SideKick Dog Training

26/08/2025

This time of year, you'll hear me talking about mental enrichment to just about every client. The chances that we're able to get our dogs a lot of physical exercise are slim during the Winter months (usually, anyway - it's been a pretty mild Wisconsin Winter thus far) and I'm always preaching the va...

23/08/2025

As you can see, Millie was happy to show off some of her skills in our session, demonstrating what a super cute and smart gal she is! 😊 Millie's pawrents were struggling with body handling - specifically, nail trims - and were looking for ways to make the process smoother, as well as more cooperative for Millie! Instead of a big struggle, they wanted to help Millie learn how to opt-in and tolerate (even if she won't ever love) nail trimming. We worked a bit on taking a look at where Millie is at and where we'd like to end up (how we'd like that cooperative process to look for the family) and started building a plan to get there! She's such a smarty pants; I'm sure she caught on quick!

22/08/2025

WHEN TRAINING WON’T WORK

There is a common misconception that reactivity, anxiety or fear related behaviour can be “fixed” through training alone.

Barking, lunging, reactivity, aggression, constant hypervigilance - as though danger is waiting behind every corner, hiding or cowering away at the slightest trigger or sometimes shutting down completely are all signs of a nervous system that’s in overdrive and is unregulated.

This behaviour is not a training issue - it’s not bad behaviour, disobedience, stubbornness or some other type of negative label, - it’s a nervous system issue.

Although dogs and people have remarkably similar social and emotional brains, this doesn’t mean that dogs are able to think like we do, or have the words or means to process what is causing their stress or trauma.

When stress is not released, it remains stuck, keeping the nervous system in overdrive or in survival mode.

When a dog or a person is stuck in this state, the brain isn’t able to learn new things or learn to behave in a different way.

This is why trying to “train away” anxiety, fear or reactive type behaviour does not work. We first have to work on the nervous system.

Here are some links related to this subject that provide more information on how to help dogs that are struggling -

How to identify and remove triggers that keep a dog stuck in a cycle of stress and anxiety - Annie Phenix
https://phenix-dogs-canine-behavior-experts-llc.kit.com/7-steps

Creating a healing environment - podcast by Dr Laura Donaldson
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dr-laura-donaldson-compliance-is-not-cooperation/id1708279785?i=1000693042973

Trauma Informed Dog Training – Book by Sally Gutteridge
https://www.amazon.com/Trauma-Informed-Dog-Training-Professionals/dp/B0DS4T1W8M

What does it mean to be Trauma Informed - Dr Laura Donaldson
https://www.icbdogs.com/product-page/laura-donaldson-what-does-it-mean-to-be-trauma-informed

Ace Free Work – helps the nervous system relax, reset and rebalance
https://www.allpetseducationandtraining.com.au/ace-free-work.html

21/08/2025

Finn's pawrents reached out when they were struggling to take him for walks in his neighborhood; he struggled a lot with anxiety around new things, new places, loud noises, strangers, and I'm sure there were more because the world is scary! While working on acclimating Finn to me, we talked about how he may benefit from behavior meds and some small things they could do from inside, as well as in their yard to help Finn out. He got fairly comfortable with me - even able to take a little snooze near the end of our session!

Spoiler alert: Finn's pawrents worked with him a lot and got behavior meds on board and he was able to join us in the last Focus & Control group class we offered! He did beautifully with the other people and dogs in class, the new environment of class, and even recovered when a nearby train took us all by surprise! Way to go, Finn and family!

20/08/2025

TIP TUESDAY
Imagine walking down the street, minding your own business, and every. single. person. wants to hug you, wants to shake your hand, wants to say, "Hi!" It would be awkward and uncomfortable; you could get a little irritated; you might even start to hate going in public...

This is your SideKick's life (for a lot of dogs, at least)! Dogs are so cute and cuddly; kids and adults (most of the time) love them and seem to always notice when there's one nearby. And, of course, they want to pet the dogs they see, hug them, say, "Hello," and play with them. But, that's not always fun for your SideKick! Petting, hugging, having ears and tail and everywhere touched by family and friends is one thing, but strangers are completely different. Do your SideKick a favor and limit the amount of folks who stop you on a walk and instruct the strangers you meet on how to properly greet your SideKick (based on your SideKick's comfort level).

Be your SideKick's advocate; they'll thank you for it!

18/08/2025

Ah, Summer time...It's a time for grilling out in the backyard, trips to the local beach or pool, family outings, and getting yanked down the street by your SideKick on walks... In our heads, especially before we have a puppy or adopt a dog, we often envision walks as a leisurely stroll through the....

16/08/2025

This handsome boy had just been groomed, so he was all decked out for our session! 😆 Jack may be on the smaller side, but he can have some pretty big feelings about people and dogs and cars and bikes that pass by his front windows and when on walks! His pawrents are elderly and really struggled to contain his feelings and the behaviors they were leading to, so we worked right away on some options for managing his environment and moved on to some specific things they can do to help him change his associations with scary things! He's super interested in food, so we were able to get some really great practice in at one of the front windows during our session!

16/08/2025

Check out the most recent SKDT Blog post!

The vast majority of the time, when I'm visiting someone's home about leash walking skills, it's because the humans are getting their arms pulled out of the sockets with the amount of pulling their doggo is doing! However, I'd say a couple of times a month, someone will ask me why their dog is actua...

14/08/2025

6 Essential Items for Your Puppy 🐶🎉

Bringing home a new puppy? Here are six must-have items to make life easier for both of you! 🏡🐾

🐕 Crate & Pen – Essential for keeping your puppy safe when you can't supervise them and for helping with toilet training. Take time to introduce them gradually so they feel comfortable before being left alone.

🧩 Enrichment Feeders – Keep your puppy busy while engaging their brain! Perfect for mental stimulation and slowing down mealtime.

🦴 Chews – Puppies love to chew! Stock up on a variety of chews and rotate them throughout the day to keep things exciting and prevent boredom.

🌳 Long Lead (5m+) – Puppies don’t need long walks on a short lead; they need to explore! A long lead allows them to move freely while staying safe.

🎾 Long & Soft Toys – Ideal for redirecting sharp puppy teeth away from your hands! Choose long toys that drag on the floor to make them extra enticing. Keep them stored away so they remain exciting when they come out!

🎒 Treat Pouch – Quick and easy access to treats is key for rewarding good behavior on the go! A hands-free pouch makes training much smoother.

These essentials will set you and your puppy up for success! 🐾💛 What are your puppy must-haves? Let us know in the comments! ⬇️🐶

14/08/2025

This super cutie is Luke! I met with him and his family after there had been a couple of concerning interactions between him and the kiddos in the family - most specifically, the daughter, who was about 7 years old at the time. Luke is a super smart, young dog who is still learning not to use his teeth for everything, as well as where to put his excited energy, so we worked on some strategies the family can employ to encourage good choices on his part and he was super on board (even though we were using just some of his kibble from dinner)!

The majority of the session, however, focused on how to help the kiddos recognize when they should be giving Luke a bit of space. No one - human or doggo - really likes to be grabbed at, hugged, laid on, and messed with when they're trying to relax or sleeping, when they're eating, when they're enjoying a delicious chew, or when they have a bunch of energy to get out of their system. The kiddos are young, but were excited to learn about Luke and how to help him; it's hard to hold back when they just love him so much, but letting him come to them in a lot of cases will help him make some great choices and help him to say, "No, thanks," in much more subtle ways than he had been!

13/08/2025

Help us welcome Ava to our Board & Train program! This gal is a BUSY adolescent, so, believe it or not, this is one of the best photos Leann has been able to get since she joined us last week! 😆 Ava and Leann will be working on a lot of the usual suspects for adolescents: leash walking skills, polite greetings, counter surfing, Recalls, etc. She settled in beautifully and is already best of friends with Freyja (our other B&T doggo at the moment)! We're looking forward to the rest of her stay and what she'll accomplish!

12/08/2025

TIP TUESDAY
Picasso didn't learn to paint overnight; Michael Jordan didn't become a famous basketball player overnight; and the Apple empire didn't build itself overnight.

The same goes for training with your SideKick! The "perfect" pooch isn't built overnight and your SideKick needs time, patience, and your guidance to learn how to live, play, and operate in this weird, confusing human world!