Dog Ranch Naples

16/02/2025

Happy Sunday from Lola 🥰

13/02/2025

This is such a beautiful time of evening to capture photos ☀️ And as usual we have our regulars Molly and Ziggy wearing everyone out 😜

Another great evening allowing dogs to stretch their legs, socialize, and sniff. Grateful to be able to offer a spacious and safe place. 🩶

12/02/2025

Our evals for today! Lincoln and Snickers! 🌟

We will be waitlisted in accepting new dog evaluations until the middle of March — so as always, we encourage you to get your application NOW so we can get you on the schedule.

Space is very limited going into March with spring break — and please look ahead to summer as that is also an extraordinarily busy time! Submit dates early! 📅

12/02/2025

https://petemergencyeducation.com/product/2-23-25-10am-1pm-pet-cpr-and-first-aid-certification-class-lucky-dog-company-naples-fl/

I will be teaching a Pet CPR & First Aid Certification class on Sunday 2/23 10am-1pm. After this class, there are currently no additional classes scheduled…so take advantage.

Class will be held in Naples and is open to everyone! Space is limited, but a few spaces still remain.

If you are interested in becoming a host for a private or public class you may email me at [email protected].

**We strongly encourage participants to bring their own stuffed animal to practice skill on throughout the class (optional).**

11/02/2025

Alright…let’s hear it…NAME THE BREED!

As always…we appreciate the engagement! Comments, likes, shares, and all the breed guesses!

Bonus question: his name starts with a “B” and is six letters, two syllables. Let’s hear some names! 😂

11/02/2025

It’s not like I had any cute puppies or anything to train today. 🤣

Winston the and Ellie the are just starting to build foundations in their homes! While they are only weeks apart, they are at very different places in their maturity. Ellie did go through a board and train program before even coming to her home (through the place placing the puppies) — so already had an advantage on learning to work for food, sleep in the crate, and have an introduction to some foundational skills! Winston on the other hand is still needing to work through the separation process and acclimating to his crate. Good use of management and separation is at the top of our list when working with puppies!

Both owners of each puppy are actively a part of the training process — and in my opinion that is the best way to go as owners then learn to practice their techniques, timing, and problem solving skills…and then we get to address it when we meet! It also makes dog training as a whole a more understandable process and reiterates the fact that training 1) never “ends” and 2) it takes a lot of time and effort to build criteria, skills under distractions, and to address the many aspects of puppy training!

We generally will start in the home to build muscle memory, and then start exposing the puppy to performing in numerous environments! Of course puppies are also going through developmental phases and we love to educate on what to expect.

There are some things that may be accelerated through use of a professional handler, but unfortunately the puppy training process does take months of consistency. Being an active part of this process helps build clarity on what it takes to train a dog — and the best part is — the owner-handler improves their timing, technique, and skills and in turn can learn to help their dog tremendously. Many owners have a tendency to get frustrated and blame the puppy, or the lack of training — when in reality, the frustration comes from lack of knowledge and education. The more you work with your puppy the more you learn to do away with excuses and to find solutions 🌟

11/02/2025

Got to see one of the bestest boys again.

This youngster is a lot of dog, and like many young dogs can become easily overstimulated in busy environments. That doesn’t mean to avoid them, it just means to be selective and prepared on your outings — and carefully evaluate how much your puppy can handle. We could tell towards the end of the session when he was struggling to perform the most basic of tasks…he was drained.

While he certainly has the muscle memory for a lot of skills he’s learned over the past few months — today we worked on removal of the food (the lure/bribe), leash skills and timing, and talked about effective management out and about.

I try to tell people that 12-16 weeks is typically the time their very calm puppy has a tendency to just start waking up…and not soon after they go into their “teenage” phases (this pup is only seven months old!). This can be a time where people ask themselves 1) was getting a puppy the right choice 2) why is the puppy struggling to listen and follow through with skills

The early stages are so important and you should remain on the gas when it comes time to training. Your puppy should not listen just because you think it should. It takes time, consistency, and dedication. This is something you achieve week after week, month after month of consistency and effort.

10/02/2025

We’d love to collect a few more registrations for our pet first aid and CPR certification next weekend at right in Naples! Not only great learning, but also great networking! 🌟

For so many years it was so challenging to find this type of offering in our area..and finally it’s here! Take advantage now, as we do not have more classes lined up in the near future.

If you own a dog, are in the dog sitting world, are a dog trainer, or are responsible for watching someone’s dog at any time…truly you should have this knowledge. Knowledge is power, and especially knowing what to do in emergency situations is SO important!

https://petemergencyeducation.com/product/2-23-25-10am-1pm-pet-cpr-and-first-aid-certification-class-lucky-dog-company-naples-fl/

08/02/2025

Sasha 🤍

Enjoy the weekend everyone 🌟

Where are all the Super Bowl fans — who is everyone rooting for 🏈

07/02/2025

Had the rare opportunity to work the training dogs with a friend who was over! It was great to see someone with no dog training experience learn to lure, redirect and handle different puppies and dogs of different ages.

The more experienced puppy, Tank, was a lot more likely to offer behaviors he had been conditioned to — but also try to take advantage of the handler uncertainty.

Our other little four month old, Darla, shown here — who already does not like pressure and is uncertain of people and things in the environment showed great progress in the last couple of days!

She lured very nicely into new positions, was able to handle some increased pressure from training, and also did some socialization and relaxation by the barn.

06/02/2025

Sammy, Winston, and Sasha are on the welcoming committee today for new dog evaluations! 🤍

How do I choose our “welcoming committee?” Well, I try to take the most neutral and low-key, trustworthy dogs who will essentially ignore the newcomer. I like to choose dogs I know well, have boarded often…so I know exactly what to expect when faced with a new furry friend!

05/02/2025

This little cutie has returned for a second stay, and we are working on building a relationship essentially through free feeding. If she engages, or gets close, I feed. Since she is standoffish, I must work to earn her trust. We keep things easy and low key to begin.

It’s clear she has food drive, but being in a new place is startling for her so she not quite sure yet if she can perform to her potential. This is definitely why socializing your puppy to the world is SO Important.

Looking forward to seeing her improvement in the next few days!

04/02/2025

These two are a good combo to work together!

Max has the ability to be a lot more neutral and focus on work when there is food involved vs. constantly soliciting the other puppy to play.

Four month old Tank definitely can give in to distractions (even with separation by barrier) so this is a perfect pair to work some static behaviors on!

Since we’re focusing on the down on a verbal I continue to move to different locations — and will withhold reinforcement on the front end to build more duration (which is also how I start building my stay).

When we move into different spaces I am ALWAYS looking to reinforce if a dog happens to find the valuable heeling position by my side so I can also work on that in between exercises!

People will tell me how boring they think heeling is — but personally it’s one of my favorite things to teach and build. It’s also a reason I do a lot of luring, movement and position changes so I can keep things interesting for myself and the dog!

And by the way, go outside…what a beautiful afternoon it’s been ☀️

04/02/2025

One of many precious 🌟 super 🌟 senior dogs we care for. As dogs age, boarding certainly can take its toll.

We try to provide an environment that not only can cater to all the social butterflies — but also our “more mature” 😆 dogs who require a lot less chaos, and instead a cozy place to nap for the majority of the day.

That being said…if you have a senior dog, it’s imperative to constantly be evaluating and assessing their overall health and wellness to ensure boarding is still fair to them. Sometimes it’s a good idea to also have a licensed, insured, and reliable sitter who can come into your home — but even then…. sometimes the absence of the owner can be terribly stressful for them in itself. It’s important to plan accordingly! They are part of the family too!

I try to provide as transparent of feedback as possible, even if sometimes it’s not the news someone was hoping to hear. I would much rather speak up and be honest and lose a client telling them this is not the right fit, than I would lie and pretend a dog is thriving when in reality it’s struggling.

I can recall a specific instance many years back when a young dog was dropped off who had a bad case of stimulated separation anxiety. When I informed the owner of my observations of the dog and specific (and severe) behaviors related to stress/anxiety…they refused to even get out of their car upon return to walk up and grab their dog (or speak to me). Due to the fear of the dog, I was unable to handle the dog, forcing the owner to assist and get out of the car. I calmly explained — this isn’t world ending, and it can be improved. And, even though the owner’s behavior was completely uncalled for — for the benefit of the dog — I offered my assistance to let them know what could be worked on to make boarding a possibility in the future.

At the end of the day, one bad experience with an unrealistic owner isn’t going to change me wanting to provide clear and honest feedback. It’s my job to advocate for your dog. Whether it be in boarding, or in training.

However, if you’re a dud of a human being…go elsewhere. 😛

04/02/2025

If we’re not sure how a dog will acclimate based on any observations or behavior during our initial evaluation, a trial overnight stay is recommended.

Just like it may take a person to open up in a new space, it is no different for a dog. If you have a shy, nervous, fearful, stressed, or anxious dog…one of the best things you can do are single night stays to help get them used to a new routine away from home. Being away from home can be a lot for a dog to take in — so if you have a vacation planned…it’s critical to think of the dog as well.

People will ask how many stays will it take? And, I do not determine that. It takes different dogs different amounts of time to build confidence and security.

This sweet girl spent the night with us for her trial 🤍

03/02/2025

Throwing an easy one at you for Monday, who can name this gorgeous girl’s breed?

And for those who comment, like, and participate…we greatly appreciate the engagement 🤍

And for those who just stalk and scroll through photos…don’t be afraid to hit the “like” button a time or two….or give your best shot at naming a breed (this one was basically given to you 😛).

30/01/2025

Welcome to sweet Hallie. She isn’t a breed we get often but they certainly can be lovely for the experienced and active owner!

Can you name this one?! 🤩