The Discerning Dog

  • Home
  • The Discerning Dog

The Discerning Dog Board and Train | Virtual Coaching | Puppy University

Personalized training to fit your needs!

09/10/2025

The unhinged faces of our PDC(s) courtesy of

There is nothing that quite compares to the camaraderie and friendship that grows from people coming together and tackli...
01/10/2025

There is nothing that quite compares to the camaraderie and friendship that grows from people coming together and tackling advanced obedience and protection behaviors week in and week out.

We may all hit the field individually, but Dogsport is a team sport. And this weekend, my team showed up, showed out, and filled me with pride.

A huge congratulations to my good friends and 2025 Southeast Regional Champions - (PSA1), (PSA2), and (PSA3). You all exemplified clean handling and good sportsmanship in nothing short of a deluge.

Particularly heartfelt congratulations to and Ghost, who closed out their PSA3 and became the 50th team to do so in the history of the sport. A hard earned accolade and culmination of careful training, commitment to excellence, and fierce consistency.

Sunday saw clearer skies, and more teams that shone on the field. Congratulations to , , and on your PDCs. The exciting beginning to what is sure to be a remarkable trialing journey!

and might have been just shy of points this time around, but showed us the depth of relationship we should all be striving for with our dogs. The biggest wins occur off the trial field.

I hit the field for the first time with the next generation - something whose significance I’m still reflecting on. Reacher and Sprite both put up respectable passing scores, securing their PDCs.

The success of all of us would not be possible without the exhaustive efforts of our clubs, and , and decoys , , and .

Dogsport isn’t a solo pursuit. Every step, every challenge, every victory, we do together.

Focused heeling - it’s a labor of love and a whole of many (many) parts.When things go sideways, and we see less-than-id...
19/09/2025

Focused heeling - it’s a labor of love and a whole of many (many) parts.

When things go sideways, and we see less-than-ideal positioning, I usually ask myself (and my students) these questions to see where the root of the problem may lie👆.

Reflections of a Dog Trainer 1. If you whisper “what the actual f*ck” to yourself at least once a training session, you’...
09/09/2025

Reflections of a Dog Trainer

1. If you whisper “what the actual f*ck” to yourself at least once a training session, you’re in good company.

2. There’s not much a hike and some post-session bonding can’t fix.

3. Repetition builds habits. Emotion cements them.

4. Your dog doesn’t need a new tug. You likely need new sneakers.

5. The dog is always learning - especially from moments we’d rather they forget.

6. A great team isn’t built on the trial field. It’s built in the 10,000 little choices leading up to it.

7. The dog is never wrong. Which is really inconvenient when you’re convinced you trained them right.

How S I L L Y of me.
05/09/2025

How S I L L Y of me.

People are generally well-intentioned in their unsolicited feedback. It can be tricky sometimes to come up with polite b...
26/08/2025

People are generally well-intentioned in their unsolicited feedback.

It can be tricky sometimes to come up with polite but pointed ways to say “no thank you” to offered training advice on the spot.

I’ve come up with these polite but direct responses so you don’t have to.

What are some other responses you use or have used before? 👇

We ask a lot of our dogs in and out of the work. And while purposeful exposure and training is a tremendous part of owni...
24/06/2024

We ask a lot of our dogs in and out of the work. And while purposeful exposure and training is a tremendous part of owning and raising a working dog, there is so much that genetics brings to the table when it comes to a dog that is well suited for high-level work.

I find that in searching for litters, both in the works and on the ground, many handlers struggle not only with determining where to look, but also (and perhaps more importantly) what questions to ask when searching for and interviewing breeders for working prospects.

In reflecting on this, I wanted to take the time to discuss what I consider before entertaining the idea of getting on a waitlist.

I’ve detailed what I would consider the “minimum” in questions to ask (numbered questions in bold), as well as the more in-depth line of questioning I’d recommend in researching a prospective litter in my latest Patreon post.

Link to the full post available below:

https://www.patreon.com/posts/finding-breeder-106644708?utm_medium=clipboard_copy&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=postshare_creator&utm_content=join_link

You asked and we answered!Our Foundations for Success seminar is back, and rescheduled to include a little more time bef...
13/03/2024

You asked and we answered!

Our Foundations for Success seminar is back, and rescheduled to include a little more time before the event for your planning purposes.

Registration will be released Friday, March 15th.

All ages, stages, and levels of competitors are welcome!

Address

MD

Opening Hours

Monday 09:00 - 17:00
Tuesday 09:00 - 17:00
Wednesday 09:00 - 17:00
Thursday 09:00 - 17:00
Friday 09:00 - 17:00

Telephone

+12402450464

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when The Discerning Dog posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to The Discerning Dog:

Shortcuts

  • Want your business to be the top-listed Pet Store/pet Service?

Share