Happy Tails Pet Training

08/26/2024

Happy National Dog Day! Here's a collage of a few dogs that have been in my life recently, including my dogs, family dogs, and client dogs. I would love to see a pic of your doggos to celebrate all of them today! 🐶♥️

07/01/2024

06/15/2024

The sale has commenced! Here are some pics of what we all have! We'll be here til 12:30!

06/12/2024

I've been so busy trying to get things ready for our sale this Saturday that I keep forgetting a very important post...
This is the biggest shout out going to these 3 pups and their parents! They graduated our very last Mind Your Manners 101 class last week! Congrats to you Toki, Zuzu and Mia! 🤩

05/28/2024

We are happy to share this acknowledgment with you! 🤩🥳

Expert recommended Top 3 Dog Training in Milwaukee, WI. How do we actually find? ThreeBestRated.com 50-Point Inspection includes everything from checking reputation, history, complaints, reviews, ratings, satisfaction, trust and cost to the general excellence.

05/19/2024

Another shout out goes to Ollie, Nova, Chewy, and their people for graduating Pawsitively Behaved 201! It was awesome watching all of you make great progress throughout the weeks! 🥳

05/19/2024

Congrats to these Mind Your Manners 102 graduates! Otis, Willow, and Canela did great (as well as their humans)! Keep up the good work everyone! 😃

05/12/2024

Shout out to all of you ladies! Hope you enjoy some time with your pups today! 🌺

05/11/2024

Prong collars DO hurt!

🐾🛑 Do Prong Collars Hurt? 🛑🐾

Yes they do!

Prong collars are designed to cause pain to dogs in order to reduce pulling on the leash. They are designed for this; if they didn’t, then they wouldn’t work! Just in the past two weeks alone, we have heard this come up in conversations, seen people advertising the use of this tool, and it’s breaking our hearts to see the dogs that are suffering at the other end of this debate. 💔

For us it’s simple, we follow the science and we know that teaching dogs through pain is not only inhumane but also goes against their well-being. As well as the use of prong collars (and other aversive tools) can actually lead to more behavior problems. Imagine a dog getting pinched by the prongs while being approached by a child. They may associate the child with the pain, leading to fear or aggression towards children. So now it has created problems that didn’t exist in the first place!

Lastly, like the pictures show, they can and do cause physical injuries. The repeated pressure from choke and prong collars can cause severe inflammation, muscle damage, and even cervical spine injuries. These collars can make a dog cough and may even cause the windpipe to collapse.

Fortunately, there are more humane and effective training methods available that do not rely on pain or discomfort. Positive reinforcement techniques, such as rewards and praise, can be used to encourage desired behaviors in dogs. These methods not only foster a stronger bond between the dog and its guardian but also promote a positive learning experience. 💜👏

“I don’t care if a dog is 150 pounds or 10 pounds, and whether the issue is leash manners or biting visitors. There are no dogs who need a heavier hand—there are only trainers who need more knowledge and a lighter touch.” - Nicole Wilde

05/07/2024

This is so true!

05/02/2024

Hey all, it's Jennifer. It is with mixed emotions I write this post.

Unfortunately, the economy has proven to be too much for us and filling group classes has been extremely difficult, to the point that after tonight's class that is starting, we will not be holding any more new group classes.

We have been at our Forest Home Ave location for 7 years in June (made it through Covid!), and prior to that, taught classes for another couple of years at other locations, so this has really been a hard decision to come to.

We will remain at our Forest Home Ave location until the end of June, and more importantly, I will still be doing in-home private training. So this isn't the end of Happy Tails Pet Training by any means!

I need to also take a moment to say thank you specifically to Chris, Shara, Marley, and Caley for being such great instructors. I have been so spoiled by having an awesome team. This is the part that I think hurts the most, is losing them. I'm thankful beyond belief for all of them, and I hope they know how many dogs and families they have helped over the years.

And thank all of you for your support! A business cannot be a business without a following. I always appreciate referrals which I know many of you give... They do not go unnoticed! I am still hoping you will be willing to give a shout out to me if you know of anyone who may be interested in private training. :)

One more quick note! I plan to hold a "rummage sale" at our location sometime in June to help move out some of the dog related things we have and no longer will need, so keep an eye out for that post coming up soon!

04/29/2024

I love it so much when I get updates from clients! They make my heart happy when I hear things are going well. Here is one that I received a few days ago from Pancake's mom. (Pancake was struggling primarily with stranger-danger reactivity, as well as leash reactivity.) This is a true testament to showing that going slow with your dog when working on behavior modification, and being consistent, pay off! They have put in a lot of time and patience to help Pancake be the best girl she can be!

"Just an FYI, I don't know how often you hear from people after you discharge them but things here with Her Pancakefulness are on the right track!

Since getting the clonidine, my brother came twice and my mom has come 3 times. The clonidine is definitely speeding the process and helping her come down from the initial entryway freakout, as well as giving us a safety buffer while we+our guests refine our timing for treat delivery. She let my brother move from seat to seat on his 2nd visit, and only barked once when he went down the hall for a bathroom break (out of bounds!). She was willing to reconsider her position when he reappeared with a bag of treats and did a very proper sit, lol.

Today (mom's 3rd visit) mom cooked in our kitchen for about a half hour, while Pancake had a lick mat and then supervised from a distance. Her initial entry freakout was only maybe 6 or so barks total, with a lot of consideration in-between. Then she came to the living room with just a "let's go!" and she didn't bark again when mom came through the gate. We sat around chatting for a while while mom moved around to different seats. My sister (who Pancake considers part of the household) came over then mom took over my kitchen to cook. Pancake focused on the lick mat mom gave her, then laid down to supervise. No fast-walking or woofing at her when she moved around or started speaking in our more normal (read: animated and loud) fashion, just Ears and Eyes from a distance.

Anyways, thanks for all of the skills and for the suggestion of the as-needed medication, as well as the help getting it! Making progress here."

04/24/2024

Congrats to Gus Gus, Poppy, Sienna, and Dexter for graduating Mind Your Manners 101 yesterday! I haven't had a class with pups this small for a long time... it was so much fun! 😍

04/23/2024

A big congrats goes out to Sadie, Dylan (pictured with his brother who is a medical service dog and Happy Tails alumni), and Arlo for graduating Pawsitively Behaved 201 over the weekend! 🤩

They were working on "take a bow" towards the end of class and were doing so well! Keep up the great work everyone!

04/18/2024

It seems all of a sudden there's a bunch of spammers commenting on posts here. Not sure why this just started happening again, but just as a reminder, you have to register online through OUR system for any group classes and events. We do not sell actual tickets to anyone (I'm sure all of you are smart enough to know this, but just mentioning to make sure)!

I am trying to catch the spam as quickly as I can but if you notice any strange comments or anything, please let us know! Thanks so much! 🤗

(Pic of my old guy, Yukon, for cuteness! He was "helping" me make ropes. 😆)

04/08/2024

The class schedule through May is posted! Don't forget we are running a special right now through 4/15 for $15 off any 6 week group class! Just enter the code SPRING24 when checking out.

Also, if you know anyone who may be interested in joining one of our group classes or is looking for private training lessons, we would be so grateful if you were to recommend us and share any of our posts!

We thank you tremendously for supporting our small business! 🥰

Group classes and events for puppies and dogs 8 weeks old and up. Located in Milwaukee.

04/04/2024

I'll just do my dogs:

Dog 1: A similar name for ashes from a fire. Or, the type of concrete blocks you use to build basements.

Dog 2: A SUV made by Chevy. Or, a territory in Canada.

Let's guess yours!

03/29/2024

These lovely ladies graduated Mind Your Manners 102 tonight! Congratulations Keely, Lady, and Jefferson!

03/27/2024

Congrats to Ralphie, Brewer, Ash, Couscous, and Milo on graduating Pawsitvely Behaved 201 last night! 😄

03/27/2024

Aversive training tools and techniques can not only damage your relationship with your dog but also damage them physically and psychologically. Why would you want to take the chance of doing this when there are better, force-free options?

My hope is that one day the United States will learn from other countries and ban the use of shock, prong, and choke collars, and they will come up with a way to make the dog/pet training industry more regulated.

03/26/2024

We are currently offering $15 OFF any of our upcoming 6 week group classes! When you register, make sure to enter the code SPRING24 as you checkout! Valid through 4/15/24.

I will be working on the class schedule for May, so those classes will be listed on our website by the end of the week!

Group classes and events for puppies and dogs 8 weeks old and up. Located in Milwaukee.

03/21/2024

I still feel confused at times as to why there is still such a pushback to using food to train your dog.
“When will I not have to use it anymore?”
“Will I always have to have food on me?”
“Won’t he then become obsessed with all food?”
“I want him to do it because he loves me, not because I have food”
“Using food is cheating”
“Using food means you’re bribing not training”
“Using food will make my dog fat”
“I never had to use food with my last dog.”

These are all just some of the insane things I’ve heard and still hear. And it makes me crazy because I can’t imagine saying these things to my employees.
“When will I not have to pay you anymore?”
“If I pay you are you going to just become obsessed with money?”
“I really want you to work for me because you love me, not because I pay you”

Food is a tool. It is a TOOL. And just like any tool it can be used well or used poorly, but it’s one of the only tools in dog training that I hear more myths about than any other. And that’s unfortunate because when used properly it does so many good things -

Food is a primary reinforcer and for most dogs it’s the most valuable thing they can get. This makes it enormously powerful when trying to teach them how to do something new and/or complicated. That doesn’t mean they don’t appreciate a pet on the head, but they’d rather have the food and there’s NOTHING wrong with that. Just like you’d rather be paid in dollars rather than chocolate bars.

Food is fast. It’s easy to deliver, portable, and also variable in value (kibble vs cheese) so it’s very flexible also depending on your level and stage of training.

Food can help create powerful positive associations for dogs as well as counter condition negative associations they already have because of its value to them. Using food in the presence of other dogs, people and environments helps your dog have a positive association with them and this in and of itself is incredibly powerful. That’s something I don’t think we consider nearly enough when training our dogs even when they’ve past the learning phase.

Food does not have to make your dog a beggar, fat, or totally dependent on it. The context in which you deliver it, the way you ration out the food - treats vs meals and healthy choices - and also the way you cue the dog when training all help alleviate these issues.

I pay my dogs regularly and have no shame in that. As they get better at skills I ask them to work harder or longer for the pay just like as adults we have to work a full week or two before we get our paychecks. I use higher value for harder things - just like you like to get paid time and a half when you work Christmas, and lower value for easy stuff. I watch to make sure my dogs hope for the reward but don’t expect it and don’t take it personally when they’d rather come back to me for cheese instead of a pet. I focus on the fact that they came back.

Getting paid at work is a big reinforcer for us but it’s also not the only reason we go is it? The relationships you have with your coworkers, the pride you have in your job etc are all intricate parts of your motivation, but that takes TIME to build, and at first it’s usually just for the pay. Same with training your dog. At first, yes, it’s for the food, but as you continue and do it right it becomes more about the teamwork, the fun and the relationship, not just the pay. And THAT’S what I wish more people understood. Over time your dog will work often without food for you because he truly enjoys it now, and he’s been reinforced by the relationship and countless reinforcements over time. But you have to put that time and patience in first to get there. And it’s worth it. I promise.
-Helen St. Pierre

03/20/2024

* Bringing this post out of the vault, because it’s so important * 👇🏻

I think it’s common to think that when our dog is unruly, there is something wrong with them. 

Especially when we look around us and see perfectly behaved pups strolling happily down the street with their owners. 

But the truth is…

Everything your dog does is NORMAL. 

Chewing…

Digging…

Barking…

Pulling on the lead…

Lunging at other dogs or joggers…

Growling…

It’s all NORMAL. 

This is  a normal response for a predator (because that’s what dogs once were) that got plucked out of their natural environment and dropped onto your sofa. 

What’s not normal? 

Walking on a leash at a mind numbingly slow pace as you stare at your phone…

NOT chewing things, or mouthing you…

Holding a sit stay or a down stay as you chat to a friend…

NOT losing their mind around another dog. 

Sure selective breeding has curbed some of the more natural responses our dogs have…

But the truth is…

Your dog’s behavior is a NORMAL response to them trying to adapt to an environment that truthfully is NOT normal for them. 

So tell me…

What does that shift for you? 

Because your dog isn’t “Bad”. There’s nothing wrong with them. Everything they are doing is completely normal.