Engaged Dogs; Walking & Training

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Engaged Dogs; Walking & Training

Offering Family Therapy that includes 4legged friends too! Engaged Walks + 1:1 Training available🐶

12/14/2025

❄️Protect Those Paws☃️
Sidewalks in the city are often treated with salt and other de-icing chemicals to melt snow and ice. These substances can be harsh on your dog’s paw pads.
Consider using dog-friendly booties to shield their paws from salt and prevent ice from sticking between their toes.
Additionally, be sure to wipe their paws after each outing. We recommend using a warm cloth with a little bit of vinegar (for the natural disinfecting properties,) to get off any residue from outdoors. Additionally, you may want to moisturize your dog’s paws a couple of times a week, (with coconut oil or a paw balm of your preference,) to keep paws soft and to counteract the effects of the harsh winter weather and all that comes with it!”- read more in our blog:
☃️Winter Weather Safety Tips🌨️

12/11/2025

“Preventing an off-leash dog from approaching I Advocating for your dog’s space:
It is rude and confrontational in ANY species to rush up to another, head on.
Rushing into another’s space does not give them the opportunity to consider or consent to this invasion and often leads to a sharp increase of big feelings, most often fear and frustration and can results in fights in some cases. By taking up space and advocating for our dog and their space, we are able to be better able to avoid a potentially disastrous situation which could not only shake our pup’s confidence but also lead to big emotions on leash or even injury.
When another dog approaches yours, especially if your dog is on leash and the other is not, this can be a highly emotional recipe for disaster. It is imperative that we help our pup feel confident and as though they can trust us to handle any situation, including this one, so that they do not feel the need to advocate for their boundaries with things like snarls, growls, and bites. If/ when another dog is approaching your own, use a (Magnet-Hand) Touch cue to guide your dog behind you and out of the way.
While your dog is busy keeping their nose to your palm and licking at the snack there, create a physical barrier with your body between your dog and the approaching dog. If after calmly positioning yourself, they continue to approach, make yourself big, step towards them and firmly say “ENOUGH!” while pointing them back to their owner. If the dog continues to attempt to approach DO NOT use your hands. Instead, implement your best pivoting basketball skills by keeping one foot firmly planted in front of your dog, maintaining the Touch, while using your other leg to pivot and block the other dog as needed. Step towards them to create space as needed. “- learn more about Body Blocking in our blog: Skill Breakdown: Body Blocking

12/09/2025

Checkout Hudson and Penny Grace’s best dinosaur faces😆🦖🎄

The Botanical Gardens are always magical, and this year, the outdoor gardens are dinosaur themed!

Reminders:1: We have a new number! We accept texts at:202-577-5184Email at: EngagedDogs@gmail.comDMs on all socials plat...

12/06/2025

Reminders:
1: We have a new number!
We accept texts at:
202-577-5184
Email at: [email protected]
DMs on all socials platforms:

2: We are always teaching, and our dogs are always learning, whether we are being intentional or not!!
Communicating clearly when they are on the right track helps them better understand our preferences.

3: I have the best job in the world🐶🥰💙

12/03/2025

“Did you know....
that lack of adequate, restorative rest increases emotional and behavioral reactivity, decreases learning capabilities, decreases working memory, increases impulsive behaviors and increases nervous system dysregulation in dogs AND humans?
Is your dog getting enough good quality, restorative rest to help them be their best self?
Our dogs have shorter REM cycles (lasting approx. 45 minutes, with approx. 10% of total sleep spent in REM) than us humans (approx. 90 minute cycles with 25% of our total sleep spent in REM/ the restorative, deep restful sleep) completing approx. 75% of their sleep needs overnight. This means our dogs must have adequate opportunities for good quality rest throughout their days.
Dogs’ sleep requirements vary based on age, breed, and activity levels.

Age is a key factor for determining the amount of sleep a dog needs.
Based on a wide review of the recent canine sleep research, consider the following recommendations based on age*:
Puppies (under 2 years old): 18-22 hours a day
Adult dogs (2 to 6 years old): 9-16 hours a day
Senior dogs (7+ years old): 12-20 hours a day”- read more in our blog(on the website) “Is your dog getting enough quality rest to set them up for success?”

11/28/2025

“Did you notice that the significant increase in high winds this week was an added challenge for the doggos in DC?
What did you notice in your own pup?
Were they having difficulty focusing?
Or perhaps you noticed they were easily spooked by the strong gusts and movement they created?

During inclement weather, it is important to still work with our dogs to build confidence, neutrality, and their skills. It is also important to meet them where they are and support their needs while we help them get neutral and confident. We can do this by doing short training and/or enrichment exercises in the wind/ inclement weather to help our pups be able to proof their skills while building confidence.
For example: On windy weather days, I often lean into stationary work with most dogs.“- from our blog:”Wild windy weather: How do you set Fido up for success in inclement weather?”

11/26/2025

Want to set your (pre-established) Engaged Dog(s) up for success with the holiday?

Schedule them to join us for an Engaged Walk (solo) or an Engaged Pack Walk (with local Engaged friends,) to help them burn some energy and get engaged before your festivities!

Schedule on the website, text, or email.

11/24/2025

Most dogs in Playa del Carmen (both pets and street dogs,) are off leash and neutral to other dogs and humans, largely due to the different culture and relationships between dogs and humans there versus in the US.

The majority of humans in PDC ignore dogs entirely, and for those who don’t, they generally give the dogs a wide berth and let them approach, if they choose to (many don’t.)

Because of this, the dogs are largely confident, neutral, and I have never seen a dog fight while there… dogs have great natural communication skills to de-escalate and prevent conflict, when allowed to just be. (Versus humans dictating/ attempting to control how they do/ don’t communicate. Ex: dog growls, humans scolds them to stop growling, dog learns to not use that communication signal leading to future “bite out of nowhere” potential.)

PDC also has one of the coolest dog parks, with no fencing, and tons of agility equipment, right in the city center. (Nearby is also an outdoor gym for humans, which was super fun.)

All that to say:
I LOVED spending the week in Playa del Carmen and learning more about their dog culture. I’m happy to be back this week and looking forward to seeing my furiends.

I will be working regular hours this week, so if you need to make changes to your Engaged Dogs’ schedule due to holiday plans, please do so via the website. (If struggling on the website to make scheduling changes, reach out via text or email.)

11/21/2025

These sisters (Echo- black + tan coonhound mix, Athena- tan hound mix,) work SO HARS together during their Engaged Walks to practice loose leash walking and neutrality around all the other dogs and distractions in their neighborhood.

One of the easiest ways to help your dog build engagement is to play the Name Recognition game!
(Say their name. Wait for eye contact. Mark and Reward with YES! And a treat. Repeat 10-15X before outings to increase engagement and name recognition.)

Scroll through to the end to see a video of them putting their best paws forward.

11/19/2025

Who doesn’t need a hug from time to time? 🤷🏼

FYI: most dogs don’t love hugs from humans as it can easily trigger fight, flight, fawn, or freeze, so while this pic of Koozie and DC street art is super cute, please don’t hug a dog unless you’re confident you’re able to read and understand their body language when you do so (for everyone’s safety!)

11/15/2025

New peer-reviewed study, and the first scientific proof, shows dogs sleep better when they’re close to the people they love. Researchers found dogs took longer to relax, tossing and turning more and had poorer sleep quality when their human was gone. Your presence helps them relax, fall asleep faster, and rest more deeply especially in new or stressful environments.

The study found:
• Dogs fell asleep faster when their owner was in the room.
• They slept more deeply (more time in non-REM or “deep” sleep).
• Their sleep was more efficient — meaning less tossing and turning.
• When the owner was gone, dogs took longer to relax and had poorer sleep quality.
• These results suggest that dogs feel safer and more relaxed when near their humans, even during sleep.

11/14/2025

Tomorrow is the last day to place orders for your Engaged Dog’s custom photo book to ensure delivery before Christmas!

You can place your order with Sara directly (via text or email,) OR place your order on the website.

Barry enjoyed posing in his Commanders jersey for his photo book. 🐶🥰🏈

(Photography sessions and photobooks are available all year long- on the website!)

Address

465 M Street SW
Washington D.C., DC
20024

Telephone

+17742011509

Website

https://www.choosetoliveengaged.com/dog-training, https://www.choosetoliveengaged.com/post/dog-communication-breakdown-w

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