Balanced dog trainer serving Nashville, Franklin, Brentwood, Spring Hill, and Columbia.
Welcome Madonna! Madonna is here to work on fine tuning her recall skills. She and her mom have been doing lessons for a few months and just wanted a little extra help getting her off leash recall more solid, especially in more rural areas with distracting wildlife.
Just a glimpse into what a couple days of training can achieve. Honestly there’s nothing particularly magical about Gus’s mini transformation, the biggest difference from the chaos of Day 1 to the calmness on Day 2 is mental stimulation. He’s smart and eager to learn, but learning all this new stuff is working his brain instead of his body, and that will teach him to be calm more consistently than trying to tire him out will.
Welcome Gus! Gus is an almost 7 month old lab mix. His mom wants help with some very normal puppy stuff. Lots of jumping, mouthing, chewing on stuff, and general chaos causing.
He’s a sweet guy, but a lot of those naughty things he’s doing now as a puppy could easily become dangerous when he’s all grown up. His mom wants to make sure they are both set up for success as he matures into an adult. Stay tuned for his progress!
I’m behind on getting this video up, but
Oakley’s parents did a great job at her go home lesson! You can see some of her new skills in action at home with her family. They are certainly set up for success and have the knowledge to keep her training up at home as she matures into an adult dog.
All work and no play is no fun for anyone! We want to make sure we are balancing our dog’s structure and rules with some appropriate play. Now if your dog is exhibiting some dangerous behaviors we’re going to put most of the play on the back burner until you start to see a healthy shift in your relationship. But for safe dogs who can handle the on/off switch we want to teach them to play and have fun while still having manners too.
Don’t forget that puppies will grow up to be adult dogs one day. They are capable of learning a lot even at a young age. Oakley has done a great job learning how to be an awesome member of her household—balancing when it’s time to play and when it’s time to learn.
Often when our puppies are acting like this they are overstimulated and probably need a break. It would be easy to assume she was being “hyper” and needs to drain some energy, but she’s actually more like a toddler that is overtired and needs a nap. So, don’t forget your puppy needs lots of time for sleep and plenty of breaks throughout the day to be their best self.
It’s important that we practice not just active training exercises, but passive ones too. We want our dogs to seamlessly be able to do both depending on what life calls for in the moment. It may not look like they’re doing much when they’re relaxing on place, so it’s important not to forget that’s hard work too.
Oakley is learning the art of being calm and relaxing while life goes on around her—and doing a great job at it too! There’s a time to play and have fun and be a wild puppy, and there’s a time to be calm and relax. We want to make sure we balance them both.
Training doesn’t always have to be complicated, sometimes it’s just about being patient and showing up consistently for your dog. ♥️
Training doesn’t always have to be complicated, sometimes it’s just about being patient and showing up consistently for your dog. ♥️
Playing the recall game with your puppy can be so fun! It’s a great way to start to teach them how to come when you call, but really makes it exciting for them to learn.
Often without meaning to, people will teach their dogs that “come” means leave that fun thing you’re doing (from the dog’s perspective) like stop stealing a sock and get over here, come inside from playing in the yard, or come here and get out of the trash. We want to make sure we practice making ourselves exciting and make recall fun. So that way when we really need it, our dogs are happy to comply.
Welcome Oakley! Little miss cutie pie is here for a 2 week puppy program. We’ll be working on teaching her some great foundational on-leash obedience, general manners, and potty training. Her family wants a great jump start on teaching her how to be an awesome family member as she grows into an adult dog. Stay tuned to see her progress.
For me the goal in training is to be able to include your dog in more of your life. I want life to be easier, calmer, and more consistent and clear for everyone—dogs and humans alike. Training allows us to give our dogs a job to do, and gives us clear boundaries to set. It gives everyone a sense of clarity and calm when we all know what the expectations are.
Scooby is available for adoption through Cheatham County Animal Control
Scooby was totally focused and facing the opposite direction, but made that awesome 180 turn when recalled to me. That’s what I want a recall to look like. Way to go Scooby!
Scooby is available for adoption through Cheatham County Animal Control
It’s all about balance. We can get our work done and have fun at the same time. Scooby and I had a great time working and playing at the park. We like to get out in the real world and work on our skills there. 🌳🐕✨
Scooby is available for adoption through Cheatham County Animal Control
It’s never just one thing that we’re working on. It’s the whole picture and how it all works together! While the visit to the pool is certainly a special occasion, when it comes to training this is a normal day in the life. 😁🐕♥️
Scooby is available for adoption through Cheatham County Animal Control
Look at Scooby going hands free! Life happens, so I don’t recommend having a long leash like this in high traffic areas, but wow! I’m so proud of this boy and the progress he’s made. 😁🐕♥️
This is how we make progress one day at a time. You’d be surprised how fast all these small things stack up to create a rock solid foundation of obedience.
Scooby is available for adoption through Cheatham County Animal Control
Scooby is learning his stuff! Day 1 I just want to get a feel for the dog and what they know and go from there. I start with food and leash work to build the basics from the ground up.
Scooby is adoptable through Cheatham County Animal Control
Thresholds are a great example of small moments that really help set the tone for your interaction with your dog. You can see how much of a difference it makes for Scooby when you make him pause and think about what you’re asking of him rather than allowing his brain to rush ahead. It’s not prefect every time, but taking the time to ask him to be calm and check in with me really helps him slow down and make better choices.
Scooby is available for adoption through Cheatham County Animal Control
Scooby is like so many other dogs out there! His brain gets ahead of his body, and where the mind goes the body follows. He is really itching for some guidance. You can tell he wants to do what you want, he’s just not sure what that is! He has done so great in just a few days getting his walk into a much better space. Stay tuned for his progress (he is adoptable).
Scooby is available for adoption through Cheatham County Animal Control
Scooby, like so many dogs, has no problem learning what the obedience commands mean. What is more challenging for him is slowing down and learning to be still rather than constantly moving from one spot or one command to the next. It’s important to teach dogs to do both. Having a dog who knows how to be calm when you ask it of them is setting everyone up for success at home.
Stay tuned for more updates on Scooby, and if you’re in the market for a new dog, he is available for adoption through Cheatham County Animal Control
When you have a leash reactive dog, it’s important not only to get a solid heel in place and correct for any loading—but you also want to make sure you are realistic about your dog’s ability and progress to pass triggers and take adequate space around them.
The amount of space you need will depend on how intense the trigger is (i.e. a calm dog vs. a barking one) and the intensity of your dog’s reactivity. It also depends on your progress over time and how much your dog trusts you.
We are asking a lot of our reactive dogs when we ask them to focus on the heel position and be neutral to the environment on the walk—so it’s only fair to help them when we can by taking more space around triggers to make it easier for our dogs to pass them. It also helps to show them that we are aware of what’s going on around us, and that we can be trusted to keep them safe.
It puts us in control of watching out for the environment so they don’t have to—and that actually takes a huge amount of pressure off their shoulders and allows them to focus on the walk instead of looking for danger around every corner.
Follow mode! It’s such a useful command to have at your disposal. I still use the word “come” but it means stay next to me in this bubble. It’s really great when you’re working on off leash skills but you don’t need the strictness of a heel position—and for calmly having them walk with you around the house. I want the dog to be tuned in to me and paying attention, but I don’t need them to be in a full-on structure walk/heel position.
Diamond is available for adoption through Cheatham County Animal Control
What does it mean to do permission based training? Practically it means our dogs need our permission before they do things. But bigger than that, what we really want is to create a life with our dog where they know to check-in with us regularly.
I find that a lot of times when I talk to owners about problems they have with their dogs it’s something that could easily be avoided with supervision. So many people thinks dogs will just somehow know how to live in our homes with us, but we have to teach them.
Permission based training does put more responsibility on our dogs—it creates a job description they should follow—but more importantly it puts accountability on us as owners to live more intentionally with our dogs. We have to be responsible for what we ask of our dogs and making sure we can supervise and have them follow through.
You put your dog on place? Well then you better be prepared to make sure they don’t sneak off in 5 minutes. You don’t want your dog rushing around the house? Then you better make sure you ask for a follow as they walk with you. You don’t want them bolting out the door? Then you are responsible for making sure they respect the threshold.
Permission based training teaches our dogs to check in with us for permission and guidance for how to navigate the world, but we have to hold up our end of the bargain and pay attention.
What is place good for? So many of the things! Here’s just a little taste of what life can be like when you have a trained dog.
Sometimes training is messy! That’s totally normal. We have to actually practice in new places for our dogs to get good at doing their obedience in places other than our living room. You shouldn’t expect the same level or proficiency right off the bat in a new and distracting environment. Dogs need some grace and some help from you to learn that the rules are the same no matter where you are. So give them some grace when you go somewhere new—and keep practicing!
Diamond is available for adoption through Cheatham County Animal Control
Diamond is a great example of a young dog who just needed some clarity on what is acceptable behavior and what's not. She really thrived with learning all the training and getting a calmer mindset. Are you struggling with your dog? Message me today to find out how you can achieve the same.
If you want a dog who can do this, training can help get you there! This didn’t magically happen overnight. Diamond isn’t naturally a super mellow dog, we’ve trained and practiced for this kind of outing. She’s doing a great job respecting her place and down commands while she observes the action. And my job is to make sure while she is respecting those boundaries that the world around her respects her boundaries as well.
Diamond is available for adoption through Cheatham County Animal Control
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Hal has had surgery previously for his cherry eye, but still needs eye drops regularly to help with the redness and irritation—but he has been giving his parents a hard time at home so more often than not he’s not been getting them. I’m working on some cooperative care to make the process easier and less stressful for everyone. Hal is being conditioned to be calm and still for his eye drops, which helps him to view the whole process as something he will get a reward for rather than an annoyance he can wiggle-worm his way out of. This process of conditioning can be really helpful for any kind of medical handling. #realworlddogtraining #nashvilledogs #nashvilledogtraining #nashvilledogtrainer #balancedtraining #cooperativecare #betterbalanceddogs #dogtrainingtips #dogtrainingadvice #dogtraining #dogsofnashville #balanceddogtraining
Impulse control is not a party trick—it’s a way of life! Coach’s family is getting to enjoy him so much more because he can hang out with them while daily life goes on around him. This is why mindset is key—obedience commands by themselves only get you so far. 🔑 ✨ 💕 #realworlddogtraining #betterbalanceddogs #nashvilledogtrainer #nashvilledogs #dogsofnashville #nashvilledogtraining #balanceddogtraining #ecollartraining #ecollartechnologies #dogtrainingtips #dogtrainingadvice #calmmindset #mindsetmatters #mindsettraining #goldendoodle #dogtraining
Teddy says small dogs can have leash manners too ✨ #realworlddogtraining #balanceddogtraining #nashvilledogtrainer #nashvilledogs #nashvilledogtraining #betterbalanceddogs #ecollartraining
Chief is building up his impulse control and proofing his obedience commands! He lives with 3 small kiddos so I want to make sure he’s solid around activities that are similar to what he sees regularly at home. And I want him to be able to let loose and have fun, but still play respectfully without totally wild. #realworlddogtraining #dogtrainingtips #ecollartechnologies #ecollartraining #offleashtraining #offleashlife #betterbalanceddogs #doodledogs #nashvilledogtrainer #nashvilledogs #dogsofnashville #nashvilledogtraining #placecommand #mindsettraining #balanceddogtraining #dogtrainingadvice #franklintn #middletn #brentwoodtn #columbiatn
Training with your dog is all about finding a balance of work and play that works for both of you. Sometimes it’s time for play and excitement, and other times it’s time for being calm and relaxing. Training gives us the ability to communicate either to our dogs. #betterbalanceddogs #nashvilledogtrainer #nashvilledogtraining #nashvilledogs #dogsofnashville #realworlddogtraining #balanceddogtraining #balancedmindset #boardandtrain #ecollartraining #offleashlife #offleashtraining #ecollartechnologies #placecommand #workandplay #dogtrainingtips #dogtrainingadvice #familydogtraining #leashtraining #doodledog
Highlights of all the dogs having fun and training this summer! I’m seriously behind on posts, but I am trying to catch up with all these awesome pups who have been with me this summer. 😁☀️🌺#betterbalanceddogs #nashvilledogtrainer #nashvilledogtraining #nashvilledogs #realworlddogtraining #dogsofnashville #ecollartraining #prongcollartraining #offleash #offleashtraining #offleashlife #summerfun #summertime #funinthesun #summerhighlights #ecollartechnologies
Meet Madonna! My focus when it comes to dog training is always practical over flash. One of Madonna’s goals for training is to leave food if it gets dropped on the floor—so we’re building on her impulse control while she focuses on staying on place. Another major goal is off leash recall, and here you can see how we call her from place to place to start building that recall for her. It makes it simple and easy to start getting into the groove of recall and then we can build on it from there! #realworlddogtraining #betterbalanceddogs #practicaltraining #balanceddogtraining #balancedtraining #ecollartraining #offleash #offleashtraining #placecommand #dogtrainingtips #dogtrainingadvice #nashvilledogtrainer #nashvilledogs #nashvilledogtraining #ecollartechnologies
Thresholds are important! Reason 1: SAFETY! Having impulse control at thresholds helps to keep our dogs from running in/out places that might not be safe for them—like the middle of the street. Reason 2: Having a calm dog and mindset before you leave for the walk helps to set the tone for the rest of the walk. If your dog is rushing through the door and amped up before you ever start your walk, then you’ve got your work cut out for you. #realworlddogtraining #betterbalanceddogs #nashvilledogtrainer #nashvilledogtraining #nashvilledogs #bernedoodle #doodledog #dogtrainingtips #balanceddogtraining #balancedtraining #leashtraining #ecollartraining #prongcollartraining #safetyfirst #dogtrainingadvice #enjoythewalk #nashvilletn
Sometimes there is no magical tip or trick to get that lightbulb moment with your dog. Sometimes it comes down to consistency and practice over time. Brody has a very busy brain, so it took patience and plenty of repetitions to see him really understand his new job description on the walk. #realworlddogtraining #betterbalanceddogs #balanceddogtraining #ecollartraining #prongcollartraining #dogtrainingtips #dogtrainingadvice #nashvilledogs #nashvilledogtraining #nashvilledogtrainer #consistencyiskey #practicemakesprogress #stickwithit #hardworkpaysoff #bernedoodle #leashtraining
For me dog training is always about way more than just teaching your dog commands. It’s about creating a more balanced mindset and lifestyle for your dog. #realworlddogtraining #betterbalanceddogs #balancedtraining #balanceddogtraining #ecollartraining #nashvilledogs #nashvilledogtraining #nashvilledogtrainer #progressoverperfection #dogtrainingtips #dogtrainingadvice #placecommand #doggymeditation #nashville #franklintn #brentwodtn #columbiatn #bernedoodle #mindsetmatters
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