Dog behavior and training
Teaching your dog to stay and focus on you in a new environment is important. Plus, it helps make for a cute photo! Need help training your dog? Contact us. All new clients will receive $30 off thier 1st private training with us through July.
Happy 4th of july from our pack to yours!
Happy Memorial Day from our pack to yours!
When the dog you are grooming is your worst critic.
Happy Thanksgiving from our pack to yours. I'm thankful for all the friends and clients that trust me to train and board thier dogs.
The myth or commonly thought of idea that only big dogs or bad dogs need training is incorrect. All dogs whether big or small, purebred or mixed breed, male or female, good or bad deserve to be taught how to live and maneuver in our human world. Be your dogs best teacher on everything "human". To be an even better teacher, learn as much as you can about "dogs", especially thier body language and learning styles.
In the picture listed is a small chihuahua mix named Griffin. He is 100% trained to behave on leash and off leash with distractions. His owner isn't a dog trainer, she just put in some serious work and dedication on training him to be the best dog he can be. Because he is so well trained, he can safely do fun things, like hiking. He stays with her and dosent take off after wildlife, people or other dogs. All dogs deserve to be trained and socialized. No more excuses. Help your dog be the best version of itself it can be. Contact us to help you get started on bringing out the best in your dog.
Happy 4th from my pack to yours!
Teaching calm behaviors with distractions is important. Teaching dogs to be stationary ( sit stay, down stays) can help teach impulse control. Do you need help teaching your dog to learn to be calm? Contact us for an appointment.
Why is teaching "stay" important in dog training? The command stay helps teach dogs impulse control and it helps the dog learn to focus on you instead of the environment. It also can help teach the dog to slow its thinking and emotions down. It can help teach dogs to relax/have an off switch. It's very useful and can be used to take your dogs pictures, stop dogs from bolting out doors/cars. It can also be used to get dogs to stay in a down while you eat so they don't try to steal your food. The stay command is over looked with dog owners, but its a powerful training command.
Happy Easter from our pack to yours!
Happy April from my pack to yours!
Stillness in Dogs. Not a good thing. This article is really good and is a must read for all dog owners, especially owners of dogs with aggressive issues. Most people know that a growl, barking, hair up on the dogs back and biting can be forms of aggression. But "Stillness" can be a huge sign of a dog that is getting ready to show aggression. Many people miss this sign of aggression and think thier dog acted aggressively "out of the blue".
I had an appointment with a labradoodle for jumping on people and running away. I had a feeling talking to the owner that there were more serious behaviors then jumping and running away and i asked him to have the dog leashed when I arrived. When I arrived the leashed dog was barking, lunging and snapping his teeth at me, this dog meant business. I had the owner walk around with the dog and myself (keeping a distance from each other) to see if the dog could calm down. The dog finally stopped showing aggression towards me about 45 mins into the walk. The dog seemed calmer with my presence and when I talked to it would get wiggly body, freeze for half a second, then go back to wiggly body. The owner wanted the dog to be my friend and asked why I wouldn't allow the dog closer now that it was being friendly. In the owners eyes the dog was now calm and friendly. I pointed out the half second of Stillness in between the wiggly body. The owner couldn't see it. The owner really thought his dog would be okay and took one step towards me. I subconsciously countered with stepping back just as his dog switched from wiggly body to jumping at my face with teeth snapping, barley missing my face. The owner was in shock as he thought the dog "gave no signs of aggression". I explained always watch for the "Stillness". That is a huge sign of the dogs mental state. Stillness, the most looked over body language sign in dogs.
What's more dangerous: a dog lunging and barking at you, or one standing still and staring? Learn about this crucial difference in canine body language, and how to stay safe.
Dog training is way more then kisses and cookies
I hear this almost every day. Of course when you ask what “everything” includes, it’s invariably a list of things which are in the owner’s comfort zone.
Tools that feel good to the owner. Training methodologies which feel good to the owner. Lifestyle dynamics which feel good to the owner.
Ask them about things outside their comfort zone and you’ll quickly find that “everything” is actually an extremely limited list. Ask them about leadership—real leadership, which sets standards for behavior and levies valuable consequences for breeching these standards, and you’ll find some dancing. Ask them about using tools which share these consequences in a fashion which resonate with the dog and you’ll find some dancing. Ask them about whether they’re willing to make their dogs uncomfortable in pursuit of their stated goals and you’ll find some dancing.
People want the problem solved but aren’t prepared for the solution.
If you want to live in a world where reality is based on your feelings and comfort zone, you’ll find very few solutions. But if you’re willing to be honest and courageous in your pursuit of truth and reality, you just might find your answers…you might actually find your “everything”.
P.S. I too was once in the “everything” camp, and I too was once mired in behavior issues with my dogs. It was only when I was truly prepared to explore reality that I found my answers and found what my dogs were truly capable of. Was it fun or comfortable? Not at at all—at least not at first. But when my dogs became amazing examples of well behaved canines who could go anywhere and do just about anything, it opened up our world, our connection, and we had more fun and more enjoyment of life together than I had ever thought possible—when I lived in my comfort zone.
When you hire a dog trainer, that trainer is there to work with you, not necessarily the dog. In most cases its the human that is either doing or not doing something that is causing the dogs issue. Dogs need rules, boundaries, consistency, follow through and consequences for crossing those lines. They need to be held accountable for poor actions and decisions and praised for the correct ones. It takes more then kisses and cookies to raise a good dog.
So many want the problems resolved, and are willing to pay for it, but aren’t truly prepared to do the extremely hard emotional and physical work needed. And so their money is wasted.
In the 16 years I’ve been training professionally I’ve seen this unfortunate reality play out far more times than I would have liked to. Owners who are struggling with their dogs will make the move to purchase a training program, and then when confronted with all that’s involved, it all falls apart.
Here’s the thing. If you truly want to achieve your goals and find your solutions, chances are you’re going to have to endure being emotionally uncomfortable (adjusting your relationship and your lifestyle, and holding your dog accountable is extremely difficult for many), and also physically (the daily routines that need to be kept and doing the work even when you don’t feel like it is also very difficult for many).
Sacrifice is at the heart of all goals, and the reality is that most simply aren’t prepared for the sacrifices needed to turn things around with their dogs. Money, while most definitely a sacrifice, is almost always the easiest one to surmount—by comparison.
Luckily for me, when I embarked on turning my own dogs’ serious behavior issues around, I had no money, so it was all about how badly I wanted it. Also luckily, I wanted it bad enough to endure all the discomforts—and after 2 years of intense work, I came out the other side with amazing dogs, an amazing life together, and a much improved me.
So before putting that money down, be sure to seriously ask yourself: am I truly ready? How bad do I really want it? Am I prepared to become something far more than I currently am—and deal with the discomfort that entails? Will I hold the line as emotional and physical challenges present themselves? Am I prepared to watch my dog also struggle as they work to navigate these new challenges?
Lol
The stay command. One of the most unused, overlooked and untrained command for dogs. But, in my opinion the stay command is a very important command to teach dogs. Stationary commands such as the stay command can help dogs learn to calm down emotionally and physically. It also helps teach self control and can help dogs learn to focus better ( a calm body and brain can focus better then a wild uncontrolled one.). If you have an out of control dog, a wild dog, a nervous dog or an impulsive dog, invest time in teaching the dog Stationary commands such as the stay command. Not only will it help your dog, it makes it easy for you to take cute pictures of them. Message us if you need help teaching your dog to calm down.
Fun outing to Gardner Village with the pups.
Happy Thanksgiving from our pack to yours!
Join us Dec 3rd for Santa Pictures and a huge pet supply sale!
Second Chance for Homeless Pets Adoption Center 200 e. Gordon ln slc
Thank you Raising Cane's for the donation to the homeless pets! And thanks to all the customers who purchased a 25th Anniversary Cane plushy to make this possible. Your support will help many pets receive the care needed to find them loving forever homes
Yep, its all about the owners changing themselves to help the dog.
Why not?
Because the answer will undoubtedly require an enormous increase in mental and physical effort.
Because the answer will undoubtedly require you to adjust many of your comfortable and enjoyed lifestyle patterns and behavior.
Because the answer will undoubtedly require you to prioritize the well-being of your dog over your own emotional payoffs.
Because the answer will undoubtedly require you to embrace interactions which are less comfortable and self-rewarding than you would prefer.
Because the answer will undoubtedly require you to become—to some degree— a different, and improved person.
If you don’t mind the answer, you’ve got no problems getting things sorted.
Here’s another post I share annually. Many, many owners (and trainers) have found life changing insight and value from this short read. I hope it’s helpful. 🙏
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Okay, so this is a word that gets an awful lot of play in the training world, and it’s definition has come to mean an awful lot of things. Many of which, are incredibly counter-productive, if not downright dangerous.
So let’s see if we can’t clarify a few things.
Socialization isn’t:
-About letting your dog freely interact with dogs at the dog park, day care, or with friends dogs.
-About allowing your dog to meet other dogs on-leash.
-About allowing all manner of people, in all manner of mental/emotional states interact/pet/pressure your dog.
-About exposing your dog to the sights and sounds of cars, buses, motorcycles, bikes, skateboards, joggers...and allowing them to freak out, panic, aggress, hide, bark etc.
-About exposing your dog to the sights and sounds of dogs, cats, and other animals, and allowing them to freak out, aggress, lunge, bark, growl etc.
Socialization is:
-About teaching your dog the proper responses to dogs. What is and isn’t appropriate behavior, and correcting the unwanted when it appears.
-About teaching your dog to walk by the barking, lunging dog(s) on walks and ignore them, completely. Correcting if necessary to achieve this result.
-About advocating for your dog and ensuring people aren’t allowed to pressure your dog, by touching, crouching down, attempting “kisses” etc. That means being a big boy or girl, and stopping others from engaging in unwanted, uninvited interactions.
-About exposing your dog to all manner of daily life “things” and ensuring a proper response. If aggression/arousal is present, it’s corrected, if fear/arousal is present (and causes an overreaction/fleeing etc.) it’s corrected. Ask your dog to learn to ignore and not care about these “life” distractions/concerns/temptations. Teach them to listen to the training, not the world around them.
-About teaching your dog to leave other creatures alone. The cat, the bird, the cow, the goat, the other dog, is simply none of their business. If they decide those things are their business, it’s your job to correct and clarify what is and isn’t their business for them.
Socialization has become a ridiculously simplified, dumbed down, all-encompassing idea. Free interaction and exposure have been presented as a panacea, the magic gateway to a balanced dog. That’s a whole lot of B.S. you’ve been sold, by a lot of people full of B.S. 🙂
Socialization is all about teaching your dog how to behave and exist in the world...properly. People have a belief that only interactions create a well socialized dog. They don’t understand that existence is almost always preferable, and more valuable than actual interaction. Yes exposure is critical, but exposure without 100% clear guidance, and corrections for poor choices, isn’t socialization, it’s chaos, and it’s not teaching your dog what’s right, what’s wrong, and that you’ll keep them safe, so they don’t have to.
A well socialized dog isn’t fazed by the world around them. And that doesn’t come from simple exposure and interactions without guidance. Ironically, that’s precisely how you create anti-social dogs.
Think on that for a minute.
So many people struggle with! Do what is best for your dog and not what makes you feel good.
Is your dog there to keep you stable or do you keep your dog stable? Is your dog your only emotional safe place, or are you his or her emotional safe place? Does your dog view you as a powerful, healthy, dependable presence, or are you soft, needy, and inconsistent? Is good behavior expected and demanded, or is pushy, bratty, nasty stuff allowed and even celebrated? Do you spoil your dog because it feels good for you, even though it's ruining your dog? Do you provide the difficult, often un-fun structure, rules, and discipline your dog actually needs to be happy, relaxed, and stable even though it’s less than enjoyable?
Leading is hard, leaning is easy. One takes care of you, the other takes care of your dog.
Some of us actually think this first approach will work, and some of us employ the first approach because of how it feels for us…not the dog. And some do both.
But the truth is, what intuitively seems to make dogs “happy”, or what often makes us happy in our interactions with our dogs, is the furthest thing from what actually makes dogs healthy, balanced, stable, and yes, happy.
The problem is short term thinking and viewing. If our thinking and assessment is locked into only the current moment, then whatever makes the dog, appear happy…now, or gives us a dopamine hit…now, looks and feels awfully good. But if we extend our thinking and our view out over a longer period of time, we quickly find that what appeared to have a wonderful effect—on us both—almost always comes with a massive downside.
Half a dozen donuts, three slices of cake, the family size pizza, “a lot too many” cocktails or beers...will all make us happy, in the short term, but will exact a heavy toll if repeated over and over. (Trust me, I know! 🤪) And same goes for your dog.
Short term payoff or joy often has long term costs, especially if made chronic and the priority.
The biggest issue is, what truly makes our dogs “happy”—and by that I mean healthy, balanced, stable, safe, reliable, included, a joy to be around—often doesn’t give our dogs the appearance of ”happy”, nor does it give us the feel of it…in the moment. Which means, we have to be a bit more evolved, mature, further seeing, and selfless.
After all, we shouldn’t be chasing some superficial version of happy for either of us—it’s almost always an empty, ugly, disappointing, heartbreaking road—what we should be chasing is what makes life good. What makes life a higher quality experience. What makes the long view and the deeper view the best it possibly can be—even if it’s not always enjoyable here and now.
We can chase the moment, and reap the the cheap, instant, but ultimately disappointing reward, or we can chase the long view and reap something far deeper, beautiful, and truly rewarding.
Correct the small things before they become the big things!
I’m sure many of you are intimately familiar with this one…even if you don’t know it. 😉
You take your ill-behaved or simply untrained dog for training—whether it be one-on-ones or board and train—and after the training is wrapped or is making serious progress, you’re gobsmacked at the changes.
The pulling, reactive, wild man or wild woman on walks…is transformed. Same goes for chaotic, disrespectful, uncontrollable behavior in the house. Or it might be with car rides, or jumping on people, or incessant whining and barking. Or it just might be some flawless obedience.
Whatever the “new and improved” is, it’s so incredibly and dramatically improved that you can hardly believe it’s still your dog.
And here’s where things get interesting. The amazing new dog you’re currently enjoying is the byproduct of countless small moments where your dog was held to extremely high, meticulous standards. That’s how we got them here.
But when owners encounter their “new” dogs, the amazement at how differnt they are tends to cause many to undermine and sabotage precisely what created these new and amazing results.
What’s a little pulling, or staring, or a wee bark or growl when the walks used to be a warzone? What’s a little household chaos and blowing off of rules when the dog used to have to be locked away in a crate or another room? And what’s the problem with some frenetic behavior in the car, or the occasional jump on someone, a tiny bit of whining, or some fairly benign blowing off of well-known obedience work?
By comparison to the old, this new behavior, even if not perfect, is SO far from what used to transpire that many owners happily embrace it/allow it, and unknowingly begin to lead their dogs right back to where it all started.
We see this over and over, and I’m sure both owners and trainers reading this know precisely what I’m talking about.
Here’s the the thing: it was precisely all of the little moments of the dog being held to extremely high standards; not allowing any “benign” transgressions to sneak by, which created the behavior owners post-training so enjoy—and then, because it looks so much better, they let it begin to unravel.
You likely won’t notice the slipping away of the great stuff—at least initially—because it will occur slowly, incrementally. But given enough time, what was once so much better will revert to precisely what was once so much worse.
The upshot? If you like what your trainer created, don’t let the amazing transformation slip away. Simply do exactly what your trainer did; see the small stuff as the gateway behaviors/conversations which lead to big stuff, and hold your dog to the new and amazing standards they’ve shown they’re capable of…if you want the so much better stuff to stick around.
How did we get your dog here?
This should be obvious. If you’ve brought your dog in for training, there’s obviously some aspects of the way you’re living together which aren’t working, aren’t healthy, or need improving.
Over and over at go-home sessions I hear clients ask: “When can we pet/kiss/cuddle him?”, “When can he be allowed to freely roam?”, “When can he be on the furniture?”, “When can we relax the rules and loosen up?” And while I get all these questions—we get dogs so we can enjoy them—there seems to be a strange void in reality, or maybe better yet, in understanding.
If you’ve got a dog with zero issues, and your relationship and life together is one of harmony and ease, this post isn’t for you. And our services are likely not something you’d be searching out. But, if you don’t fall into this category, whether it be due to your hard work with your dog, or due to having one of those unicorn dogs (they’re out there!), then it’s time for some straight talk, and hopefully some helpful tips.
If you find yourself in the camp of needing to make changes and improvements with your dog, then the above questions are not the questions you should be focused on, at least not yet, and likely not for a good while. Instead, the questions should be: “How do we construct our day/life to best recreate how you lived with our dogs?”, “What were we missing/doing that created the mixed messages or allowances that led things astray?”, “How do we learn to see all the little moments—which we thought were benign—as far larger, gateway moments?”, “How do we present ourselves in a fashion which will cause our dogs to take us seriously?”, “How does affection, doting, treats, and even play often create messages of softness that work against our goals?”, “How do we correct our dog’s unwanted behavior in a fashion which is effective and helpful?”, “How do we stop feeling guilty about implementing all of these changes, and instead feel good that we’re doing what’s best for our dogs?”, “How do we do what you did, exactly, so we can get what you got?”
The questions should be focused on fixing what was missing or broken, rather than focused on “How do we get back to where we were…which caused us to come to you in the first place?” I’m sure you see the irony here. And like I said, the goal isn’t to be in this new space forever, but you have to come to terms with the fact that you’re fighting an uphill battle. One of deeply entrenched perceptions, patterns, associations—which all need to be undone, and rebuilt correctly, BEFORE the fun stuff can be implemented without fallout, fallback, and disappointment.
Once you’ve put in that work, THEN you can start to ask the other questions. And if you do so in this order, you’ll find yourself talking with a very excited, motivated, and optimistic dog trainer…because they’ll know you’re both focused on reality, sacrifice, effort, and compromises. And they’ll know they’ve got a client who’s got a very good chance of achieving their goals. ❤️
This silly dog some how got herself up on my counter and became "stuck". She is doing what is called a "submissive grin", telling me she is no threat, she is submissive and she is trying to calm me down (appeasement). I wasn't angry,, but definitely surprised. She is not being aggressive or "showing her teeth". Not every dog displays submissive grins so many people misinterpret the behavior.
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The stay command. One of the most unused, overlooked and untrained command for dogs. But, in my opinion the stay command is a very important command to teach dogs. Stationary commands such as the stay command can help dogs learn to calm down emotionally and physically. It also helps teach self control and can help dogs learn to focus better ( a calm body and brain can focus better then a wild uncontrolled one.). If you have an out of control dog, a wild dog, a nervous dog or an impulsive dog, invest time in teaching the dog Stationary commands such as the stay command. Not only will it help your dog, it makes it easy for you to take cute pictures of them. Message us if you need help teaching your dog to calm down.
This silly dog some how got herself up on my counter and became "stuck". She is doing what is called a "submissive grin", telling me she is no threat, she is submissive and she is trying to calm me down (appeasement). I wasn't angry,, but definitely surprised. She is not being aggressive or "showing her teeth". Not every dog displays submissive grins so many people misinterpret the behavior.
This is a variation on the "pray" command. It's called "pray with me". This ends our 14 days of tricks. I hope you have enjoyed the short videos. Looking to teach your dog more tricks or to work on basic obedience or a behavioral issue? Give us a call. We offer trainings in person or via skype/zoom. Remember, a trained dog is a happy dog!
Teaching your dog "up on" to jump all the way up on an object.
Teaching "paws up". You can also use boxes or similar items indoors.
This is a great game that gives your dog a choice on the toy he/she wants to play with. This game is best played with dogs that like to play with toys. Post a video of your dog picking it's own toy to play with in the comments below.
This sweet girl is Daisy. She is a bit insecure and shy, but games like "find it" helps her to build her confidence. You can see from the start of the video she wants to go away from me. But as the video goes, you see her confidence build and her tail wag as she uses her nose to find the treat. Post a video of your dog playing "find it" in the comments below.
"Dog in a Box" with a larger dog. Remember to have fun, take your time as your dog learns this new game. Post a video in the comments below of your dog playing "dog in a box".
Teaching "under"
Teaching the "touch" command.
Sadie and Griffin showing you the dance of their people!
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