The Everyday Trainer

Stopping unwanted behaviors and teaching obedience are two very different things. Obedience commands are simply skills we teach our dogs, and these behaviors can be used to show our dogs how we want them to behave. However… Just because your dog is OBEDIENT doesn’t mean they won’t do “bad” behaviors when given the choice. With puppies, I don’t focus on obedience. I instead focus on building confidence and allow the pup to explore and make decisions. If they decide to do behaviors I don’t want (like tackle children) I’ll tell them no and correct that behavior. That way, they learn what I DONT want them to do and can make better decisions in the future. How early do you start holding your pup accountable to obedience?

Everyone wants an 8-12 week old puppy walking at heel, but is that really our goal at this age? For me, the walk is more of an opportunity for exposure training. It’s a place to expose our pups to new sights, sounds, textures, and smells- all things they’ll encounter in adulthood that we want them to be neutral too. At this age you can start shaping the heel by rewarding in position and here’s a few tips for you- 1. Reward on the side you want the pup to walk on (left side, left hand) 2. Use their regular kibble- I love getting them working for their meals instead of eating from a bowl. Every piece of food is an opportunity to shape good behaviors 3. Keep your expectations low until they mature- don’t rush training. Take your time and be consistent above all else. If you’d like access to our full puppy training course and a community of support, check out our training community by visiting the link in our bio 💛 Happy training! ✨

I promise, you’re not traumatizing your puppy if you crate them and they cry. Dogs are social animals and want to be with us 24/7 but unfortunately, our human lives prevent us from taking our pups everywhere with us. Because of that, the crate is a valuable tool in teaching your pup independence and providing a safe space for them to go while we aren’t able to watch them. But… Crate training isn’t always easy and you’ll need to work through some fussing. If you’d like to learn more about potty training or other puppyhood tips, join our online training community and get access to video courses, ebooks, and expert help anytime you need. Just visit our website for more info. Happy training ✨

The most common mistake I see? Over-marking EVERYTHING. “Yes work” or marker training is so valuable in training to allow us to tell our dogs “Hey! I like what you’re doing, more of that!” But the biggest issue I see is people over-using their marker and just marking EVERYTHING with no clear goal or meaning. For me I use 2 different reward markers. Yes = that was perfect, you’re done with your command and you can come to me to get your reward. & Good= that was good, stay there and I’ll reward you in position. The issue I see is people marking everything with “yes” and sometimes they’ll allow the dog to leave the command, and sometimes they use it to reward in position. For me, this creates confusion and a very underwhelming marker. Since I use “yes” as terminal, I can use it to build speed and more motivation- a valuable state of mind to have in confidence building or counter-conditioning. Then with “good” I can create a calmer, less-anticipatory state of mind with the dog. Great for duration work around distractions and creating neutrality. Having clear meaning for these two words allows me to choose the state of mind I want to reinforce in any given scenario. Clarity and consistency in your words, in this case, our rewarding marker words, not only helps the dog in understanding what you expect but it builds their confidence in you as a leader. Good leaders are good and intentional communicators. This drill I’m doing with lab puppy Bea is a great way to teach the difference between “yes” and “good” and gives you a place to practice your timing, your words, and your body language. If you’d like to learn more or watch the full seminar, you can visit website and join our training community. Happy Training 💛

The BIGGEST most common mistake I see when adding distance + duration to commands? Going back and rewarding the dog for breaking the command. A SUCCESSFUL rep is one where you walk away, come back and the dog stays. If you walk away and the dog breaks the command, do not reward the dog because they broke the command in that rep. We want our commands to be sticky. We want the dog to WANT to stay there. So- only reward the dog when they stay. If they break, mark them getting up with a “Ahh ahh” and use your body to move into them and apply spacial pressure. Clear communication is EVERYTHING in dog training and most folks don’t have a clear + consistent way to communicate these expectations. If you want access to the full seminar and courses on our communication system, comment LETS TRAIN below and join our community to learn all about our dog training language to change the relationship you have with your dog for the better. Learn about leash pressure, body language, marker words and how we use them to talk to our dogs in a way they understand. Let’s train 🤘🏼

Having a loose-lead walk is the foundation of everything in our training. Teaching the dog to look to us for guidance is so important, especially when navigating behavioral issues (and just to enjoy walks with your dog). If you want to learn how you can have a loose lead walk, join our online dog training community to get access to training sessions, video courses, live Q&A’s and join a bunch of cool dog parents all looking to better their dog’s lives through training. If you want help with walking, want to ecollar train, struggle with reactivity, or just got a puppy and need help potty training I’ve got you- this community is my BABY and I’ve put my heart and soul into it to help dog parents just like yourself. Comment community below and I’ll give you 1 week free see you there 💛

The crate is without a doubt one of the most helpful tools in your puppy training. It prevents your puppy from getting into unsafe things, teaches them to settle, and prevents potty accidents BUT a lot of people struggle with it at first. Here’s how we can create a positive association with the crate and teach our pups to go in and stay there. Join our community to get access to our full puppy and crate training course ✨

The beginning of your walk sets the tone for how your walk will go. Especially with reactive dogs, start with the focus on you. Once the dog is focused and walking nicely, then you can let them stop, sniff and be a dog. Then go back to structure. Start and end your walk with structure, with a break in the middle. When do you let your dog sniff on the walk?

Teaching our puppies to pause at check in with us at doors (instead of rushing out) is a great place to practice impulse control, teach the meaning of “no”, and create a state of calm around the crate. Full puppy training course available in our community ✨ #dogtraining #puppytraining #puppy

Our language with our dogs starts with the leash. The leash is not just a tether- it’s an extension of our body and gives directional guidance to our dogs. It can be used to disrupt behaviors or grab a dogs attention. It can be used to guide a dog where we want them to go. But first, we must teach what to do when the dog feels the leash pressure. Most dogs understand the leash as feel the leash = I keep moving forward. We want the opposite of this.

Everything in dog training boils down to communication. Our job, as dog trainers, is to create a language between dog and owner that allows for clear, consistent communication to teach our dogs exactly what we want them to do in any given situation. ✨Full 40 minute video available in our online dog training community ✨

If you’re struggling with reactivity on the walk, look at the full picture of your dog’s day to day. To access the full 2-day seminar and all our training videos comment “community” below ✨ Happy training!

No, socialization is not dog parks and doggy daycares. It’s exposing your puppy to all the things they will encounter throughout their life.

What do you think? Was this fair play between dogs?