Wriggles & Wags Dog Training, LLC

12/03/2024

Here's a fun opportunity benefiting our friends at !!

16/12/2023

Happy Holidays from Wriggles & Wags Dog Training!

03/03/2023

We currently have an open Board & Train spot!

Text us today for more information 770.627.7221

28/11/2022

We are offering Board & Trains again! We have 1 opening left before Christmas! Check it out here: https://www.wriggleswags.com/training-services

05/09/2022

Adolescence is hard, but your best dog will be on the other side ❤

17/08/2022

Lilith joined our family on July 2nd and we are now easing ourselves back into work! So, contact us with all of your training and pet care needs!

www.wriggleswags.com

16/06/2022

I will be out on maternity leave until August 15th. If you are a current client, I will get back to you as soon as possible. If you are looking for immediate training assistance, visit my website for trainer referrals!

www.wriggleswags.com

11/06/2022

Tips to help you understand canine adolescents. Read more about training your teenage dog.

24/05/2022

Wriggles & Wags is participating in the Ormewood Park Makers Festival this year! Join us on Saturday, June 11th for our workshop - Pulling To Polite: Loose Leash Walking for You and Your Dog. You will learn the skills you need to have pleasant walks with your pup! A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Ormewood Dog Yard.

Sign up here:
https://www.ormewoodpark.org/2022makerworkshops

05/05/2022

Jesse is staying with us for a puppy board & train. Here he is having a positive first experience at the vet 💕

21/03/2022

Great weekend learning more about aggression in dogs from Michael Shikashio! I'm so glad to be back to in person learning!

13/03/2022

Food enrichment toys are beneficial for kitties too! Cats need lots of meals throughout the day, so to avoid obesity and give some mental enrichment to my cat, Penelope, she has access to food toys at all times. Here she is working her most difficult food toy, the Buster Cube!

02/02/2022

Dogs are not pack animals, as much as the myth tries to perpetuates itself through our media.⠀
⠀
It’s important to understand this because this myth of dogs being pack animals sometimes leads to actions that can be harmful for our dogs. ⠀
⠀
For example:⠀
🔹 Making dogs go on large group “pack walks” where dogs are wearing aversive equipment and have no way of creating space from one another, and are therefore being flooded.⠀
🔹 Thinking we need to exert “dominance” or be the “alpha” by using aversive corrections, “alpha rolling”, and being intimidating when that actually just makes us look like a bully to our dog.⠀
🔹 Labels like “alpha” and “dominant” leads us to think that dogs behave the way they do for some higher purpose or to defy us and this causes us to use aversive methods and intimidate them to “put them in their place”.⠀
⠀
So, how should we think about our relationship with our dogs if we’re not a “pack”?⠀
🤝 You and your dog are a team that works together and understands each other the best you can without the need for threats.⠀
🤝 You and your dog are a family and as your family, you’ll help your dog feel safe and feel safe around you.⠀
🤝 You and your dog are sentient beings with your own needs and desires and you can absolutely work together to meet those needs and wants.⠀
🤝 You are a teacher and your dog is your learner and it’s on you to teach your dog what you’d like them to do and reward them for it every step of the way so they really learn what you want.⠀
⠀
It’s time for us to ditch this outdated theory and myth and really work towards a better, more understanding, and more compassionate relationship with our dog. ⠀
⠀
ID: Curved text on top says “Dogs are not pack animals”. In the middle is a cartoon graphic of a woman and a dog on her lap. There are 4 bubbles with text in them that say from right to left: “Dogs form loose associations with one another!”, “There is no fixed hierarchy in dog-dog relationships”, “Your dog knows you’re not a dog.”, and “You don’t have to be the “alpha”/“pack leader”.

28/01/2022

This is the same with cats!

11/01/2022

❤❤❤

30/12/2021

Are you looking for a specific type of dog?

This is a great, in depth article on how to find an ethical breeder!

It is super important to get our dogs from ethical sources whether that is a breeder or a rescue!

What makes a breeder ethical? An ethical breeder is defined as somebody who produces dogs with four goals in mind: clean genetic health, sound temperament, physical conformation, and purpose/functionality. This is a pretty broad statement and plenty of people can throw around these claimed achieveme...

15/12/2021

This is a great visual!

06/12/2021

Mooney enjoyed going on a decompression walk with Scarlett yesterday! She also worked on auto check-ins and recall. All foundation skills for off leash reliability!
Some of our favorite gear for hiking: Non-Stop Dogwear Line Harness, Biothane Long Lines, Bear Bells, Garmin Astro Tracking Collars (no shock), Biothane Collars with name plate. Bright/neon colors are preferred for visibility!

06/12/2021

These 2 girls love learning during their Day Training sessions! Does your pup need training, but you don't have the time? Ask us about our Day Training packages and we can jump start the training for you!

04/12/2021

Here is my dog Wink practicing a default leave it off leash around a flock of birds. Small critters are quite tempting for terriers, so we work on this a lot!

04/11/2021

Have you ever heard the phrase “Small Dog Syndrome”?⠀

Often, people use it to refer to smaller breed dogs who display behaviours like barking, biting, growling, snapping, lunging, etc. People will say that that’s just how small dogs are or that small dogs are just trying to make up for their size.⠀
⠀
The problem with this thinking is:⠀
😩 We don’t get to the root of why the behaviour is happening.⠀
😩 We end up not doing much to change and to help our small dogs out with their worries and fears.⠀
😩 We blame the behaviour on our small dogs and use punishment to stop their behaviour, stressing them out further.
⠀
The truth is that small dogs aren’t simply more “aggressive” than dogs of other sizes. It’s the fact that when they show subtle signs of fear, stress, and anxiety, they often get ignored and therefore need to use more obvious signals like growling, barking, snapping, etc. to get their point across and get something scary to stop.⠀
⠀
For example, a small dog may be regularly petted over the head by various people when they don’t want to be, and the dog may have started off with stress signals such as tucking their tail and licking their lips. But as that goes unheard, they now have resort to air snapping to stop people from coming over to pet them.⠀

It is so important to listen to our dogs and see their behaviour for what it is, rather than apply labels such as “small dog syndrome” which do not help us with understanding our dogs better and helping change how they feel as well as their behaviours.⠀
⠀
Small dogs deserve to be heard just as much as bigger dogs. Their little “no”s and signs of discomfort need to be respected and taken seriously, rather than be laughed at by us. While cute and little, they are sentient beings who have feelings and the right to communicate them. 💜⠀
⠀
Need help with your little dog’s barky, lungey behaviour? Book a call with me in the link in bio. 💌


ID: In a small hand-drawn style box on the top with text that says “It’s not small dog syndrome”. Underneath that is a larger hand-drawn style box with text that says “It’s small dogs regularly have their signals of discomfort and fear dismissed so they have to escalate to biting/lunging/growling to communicate”. Next to this text is an image of a brown chihuahua looking scared with a hand over the top of its head.

09/10/2021

Let them sniff and be dogs!

In the spirit of October and all things spooky, I’m sending the concept of “heel” straight to hell.

Here’s why: It is a welfare issue.

Of the five freedoms of animal welfare most of us are aware of, it’s #4 that gets glossed over the most.

4️⃣ Freedom to Express Normal Behavior

Normal behavior for dogs looks like moving freely in nature. Sniffing. Investigating. Exploring.

The entire concept of dogs on a short leash walking right next to us looking straight ahead and not interacting with the environment is so, so wrong, and entirely a concept that WE have invented and normalized.

I am here to tell you that IT IS NOT NORMAL.

It is not only not normal—it is comprising our dogs’ welfare. Physically, mentally, and emotionally.

I am here to tell you that IT IS OK FOR YOUR DOG TO WALK OUT IN FRONT OF YOU.

Asking your dog to check in or to walk next to you briefly for safety reasons is one thing.

Ushering your dog around by the neck on a short, taut leash and expecting them to adapt and be “tired out” from that, is quite another.

I’ve seen maladaptive, frustrated behaviors present in dogs who have been yanked and pulled around time and time again. And after being introduced to a long-line and getting a taste of freedom TO BE A DOG—their entire world opens up and that frustration dissipates.

These ridiculous “obedience” ideas have permeated our culture so deeply that our expectations of both dogs and dog guardians are wildly unrealistic and psychologically damaging to all of us!

We forget about ethology and genetics.

Dogs are born with needs that we must meet.

The least we can do when we bring them into our human world is understand their origins and what they need to thrive.



ID: first slide: Letters over a photo of a skull and candles that say “To Hell With Heel”. Second slide: a video of a large brown dog walking on a long-line on the sidewalk.

08/10/2021

Great puppy info!

05/09/2021

These are normal behaviors in dogs!

It's our job as their caretakers to decide our "house rules", kindly teach them to our dogs, and then be clear and consistent with them.

29/08/2021

Wink and I competed in the North America Diving Dogs Southeast Regionals Dock Diving competition this weekend! Wink earned a new personal best of 16'2" in Distance Jump. Super proud of her!

20/08/2021

🤣🤣🤣

17/08/2021

One of our cute dog walking clients, Reggie!

11/08/2021

We love our Fear Free Vets!

They do so much to lower stress in our animals during necessary procedures.

11/08/2021

Kill vs No Kill in the shelter world is a false detate and distracting. Instead pet expert Steve Dale says find safety nets for pet parents

06/08/2021

All about the Doods!