Animal Smart Training

31/10/2025

31/10/2025

28/10/2025

We love when things just click✨🐶👏

Super proud of Hosey and his mom for killing their leash training session this week! He trained with us as a little puppy and did so awesome, but started struggling with pulling and some reactivity since he turned one (a very common side effect of growing up and maturing through adolescence) so we did a refresher session with them to help address these new challenges!

Our goal is of course that we give you the skills to maintain your dog’s training and skills for life, but we are always available for clients, no matter how long it’s been, for additional training and support as needed!

23/10/2025

Puppies go through what we call “fear periods.” These are normal, developmental stages where the brain is making excess cortisol and dumping it into the system. This is basically nature’s way of saying, stay alive! and giving the puppy a reason to be cautious and stay safe for a bit.

There are typically three main ones as a puppy grows up. The first sometime around weaning, so between 6-12 weeks. The second sometime around adolescence, so between 6-9 months roughly. And the third sometime after they turn a year old.

Again, these are completely normal phases in a puppy’s life, so don’t be concerned ! If you think your puppy is going through a fear period, here are a few tips to get through it !

1. Go Slow! Limit purposeful exposure to new things during these phases, and really focus on confidence building exercises in familiar environments! We don’t want to accidentally create a negative association because a new experience was tainted by the extra cortisol in the system during a fear period.

2. Prioritize Rest! One thing that often comes along with a fear period, in my experience, is a growth spurt. And making sure your puppy is getting enough rest to support their system through these changes is so important.

3. Move On! If and when they do get spooked, don’t make a big deal out of it. You can encourage them and comfort them, and I like to pair scary things with good food always, but don’t force interaction and if they are struggling, it’s ok to just move on !! Sometimes, you interacting with the object while they watch at a safe distance can help too! It’s ok to leave without “fixing” the fear in the moment and often times when you come back after the fear period is over, they’re more confident than ever!

4. Play Play Play! Play is one of the best ways to help your dog feel at ease! Toy play, personal play, food play. Whatever your dog likes best! Sometimes it can help work them through a fear response, but even if they won’t play in the moment, initiating and inviting play when the scary thing has passed is so good for helping them recover and not dwell on it!

05/09/2025

Before training 🤗 VS After training 😴

Libby just started her intensive training program with us and was pooped after her first session! Brain work is hard, she says!

We can’t wait to see how this girl progresses through training! She’s such a sweetheart

26/08/2025

Happy International Dog Day! Here are a few pics of our furry family members. Drop a pic of yours!

11/08/2025

Field trip fun🥳

Lucy the standard poodle is so enjoying showing the world to her newly fully vaccinated little sister Ozzy!

She’s been on field trips before, in a stroller to keep her safe, but walking on the ground is a whole new adventure and Ozzy is loving it!!

31/07/2025

Patio manners can be hard for young puppies, but teaching them is such a necessity if you want to enjoy those types of outings with your dog !

Here are a few tips to make you and your puppy successful:

1) Start small and work your way up! Going during quieter hours or to less busy patios and staying for just a short time will make the first couple of outings a bit easier for your dog as they get used to the stimulus and expectations of sitting on a patio!

2) Give your puppy something to do! Taking a long last chew or enrichment toy for them to work on can help make the sitting still part a bit easier ! Giving them breaks and making sure they’ve had a chance to potty and get a drink will help as well!

3) Reinforce for calm! Whenever your puppy offers you a behavior you’d like to see again, pay them! Whether it’s laying down, resting their chin on the ground, keeping their paws on the ground while the waiter brings your food or watching a distraction pass by without getting up, calmly reach down and hand them a reward! They won’t know they’re doing a good job unless we tell them!

Give it a try with your pup and let us know how it goes!!

30/07/2025

Does your puppy rush through doors and blow bast boundaries? We can help!!

Biscuit and Banyan are learning to wait at the door to their room before being released into the rest of the house where they still need some supervision!

Positive reinforcement training doesn’t mean we don’t set boundaries for our dogs. It just means we set them up for success and teach them what we want them to do rather than mindless correcting them for what we don’t want them to do!

29/07/2025

Service dog training is a journey. It’s challenging, but incredibly rewarding. It teaches dogs to think on their feet and adapt to different situations. We focus on specific tasks such as mobility, allergen alert, seizure response, diabetic alert, and more. With over 20 years of experience in dog behavior and pet training, we have personalized programs designed to fit your unique goals.

361-537-0531
Animalsmarttraining.com

25/07/2025

Sully is absolutely excelling as he takes on task training and public access training as a service dog! Tucking out of the way and holding distance down stays are only 2 of the many skills necessary for a service dog and Sully is well on his way to learning them all!