Spooky season is coming! 👻 If your dog was a puppy last year or if this is your dogs first Halloween, get over to the home improvement stores and expose them to the unexpected things that will soon begin popping up in your neighborhood. 🎃
Off leash training begins on leash! Always keep a leash or long line on your dog when teaching recall. The more you repeat calling your dog and they don’t come, the more you’re teaching them that recall is optional. 😳
So much about your dog’s behavior, whether newly adopted or to reset their behavior after years of practicing unwanted ones, is rooted in your relationship.
A lack of structure and leadership can lead to an anxious dog who will soon make their own rules without your direction and guidance.
To do a full reset or to start off on the right foot with your new dog, keep them on leash in the house. Teach them to settle and relax in their own calm zone on a place bed as well as in a kennel when you can’t supervise them.
Even in the yard, supervise them on a long line. You can practice recall and redirect them from barking at people walking past or the neighbors dog.
If you need support, I offer private and virtual training! ✨🤍
When you begin a training journey with your dog, give them the opportunity to rest after walks and training time.
When training, I love teaching new normals, and that includes giving your dog proactive down time after working on new behaviors like leash work, recall, place work, kennel training, and structured play. They need latent learning time to upload all of that good information into their brains. 🧠✨
Training sessions can be short, 10 min here and there. If you don’t think you have time to train or walk your dog, check your screen time on your phone. 🙈 I heard that somewhere and wow did that hit!
Listen Linda!
Linda came in hot 🔥 to board and train. Chasing trucks, jumping on people, reacting intensely at dogs, and freaking out in the car to name a couple things. 😅 She is a wonderful and sweet dog but her personality was just buried in all of the over arousal and anxiety she was spinning in. 😵💫
Additionally, Linda is 10.
You can in fact teach an old dogs new tricks.📚🤓 it just will take a lot of consistency and patience. Linda did not feel good at all living that way. In fact, when we started to see a shift, Linda was very unsure how she *should* feel. She’s still working through that too. You don’t just wake up one day after years and years practicing the same unhealthy behaviors without a little bit of struggle.
My goal with Linda has been to really slow her down. Build engagement. Teach her how to follow on the leash. How to relax on place. And then provide her with a healthier feel good outlet to fulfill her biological genetics. It’s truly is a balance of teaching a dog what to do, what not to do, and then helping them feel better so that you see true behavior change. She’s not being managed with a constant stream of obedience or suppressed. She’s being supported and redirected when needed. She’s much more connected and cares about the other end of the leash as she seeks guidance.
Are you in the Salt Lake City area and having trouble with your dog? I’m booking 2024 for private training as well as board and train! Drop me a DM to set up a free consultation. I offer virtual coaching as well. 💫
I’ve always wanted to provide a way to give your dog continuing education with an emphasis on neutrality and fulfillment in a day care setting, but without all of the wild rumpus that can work against your training plan. Structured Day Camp can support a calmer state of mind vs over arousal issues as well helping to build neutrality instead of creating more leash reactivity when all dogs are associated with party time.
I’m excited to see this program grow in 2024! ✨
Currently this program is for training clients only. If you’re interested in joining us, drop me a dm!
Thank you to @mo.bad.dogs for hanging out with us recently! 🙏🏻
