Fetch Happens Dog Training

For every perfect session I have on video, I probably have at least two or three little blooper reels from the same session. Double cues. Helping the dog with the leash, body language, or a treat. Tripping over air. Looking at the camera and thinking “wait, what’s this dog’s release cue again?”. I do this every day, granted I’m almost always training newbies, but my sessions with my own dogs come with their own challenges. Roach has found a new way to throw me for a loop every time I confidently pulled up to a trial, I know better than to say “he’s got this” now. I made the same dumb little mistake five times in a row yesterday when he was learning a new concept. So dumb. I have to pause my training sessions and take a breath often, if I’m too hot, it’s too loud, I’m hungry… we’re working with living animals, they know when you’re not feeling it. Our sessions should set our dogs up for success, but if they’re going picture perfectly every time, you’re probably not challenging your dog enough… or you’ve been going hard for months and you’re no longer practicing new skills. If things don’t go quite right, it’s okay. Keep everyone safe, but it’s not the end of the world if your sessions aren’t pretty. Take some space, take a breath, send your trainer a two minute long voice note and rant about what a weenie your dog is, but never be afraid to say “this is too much, it’s time for a break”. Our dogs are counting on to put them first. #dogtraining #dogtrainingtips #reactivedog #balanceddogtraining #balanceddogtrainer

As a balanced trainer, I’ve still always got a pocket full of hot dogs and food that I dole out pretty liberally during training sessions. Food is THE most readily available and effective reinforcer for most dogs. It can change a dog’s entire perspective on something that they find scary, stressful, or triggering. This is obviously not one of those situations, and this is what some red flag trainers would lead you to believe teaching with food looks like. I don’t trust any trainer who uses phrases like “throwing hot dogs at them won’t solve anything” or “your dog should just listen to you because you said so”. It demonstrates a broad lack of understanding of learning theory in general and tells me that the trainer is likely overly reliant on pressure and intimidation. Despite what some may lead you to believe, you can easily teach your dog to listen to you even when you don’t have food, you just need to fade it out strategically after the learning phase. What do you think? Does your dog like to train with food? #balabcedtraining #dogtraining #dogtrainerlife #dogtrainerlife #belgianmalinois #reactivedog

Just kidding, everyone does it… even me! Fun fact, the reason we try not to repeat cues is because our dogs will start to tune us out or we can create confusion when we echo our cues habitually. Fortunately, Roach will never tune out a man in a suit. #dogtraining #reactivedog #protectiondog #belgianmalinois #psak9 #dogtrainingtips #dogtrainer

Cooperative care and teaching our dogs to tolerate vet handling on their own is so much fun! Journey will visit @metro_vet tomorrow to see if she’s a candidate to be a canine blood donor. Wish her luck! #dogtraining #dogtrainingtips #dogtrainingadvice #dogsofinstagram #belgianmalinois

This January has been a cold, but wonderful start to the year. Can’t wait to see what the rest of 2025 brings! #dogtraining #dogtrainer #dogsofinstagram #hikingwithdogs #rescuedogsofinstagram

The flip finish. My FAVORITE piece of the heel puzzle and also sometimes the trickiest. It’s not entirely necessary, but boy is it helpful. Hopefully this video helps you! How is your dog’s heel cue?

Archie’s a very typical, very wild little toy poodle puppy. One things I’ve found with high energy puppies and high energy small dogs especially, is that it can become very difficult for them to remember that there’s a person at the end of their leash as they approach adolescence. This is where the search cue becomes a super helpful addition to the routine! I’ve used search extensively in the past for building confidence with nervous or fearful dogs, but it can really be a great engagement game if used strategically as well. Playing short training games with your dog that allow them lots of repetitions of engaging and disengaging with you can make training feel like a lot less pressure for everyone as well as build plenty of good repetitions of checking in with you even when there are more distracting things to focus on. Check out the link in my bio for a more thorough explanation of the how’s and whys of the search cue as well as the full video for step one with Archie. #dogtraining #dogtrainer #dogtrainingtips #reactivedogs #puppiesofinstagram #puppy

It’s a good day for an adventure. Have you done something fun with your dog today? #dogsofinstagram #dogtraining #rescuedogsofinstagram #belgianmalinois #reactivedog

Have you taught your dog a new trick recently? Roach’s training has been getting a little stale, so today we’re learning orbit and sit pretty 🐾 #dogtraining #dogtrainer #dogtrainingtips #belgianmalinois #dogtricks

Happy Saturday, this is an informative video. Please watch with your sound turned all the way up so you don’t miss anything important. #dogtraining #dogsofinstagram #australianshepherd #funnydogs

Journey and I stopped in to @tailwaggersbluebell to kill some time today and ended up finding our new favorite store! They have all of my favorites, including @westpawus enrichment toys, @saintroccostreats , @primal_raw dog food, and @stellaandchewys . This store is a dog lover’s dream and Journey’s paradise. If you stop in, tell my new friend Zuko he’s the very best boy 🐾