PAWSitively Calm

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PAWSitively Calm PAWSitively Calm is a fully licensed & insured Family Dog Training business focused on State of Mind Helping families live CALM, happy lives with their dogs.

A Central Florida Family Dog Training business focused on Balanced K9 Training. So why so much focus on creating CALM? Aren’t our dogs supposed to have fun and round around like maniacs? Do you have a dog that reacts on walks, reacts in the house to the dog on TV, is fearful or stressed out, creating calm can have a major impact on arousal issues. Does your dog pull on the leash, rush the door, wh

ine all the time, guard his food bowl, jump up onto the counter to grab what’s cookin, act crazy in your car, and is constantly misbehaving? Well you’re not alone. Most dog owners suffer from bratty pets due to the lack of structure and consequences needed to stop unwanted behavior. Slowing these guys down will help them make better decisions that would otherwise seem impossible. Whatever your problem may be, I am here to help you create the framework needed to ensure your dog is the calm, balanced pooch you have always imagined. I started PAWSitively Calm with the intent on helping struggling families live a more balanced and calm life with their overly excited, stressed out, bratty pets. Most of my clients say “I just want to take my dog out in public with me without him going bananas”. You see, if you could have stepped into my world a couple of years ago, you would have seen an out of control, overly aroused pack that would not stop barking, freaking out at the slightest sound, growling at visitors if they came too close, and separation anxiety at its finest. I was literally embarrassed to go out in public on leash with any of them. Packing up my three dogs in the Jeep for a beach vacation was always a nightmare with all of them barking as soon as the parking brake was engaged and the keys jingled. So there I began my research on overcoming and tackling these issues by watching and devouring any Cesar Milan book or video I could get my hands on. Something struck a nerve for me when I saw that in every episode, the owner played a significant role in creating that very behavior their dog was exhibiting. Could I really be the problem? Could too much loving and not enough structure really create this kind of madness? It sure can! And I’m here to tell you that it can all be turned around. If you want your relationship with your dog to change, you first, must change. It just takes a little bit of hard work on the dynamic of the household, and I’m here to steer you in the right direction. Rules, boundaries, and consequences are what is needed to create that balance between affection and leadership. When one of these aspects out-weighs the other, a whole slew of bad behaviors can arise. Your relationship with your dog should be permission based. Everything your dog is allowed to do, is because you gave him permission to do so. I am here to help guide you through some basic core skills in establishing your role within the pack so that you can truly have the peace of mind you’ve always imagined.

So many of us struggle with pups that NEVER turn off! These are my Go-To’s on day one that immediately and dramatically ...
09/11/2025

So many of us struggle with pups that NEVER turn off!

These are my Go-To’s on day one that immediately and dramatically begin to downshift reckless impulsivity. Once we begin to SLOW the unhinged down with these simple actions, they become far more aware of their choices.

At the end of the day, it’s about their safety and peace of mind. When a dog is incapable of regulating on their own, we have to step in to help.

Try them out! And let us know if you start seeing any changes!

Sometimes... it’s just not a good fit. Dogs come in an assortment of flavors: from severely fearful and disconnected, to...
08/11/2025

Sometimes... it’s just not a good fit.

Dogs come in an assortment of flavors: from severely fearful and disconnected, to hyper-aroused and anxious, to bratty and pushy, to dominating and obstinate, or any combination of the aforementioned, and time and again we see owners trying to make the incompatible... compatible.

Not every dog is capable of being that “dream” dog. No matter how much training you may have invested in, if your “personalities” don’t compliment one another, the relationship just isn’t going to work to fill the gap.

Regardless of the amount of structure, regardless of your training methods and tools used, and no matter if you’re doing your best, sometimes a dog will never be a good fit.

More often than not, the tough dog/soft owner equation is the one thing causing the disparity—where most behavioral tendencies (brattiness, greed, defensiveness, hyperarousal, fear, or anxiety) worsen without adequate firmness to push back against. But even when you’re bringing your A-game with your tough dog, your situation may be asking more of you than you can realistically offer.

This doesn’t make you a terrible dog owner. Nor does it make the dog satan’s spawn. It just means there’s just a mismatch between what the dog requires to feel safe and settled, and what the human is capable of providing without guilt.

Not every dog can be shaped into becoming that amazing family pet without deliberate effort. And sometimes what’s best for the dog is finding someone more suitable for the job...

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Live 🩵 PAWSitively CALM
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When we neglect to define our dog’s ROLE within the social structure/hierarchy of our home, it makes absolutely no sense...
07/11/2025

When we neglect to define our dog’s ROLE within the social structure/hierarchy of our home, it makes absolutely no sense for us to expect they regard or listen to us when we “suddenly” need to address their unhealthy behavior out of emergency.

In other words, we cannot expect our dog to listen and to defer to our judgement when shiitake hits the fan, if they are incapable of offering any consideration during the smaller moments of disregard— think “sitting the 1st time asked” or “blasting out of the crate”.

Issues with our dogs always arise out of confusion as to WHO’S really running the show. A dog’s hierarchical perception has a direct effect on their listening skills. Obedience training means little when RESPECT remains elusive, and a dog continues to have an elitist view of their place in the home.

The wise owner will leverage BOTH obedience AND respect: a formal way to communicate using commands, AND work on attitude and mindset in its insistence, so that no matter what is occurring around you, the dog always listens to the person in charge.

Man do I get a buzz off of being uber-productive. Go-Go-Go! Get’r done!Those of us that operate in high speed—who squeez...
06/11/2025

Man do I get a buzz off of being uber-productive. Go-Go-Go! Get’r done!

Those of us that operate in high speed—who squeeze out as many productive milliseconds we can out of any given day, know very well what happens when we neglect to devote time to actually turning off…

Crash. Shut down. Fried.

Strangely enough, when our dogs trot, walk, play, pace, bark, & chew all day in a hurried frenzy, we chalk it up as a dog just being a dog.

Just because they would, doesn’t mean they should.

Just about every dog that walks through our door is mentally or physically compromised to one degree or another, where the symptoms of their distress have produced dangerous consequences—like visits to the ER.

Here’s the thing… Our goal isn’t to create robot zombies with no personality, no over-exuberance, or no fun. The goal should be to achieve stability and contentedness which facilitates the highest quality of life and BALANCE!

I dont know about you, but the even the thought of an unstructured day makes me break out in hives. And most dogs feel the same.

Oddly enough, when we begin integrating order and structure to a motion-junkies life, their laundry list of toxic behavior literally begins to vanish — and mind you, without EVER having to directly address any singular bad habit.

Predictable and dependable routine, order, and rules can resolve a majority of our dog’s behavioral issues. The effects of this simple formula still amazes me. The level of healthy transformation and improved wellbeing we see in a matter of days should be enough to convince even the biggest critic.

Do you feel worse enforcing boundaries & limits on how your dog is allowed to maneuver through life, or worse seeing the...
05/11/2025

Do you feel worse enforcing boundaries & limits on how your dog is allowed to maneuver through life, or worse seeing them in the grips of an anxiety attack or meltdown?

For me, this was how I was able to overcome the guilt I felt for being “too mean or militant.”

It was far crueler (in my eyes), to allow my unhinged dog to live in a perpetual state of distress due to a lack of instruction, rules, and structure, than it was to actually enforce such.

I can’t say this enough…

Some dogs require more from us. More clarity, more intention, more self-awareness, more instruction. Just plain MORE.

When we withhold the very ingredients necessary for true wellbeing, are we really doing it to spare the dog from discomfort, or are we doing to spare our own?

Making a conscious effort to gauge what actually creates true happiness will help us, help our dogs become truly stable.

My dog was waiting for something deeper:✨ For me to stop trying to fix him and be willing to grow myself. He was a mirro...
04/11/2025

My dog was waiting for something deeper:

✨ For me to stop trying to fix him and be willing to grow myself. He was a mirror for my inconsistency, my self-doubt, my ungrounded energy.

✨ For my nervous system to soften and settle. The day I chose CALM over reactivity, he started choosing calm too. My breath became my most powerful leash.

✨ For me to stop over-accomodating and step into loving authority. When I stopped feeling guilty about boundaries and started seeing them as love, he finally relaxed into my leadership.

✨ For my words, energy, and follow-through to actually match. No more empty cues. No more “sometimes” rules. Just clear, consistent, predictable leadership he could trust.

✨ For me to honor the process instead of chasing progress. The moment I stopped needing overnight results & started treating each repetition as a deep devotion to our relationship—that’s when the transformation became undeniable.

My dog didn’t need me to be perfect.

He needed me to be more present, accountable, & intentional. Once the above pieces clicked into place for me personally, his behavior shifted in ways that used to feel impossible.

If you feel like you’re “doing everything right” and are still struggling, it might not be about doing more…

It may just be about WHO you’re becoming in the process. 🌱

Are you ready to step into the leader your dog has been waiting for?

03/11/2025

Guinness, the irrationally fearful, extremely high strung, reactive Pitbull is finally beginning his public access training after spending a solid week and a half regulating his mind and body.

We made it Lowes!

We’re slowly cultivating a solid obedience foundation focused on mindset over obedience. After establishing hierarchical control, recalibrating mindset, and learning to process chaos in a healthier fashion, we felt Guinness was ready to be exposed to even bigger triggers.

I LOVE this part of the training process! We get to test all of a dog’s newfound skills in the real world to see where we still may need some additional work. And for this insecure kiddo, it’s just going to be a a matter of controlled exposure, clearly defined rules for behavior, and accountability for deviating away from a calm, healthy baseline.

Consistent, rigid structure, a dependable daily routine, unshakable boundaries, and unwavering rules are the only remedy to an anxious dog like this. From flaking at approaching footsteps, to panicked reactions to sudden movement, to slowly being able to hold commands when new and unfamiliar triggers are presented! Although Guinness still needs a TON of work on his state of mind to really cement this into his psyche, each and every day builds upon the last as we desensitize him to the big world out there.

Good job pretty boy!!

What type of dog you own should dictate how you interact with them. Now we’re not talking “breed” here. We’re talking pe...
03/11/2025

What type of dog you own should dictate how you interact with them.

Now we’re not talking “breed” here. We’re talking personality/temperament — mild and submissive, rambunctious and dismissive, seriously stubborn and dominant, or any varying flavor of all of these traits — all require a different degree of structure and latitude on how their human should interact and live with them.

Reactions offered by your mild cases (whining, barking, or begging) are typically annoying at best, and can be easily ignored or brushed off.

But with the more intense cases, who’s reactions cannot be so easily dismissed — guarding food, space, and objects, growling at strangers, over-reacting to sounds or objects, nipping demands for attention, or serious pulling and reactivity on walks. THESE personality types can cause serious headache, and even resentment, if not properly addressed and managed.

And for the seriously “Serious” cases… you can crank up reactivity to the worst case scenario — intent to do harm even when unprovoked, serious bites to guests, strangers, other dogs, and even YOU, or severe Separation Anxiety where crates are destroyed, and so too is your house, or dogs that are completely unwalkable due to their explosive reactions on leash.

Here’s the thing… The primary reason behind any of the aforementioned behavioral issues is simply due to a mismatch between the owner’s personality, and that of their dog’s.

If you lean to being hesitant, meek, soft, or perhaps emotionally anxious, Or you’re able to be firm, confident, persistent, unwavering, and emotionally sound, this may be the difference in having a dog your truly enjoy, or one that will continually challenge you to show up differently. I’m here to tell you that the former can wreak havoc even with your milder cases (guilty as charged).

Continued In Comments…

What type of dog you own should dictate how you interact with them. Now we’re not talking “breed” here. We’re talking pe...
03/11/2025

What type of dog you own should dictate how you interact with them.

Now we’re not talking “breed” here. We’re talking personality/temperament — mild and submissive, rambunctious and dismissive, seriously stubborn and dominant, or any varying flavor of all of these traits — all require a different degree of structure and latitude on how their human should interact and live with them.

Reactions offered by your mild cases (whining, barking, or begging) are typically annoying at best, and can be easily ignored or brushed off.

But with the more intense cases, who’s reactions cannot be so easily dismissed — guarding food, space, and objects, growling at strangers, over-reacting to sounds or objects, nipping demands for attention, or serious pulling and reactivity on walks. THESE personality types can cause serious headache, and even resentment, if not properly addressed and managed.

And for the seriously “Serious” cases… you can crank up reactivity to the worst case scenario — intent to do harm even when unprovoked, serious bites to guests, strangers, other dogs, and even YOU, or severe Separation Anxiety where crates are destroyed, and so too is your house, or dogs that are completely unwalkable due to their explosive reactions on leash.

Here’s the thing… The primary reason behind any of the aforementioned behavioral issues is simply due to a mismatch between the owner’s personality, and that of their dog’s.

If you lean to being hesitant, meek, soft, or perhaps emotionally anxious, Or you’re able to be firm, confident, persistent, unwavering, and emotionally sound, this may be the difference in having a dog your truly enjoy, or one that will continually challenge you to show up differently. I’m here to tell you that the former can wreak havoc even with your milder cases (guilty as charged).

So it makes sense then that in order for the “softer” human to turn their relationship around with their seriously challenging dog, that they would have to bring the latter into the equation to find real balance and harmony. Finding confidence without ego, firmness when necessary, and seeing a dog as a dog rather than an emotional surrogate for our personal voids, is the ONLY ticket to real success. This does not mean that we can’t show our love & affection. This simply means we have to be able to BRING IT as well.

As stated before, each personality type determines how they are dealt with, what rules are at play, how much structure is necessary, how much effort is needed, and how much of the ooey-gooey is dolled out or withheld. We have to become crystal clear about who the dog truly is in order for us to share the appropriate amount of latitude.

The human interpretation of LOVE — gobs of treats, loads of affection & attention, unsupervised playtime, and unrestrict...
01/11/2025

The human interpretation of LOVE — gobs of treats, loads of affection & attention, unsupervised playtime, and unrestricted freedom — isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to ensuring happiness or peace of mind.

On the contrary, this misinformed, yet easy assumption, oftentimes will create the exact opposite for the pup that is more emotionally challenged — higher stress, increased anxiety, heightened arousal, hyper-territorial, overly protective, and intensely possessive.

What’s easy (and the most rewarding to us) isn’t always what’s best for the dog.

For the rare dog that needs little instruction or accountability (we call them 🦄), you may be able to get away with giving in to your dog’s every whim. But for the majority, the easy, feels-good-for-us can create a real mess of a dog.

What if LOVE entailed having to be a bit firmer, stricter, more attentive, and intentional? Could you offer the level of guidance that doesn’t provide YOU with immediate gratification?

Dogs carrying any emotional instability need a more personalized, counterbalanced version of LOVE — one nuanced with a balance of soft when earned, and stern when appropriately necessary. There is no cut and dry, one-size-fits-all approach to raising a well-behaved dog.

Each dog requires a tailor-made version that serves both the needs of the dog, as well as the needs of the human. OUR job is to know where the dog falls on that personality spectrum, and to provide a very balanced approach to expressing our LOVE, and as a result, creating true happiness.

——————————————
Live 🩵 PAWSitively CALM
——————————————

The human interpretation of LOVE — gobs of treats, loads of affection & attention, unsupervised playtime, and unrestrict...
01/11/2025

The human interpretation of LOVE — gobs of treats, loads of affection & attention, unsupervised playtime, and unrestricted freedom — isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to ensuring happiness or peace of mind.

On the contrary, this misinformed, yet easy assumption, oftentimes will create the exact opposite for the pup that is more emotionally challenged — higher stress, increased anxiety, heightened arousal, hyper-territorial, overly protective, and intensely possessive.

What’s easy (and the most rewarding to us) isn’t always what’s best for the dog.

For the rare dog that needs little instruction or accountability (we call them 🦄), you may be able to get away with giving in to your dog’s every whim. But for the majority, the easy, feels-good-for-us can create a real mess of a dog.

What if LOVE entailed having to be a bit firmer, stricter, more attentive, and intentional? Could you offer the level of guidance that doesn’t provide YOU with immediate gratification?

Dogs carrying any emotional instability need a more personalized, counterbalanced version of LOVE — one nuanced with a balance of soft when earned, and stern when appropriately necessary. There is no cut and dry, one-size-fits-all approach to raising a well-behaved dog.

Each dog requires a tailor-made version that serves both the needs of the dog, as well as the needs of the human. OUR job is to know where the dog falls on that personality spectrum, and to provide a very balanced approach to expressing our LOVE, and as a result, creating true happiness.

31/10/2025

The Spooky Duo, Boomer & Pippa, had their very 1st store experience today! We all went to Lowes, to test their obedience out in the real world! Public access work starts here!

I LOVE the second week of training! We get to test all of the dog’s skills out in the real world to see where we still may need some additional work.

Boy what a difference a few days makes with this sweet kidz! From being completely driven by their reactive impulses and anxiety in the beginning of last week, to holding command while new and unfamiliar triggers are presented!

We are teaching both dogs to ignore the public, ignore noises, ignore EVERYTHING, and to hold their handler in the highest regard. Demanding focus on our walks through a new environment is how they will learn to defer to their person’s guidance and instruction. This cultivates a hierarchy of who’s in control and who is not, who needs the protecting, and who does the protecting, and also helps both nervy pups settle into their roles as followers without feeling the burden to control matters themselves.

Awesome job gorgeous babes!

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