Sadie's Rules K9 Training

29/12/2024

Jess right now! Yep…we are on vacation mode but David, Tiffani, & Themba have things covered back at Sadie’s Rules.

12/12/2024

Why are so many parents and thereby kids struggling these days? The same reason there are out of control dogs, full shelters, and countless dogs killed EVERY SINGLE DAY. Read it.

Here’s a little story I love. It points out many important aspects of maintaining and building a healthy relationship, regardless of species.

One day my mom was babysitting my niece and nephew, her Grandchildren. My niece, who was probably 9 at the time, was an incredibly smart, precocious, and if needed, manipulative young lady. For some reason she was having an issue with something. (I can’t remember the details.) She was becoming annoyed and frustrated that my mom wouldn’t allow her to have or do something.

They two of them were sitting on the couch together, and as the anger and frustration rose within my niece, she raised her hand in a threatening fashion, letting my mom know she was contemplating slapping her. More than anything, she was checking in. Checking the boundaries. “What might happen if I raise my hand?” “Will this get me what I want?” “Will this woman crumble under the pressure of my threat?” “Will this work?”

Any smart and resourceful creature would be foolish not to attempt the same. If one can get what one wants through threats, intimidation, or actual violence—without fallout or consequence—then why not?

These are crossroads moments. Moments where our kids learn incredibly valuable lessons that will either serve them well...or not.

As the hand came up, the sweet, doting, playful Grandmother, who was just there a moment ago...disappeared.

My mom instantly became “the mom” I was extremely familiarly with. The one I’d been on the receiving end of myself when I’d tried my own versions of youthful monkey business long ago.

With the hand still in the air, and all the facial and body signals necessary to convey the seriousness of my niece’s threat, something miraculous happened, right in front of her eyes. A complete transformation of the being across from her occurred in a millisecond. The sweet, older woman took on a completely different “feel”. Her posture, eye contact and overall appearance all transformed, dramatically.

And two words came from this “new” being’s mouth...

“Try it.”

And thus followed a moment where the world stood still. The hand froze, the mind raced, and the evaluation and decisions were processed at lightening speed.

A moment later, the hand fell — and never rose again. Ever. The moment didn’t escalate. Instead, it deescalated. The tension passed and things relaxed. Pretty soon, the little one and the older woman were back to having a great time.

But a critical moment had transpired. Relationship boundaries had been clearly established. (One leads, one follows.)
Behavioral boundaries had also been clearly established. (Poor choices will not be tolerated.) And perhaps most importantly, a clear understanding that violence, or the threat of it, wouldn’t be a useful tool. At least not with this woman.

I share this as an example of a word you’ve likely heard me use many times. “Believability”. It’s almost always the component owners struggle with the most. Technique, timing, and “doing” training, are all a breeze by comparison. The believability, that’s where the magic is. That’s what fuels all of the above. That’s what gives your technique, timing, and training their power. Without the believability, the rest all fall flat.

Why? Because the creature you’re interacting with is looking at ALL of you. It’s looking much more deeply than just your commands, your timing, and your tools. Those are the surface. This creature wants to know WHO the other creature is who’s asking it to do or not do something...and if they’ve earned that space.

It’s asking the same questions my niece asked. And it’s looking to see the response to those questions.

And if your answer is devoid of believability — aka the delivery system of your training — then you should expect, and deserve, a lot of pushback.

Training, and parenting, isn’t just an intellectual interaction, it’s also an emotional AND primal interaction — if you’re paying attention. Thus learning how to authentically embody and project a believable presence to undergird your training (parenting) is an exercise that requires a full, and adept handle on your emotions and your own inner animal.

Learn how to harness your emotions, learn how to call them up, and learn how to control them — and ensure they’re imbued with primal authenticity. Then you can fuel your dog training (and your child raising), with something believable, and something worthy of respect.

But of course, you first have to be okay with leading. You have to be okay with being the heavy. You have to be okay with feeling strong, firm, and even fierce when necessary. You have to be okay with your dog, child, or grandchild, not being happy — with life or with you — in that moment, in order for them to be happy and healthy in all the following moments of life. And sadly, most owners (and parents) fall apart here, and never get any further.

Thanks for the dog training lesson mom. 🙂

12/12/2024

It’s raining puppies over here!! And we could not be happier. It’s just what we wanted for the holidays. To train not 1, not 2, but 3 puppies and then give them back to their owners just in time for Christmas. Ozzy, Betty, and Willow are having so much fun playing and learning here. We hope you will follow along in our stories and catch some of their shenanigans.

10/12/2024

Chip was a handful. A big lab with too much excitement in all the wrong moments. But he came to us for training and now he gets to do all the things with his family.

The training we do is about helping dogs be their best for their families, in any situation. We teach them how to exist calmly at home and out in public. But more importantly, we coach owners to lead their dogs so that they can do all these things with them going forward. It’s not magic. It takes effort. But it’s worth it, for the everyday moments. And for the not so everyday moments.

03/12/2024

We love getting this kind of feedback from our clients. We know our program is not for everyone. It requires effort even when the dog comes home from training. But we believe this is the best way to have a dog that can be its best for their family.

Currently booking dogs in March, 2025.

01/11/2024

We have a new group of dogs to introduce and they are quite the mix!

▫️Sprite is a golden retriever with a mind of her own. This is not a big deal until her family needs her to do something and she decides she really does not want to do it.

▫️Lonnie is an Anatolian shepherd/great Pyrenees with a big bark that wants no one to come near her home. She is also super reactive on walks to dogs and people.

▫️Little Nori is a Jack Russel mix that completed our puppy program and is back to learn how to off leash and continue with e-collar training. She knows so much already she is going to fly through the program.

Make sure you follow along in our daily stories to catch their program and the others that we are currently working with.

24/10/2024

Make sure you scroll to see how Rex is looking these days! And if you wanna know how we have gotten there take a listen in to our stories. I bet it’s not what you think!

22/10/2024

Helping our clients be successful with their dogs is really what it’s all about for us. We don’t just train the dog for a few weeks and then send them on their way. We are committed to making things stick at home through follow ups and coaching the owners how to be their best for their dog. It’s a team effort!

16/10/2024

So…we have been terrible about doing our welcome posts of our trainees. But we are back at it. Here is our newest group!
🔥Rex is here because he has a general fear and dislike of just about everything, human and dogs alike. And he is not afraid to let you know with his teeth.
🔥Bella is here because after an unfortunate event with a pet sitter she now can not be left alone and has terrible crate/separation anxiety.
🔥Ryder is here because he struggles with leash reactivity and his social skills, despite having generally good obedience skills.
🔥Luca is here to become the best version of himself, because right now, he does whatever he wants, whenever he wants.

Follow along in our stories to watch their progress!

08/10/2024

If you are wanting to get your dog trained early next year, now is the time to book. Don’t wait. Comment train or send me a DM and I’ll send you the link to get started with our application. We can’t wait to work with you.

29/09/2024

We would love to see our alumni get out for a pack walk!

13/09/2024

You can get this focus and adoration without bribing your dog with food. How? By engaging with them. Spend quality time with them. Playing. Training. Hiking. You will become their #1 and it will be amazing. Try it. Comment below your favorite activity to do with your dog!

10/09/2024

Kodiak dob unknown-September 9, 2024

Kodiak was always in the background here at Sadie’s Rules. Most people don’t know his story because it’s not an easy one. Kodiak came to the U.S. from Afghanistan through the Puppy Rescue Mission and was adopted by an American soldier. Unfortunately during their time together, Kodiak had a rather severe incident with another dog that resulted in serious injury. And when the soldier needed to move he decided he could not take Kodiak with him. Puppy Rescue Mission supports the dogs they rescue for life and they reached out to us to train him. However, Kodiak, being a 120 pound Anatolian shepherd with a history like his, needed a home that was nearly impossible to find. And we realized, we actually really liked the guy. So he stayed. We did have to make some adjustments for him; he was never around client’s dogs (hence he was rarely seen on social media) and he had a crate that took up 1/8 of a room. But he also took up space in our hearts. Despite his age, size, grumpiness, and arthritis, he would still play like a puppy if you gave him a toy. And he taught me so many things about a dog’s natural instincts that will be with me forever. We called him an a**hole but he was our a**hole and we love him.

Here’s to being pain free buddy. Sniffing everything you want for as long as you want. And marking anything you wish to claim as your own. It’s all yours.

07/09/2024

I think it’s safe to say Max had fun flying, I mean running on the trail today with the big dogs. Talk about a confidence booster for this 4 month old puppy!

29/08/2024

Percy made quite the transformation. A year ago he was overweight, biting his owners, unable to be crated or left alone, but also would not allow anyone into his home, reactive on the leash…in other words, he and his family were really miserable.

Through our program, his attitude started to shift. But it was really the work at home that his owners did to reinforce his better behavior long term that made him realize his old ways were not going to work anymore. No more biting. No more tantrums. No more refusing. He now goes on daily walks. Sleeps in his crate. Can run around off leash. And his body and mind are so much healthier now because of it.

26/08/2024

We get this question a lot. And it’s an important one for us to clarify and shed some light on.

We use e-collars (specifically e-collar technologies) because of the stimulation function that allows us to hold our dogs accountable when they fail to comply or when they do something that deserves a “No.” It also has some other things we use it for, because at low levels, we can use it to teach pressure on/off and therefore commands, but that’s a bit more nuanced. We like brand because of its versatility with levels 0-100…the small increments allows for tremendous control over what exact level of stimulation might be given in any situation.

And when we stim, or stimulate, we are talking muscle stimulation. So at low numbers, it may be barely perceivable. A little higher, maybe a tingle. And at higher level, more contraction of the muscle. You have control over what is necessary in the moment. It really is a fantastic tool that is safe and effective for giving your dog clarity in any situation.