Rover Rehab Dog Training

16/04/2025

If your dog:

🔸️Goes into anxiety or panic mode when guests come over

🔸️Barks or lunges at other dogs on walks

🔸️Seems shy, anxious, nervous, or like they overreact in certain situations

🔸️Is struggling to cope with the world, and you're feeling overwhelmed or lost with how to help them

Then our From Nervous Nellie to Confident Canine class is for you!

From Nervous Nellie to Confident Canine is a six-week live virtual group class designed specifically for nervous, anxious, and reactive dogs and their people. Weekly Zoom sessions mean you get to practice your skills at home where your dog is most comfortable and able to learn, while also getting guidance on how to curate your training plan to you and your dog's specific needs when taking training outside and "on the road".

You'll leave class feeling empowered with the knowledge and skills you need to help your dog feel safe and secure, and confident in how to support them when their behavior tells you that they need help. Plus, you'll have a community of other dog guardians who *get it* and who will be there to cheer on your wins and support you through challenges.

Join class as an Auditor for access to all of the live class sessions and resources, or boost your training with a Working Spot and get additional in-class coaching plus 1:1 sessions with me for more comprehensive training support. Working Spots are the most "bang for your buck" option, but snag one quick if you're interested because there are limited spots available!

Our next class starts April 23rd and you can join at the 🔗 below. I can't wait to see you and your dog there!

https://rover-rehab-dog-training.newzenler.com/courses/from-nervous-nellie-to-confident-canine-spring2025

11/02/2025

Did you know that Rover Rehab has free and low-cost resources for dog guardians? Download our free Enrichment Ebook, get a free training game, or access the "pay what you can" Dog Equipment & Supplies List with TONS of info and reviews on supplies and other helpful resources. More freebies and low-cost items will be added to this page in the coming weeks too!

Start building behaviors good behaviors right away with this simple but effective training activity.Free downloadable PDF

07/09/2024

When we first start learning how to manage our dog’s nervous or reactive behavior, it is helpful to first practice our management strategies outside of the context that we actually need those strategies in. This helps us to build fluency around those strategies! We can get more comfortable with the actual mechanics of our chosen skills (for example, which hand is holding my leash and which is delivering treats?), and teach any prerequisite skills that are needed in order for the management strategies to be successful (can my dog eat and walk at the same time? Do I need to introduce any new cues?).

Here is an example of using management strategies - say your dog is likely to bark and lunge if another dog passes by too closely on a walk. We might use a treat lure at their nose to help them step off to the side or cross the street, and then use a treat scatter in the grass to encourage them to sniff out snacks instead of worrying about the other dog passing by.

Management strategies like these are a fantastic and important part of any training plan! However, if you and your dog don’t have practice at using these skills then it probably won’t be very successful to try to do them in the moment you need them, like when a dog appears on the sidewalk ahead!

By dedicating a bit of time and energy to practicing your management strategies *before* you need them, both you and your dog can become more fluent in those skills. This means your dog is more likely to be successful at participating in their management strategies in moments where you need them, because they have more fluency with what those strategies look like, feel like, and predictably lead to (like sniffing for treats in the grass!).

It also means that you, the human, can feel less panic about “oh gosh, a trigger is coming, what do I do?!” and instead confidently jump right into your management skills that you have good practice at. Fluency is your friend!

What management strategies and skills do you want to become more fluent at?

03/09/2024

Our dogs don't need to get it "wrong" in order to learn what is "right".

We don't need to set up training situations to elicit the behavior we don't want in order to correct it and teach our dogs what NOT to do.

We don't need to create opportunities for our dogs to get it wrong in order for them to learn what TO do. Setting our dogs up to fail is neither fair nor necessary for learning!

If you find yourself working on training and your dog is getting it "wrong", that is information for you that something about the setup, environment, or training process needs to be adjusted! Failing doesn't mean that our dogs will figure out what is "wrong" versus what is "right". Failure only means that they either don't have the skills to succeed yet OR that getting it wrong might result in them giving up, getting frustrated, or losing interest in training. And none of that is helpful for a positive learning experience!

There are a lot of ways we can set up learning scenarios that are errorless, or at the very least that don't involve failure as part of the training process. We can be thoughtful about how we design learning opportunities that help our dogs feel confident, empowered, and that create positive associations with learning in a wide range of contexts - no "getting it wrong" required!

22/12/2023

Rover Rehab will be closed from December 22nd through January 2nd! I look forward to seeing you all in the New Year!

21/12/2023

One of the biggest differences I noticed when I crossed over from balanced to force-free training was the shift from "How do I make my dog stop doing what they are doing?" to "What could be making my dog behave this way and what kind of support might they need?".

This shift from "make it stop" to "get curious and offer support" was a *gamechanger* for me, but also took practice! So here are some examples of the questions I might ask myself when looking at behavior:

- What function does the current behavior serve? Is my dog trying to access something? Trying to escape from something?

- What is the behavior communicating about their comfort level? If they are uncomfortable, afraid, stressed, or over-aroused, what support options can I offer to help them out?

- What would be a safer alternative behavior (safer for my dog, for myself, for others)? How can I teach that behavior in ways that are kind, positive, and that set my dog up for success as they become fluent in this new skill?

By leaning into curiosity instead of focusing on making a behavior stop, we expand our ability to recognize what our dogs are communicating, what needs they are expressing, and how we can support them. This is where the most effective behavior change comes from!