AZ Dog Lady Training and More

29/06/2024

Well, one more Abbott German Shepherd German Shepherd baby dog will be joining me to learn how to be a super good girl This is Maya and you'll be seeing much more of her. Lots to learn. She is vocal and tries to tell us what to do, she is jumpy, bitey, and don't let those innocent eyes fool you. This will be so fun!!!! agsdogs.com

13/06/2024

This is such a cruel disease. Our big boy Pax had this. It was slow to take over. First he had trouble going on long walks, then he loved to swim and that went by the wayside, Everything he loved to do he just couldn't do anymore. His backend slowly sent completely out. We knew it was time when he couldn't get up to p**p or p*e. His brain was totally fine but not his backend.

Degenerative myelopathy (DM) is a disease that disproportionately affects the German Shepherd Dog breed. 35% of German Shepherds have the genetic mutation to be a carrier/at risk. Roughly 17% go on to be diagnosed with DM. Today we are going to talk about the cause, treatment options and how to prev...

22/05/2024

No doubt, when the subject of crate training comes up, there are two types of dog owners: those that vehemently disagree with crate training and those that swear by it. One side believes crate training to be cruel, confining, and may even stifle a dog’s free spirit. The other side believes that cr...

22/05/2024

Does your dog need to swim?

08/05/2022

04/05/2022

Do you have the desire to train your dog? I don't mean a little want to do it but a burning desire to help your dog best the best dog?

While perhaps in the movies one can have another person stand in for them during the dangerous or more challenging scenes, when it comes to successfully working with, and transforming your dog, there’s no such luck.

One of the easiest mistakes for owners and trainers to make is to assume training generalizes. And while there may be some “residual” generalization—generalization which owners get to “borrow” post-training—that “credit” quickly runs out.

Dogs are geniuses at figuring out who NEEDS to be listened to, and who might not be. Every small allowance, every missed correction, every hesitation, every command that is asked for and then let slide...gives all the intel needed.

Along with that, even if you do go through all the training motions, even if you are on top of all the above, but your heart and mental intention just aren’t in it, you’ll quickly find that many dogs will see through that as well. Especially your tougher cases. The strong willed, stubborn, pushy, “make me” dogs. If you try to just phone it in, without any real believability behind you; without any resolve and “kick ass” mindset, gaps can quickly be seen, and quickly taken advantage of.

This absolutely doesn’t mean you have to be nasty, mean, or angry. In fact, that will work against you. Promise. But a ,shall we say, smoldering intensity, a quiet but determined “I’m the wrong human to mess with”, a psychologically “strong silent type”...now that will get you some training traction. Raising your voice, getting frustrated or harried will always make things worse—but a quiet, patient, emotionally controlled, ever-watchful, parent-who’s-an-assassin mindset will create something that will feel likely very similar to any great dog trainer.

And this should help considerably with the ever-present issue of “My dog does great with my trainer, but he’s terrible with me.” Because if you think your dog is gullible enough to think you and your trainer are interchangeable—without behavior from you which IS interchangeable—then there’s only one species in the house who’s the gullible one.

When training is done, you ARE the trainer. There’s no stuntman to rescue you. And if things go sideways, this lack of understanding, and lack of mindset shift is almost always the reason why.

21/04/2022

I have tried to explain this to my clients but this post explains it to perfection.

For all of you who’ve been taught that corrections/punishment will destroy the relationship between you and your dog, and who now believe this, and are terrified to do so—let me introduce you to what you’ve not been taught.

Reality.

The reality of how your dog perceives you, and the association and relationship that develops from that perception, comes from ALL your interactions.

As I shared in the original graphic, if you were to ONLY engage in a one dimensional interaction dynamic, where you ONLY corrected/punished your dog, then you actually would undermine your relationship.

But unless you’re a sadist, I can’t imagine you’re taking on a dog only to correct/punish it. So you can relax those relationship fears. If you’re like any of the thousands of owners I’ve interacted with, you do many things with your dog—many things that have nothing to do with a negative associations. Things like I shared in the graphic: walks, play, affection, feeding, car rides, adventures etc.

When you share a multi-faceted relationship dynamic; one that is balanced with far more positive, fun, rewarding, enjoyable interactions, along with the occasional correction/punishment—which shouldn’t be fun or enjoyable—your healthy relationship is safe and sound. Your association is a healthy, balanced one. It’s both positive and negative, with the positives far outweighing the negatives.

This is why vets have it so tough. Your vet is almost always going to get the single dimensional association. Even when owners attempt to counter this association, bringing their dogs to the vet for non-visits, and having the staff give treats and pets...the scary, stressful, and sometimes painful reality of the other visits far outweigh the other positive interactions, and aren’t nearly powerful enough or frequent enough to combat the negative experience most dogs go through with typical vet visits. And so, we see the shaking, quaking, stressed out, freaked out behavior when we visit.

But back to you. Along with what I’ve shared above about relationship balance, your dog also learns that it controls its reality. It finds that negative consequences only occur when they make poor choices. Which means you are predictable in your actions, which means your dog’s world is predictable and safe...even when faced with undesirable consequences which come from you. Your dog understands that the consequences are tied to their behavior, and are anything but random. Which is also why the entire silliness about “learned helplessness” (which is also leveraged to frighten owners) is also precisely that…silliness. If your dog understands that their choices control their world, they’re anything but helpless. But that’s a topic for another day.

To sum up, if you live a normal, multi-faceted life with your dog, like everyone I’ve seen, you won’t have any fallout from correcting/punishing your dog. Zip, zero, nada. In fact, if you do a little thinking, you’ll see how easily owners accidentally create a truly dysfunctional, toxic, unhealthy relationship...by ONLY engaging in positives. Yep, you guessed it. You’ve become a one dimensional owner. One who need not be listened to, respected, or appropriately interacted with. Is that a positive association? Is that a healthy relationship?It’s certainly not how I’d define either, and it’s certainly not what I’d want for me or my dog.

Strangely, they always seem to leave these inconvenient truths out of the conversation. I wonder why?

26/02/2022

Been there, done that. I've been to countless seminars and workshops to learn new things.

Because it’s the weekend which means loads of lessons, I’m resharing this gem❤️

“Agh, I’m so stupid!” This is one of the more common things owners say during go-home lessons. I get why you’d feel that way…
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You’re fumbling with the remote.
You said the wrong word.
You stood in the wrong spot.
You made the wrong call.
Your timing was off.
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But you’re NOT stupid! Not at all! This is a lot to learn and it can be really overwhelming. It has a bit of a learning curve and it takes practice. You’re not stupid, you’re just new at this.
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Just because I’m a dog trainer doesn’t mean I’m immune to that feeling. The dog in this photo, George, is one of my beloved personal dogs. He has both human aggression and dog aggression. I was able to teach him a lot, but I wanted to do everything I could to help him become his very best self, so I sent him to a high level board & train program.
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At the end of that program, guess what happened?
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We had go-home lessons. And guess what?
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I fumbled the remote.
I said the wrong word.
I stood in the wrong spot.
I made the wrong call.
My timing was off.
⠀
I wasn’t new to the e-collar, to dog training, or to working with George, but I was leveling up—and it was humbling! I had a lot more to learn than I realized. But I reminded myself that that’s why I hired these dog trainers in the first place: to teach me what I didn’t know.
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There are lessons at the end of every board & train because there is always new stuff we need to learn. You’re not stupid—you’re just learning. Be gentle with yourself!

21/02/2022

Most of the time people don't like the word punishment so I use all the words, punishment, correction, discipline, and the like. Then I explain how they're all pretty much the same - all they need to do is pick the one they like the best and we'll get started. Yes, if you want a happy dog with freedom to enjoy life , we need to put the word into action sometimes.

Everyone is happy to talk to you all about the latest and greatest fancy training protocol and technique, but very, very few are willing to honestly discuss the necessity and value of sharing appropriate punishment.

A good question to ask yourself would be: why? Why is such a critical component of creating a healthy relationship dynamic so rarely discussed? Especially when the absence of this dynamic is almost always at the core of owner’s struggles? It’s almost as if it’s too uncomfortable to be broached. So instead trainers keep feeding you pleasant, sweet, good-feeling approaches so you’ll feel good, even as you struggle. As long as the trainer looks/sounds good in their presentation their behinds are covered—and yours is anything but.

Find trainers willing to have difficult, uncomfortable discussions with you. They aren’t doing it because it makes them popular—it doesn’t—they’re doing it because it’s what you need, and next to no one else will discuss it.

P.S. And if you find that you’re still not emotionally prepared to pusnish unwanted behavior, you might want to rethink owning a dog. Because a dog without discipline, firm rules, and punishment,is a dog who’s lost, and struggling.

03/02/2022

I was at the do it yourself car wash vacuuming out my car and thinking about the Old
Spice freshener. I bought it because, when I smell that smell, it reminds me of my Dad and I like that.
When my kids were small I was raising them alone and it was hard to make ends meet. I bought bacon
and cooked one piece a week, on Sundays, because the aroma of the bacon brought back memories of
Sundays when I was a kid. The smell of bacon cooking reminded me of a homey feeling of safety,
security, comfort, and I wanted to replicate that for my kids.
Back to the Old Spice and my Dad. Thinking about this, I thought about my parents. I liked my Dad
more than my Mom. That sounds weird doesn’t it? My Mom did a lot for me. Took me to dance lessons,
made dance costumes, had me practice, taught me to iron, sew, clean the house and many more things.
My Dad went to work, rarely ever played with me, I was so proud to be with him at the father/daughter
dance held yearly by the organization he belonged to. I wanted to impress him, I wanted to help him do
stuff like mow the yard. He was sort of larger than life to me not to mention very handsome in my eyes.
He didn’t really have to do anything but when he gave me an atta girl I was so happy. If I got in trouble
over something, I dreaded facing him because I didn’t want to disappoint. He was a pretty quiet person,
never laid a hand on me, never yelled at me, but he had a way of making you want to please him. He had
this quality about him that just made people respect and admire him. He was a leader for his family and
for his friends.
This made me think of dog training. What? What does this have to do with dog training? Your dog knows
who you are. From the day you bring that puppy home it’s learning about you. Are you consistent, are you
fair, are you loving, are you a good leader? I started to think about comments from clients. Why does he
do all the things for you? How come it seems so easy when you do it with him?
Maybe their dog is picking up a sense of leadership from me - like I did with my Dad. Are you being a
good leader to your dog? The things you do, say and show to your dog will make your dog either want to
follow you or feel it has to fend for itself. It is time to up your game?

13/12/2021

Most people think dog park or being with lots of people. They are thinking in human terms.

What comes to mind when you hear the word “socialization”?

Is it a pack of dogs running around beating up on each other with ZERO boundaries? Endless energy and chaos?

It’s time to redefine socialization especially when it comes to our dogs. Not all dogs ENJOY playing hard with other dogs.

Some dogs like to just hang out. Exist. Relax amongst the pack.

It’s up to you to respect your dog and it’s boundaries.

It’s perfectly fine to have your dog just chill and not force them to play or interact with strange dogs.

That’s how you build trust and advocate for your animal 💯

01/11/2021

I hear from clients all the time with this problem. They try to bait the dog to do the thing they do when they're not there. but it just doesn't work. I've seen then put strips of meat hanging off the counter to get them to jump up there so they can give them a correction. The dog acts like it has no idea how to jump on the counter - but they have pictures of the dog happily eating the cookies left out!!! When they were gone. Yes, you can fix this but not if you're pretending not to look at them.

It’s really simple guys. Rules which you want obeyed in your presence, teach them while present. Rules which you want obeyed in your absence, teach them while absent.

As I stated in the original post, dogs are crafty and opportunistic. It doesn’t take long for them to realize that consequences for certain behaviors only occur when you’re present. Once they see that pattern a few times they’re off to the races…or off to the trash, or couch, or counter, or p**p.

Decide which behaviors you don’t want, and which tend to happen only in your absence, and then devise your plan for enforcing the rules while your dog thinks you’re absent. This will break the assumed pattern, and will reset the dog’s perception of what is and isn’t on the table, so to speak.

While e-collars are almost always the best, and most straightforward for this work, there are other “Macgyver-esque” techniques for addressing many of these issues. The point here isn’t to walk you through the techniques, the point here is to make you aware of the dynamic in play, and why you’ve been outsmarted, and usually frustrated by your dog so many times—because you created the dynamic. You just didn’t realize it.

P.S. That’s why we drive like perfect law abiding citizens with cops behind us, and why we drive altogether differently when they are absent. We’ve been taught police need to be present to enforce driving laws. Place a police-installed driving monitor in every car which reports every infraction, making police “ever-present”, and you’d have nothing but law abiding drivers. We’re doing precisely what our dogs are. Just in case you hadn’t made the connection. :)

06/10/2021

I recommend his books to my clients. So much to learn and also fun to read! The Good Dog Way by Sean O'Shea.

Just had this shared on my Twitter feed by a dog owner in Slovenia. I can’t tell you how amazing it feels to see my book reaching people so far away. Who would have thought? 🤷‍♂️

And the page she chose is one of the most important in the book. So many struggle with leading. They associate it with being a tyrant, or bully. They feel it takes away from the dog; removing the joy and pleasure of life. And because they associate all these negatives with leading, they either avoid it altogether, or they phone-in a half-hearted version which does neither party any good.

But here’s the thing, leading is a gift. It’s a gift we offer those who look to us, who depend on us, who need us. Sadly, it’s a gift far too many let guilt and a poor understanding of human/dog dynamics derail. Once owners are able to truly understand what’s at work here, and shift their mindset from “guilty taking”, to “generous giving”, the world opens up. Your dog is waiting. He or she needs you. Not just to feed, play, and snuggle, but to lead, guide, and show the way.

There’s a reason so many owners have benefited from the book, and why so many trainers recommend it. It bridges the gap between training concepts and protocols, and the often missed or misunderstood emotional/relationship components that either make the training work, or mysteriously prevent the progress so many desire. It’s the other part of the work. Your work. It’s a book for you; it’s your training. And through that work, you and your dog both benefit. ❤️

Paperback, kindle, or audiobook are all available through Amazon/Audible worldwide. As well as Volume 2–which many consider just as important as volume 1. For bulk orders and discounted pricing, please email [email protected]

Thanks to everyone for all the amazing support! 🙏

05/10/2021

How are you doing with your dog?

When we look around and see dogs and their owners struggling like never before, we probably should be asking some questions. Questions like: What happened? Why does it seem like things are more problematic? Why are so many owners struggling to much higher degrees than before? Why do dogs seem to be so much more out of control?

Some good ones there.

It would be easy to assume that it’s the dogs. Perhaps the breeds? Or perhaps the new, more busy lives people are leading?

While there’s a likelihood that these and other components have some impact, from what I’ve seen—being someone who lives a very busy life, has successfully trained owners with very busy lives, and who has had many, and trained many of the dogs that fingers would be most commonly pointed at—this assumption would seem to be tremendously insufficient.

What I have seen over the last 20 years (and yes it’s been moving in this direction for much longer), is a major cultural shift in how we view dogs, and how we view ourselves. Dogs have moved from companions we share our lives with to infants or children we raise with the same sensibilities we’d apply to little humans. And as we all know, the way we view little humans, and even bigger, more mature ones, has also gone in a very different direction. We coddle, baby, hover over, over-protect, and in general treat the humans we’re raising as fragile things in need of shielding from all the uncomfortable aspects of life—even aspects so mild that “uncomfortable” is a rather inaccurate, and overly dramatic characterization. And of course, we do the same with our dogs. And often worse.

We’ve become so incredibly soft, permissive, confrontation-averse, and terrified that any friction or punishment will absolutely destroy both our relationship, and very possibly our dogs themselves—that the fact we’re struggling is of zero surprise.

Dogs are still dogs. Breeds may come and go, but the core of who are canine companions are, and what they require to thrive, is largely unchanged. And although lifestyles may change, and the world may get busier and more demanding, there’s no excuse to not make the time you do have…work. I know far too many incredibly busy owners who are killing it. So I’m not buying that one either.

The reality is that emotionally we’ve changed. And there’s no getting around the fact that soft, permissive, non-confrontational, overly sensitive, overly cautious, and overly worried humans are going to struggle with creatures programmed to take advantage of perceived weakness, in order to better procure what they desire, and to behave in ways they find rewarding or necessary.

I’m sorry, but it’s not them, it’s us. They’re still them, us, not so much. And when we change as dramatically as we have, we shouldn’t be surprised that fallout follows. For our dogs, and for our kids as well.

17/09/2021

Your dog is an individual. Not an individual like a person but an individual dog with likes and dislikes. Learn and listen to what they are telling you and work with them keeping that mind. They are not like the dog of your past, they are not with you to fulfill your desires of who you want to make them be, they are unique.

How often do I see clients whose dogs have gotten into serious trouble because their owners have allowed, or encouraged interactions that their dogs have absolutely not desired?

Not every dog is cut out for the family BBQ, or being pet by strangers. And not every dog is cut out for the dog park, day care, or on-leash meetings. These dogs will often show their dislike for being placed in these situations by attempting to escape/hide/growl/explode—and if that doesn’t work, they will protect themselves by inflicting damage on the unsuspecting (but should be suspecting!) human, or the curious or pushy dog.

I get that many owners have romantic notions of what dogs should be like, and how they should interact with their environment. I also get that many owners assume that by forcing these interactions that they will improve things. And of course, I get that many owners simply don’t know any better. But here’s the thing, your desires, your ill-advised “fix”, or your lack of knowledge isn’t an excuse. They’re either born of denial and selfishness, or ignorance. And all of these can be worked on, adjusted and made healthy…if healthy is the true goal.

We say we love our dogs so much, and yet time and time again we set them up to fail by placing them in stressful, overwhelming, and fear-inducing situations. If we do indeed love them so deeply, perhaps it’s time we honored who our individual dogs are, what they do and don’t enjoy, and what they are and aren’t capable of. And perhaps top it off by becoming more deeply informed about what we personally do and don’t know…so we can break the chain of messing up the things we claim to love so much.

15/09/2021

It's very hard - Yes?

I always tell my clients…

“The training is easy...

Staying consistent is the tough part.”

And it’s true.

If we want to change our dog’s behavior…

We have to be committed…

Focused…

And we have to stay consistent in our training…

So that our responses to our dog’s behavior are predictable and dependable.

And truthfully…

That’s hard.

It’s hard to break old habits.

It’s hard to be consistent after a long, and particularly challenging day at work…

It’s easy to let our dog on the sofa when we are too tired to do anything about it, despite the fact that we’ve shooed them off every day for the past two weeks.

Shoot…

I’ve seen seasoned dog trainers, myself included at times, struggle to stay consistent in training.

So how is it we hold our dogs to higher standards than we hold ourselves?

How can we expect consistency if we can’t provide it in the first place?

How can we ask our dogs to stay focused if we can’t?

How can we ask our dogs to be committed if we struggle with that ourselves?

Truth is…

We can’t.

Training is easy.

Staying consistent is hard.

22/08/2021

Need your puppy trained?