The American Dog Whisperer

17/06/2025

FOR GOODNESS SAKE, FOXY! 😊❤️
Saturday afternoon was a consultation in the South Bend area with beautiful German Shepherd, Foxy. Her human mom got a hold of me asking for specific help with Foxy’s lunging toward cars as they flashed by the house. It had become a real problem, especially since Foxy was strong had already toppled her human mom over on the other end of the leash.

When I arrived and was invited in, Foxy took immediate offense to my presence, and unleashed the trademark Shepherd staccato bark, warning me to leave the premises immediately! Instead of leaving, I took the leash from her human mom and Foxy quickly tried to get away from me. I calmly held my ground and she realized she wasn’t going to be able to intimidate me or run away from me and began settling down a little bit. 😊

I went over some fundamental house rules Foxy needed to be following the home in order to recognize her human mom as the authority figure in her life. This would help Foxy listen in the outdoor space where there were many more distractions than indoors.

We went outside so I could observe Foxy’s car-lunging antics and address them in real time. I demonstrated how to interrupt her brain as it begin to target oncoming cars. Foxy responded extremely quickly, and in no time at all was lying calmly in the grass as the cars whizzed past. She did great!

I have no doubt Foxy and her human mom are going to enjoy more peaceful outdoor interactions as the techniques I taught are lovingly but firmly enforced.

You all got this! 😊👍🐾

15/06/2025

A LESS ZANEY ZOEY! 😊❤️
This afternoon was a consult in Elkhart, Indiana, with this tiny firecracker of a girl.

Maltipoo, Zoey, is a cute little thing to be sure, but had been demonstrating some intensity and discomfort toward her human Grandpa, snarling and growling when she didn’t like something he did.

When I arrived and came in the door, little Zoey lost her mind barking and growling and straining against the leash. I made a few quick, stern corrections and Zoey regained most of her composure very quickly.

I explained and demonstrated some house rules that needed to be put in place so Zoey would understand the humans were in charge. It was clear from her body language that she believed the humans were her puppies and she needed to let the world know this by snarling and snapping.

I worked with the family to address Zoey’s habit of sounding off on her human grandpa when he came up the stairs. I demonstrated how they needed to claim Grandpa to Zoey, and let her know she wasn’t to try to send him back down the stairs!

Zoey calmed down noticeably toward her human grandpa, and he commented that she was being much more agreeable around him than he had seen her be in the past

Throughout the consult, Zoey attempted to claim each of her human parents by pressing herself up against them, and sending sharp rattling growls toward me if I approached. I coached them in the process of asking for their personal space, and this calmed Zoey down and caused her to visibly relax more.

Zoey did well today, and it was good to see her show some calm, restful behaviors. Her human parents did a great job soaking in the new system I taught them, and I have no doubt they’re going to see progress in their beloved little dog as they stay consistent.

You all got this! 😊👍🐾

03/06/2025

LET’S GET IT TOGETHER, REAGAN AND GIPPER! 😊🐾💙💚
Yesterday was a consultation in Greenfield with these two handsome boys. Their human mom got a hold of me wanting some help with their reactivity to dogs, people, passing cars and bicycles! 🚴

When I arrived and knocked on the door, both dogs barked excitedly. When I stepped inside, Gipper began immediately jumping up wildly on my legs. I made a quick correction and he instantly complied. For the rest of the consult Gipper was agreeable and listened attentively. 👌

Reagan, on the other hand, opted to give me major attitude, snarling, lifting his lips and snapping. I had to get pretty intense with Reagan before he would calm down, back up and settle himself down! 😑

Next, I introduced some key house rules both dogs needed to follow in order to recognize the humans as the authority figures in the home. I taught Gipper and Reagan’s mom some canine body language signals that would help the dogs more clearly understand what was being asked of them. 👍

We then went outside, first with Gipper, so I could demonstrate how to address his reactivity in real time. But, to his human mom‘s surprise, he was almost completely unreactive and calm. I explained that this was due to the fact that we had been working with him inside the house and his mind was in a different place. he was listening rather than making decisions! 👏

Next up was Reagan. He too seemed uninterested in reacting to passing cars and external stimuli, sniffing around jauntily instead. 🌳

One interesting and encouraging thing I noted before I left is that Reagan all but stopped snapping at Gipper. When I first arrived he consistently SNAP growled and snarled at Gipper for getting too close. I explained that his willing toward Gipper was due to the fact both dogs were beginning to come under the authority of their human mom and so were more focused on her then being rivals with each other. ✌️

I was encouraged to see the progress both dogs made during my initial consultation with them. Their human mom was a great learner and picked up quickly on the body language techniques. 👏

Keep up the good work, you all! 😊👍🐾

29/05/2025

MUCH BETTER, BEA! 😃🐾❤️
Yesterday afternoon was a follow up visit on the northeast side with Boston Terrier bundle of energy, Bea! During my initial consultation with Bea, I had introduced some basic house rules, as well as coaching her human mom through the process of looking and sounding like a canine parent. Now it was time to teach Bea to control her reactivity toward other dog! 👌

A neighbor was kind enough to bring over his sweet but rambunctious little puppy. I was able to demonstrate in real time how to ask Bea to calm herself and carry on with her life without targeting the excitable little fur ball. Bea did great with this, responding right away to my preventative signals.

Bea’s human mom told me that a particular neighborhood dog was very reactive when Bea and her mom walked by, and this often set Bea off. We strolled down to the neighbor’s residence, where I demonstrated how to read Bea’s body language, and address her when she began escalating.

Once again, Bea did fantastic, and was able to walk calmly by the house while the dog inside lost its mind barking and clawing at the living room window. 😳

Bea did absolutely fantastic yesterday, proving what a smart and agreeable little dog she can be. Her human mom did great handling her and practicing the canine leadership techniques I demonstrated for her.

Great job, everybody! 🙂👍🐾

(A big thanks to Bea’s human Mom for the great picture!)

10/05/2025

For those of you who missed my segment this morning on WNDU with my friend, anchor George Mallet and his “News Dog” Spots, here you go…

We have a special treat for you, with the American Dog Whisperer.

10/05/2025

10/05/2025

Tomorrow morning (Saturday, May 10th) during the 8am hour, a very special American Dog Whisperer segment on WNDU, South Bend, Indiana and the beautiful campus of Notre Dame University.

My friend, veteran news anchor, George Mallet, will be chatting with me as I share some helpful tips to help you get behavioral results from your dog! 😃🐾

Don’t miss it! ☀️📺

30/04/2025

MUCH BETTER, BODHI! 😊💙
Yesterday afternoon was a consultation in Westfield with this handsome spark plug of a boy. During my initial consultation with Bodhi, we had worked on learning to control our energy and listen when authority was giving orders! 👌

Now it was time for Bodhi to learn to walk properly in the neighborhood. His typical behavior was to lunge, pull, and react to everything that moved.

I began by showing Bodhi’s mom how to require him to be calm before heading out the door. We reviewed canine body language signals that would help Bodhi understand what we were asking of him.

Bodhi responded fairly quickly to this, and as we headed outside and walked in the neighborhood, I demonstrated how to address him when he began to ignore his human mom and chart his own course. I emphasize the importance of erratic walking patterns when teaching Bodhi to pay attention, relaying the fact that predictability often causes a dog to ignore the handler. 😑

Bodhi did very well yesterday, and walked so much better! He is a smart, handsome guy and I’m confident he is going to continue to make behavioral strides as his human mom implements the system I’ve taught her.

You all got this! 🙂👍🐾

29/04/2025

SOME WALK PROTOCOLS FOR MADDIE! 🙂🐾❤️
Last Saturday was a return visit to check in on Maddie. She had done very well during my initial visit with her, now it was time to review things again, and teach Maddie how to walk properly on leash! Her parents reported she was highly reactive, and pulled with all her might. 😳

I showed Maddie’s parents how to first ask her for calm respectful behavior before going out the door on the walk. When we finally did exit the driveway and began walking in the neighborhood, there were frequent opportunities for Maddie to react – and react she did! This gave me the opportunity to demonstrate in real time how to address Maddie‘s explosions using canine style body language cues and leash control. 👍

The message got through, and Maggie calmed down dramatically! Maggie is an extremely smart girl, and was quick to pick up on the walk protocol I was asking of her. Her human parents did a great job listening and learning the new techniques for a controlled, enjoyable neighborhood and stroll with Maddie. 🐕‍🦺👌

Keep up the good work you all. You got this! 😊👍🐾

29/04/2025

GOING BACK TO SEE GUS! 😊🐾
Saturday afternoon found me in Shelbyville for a follow up visit with Great Dane, Gus, and his kind human parents. Have been doing better in some ways, he had decided to be stubborn and others. So it was time for fine tuning and recalibration!

When I arrived, Gus recognized me immediately! He challenged me ever so slightly, but quickly wentinto listening mode. I reviewed with the family key house rules along with the Caninebody language cues necessary to enforced them. Gus was very responsive to this.

We paid special attention to teaching Gus to calm down and show some restraint when folks passed by the living room window. He picked up quickly on this and dialing down his intensity when the nice neighbors next-door agreed to pass back-and-forth a few times.

All in all, it was a great follow up session with Gus and his parents. He’s a really smart guy, and I have no doubt he will continue to make notable progress as his human parents hold him to the rules!

You all got this! 😊👍🐾

24/04/2025

ATTA GIRL, ANGEL! 🐾❤️
Last week was a consultation in Indianapolis with this giant three-month-old bundle of sweetness and mischief! Mastiff Angel‘s parents have been clients of mine for some time, and when they added her to the family, they wanted to make sure and start her out right! They had also added a new little human member to the family, and wanted to make sure the dynamic between the little one and Angel was harmonious and proper. There had been a few challenges with Angel’s behavior, and some calibration was needed. ☺️

Angel turned out to be quite a handful when I first began the consult I had to ratchet up my firmness quite a bit before she understood she needed to pay attention and be respectful!

She tried puppy nipping, ignoring me, and a variety of other techniques to let me know she didn’t think she needed to listen. 🙃 I explained to her human parents it was important Angel learn to respect them as she would her biological parents. This would require them to hold her to some basic rules, enforcing them with canines style body language cues and movements. I demonstrated these techniques, and Angel began to show signs of listening and attentiveness. That was great to see!

I also explained the importance of Angel giving the little human in the home respectful space, and approaching him carefully. I demonstrated how to teach Angel that the little one was a “claimed entity” and she needed to be careful in the little one’s personal space. Angel responded very well to this and started being much more careful around the little guy.

All-in-all, Angel ended up doing great! She’s a smart girl will grow up to be a great adult dog as the principles and techniques I’ve been teaching her human parents are lovingly but firmly implemented.

Great to see you all again! You all got this! 😊👍🐾

09/04/2025

A few moments of rest and relaxation this afternoon with Dolly, my friend Scott Hockett’s sweet pittie.