a position statement - leaving out one organization because they INSIST ON ONLY POSITIVE reinforcement and this one organization does not. Read the details which can hopefully begin to create an appropriate new normal for dog trainers in the link in comments

25/11/2025

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DRaW2EDkoek/?igsh=Yjc2amtoaGZkZ2hs

25/11/2025

Peeper was a princess. She helped raise my kids. Peeper was my “divorce dog.” Happening after, not causing:) she lived a fruitful 15.5years. Peeper was also a stellar puppy mama. She helped socialize many client puppies by being a well adjusted adult dog and by giving mild corrections when needed and space when needed. She would walk away so the fearful pup could get a sniff without pressure. Peeper could read the room like no other. Peeper passed over three years ago. This pic is a memory that popped up