Nothing is more fun that randomly clobbering me when I least suspect it. 🤦🏼♀️ Seriously though, as we near 16 months, I’m starting to see the brilliant dog he is underneath the adolescent insanity. Better focus, better attention, more responsive, less intense, ever so slightly less annoying… Adolescence is rough, and I am so happy to see some light at the end of this tunnel.
#dogtraining #spokanewa #spokanedogs #gooddog #spokanedogtraining #germanshepherd #adolescentdog #dogtrainer #dogmom #lifewithdogs
Arousal is not a dirty word.
It’s great to play with your reactive dog. No, it doesn’t increase arousal or make reactivity worse.
Your dog doesn’t need to be calm 24/7.
Read my latest blog post to learn more about arousal in dogs and why people need to stop being afraid of it. Link in bio.
#reactivedog #reactivedogtraining #dogbehavior #dogtraining #dogtrainingtips #highenergydog #dogtrainer #spokanewashington
This may not look like much… but it’s actually HUGE.
Why?
Because Harley, the husky on the left, is a newly adopted former sled dog who is terrified of the world. She’s likely never lived in a house, was never socialized to anything, and wasn’t raised as a pet. You can’t pet her, touch her, put her on leash, etc. Thankfully she is very sweet and desperately wants a connection - she’s just fearful.
We are slowly working on building trust and helping her learn to feel comfortable near her mom through a variety of exercises.
This is the classic example of why early socialization is so important. Everything in life is harder without it.
#husky #rescuedog #fearfuldog #anxiousdog #gooddog #dogtraining #rescuehusky #positivedogtraining #spokanedogs
This is the point where a lot of owners give up. Maybe they get frustrated. Maybe they make excuses.
I could throw my hands up with Olive and say, “She can’t listen when she’s that excited!” “She just loses focus around certain distractions.” “She’s not even hearing me, she’s just too aroused and manic.” “She just really loves to play! She doesn’t need to sit!”
Here’s the thing: she CAN listen. She CAN focus. These are behaviors she knows well, and even though it’s harder when she’s excited, I still expect her to listen. I will be patient and help her, but I will also hold her to standards so she can learn and grow. I will push through when we get “stuck” because I know she CAN. I think sometimes we hinder our dog’s growth by never pushing and holding them accountable.
#borderheeler #gooddog #spokanedogs #dogtrainingtips #dogtraining #spokanewa
Oh Olive. Never change. I love my feisty little tree biter so much 🩷
#borderheeler #gooddog #shesawildone #dogtrainer #spokanewa
Your friendly reminder that real-life rewards can be so helpful in training. It allows for training in the real world without always being reliant on food rewards.
Other real-life rewards could be a ball throw, opening the back door to let them outside, going on a walk, etc. What quirky or unusual rewards does your dog like?
#dogtraining #dogtrainingtips #positivedogtraining #gooddog #spokanewa #spokanedog
Just some reactivity work with Olive. We aren’t done yet, but I’m really pleased with her progress so far.
Reactivity is soooo frustrating - if you want help, head to my site and book a free call and let’s talk!
#borderheeler #bordercolliemix #reactivedogtraining #reactivedogsunite #gooddog #shesawildone #bestdog #spokanedogs #spokanewa #positivedogtraining
I drove 50 minutes to the dog park for this. #dogpark #bordercollielife #herdingdogs #borderheeler
Here’s a secret: it always is messy at first. Even for trainers. Working with my dogs and teaching new things feels hard sometimes. I feel frustrated that it’s not perfect yet, we’re making too many mistakes, and we should be better by now!
But that’s the reality of learning. Especially when you’re learning alongside your dog - two beings that don’t even speak the same language. Of course it’s messy. But if you push through, it gets better, and soon you’ll have that smooth, easy behavior you dream of.
And it’s easier with someone to help, someone to remind you that you’re on the right track you just need more practice. Or you just need to make a small tweak. Or maybe you are doing it all wrong (this happened to me last week 🤦🏼♀️). Even I work with people to help me grow and learn.
#spokanedogs #spokanedogtraining #spokanewa #dogtraining #dogtrainingtips
This trend of everyone thinking they’re a trainer needs to stop. Working at a vet clinic, a groomer, a daycare, working as a dog walker, or simply owning a dog does not make someone a trainer. It does not make them qualified to take money for training services. It doesn’t even make them qualified to give training advice.
And I’m seeing more and more clients with aggressive and reactive dogs who started “puppy” classes (with their adolescent dog who was too old for puppy class in the first place) with completely unqualified non-trainers who missed clear red flags and worsened the problem with bad training advice. Now these owners have to invest much more time and money working with a real trainer to fix the problem the faux trainer caused/exacerbated.
So puppy owners - do your homework and find someone qualified. Yes we charge more - because we know what we’re doing. We’ve invested years of time and thousands of dollars in education. You get what you pay for.
#dogtraining #dogtrainer #puppytraining #puppytrainer #puppyclass
Olive playing with a nervous, awkward young adolescent dog.
One thing I did throughout was recall Olive often to give the other dog a break and to see if she wanted to keep playing or wanted the interaction to stop. She gives pretty clear signals that she’s getting overwhelmed so I’d call Olive then. Sometimes she wanted the play to resume and would follow Olive, but usually she wanted a break and so I’d hold Olive’s leash until she re-engaged.
Teaching shy, awkward dogs how to navigate social interactions can be hard, and you need the right helper dog and the knowledge of when to intervene for those dogs. It’s also knowing that it often takes time and the shy dog may require very short, carefully controlled play sessions/greetings.
#borderheeler #doodle #dogplay #dogsocialization #gooddogs #spokanedogs #dogtraining #spokanedogtrainer
I loved getting to work with Clover and his dad! Clover is sensitive to perceived conflict/threat and will get growly when he feels threatened, but with some direction and guidance, he’s thrilled to train - especially with a game of tug as a reward. You can see how much these two love each other 🥰
#gooddog #pitmix #shelterdog #spokanedogs #attaboy #dogtraining #spokanedogtrainer #spokanewa #rewardbaseddogtraining
Olive’s got both beauty and brains 😂 I love that she takes something I taught her and makes it all her own - like putting her paw on my foot when I ask her to get in heel. Has your dog ever embellished a training skill on their own?
#bordercolliemix #borderheeler #gooddog #attagirl #cleverdog #spokanedog #spokanewa #dogtrainer
Olive is a dog who has a hard time finding middle ground. She either wants to be obsessively heeling and staring up at me or screaming like a rabid banshee at the end of her leash. She’s on or off. There’s no middle with her, especially here in the place we run.
So we work on finding middle. This is a relaxed, leisurely walk, and I don’t want Olive staring up at me the entire walk. I don’t want her heeling the entire walk, nor do I want her pulling like a sled dog.
So I mark with “yes” and reward when she’s walking nicely and NOT staring up at me or being pushy with my hand.
I’ll also mark and reward when she finds the end of the leash and corrects herself.
(I wouldn’t normally walk with a dragging, sloppy leash, just didn’t have enough hands to record and reward and gather leash)
#dogtraining #dogtrainingtips #dogtrainer #borderheeler #gooddog #looseleash #looseleashwalking #dogwalk #walkyourdog #spokanedogs #spokanewa
The results you get are directly proportional to the work you put in. You aren’t going to get phenomenal results from a single private training or one puppy or beginner class or from watching a YouTube video. You’ve got to stick with it and put in the work to gradually progress from beginner to advanced.
And you cannot skip the unsexy foundational steps of training and go straight to the glamorous results. Put in the work. Consistently and correctly.
#dogtraining #dogtrainingtips #putinthework #puppytraining #spokanedogtraining #spokanewa
PSA - Simply having a yard does not ensure your dog is getting enough exercise. Or enrichment. Dogs need so much more than seeing the same patch of yard day in and day out. Having a fenced yard is great, but still take your dogs out. Do new things. Walk or run with them. Play with them. Take them hiking and swimming and let them explore.
#exerciseyourdog #dogenrichment #walkyourdog #dogtraining #dogtips #lifewithdogs #getoutside #explorewithdogs #dogsofspokane #spokanewa
I try to train everywhere - including the dog park. Today we trained for a bit before we even got into the park, working on calmly entering the dog park. Inside the park we worked on middle, get in, touch, sit, down, and recalls using toy throws as a reward. Once she had played awhile and the dog park emptied out, we practiced some heeling.
#dogtraining #rewardbasedtraining #borderheeler #spokane #spokanewa #spokanedogs #trainyourdog #practicepracticepractice #gooddog #dogtrainer #dogtrainingtips
Olive LOVES her puller ring, so I use it as a training reward and will ask for random behaviors in exchange for a throw. She gets a lot of free throws, but she also gets a lot of practice. And as a bonus, it helps her learn to listen when she’s really excited. She’s gotten a LOT better at learning to manage her arousal. She used to just bark at me and bite me in frustration, but she’s getting the hang of training during playtime. It also forces short periods of rest that she otherwise would not take 🤣 Do you use any non-food training rewards when you work with your dog?
#borderheeler #positivedogtraining #playwithyourdog #dogtraining #spokane #dogsofspokane #happydog #trainyourdog #dogtrainingisfun #dogtrainingtips #rewardbasedtraining
Olive has always loved middle, and we’ve been slowly growing it. Still not perfect, but we’ll get there! If you want to learn this, it’s part of the Good Dog Level 2 Class - sign up online!
#positivedogtraining #borderheeler #dogtraining #dogtrainingisfun #gooddog #spokanedogs #spokane
