Molli Dogs Training

14/08/2024

Very important reminder.

12/08/2024

Most of the time when you hear someone say that a dog "bit out of nowhere," the dog had actually been giving a lot of silent signals that were ignored or not recognized.
As a dog trainer, I've spent a lot of time studying canine communication and trying to learn to recognize these things as best I can. I've been bitten one time when I wasn't able to predict it.
It was a dog that had repeatedly been forced into situations it was uncomfortable in, all of its stress cues and signals being ignored, in order to "help" the dog "get over it." This dog had also been repeatedly punished for showing teeth, growling, air snapping, etc. So when a dog has repeatedly been shown that any and everything it does to display its discomfort is either ignored or punished, what options does the dog have left?
This was a super sad situation and I had to refer out to a specialist for.
Yes, growling is far from an ideal behavior, but it is also far from the worst. And punishment is never an appropriate way to handle a dog that is feeling stressed or uncomfortable.

11/08/2024

11/08/2024

Doris and I are getting ready for our first dog show in September. We're on day 3 of stacking training (I keep forgetting to take her collar off 🤦🏼‍♀️)! We've also got a class we're doing every week for show handling to help us get ready. There's still work to do, but I think we're making good progress for being total newbies to this!

09/08/2024

This week is International Assistance Dog Week!
International Assistance Dog Week is a time to celebrate the incredible contributions of assistance dogs and recognize the organizations dedicated to training and placing these remarkable animals. We are proud to honor and help celebrate these canine heroes who significantly enhance the lives of individuals with disabilities.

08/08/2024

Maggie has made some stellar progress at the vet. She used to pace, spin, and panic about what the vets were doing. She still stress pants most of the time, but she actually laid down, which is huge for her, and she was happy to let them pet her!!

Even if you haven't made it all the way to your end goal in something with your dog, it's so important to celebrate every step along the way. Don't feel bad you're not there yet. Be glad you're getting there!

05/08/2024

We've got another heat wave this week. Please be responsible with your pets!

02/08/2024

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31/07/2024

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31/07/2024

27/07/2024

Love my senior old lady dog 💕💕💕

27/07/2024

Maggie being a rockstar at therapy 💕
 

25/07/2024

This awesome duo just finished up therapy dog training with us. Braxton is going to be working as a therapy dog at his handler's work. He is such a good boy and blew through everything in record time!

23/07/2024

I went to my little cousin's birthday party a couple of weeks ago. Initially Doris was having a blast playing with my cousin's dog. Then she discovered that kids were leaving half eaten pizza and cake all over the yard. She was very unhappy with me when I took her off leash privileges away 😂

19/07/2024

Grim waiting patiently in the X-ray room. This is a great example of why teaching a solid state/distance settle is so important for service dogs.
 

17/07/2024

Practicing settling at the library with this good looking bunch. They all stayed perfectly relaxed even when a child started screaming at the top of their lungs and when someone came in carrying a cat around!

17/07/2024

This is true for pretty much all negative behaviors. They are a symptom, not the cause. If all we do is focus on the symptom, we are essentially just slapping a bandaid on it and not actually fixing anything. While treating the actual root of the problem tends to take much longer to work through, it will have a much longer lasting, positive outcome. Any trainer offering "guarantees" and "quick fixes" is offering you a bandaid.

16/07/2024

My basset melted 🫠

13/07/2024

Last year I tried calling the Orem police about a small dog trapped in a car in over 90° heat. I waited around for over an hour and they never showed up. The owners of the car eventually came out and drove away. I don't know if the dog was ok or not. Clearly the family and the police did not understand the severity of the situation. Please be responsible with your pets.

13/07/2024

Doris came to help work with Graham Cracker for his last day of training. This little guy has made so much progress! His owners said things are a night and day difference! He's been so much fun to work with, and Doris thought so too 😉

10/07/2024

Happy birthday in heaven, Basil. I still think about you every day and miss you like crazy 💔 I'll love you forever, my Wonder Dane 🌈

07/07/2024

Super proud of this sweet girl. We were trying to work on stays and she wasn't having it. Once she got back over to her handler she alerted and refused to do anything else. We got them in a safe position and 5 minutes later her handler started seizing. Here she is doing DPT afterwards to help finish pulling her owner out of it (a little lower than ideal but we'll work on it 😉).

 

05/07/2024

Guilty 🙋🏼‍♀️😅