Train Your Dog

18/06/2024

The Best of Bastrop County contest nominations are open! We’d love it if you nominated us under “Pet Services Non-medical” 🐶❤️

Nominations are open now! Click to nominate your favorites!

03/06/2024

Happy pride month y’all! Just wanted to drop a quick reminder that we love working with you and your dog no matter who you love or who you are! 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

03/05/2024

I had the honor of working with Piney Paws Pet Services and Bastrop County Animal Services recently and loved getting to share dog knowledge and connect with other dog lovers and professionals! Thanks for sponsoring this Piney Paws Pet Services!

02/05/2024

Are you sick of slimy hands when training your dog with food?

You’re not alone!

Dog slobber is pretty gross, but luckily I have a few tips to help keep your hands slime free during training sessions.

1. Wear gloves. Keep a box of disposable gloves (or a washable reusable pair) handy to use during training sessions!
2. Washcloth & Hand Sanitizer: If gloves aren’t your thing, try keeping a washcloth with you during training sessions to wipe your hands. You can even purchase a washcloth with a loop and attach it to your treat pouch with a carabiner. Hand sanitizer can be helpful too, especially if you’re training in public.
3. Squeezable Treats: Reusable toddler food pouches can be filled with wet dog food, puréed meats/veggies, plain yogurt, or anything else squeezeable that your dog enjoy! Companies like Bark Pouch and WestPaw have pre-filled disposable pouches you can purchase too!
4. Deliver the treats hands free: If the environment is suitable for it, you can toss the treat on the ground instead of handing the treat to your dog’s mouth. If your dog knows how to catch treats, you can toss them directly to their mouth

Need help training your dog? Send us a DM for more info!

18/04/2024

One of my amazing clients/friend started this nonprofit! Give them a follow and support their cause if you can ❤️

18/04/2024

🔑 The key to helping shy or fearful dogs feel comfortable meeting you. 🔑

Body Language!

But today we’re not talking about dog body language, YOUR body language can make a huge impact too!

Keep reading to learn ways to use your body language to help shy/fearful dogs feel more comfortable around you.

1. Avoid direct eye contact.
In dog-dog body language, direct eye contact can be a precursor to conflict or fights. Avoiding direct eye contact and even turning your head away from shy or fearful dogs can help them feel less threatened.

2. Turn your body to the side.
Much like eye contact, directly facing a dog can be intimidating! Turning your body to the side can help shy dogs feel safer. If it’s safe to do so, you can also try sitting instead of standing.

3. Keep a comfortable distance.
Letting a shy or fearful dog move towards you and not the other way around makes a huge impact on how safe the dog feels around you. Stay stationary and let the dog come to you.

4. Don’t reach or pet if they approach
This one can be surprising, but sometimes when a shy or fearful dog approaches you (especially the first time), they just want to sniff you and gather information. Hold off on reaching towards them or petting until they are clearly soliciting attention (nudging you, leaning into you, etc).

And if they don’t want to meet you…
That’s ok!

Slow is fast when it comes to shy and fearful dogs. Give them the time and space to learn that you’re a safe human.

26/02/2024

5 places to walk your reactive or fearful dog with less distractions.

When you’re working through reactive or fearful behaviors, walking your pup in a busy neighborhood or park can be overwhelming!

Going to a location with less people/animals might be a welcome break for both you and your pup.

Keep reading for a few ideas of less frequented places to walk your dog.

1. Sniffspots. are private land that you can rent by the hour to enjoy with just you and your dog. It’s kind of like Airbnb for private dog parks. You can filter for fenced vs unfenced, and there’s a filter for no dogs in sight/earshot.

2. Cemeteries. If walking amongst the dead doesn’t bother you, cemeteries are pretty quiet and park like. (Unless there’s a funeral of course) Obviously be respectful and don’t forget to clean up after your pup.
3. Business/Industrial Parks can be pretty low key if you go after hours. If your dog only reacts to other dogs, but is ok with people, going during business hours might work too!

4. Empty Parking Lots. While an empty parking lot may seem boring to us, there will still be plenty of things for your dog to sniff! Your dog won’t care if you walk them in places that aren’t scenic.

5. Many schools, churches, & community centers have large parking lots or green spaces that might be appropriate for walking your fearful or reactive dog after hours.

Feeling worried about trying a new spot?
- Try checking out the area on your own before you bring your dog.
- Spend a few minutes in your car observing the environment before you and your dog get out.
- You can stay near your car as a safety net the first few times you go somewhere new.
- Do a visual scan for any blind spots/ potential trouble spots.
- Bring plenty of treats and any needed safety gear.
- Bring a friend or family member if appropriate for your dog.

Captions/image description continued in comments

02/02/2024

Back in the day I thought enrichment was food puzzles, treat dispensers, lick mats, and snufflemats. And don’t get me wrong, I’m a huge fan of all of those things! They are definitely *part* of the bigger picture of enrichment.

Fast forward to now, where I know enrichment is so much more than food puzzles and treat dispensers!

Enrichment is all about meeting your dog’s needs as a whole. This includes health, hygiene, nutrition, species typical behaviors, safety, security, choice, agency, comfort, social interaction, and more!

Looking at enrichment BEFORE training is highly important. It can be hard to make training/behavior modification progress if we’re missing puzzle pieces in the enrichment/needs department.

If you want to learn more about enrichment, I highly recommend picking up a copy of Canine Enrichment for the Real World by Ali Bender and Emily Strong!

You can also book a session with me to level up your dog’s enrichment plan. Together we can create a sustainable plan that ensures your dog’s enrichment needs are being met! Send a DM to get started!

07/11/2023

Getting in a car can be scary for dogs who have had a negative experience in the past, or simply just haven’t experienced riding in a car. Luckily there are many things you can do to help your pup feel calm and confident about riding in the car.

Here’s a few of my favorite tips and training exercises for dogs who are scared of car rides!

Getting in a car can be scary for dogs who have had a negative experience in the past, or simply just haven’t experienced riding in a car. Luckily there are many things you can do to help your pup feel calm and confident...

03/11/2023

We’ll have a 4 pack of Private Lessons in the silent auction & a table set up at the fundraiser. Stop by and say hi from 11-4 tomorrow at Bastrop County Animal Services!

31/10/2023

Is your dog’s behavior around strangers frightening?

Check out our tips for surviving Halloween with your dog!

1. Create a safe space: Pick a quiet room away from the action and create a safe space for your dog. Include a comfy resting place or two, and your dog’s favorite activities like long lasting chews, food puzzles, or lick mats. Having a quiet space to take a break does wonders.

2. Cover the windows: Preventing your dog from watching the action is a simple yet highly effective way to help your dog feel more comfortable. Use those curtains or blinds or keep your pup in a different room where trick or treaters aren’t in sight.

3. Mask the sound: Use a white noise machine, fan, talk radio/tv, or calming music to drown out noises. YouTube has lots of playlists with calming music or white noise to play.

4. Move the candy bucket: Repeated knocking or doorbell ringing can be too much for even the most confident dogs. Hand out candy in the yard or driveway instead of allowing trick or treaters to come to your door, or leave a bucket with a sign for even less stress.

5. Use a baby gate at the front door: If your dog will be hanging out and helping you pass out candy, consider a baby gate at the front door to prevent them from slipping out. Even super social pups can be spooked by costumes.

Enjoyed this post? Likes, shares, comments & saves are always appreciated! Follow along for more tips and info.

Want to work with us? Send a DM!

Image Description: All slides have a navy blue background with a white rectangle in the center with navy blue text. The heading of each slide is in bold orange text, and the handle is in bold white lettering centered on the bottom of each slide. The first slide features a small jack-o-lantern in the bottom right corner. Each slide matches the text in the caption.

11/09/2023

Help! My Dog Doesn't Listen to Me!

Does your dog consistently respond to cues in your living room, but all bets are off the moment you step outside or in public? If this is you, you’re not alone!

Check out our blog post on building engagement with your dog for help!

Building Engagement with Your Dog

01/08/2023

4 things you should know about training your shy/fearful dog with food:

1. Luring your dog towards the *scary thing* isn’t always a good idea.

This one can feel a little counterintuitive, but luring your dog towards a *scary thing* isn’t always a good idea. You run the risk of giving your dog some not so comfy feelings surrounding your reinforcement when you use food to coax your dog closer to things than they feel comfortable with.

Instead, try letting your dog check out the *scary thing* from a distance, then toss the treat away. This creates a double reward- delicious food, and getting to move away from the thing. It also helps assess what comfort level your dog is at. Do they come closer after you toss the treat, or hang back? This is valuable info!

2. Use caution when allowing strangers to feed your shy or fearful dog treats.

Allowing strangers to feed your shy dog might seem like a great idea, but sometimes dogs will get entirely too close to the stranger to get the food and have an “Oh s**t! I’m too close!” moment. This can result in conflicted feelings at best, and a dog bite at worst.

Instead, try feeding your dog while they observe the stranger from an appropriate distance, or have the stranger toss treats PAST your pup. This way they won’t feel pressured to get too close!

3. Raising the value of the reinforcement isn’t always the answer.

When I was a baby trainer I’d often just raise the value of the reinforcement if a dog wasn’t eating in a certain circumstance. This might be ok depending on the situation, but it’s so important to look at WHY your dog isn’t eating your medium/lower value food. Are they too close to the *scary thing*? Are they having tummy troubles? We also run the risk of your dog surpassing their comfort level to get the extra yummy reinforcement, which can ultimately cause training setbacks.

4. Try to feed your dog AFTER they notice the *scary thing* instead of before.

This one is super common! (I’m certain I’ve done this one too before I knew better 😅) I often see people try to distract their dog with food as they see a stressor coming, but before the dog has noticed. While sometimes this is ok, feeding your dog before they notice the stressor can create a pattern of food=*scary thing*.

While there are times that all of these things might be appropriate (behavior is nuanced y’all!) The last thing we need when working with our shy/fearful pups is to accidentally make food feel not so great. I hope this tips help you on your dog training journey! Feel free to ask any questions in the comments!

30/06/2023

Before you expect your dog or puppy to be successful at training, don’t forget to make sure their needs have been met!

When we talk about a dog’s needs we’re talking about species typical behaviors. Behaviors like sniffing, chewing, shredding, digging, and foraging and more are all NEEDS for dogs. This means that rather than fight these natural dog behaviors, we need to find appropriate outlets that we can live with.

Learning to meet your dog’s needs BEFORE expecting behaviors (especially calm behaviors like Nash settling in the video) is a total game changer!

I used to be a lot more focused on training exercises and teaching specific behaviors, but I was missing a huge part of effective behavior change. Now all of my training plans include info on meeting your dog’s specific needs and enrichment. Oftentimes meeting needs alone is enough to positively impact behavior!

Share how you meet your dog’s needs in the comments! Do you find that meeting their needs makes training sessions easier?

Need help with your pup’s behavior? Reach out! We love teaching guardians how to live their best life with their dogs.



Video Description
Clip 1: A fluffy brown retriever puppy named Nash settles on a bright blue mat. A hand reaches down and feeds treats. Navy blue text reads “Before you expect this”
Clip 2: Nash sniffing in tall grass with a lake and pine trees in the background. Text reads “Let them do this”
Clip 3: Nash walks alongside the lake then rolls over and falls into the water. He gets up then playfully bounds away. Text reads “Set your dog or puppy up for success by meeting their needs! More info in caption”

01/06/2023

Shoutout to everyone who voted for me in the Sniffspot best dog trainer contest! I made the top trainers in Texas list at number 16! I’m in good company and see a handful of amazing Austin area trainers on the list. Congrats everyone, and thanks so much to everyone who took the time to vote.

Find the best dog trainers in Texas with Sniffspot - see and get in touch with the winners of our dog training contest in 2023.

24/05/2023

Cute puppy spam for your feed courtesy of Nash 🥰



Image Description: A brown retriever mix puppy sitting in the grass looking towards the camera with a smile on his face. He’s wearing a camo harness, and has green eyes. There’s a lake in the background and tree trunks.

28/02/2023

I’d be honored if you voted for me in this sniff spot best dog trainer contest!! Just scroll down to Megan Coleman and hit submit. ❤️

https://www.sniffspot.com/blog/dog-trainers/contest?utm_source=trainer_contest

14/02/2023

Happy Valentine’s Day! Leave us a love note… via Google reviews!

Y’all, I hate asking for reviews, but having recent reviews helps us reach more dog guardians who need behavior help.

We show up higher in search results when we get reviews, and it makes my day every time a new review gets posted!

So leave a little R+!

https://g.page/r/CZmrctmH5z8oEBE/review

30/01/2023

Reactive or fearful dog training tip:
✨Give your dog a break from stressors✨

One common struggle I see with reactive or fearful dog guardians is thinking more exposure to the scary thing will help their dog “get over” their fear of said scary thing.

Habituation (getting used to) exists, but oftentimes when we’re working on changing big feelings, less is more!

Constant exposure to triggers can result in chronic stress and sensitization (becoming even more concerned about the scary thing).

I often recommend a 1 or 2 week break from stressors when I start working with a new client on fearful or reactive behavior. Decompression does wonders!

Here’s some strategies to help reduce exposure to stressors:

- Window film or other visual barriers.
- Skip the neighborhood walk and spend a few minutes doing fun training sessions or enrichment instead.
- Let your dog hang out in a quiet safe space instead of meeting visitors.
- Do a u-turn away from stressors on walks instead of training through every one.
- Drive to a calmer location to walk. Rent a sniffspot, walk in a cemetery instead of a park.
- Avoid known stressors on walks when possible, like that dog that barks behind the fence every time you pass, or the road with the loud trucks.
- Walk at less busy times when possible.
- Condition your dog to wear a thunder cap- a silly yet useful hat that reduces visual stimuli. (Can be great for dogs who react in the car).
- Teach active management strategies to help you get away from stressors when needed.

Sometimes you won’t be able to avoid stressors due to the environment or circumstances, and that’s ok! We can’t control everything, and you’re doing a great job!

Reach out to a qualified behavior professional if you’re struggling with fear or reactivity. Every situation and dog/guardian team is different and an individualized plan will likely be more effective than blanket advice on the internet.

What management strategies do you use to avoid your dog’s stressors? Let me know in the comments!

30/01/2023

Thank you so much April!

20/01/2023

Do I love teaching dogs to heel/loose leash walk? Yes.

Is meeting their needs more important to me than a flashy heel? Also yes.

Does it have to be one or the other? Of course not! But, meeting your dog’s need for sniffing and freedom of movement will help your dog be in a better place to be able to loose leash walk or heel.

Letting your dog sniff and investigate a new environment before asking for any behaviors can help set your dog up for success as well.

Also, heeling isn’t something you *have* to teach your dog if you don’t need it.

My goal is that all the pretty pups I work with walk in ways that best meet the needs of both ends of the leash. 🍪❤️



Video Description: Text reads “all the pretty pups walk like this…”. 3 clips play of a sable German Shepherd walking by Megan the dog trainer’s side at a park. Megan is rewarding the dog with treats. Text switches to “…but also like this”. 3 clips of the same dog sniffing and meandering on a long line play. Another text block appears that says “Meeting your dog’s needs > pretty heels”.

12/01/2023

Here’s a real life example of using a hand target to help a dog disengage from a distraction!

More info on touch a few posts back in my profile!

28/12/2022

4 Simple Loose Leash Walking Tips

1. Reinforce any engagement/check ins. It doesn’t have to be eye contact. Just a turn towards you or glance can be rewarded.

2. Reward in the position you want your dog to walk in. Deliver treat where your pant seam would be or just behind your leg.

3. Try a longer leash. Swapping from a standard 6 ft. leash to a 10 or 15 ft. leash can be a game changer. I can’t tell you how many dogs stop pulling entirely when they have a little more freedom of movement!

4. Take sniff breaks. Sniffing can help calm your dog, and in turn reduce pulling.

Follow along for more dog training tips!

09/12/2022

I’m a huge fan of trick training for ANY dog, young, old, shy, bold, ALL dogs can benefit from learning tricks!

Trick training is awesome for building confidence, and can help shy dogs come out of their shell.

Trick training is fabulous for building a better relationship with your dog,

And it’s just plain fun!

The dog featured in this reel is Puck, he recently got his novice AKC trick title and is working on his intermediate!

What’s your dog’s favorite trick? Let me know in the comments!

08/12/2022

My favorite behavior to teach dogs as a dog trainer is *hands* down a hand target! 🤗

Teaching a hand target aka “touch” is often one of the first things I teach dogs.

Touch is usually quick and easy to teach- present your flat palm to your pup. They will most likely nudge it in curiosity. Mark (yes, good, clicker, etc.) the moment they nudge your hand then follow it up with reinforcement!

If they don’t automatically “touch”, try rubbing the scent of a treat on your hand.

Why would you want to teach your dog a hand target? There are so many reasons!

In no particular order:

1. As an alternate recall. Touch becomes like a magic treat button when heavily reinforced. Dog not coming when called? Try touch instead!

2. To move your dog without physical pressure. Need your dog to step onto a scale at the vet? Try having your dog target your hand to move them onto the scale.

3. For trick training. Teach your dog to go over or under obstacles, weave through your legs, spin, or go around something by having them follow your hand target.

4. For greetings with people. Have your dog target your visitors hand instead of jumping on them, or help shy dogs have a predictable way to interact with someone new. (Side note: Never force a dog to interact with someone if they’d prefer not to)

5. For loose leash walking. Touch can be used to reposition your dog when they pull on leash, or to teach them how to walk beside you in the first place. Have them follow your hand and mark and reward when they are in the position you like.

Have you taught your dog a hand target? What creative things do you use the touch cue for? Let me know in the comments!

22/11/2022

Rainy cold weather in Texas = indoor training field trip to Tractor Supply with Ares! Isn’t she beautiful!?

15/11/2022

The biggest challenge I see dog guardians having when teaching dogs stay from a distance is moving way too far too fast, so know you’re not alone if you’re struggling!

I like to teach stay by first asking for a one second stay directly next to me, then slowly building more time just a second or two at a time.

Once staying beside me is a solid behavior and I’m ready to start adding distance, I usually start with a simple lean back instead of a full step. I work my way up to a couple steps side to side and more steps away while still facing the dog.

When I’m ready to start turning away from the dog I usually start with a single turn of the back instead of walking away. Many dogs are naturally inclined to follow us as we move away, so breaking this down into teeny tiny pieces is a must!

It’s super helpful remember if a dog moves out of the stay position, it’s simply information that we moved too quickly and need to go back to an easier step.

Start in doggie kindergarten not college!

Need help with training? Send a DM for info on working with me!

06/11/2022

Happy Sunday from Jojo and her soccer ball! ⚽️

21/10/2022

Wishing you could go for a peaceful walk at the park without your dog pulling your shoulder out of socket? Join the Loose Leash Walkers Club!

Classes will take place at Fisherman’s Park in Bastrop at 9-10 am on Fridays starting November 4th! Cost is $50/class or $180 for a 4 pack of classes. The class is limited to 3 teams to make sure everyone gets the individual attention they need.

The class will be drop in style, so you’ll sign up for each individual class as you need them. That means no 6 week commitment or worry of not being able to make it to a whole series of classes.

The focus will be loose leash walking and dealing with the many distractions that arise at Fisherman’s Park. 🐿️ (Why isn’t there a squirrel emoji?)

Right now I’m only opening the class to teams I’ve worked with, but you can schedule a Private Lesson with me then join the class after that. This is to ensure that every dog is a good fit for the class, and has the foundations they need to be successful in a busy public environment.

Email [email protected] for more info or to sign up!