Happy Tails Academy, LLC

17/10/2025

Cool mornings. Changing leaves. Happy pups. Happy Friday! 💜🐾

19/08/2025

Dasher recently got new neighbors who have a younger dog and his owner was hoping he could make a new friend! With a bit of help in appropriate greetings, Dasher and his new buddy hit it off! He enjoyed his enrichment session playing and they both did really well taking breaks, respecting space, and just all around having a blast together! 💜

Play time with other dogs is an excellent way enrichment your dog. It provides some wonderful training opportunities (calling away from a distraction, paying attention to you, as well as practicing socializing skills and understanding what other dogs are saying) and great exercise! There are things dogs are much better at teaching other dogs than humans can so taking that opprotunity is something owners should respect.

Just for a bit of information... yes I know the dogs are still wearing their harnesses. This was their first greeting with each other and while we helped regulate the play we wanted to make sure if needed, we could easily interfere without injury to ourselves. In the future play should happen without collars or harnesses to make sure they don't get tangled up in them while playing. And of course, there should always be supervision!

24/07/2025

Hot days mean we spend time indoors! Dasher was made to withstand the cold but on hot days like today that coat can cause him to over heat quicker than other breeds. Instead of spending time out in the heat we had fun playing with toys and enrichment consisted of a yummy treats kong!

Even though we didn't burn up much physical exercise, training and food enrichment helps wear him out mentally which is just as good for your dog as physical exercise. Hopefully you can keep that in mind during some warm summer days! Other options outside of food toys could be training sessions, play indoors, or even trips to just ride in the car can be enriching for them!

17/06/2025

Look at this gorgeous boy! I couldn't help spending some time just taking pictures of Mr. Dasher. During his enrichment session we took some time to work on his settle behavior. Dogs can be excited over a vast number of things such as dogs, people, squirrels, birds, kids, etc. Dasher does well over all but gets very excited around dogs. During this session we were able to sit in the grass away from the walking path (the closest portion was behind me) and just calmly watch everyone and everything going by. He was reinforced with treats and scratches for watching while staying calm! As he gets better with this we can move closer and closer to the walking path.

Just remember... distance is your friend when it comes to working on this behavior. You need to be more pronounced within their environment than the thing that excites them. And always remember to bring extra special treats or toys for their rewards. You want them more focused on you than the object you're working with. This will help create a behavior you like making it easier for them to remember what happens when they pass by the object as you get closer!

27/05/2025

Just like people, dogs can be motivated by different things too. Below Lady (Daisy's mom) prefers to be reinforced with treats during her training sessions. While Daisy prefers to be reinforced with some play time. So even if your dog isn't treat motivated there are still ways to incorporate what they are motivated by during their training sessions!

06/05/2025

05/11/2024

You know your enrichment session was a success when your pup is falling asleep on the way home! Haha! Dasher enjoyed an hour and a half sniff n hike today and he LOVED every minute of it! Between sniffing all the good smells, pouncing on grasshoppers, and chasing leaves his hike was exactly what he needed on this gorgeous day! 💜

09/10/2024

Good morning!! Brownie wanted to show off her skills a bit this morning so I hope you all enjoy! 💜

A lot of owners ask me why I let my dogs wander around at the end of the leash instead of walking right next to me. Well... they can smell things better this way! Plus.. they do tend to walk a bit faster than I do so having them walk next to me can be a bit of a struggle for some dogs.

Now, I don't let them pull me. All of the dogs I walk are trained to walk nicely with me on the leash. And for those times I do need them to walk next to me (ex: someone is passing by us, we cross a street, the area is unsafe for them to wander too far away, etc) I have some cues that brings them to me and has them walk nicely with me!

1. I use a "wait" cue. Typically I use this cue when coming to an intersection that we are needing to cross. It asks the dog to stop and wait for me to catch up to them. Once next to them I use a "with me" cue to let them know I want them to walk next to me until I release with an "ok" cue!

2. I use a "here" cue (which can also double for a nice recall cue off leash if used properly) which tells the dog to turn around and walk back to me and stand at my side. Typically I will also give a "with me" cue once they are in position to tell them once again I want them to walk next to me until I release with an "ok". In the second video Brownie doesn't get a "with me" cue because she already knows it's coming and will offer the behavior without the cue. This way if someone is passing us or we are passing them we don't necessarily have to stop to get situated. She can do it on the move!

The benefit of these cues is to allow your dog to sniff around on your walks! It gives them more space to explore the areas around you but you can still ask for better control and attention when it's needed giving them the enrichment they deserve! 💜🐾



There are appointments available for enrichment in the Troy/Tipp City area as well as In-home Training options available! Text/call/email today with any questions!

29/08/2024

Need a hot day activity for your pup? I'm sure you all have a muffin tin and some tennis balls laying around. Or honestly anything that will fit in the tin would work well too! Place their meal or treats in the tin and cover it up with some tennis balls. Easy and simple but will work your pups brain as they figure out how to get to the food.

Dasher has done this activity before but he kept making it hard on himself because he wouldn't clear the open spot before covering it up again. 😆 Silly boy!

27/08/2024

Hey y'all! Long time no post right? I apologize for the long delay in posting over the summer. It has been very busy on my end! I hope you all had an amazing summer like me!

Amywho... keeping cool this morning with an early morning hike in a very shady spot! If you haven't checked out Phillips Park in Beavercreek you should! 💜 Brownie sure is loving it!

I do still have some enrichment or in-home training openings in the Troy and close surrounding areas! Feel free to message, text, or call with any questions! 🐾

23/05/2024

When your life is just so 'ruff'! 💙

25/04/2024

This sweet girl is celebrating her 5th birthday today!! Join me in wishing her a very happy birthday! 💜🎂 HAPPY BIRTHDAY BIJOU!!