A glimpse into yesterdays Intermediate Obedience class.
These dogs are all PUPPIES under a year of age, many of them barely 6 months. They are recent graduates from Puppy Class that moved on to practice their skills in our outside classroom.
Piper is demonstrating a beautiful down stay with tremendous distractions; her owner walking away to greet another person and puppy while she continues to stay, and the other puppy/owner team practicing polite, greetings of a friendly person.
I’m so thankful for my students and love to see the fruit of their work blossom.
https://unmistakenstars.com/dog-training/
As a Licensed Family Paws Educator, I guide families who are navigating life together with their dogs and newborn, or dogs and toddlers.
Having a toddler myself and a newborn, I have walked through the same challenges that integrating kids and dogs may bring which has helped me immensely to understand the dynamics, and to help families. Long before bringing home a new baby, there are often many changes that occur in the home and within the mom to be; these challenges often affect the dogs with whom we share life. Pregnancy is a miraculous blessing, but it is not without challenges.
I have sat with families in tears, who feel tremendous guilt for not being able to provide for their dogs as they once did, pre-pregnancy, or pre-child. I get it; I’ve been there. Many may have noticed Frisco and I have not had any agility trial announcements this year and that is because I was unable to train and trial with him during my pregnancy.
Tonight was actually the first time I was able to step back into our agility ring together, and as you can see, he was absolutely thrilled….and didn’t miss a beat! It was as if we didn’t take the last 10 months of from training.
It’s important to remember during pregnancy and the throes of early childhood, this is a temporary season; you are doing the best you can to meet the needs of your family and your dog. Your dog isn’t keeping score of how many walks they have missed, or how many times you haven’t trained them this week. 
What they need most is your attention and love, and yes, direction and enrichment. If you need creative ways to still provide for your dog through your pregnancy and postpartum time, or your child’s toddler years, please reach out! 
https://unmistakenstars.com/dog-training/
What do a Pitbull, a Lab, a Shih Tzu, an Old English Sheepdog and a Boxer/Pit have in common?!
They all can be reliably trained for off leash recalls and obedience, without the use of fear and force; no e-collar needed!
As you watch this video of our advanced obedience adventure class, I want you to not only notice the level of distractions present in the environment but also notice the lack of stress signals in these dogs; no one is yawning, no one is lip licking; all dogs are focused on their handlers and eagerly returning for a blazing fast recall.

I always encourage my students to not only focus on accomplishing their training goal but to do so while ensuring that they also prioritize their dogs emotional experience; stress and fear need not be part of training.
For more information on science based training and research that has been independently conducted on the reliability of off leash training in dogs trained with positive reinforcement versus electronic collar, please read this informative article by the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior:
https://avsab.org/positive-reinforcement-is-more-effective-at-training-dogs-than-an-electronic-collar-study-shows/#:~:text=General%20Behavior%2C%202-,Positive%20Reinforcement%20is%20More%20Effective%20at%20Training,an%20Electronic%20Collar%2C%20Study%20Shows&text=We've%20known%20for%20a,does%20not%20have%20those%20risks.
Last night our Advanced Beginner class graduated as super stars!
⭐️ Bo ⭐️ Remus ⭐️ Zoë ⭐️ Ruby ⭐️ Tucker ⭐️ and we missed you Echo ⭐️
You all have led your dogs with focused, fun, rewarding and intentional training; let the results speak for themselves….💗
Ever since I took my first professional dog training class as a 12 year old, I have been hooked on clicker training. It was at a time when compulsion based training was still very much the norm; ear pinches for forced retrieves, knees to the chest for a jumping dog, throw chains to the face of a dog for a drop on recall. The things I witnessed done to dogs in the name of training shaped the convictions I have now as a professional dog trainer and behavior consultant.
Clicker training was a breath of fresh air that allowed for effective and expedient communication between two species, trainer and dog. Watching how quickly a dog could learn if given the opportunity to think, without fear of making the wrong decision, was all I need to see to be hooked for life.
Every dog I personally train is “clicker trained.” I teach marker words (verbal or sound based) in all of my classes, and this is why…
Yesterday I decided to begin teaching Sparrow stationing behavior. With no words, physical prompting, no leash or training collar, or any other tools, I set about “free shaping” his behavior.
Free shaping is the practice of successive approximation where by the trainer progressively marks behaviors that are closer and closer to the end behavior that the trainer is trying to achieve.
As you watch the video, i am shaping his behavior from initial interaction with the mat to laying on the mat. Can you tell my end goal criteria for the behavior?
Hint: it is the subtle decision that he is offering towards the end of the video.
https://unmistakenstars.com/dog-training/
Every Monday morning I get to start my week with this crew of awesome dogs and owners! 💙💗
Some of them have been together through trick class, agility class and many many obedience classes.
Some may wonder why they keep coming when their dogs are this well trained, and the answer is dog training is a four part process which involves:
⭐️ acquisition of a new skill,
⭐️ creating fluency of that skill,
⭐️ generalization of the new behavior
⭐️ maintenance of learned behaviors
Acquisition is the first step in learning; this is what is achieved during puppy or beginner classes, where dogs learn the foundational skills of basic obedience. Fluency is where a dog learns to respond to those cues with immediacy and accuracy as training progresses. Generalization involves the learned behaviors occurring in all settings outside of the training environment. Lastly, maintenance of behavior ensures a dog retains what is learned by repetitive practice that continues to reinforce and challenge the learned behavior.
Think back to a time you learned a foreign language, or new skill. In the very beginning stages, you were focused on mastering simple vocabulary, but that did not mean you could speak fluently in that language. Once fluency was obtained, then it required you to generalize that new language in the various contexts in which the language was used to communicate. And lastly, as grandma always says, “if you don’t use it, you lose it” and that’s where maintenance comes in where one must continue to practice speaking in that language to maintain fluency.
And that’s why my Monday morning students keep training week after week and month after month; plus we just have too much fun to stop!
A little snippet of our Monday morning advanced obedience class at graduation today.
⭐️ Pax ⭐️ Luna ⭐️ Bandit ⭐️ Sam ⭐️ Hambone ⭐️ Gabriel ⭐️
Loose leash walking may be one of the most challenging basic obedience skills to master. Pulling on leash is simply and tremendously self reinforcing for a dog because it gets them towards a reinforcer (a favorite person, another dog, a great smell, prey animal, you name it).
One of the first steps in teaching a dog to walk on loose lead is eliminating the reinforcement of pulling on a tight lead; most often I recommend front attachment harnesses to help owners prevent their dog from dragging them towards a reinforcer. At the same time, we must not only eliminate the self reinforcing behavior, but teach our dogs that walking on a loose lead is the way to self reinforcement, and handler based reinforcement.
Once that is done the skill needs to be generalized independent of the equipment worn. This is where a lot of training breaks down as dogs are not transitioned to learning the same skill on a flat collar, or back attaching harness. Often the tool is relied upon to manage the behavior without fully teaching a dog the desired skill; I have students come to me whose dogs walk beautifully on a prong collar and the moment the collar is off they nearly pull their owners off their feet. These dogs have not been taught to walk on a loose leash; they simply have been made uncomfortable when pulling on the prong collar, and so they learn not to pull when wearing it.
The same occurs with gentle leaders, and front attachment harnesses, etc. Dogs may not be uncomfortable wearing leaders and harnesses, but they are prevented from pulling without being taught proper leash walking skills; meaning, simply put, tension on the lead means stop forward motion, lack of tension means the opportunity to move forward.
I’ve been working with Sparrow on leash walking; naturally as he’s a dog!!, and a Husky, Pitbull, German Shepherd mix, his idea of leash walking would look something like the Iditarod. I have been focusing on teaching him to come off tension u
With the winter weather upon us, Frisco and I slow down from agility but not from training! He knows a forward walking leg weave so I decided to teach him a backwards walking leg weave.
What new skills have you been working on with your dog?
https://unmistakenstars.com/dog-training/
Tonight’s snippet of lovely leash walking brought to you by some of our intermediate obedience students!
Our very own, Frisco, who joined us by way of Operation Kindness and the Wilbarger Humane Society debuted in Open Jumpers agility yesterday earning himself a clean run with a first place!
Lily’s mom said it best! 💞
“…if Lily can do it any crazy pup can especially with a double stroller and her mega anxiety of anything that moves!”
We had the pleasure of working with Lily and her owner as they completed our training programs and met for private lessons in preparation for the homecoming of the twins. All of her owners commitment and dedication to training has allowed Lily to enjoy life right alongside “her” babies!
Updates like these make any day a great one! Thank you for sharing, Steph!
https://unmistakenstars.com/dog-training/
With nights getting darker earlier and temperatures colder, our outdoor agility sessions are wrapping up for the season; we look forward to resuming agility classes in the spring!
Sam and Jeanne bid us adieu until next time, and leave us with a demo of his beginner agility skills! They just started in agility class and are off to a great start!

Last night our “Around the Farm” class wrapped up by taking their skills around town! Video of Teddy and Raspberry practicing loose leash walking in front of Gardner store fronts; more pictures in comments!
Fantastic training Brute, Teddy, Raspberry, Alina and Kai, and Milo!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Look at Miss Ruby shine! ⭐️
Ruby is a sweet young (just a year old!) Golden girl in training as a Service Dog.
This afternoon we met up for a lesson at the Gardner Walmart where we focused on preparing Ruby to pass the Public Access Test. Ruby and her owner are well on their way to passing, and it’s been a joy to watch their progress!
Keep up the great work Team Ruby! ⭐️
https://unmistakenstars.com/service-dogs/
Last night a new AKC Canine Good Citizen was earned by Hugo and his team, Mary and Chris!
Congratulations to you all! This title is much deserved and I look forward to continuing our training together to prepare Hugo to be a Therapy Dog; he surely has the spirit to share his love with all! 💞
