The Naked Dog (2025)

07/03/2025

Struggling to find a dog walker you can trust?
You’re not alone.
The process can feel overwhelming—especially when your dog’s safety and well-being are on the line.

👉 Comment WALK below and I’ll DM you a link to my full article.

In my latest “How To” guide, I lay out all of my best tips to help you navigate the search with confidence including:
*How to find a walker who already services your neighborhood
*How to set up accountability without being “that” client
*The quirks you must disclose to keep your dog safe

Whether your dog has specific needs or you’re just looking for peace of mind, this article is packed with actionable advice to help you find the best walker for your dog.

👉 Comment WALK below and I’ll DM you a link to my full article.

And if you’re struggling with your dog’s behavior or training, my Virtual Coaching is here to help. I work with clients worldwide to create calm, confident, and connected relationships with their dogs and the results can be instant. Seriously! DM me to learn more and let's make miracles happen.

28/01/2025

Feeling a little guilty after taking the quiz? 😔

You’re not alone!

*Comment below with what score you got, what I left off the list and which one you had never thought about before.*

Many dog owners want to check all the boxes but don’t know where to start—or how to handle the overwhelm.

That’s where my 4-Session "Learn to Speak Dog" Coaching Package comes in.

In just a few weeks, you’ll understand your dog on a deeper level, find simple, effective solutions for everyday challenges, and feel confident you’re giving your dog the best life possible.

🐾 No more second-guessing or guilt—just clarity, connection, and calm.

Ready to become the dog owner you’ve always wanted to be?
Let’s get started! ✨

www.thenakeddogtraining.com

26/11/2024

The Holiday Hustle: How It Affects Your Dog 🐾

The holidays are here—filled with family, festivities, and maybe a little too much pie 🥧 But while we’re bustling around decorating, hosting, and celebrating, our dogs are often left overwhelmed, confused, and stressed by all the sudden changes in their world.

Does this sound familiar?
➡️ Your dog barks nonstop when guests arrive.
➡️ They beg for food during holiday meals.
➡️ They seem more anxious or reactive than usual.

Here’s the thing: the holidays are as overwhelming for dogs as they are for us.

Loud parties, new people, unfamiliar routines—they all disrupt their sense of safety. And when our lives are spinning out of control, we’re less patient and present for them.

But the good news?
There’s a way to navigate this season with less chaos and more connection.

I’ve written an article sharing simple yet powerful strategies to help your dog stay calm and centered this holiday season—and keep your own stress in check, too. 💡 From creating safe spaces for your dog to tips on managing their energy, you’ll find practical advice that makes the holidays enjoyable for everyone (yes, even your dog!).

👉 Tap the link in my bio to read it now!

✨ Highlights from the article:
1️⃣ How to set boundaries with guests (kindly) to respect your dog’s space.
2️⃣ Fun, easy ways to keep your dog mentally stimulated even when you’re busy.
3️⃣ What to do when your dog’s behavior feels “out of control.”
4️⃣ How staying mindful of your dog’s needs can actually reduce YOUR holiday stress.

Whether you’re a seasoned dog parent or celebrating your first holiday season with a pup, this article is packed with insights to keep things merry and bright. 🌟

Your dog deserves a little peace and joy this season, too. ❤️ Let’s make this the most paw-sitive holiday yet!

25/11/2024

LAST MINUTE OPENING!

Due to a cancellation Vikki has room for one more dog this Thanksgiving.

Don’t have holiday plans for your pup yet?

We have one spot in early December and one over Christmas, too.

With only two dogs in for training your pup will get the same special attention they do any time of year.

For dogs needing socialization, Vikki’s returning boarders are safe, well-behaved and ready to help your dog build confidence & play manners.

Comment “BT” and we will get you the info you need to see if this program is the right choice for your pup.

Poll:
Where will your dog be this holiday season?

16/10/2024

[Comment *CHANGE* to learn how I can help you and your dog!]

One thing that is true of every dog owner I've talked to is that they love their dog and have the best of intentions.

We treat our dogs as kindly and tenderly as we want to be treated.
We accept them.
We make accommodations for them.
We build our life around their limitations.
We bend ourselves into pretzels trying to meet their needs while avoiding their triggers.

So what's the problem?
This isn't what's best for our dogs.

I see a lot of dogs with loving owners who have tried a few things and given up, resigning themselves to the belief that "that's just how they are."

These dogs are loved, but their lives are limited.
And it doesn't have to be that way.

How do I know? Because I made the same mistake with my dog, "accepting" her separation anxiety as part of her breed, part of her personality, just who she was and not HOW she was. I didn't know that if I changed how I treated her, the way she was would change.

I started working with dogs in 2008 and I have helped HUNDREDS of dogs.
Anxious dogs became calm.
Fearful dogs confident.
Dogs that dragged on the leash walk politely.
Dogs with intense pray drive can be off leash and even hang out with cats.
Dogs with reactivity start feeling safe.
Excited dogs learn to keep their s**t together.
Pushy dogs become cooperative teammates.

All dogs are who they are, and I wouldn't want to change that, but just like for people, all personalities exist on a spectrum. We can help your dog be the best version of who they are.

For only $425 you can jump into my Learn To Speak Dog program before the price goes up when my new website is done.
This gets you:
✨4 hour long 1-1 coaching sessions
✨Access to all of my Online Courses
✨Weekly check ins
✨Unlimited support

Instead of devoting time, effort and money to accommodating your dog's shortcomings you could be enjoying life.

The shifts my clients have experienced are astounding - especially those struggling with reactivity. After 2 sessions they are calmly passing other dogs so sessions 3 & 4 we can focus on other things.

It's worth seeing if your dog's life can CHANGE

Comment CHANGE and I will send you more info on this incredible deal

19/08/2024

If you have been considering doing a Board and Train program - why wait?

This is your sign to jump in!

Usually we have a 4-8 week waitlist for a spot in our program, but due to a cancellation we have IMMEDIATE AVAILABILITY, including LABOR DAY WEEKEND.

(As many of you know, the opportunity to sign your dog up for a spot in a high quality program over a major travel holiday is unheard of.)

Not only that - we are also offering a $150 DISCOUNT for owners who sign up now by including our life changing (truly) eCourse for free.

Comment "August" to snag one of these spots before we book up!

Want to know what sets us apart?

The Naked Dog’s Board and Train program...
🐶🐶Takes only TWO dogs at a time
🏡They stay in our trainer Vikki’s home

Over their stay, your dog will:
🛌 Chill on “place” in the living room
🍛 Learn “out” from the kitchen
🚪 Practice “wait” at the front door
🐾 Build loose leash walking skills in different environments
🐕 Get to interact with other dogs at the house, in public, and on the trails
🌊 Learn to swim and get to play in the river
🛍️ Go shopping to practice store manners
🐮 Pass (not so wild) animals on walks
🚶‍♀️Practice "heel" walking and recall on streets & trails

The goal of our Board and Train program is for you to enjoy life with your dog - so we invite your dog into our home instead of having a large group stay in a cement kennel.

We focus on long term success by sending photo and video updates throughout your dog's stay, providing two “go home” sessions, and offering unlimited phone support to ensure the training sticks.

Most importantly, we know dogs learn the most when they are well exercised, comfortable, sleeping well, and having fun, so that is the environment we focus on creating.

Your dog deserves the best.
The best owner.
The best trainer.
The best program.
The best life… and we can help you get there.

Comment “AUGUST” to get in touch and we will answer all your questions about our Board and Train program.

Curious if Board and Train is right for you?
Let's chat!

10/07/2024

K*T radio just called to interview me after an Austin dog was seriously wounded after being bitten by an off-leash pit bull.

Here are some tips to help you prevent bites & what to do if things go wrong:

1. Observe carefully.
Look for s**tty body language like a stiff back, perked ears, raised hackles, a stiff raised tail in a tight wag. If a dog is laser-focused on your dog, it's a red flag. Polite dogs approach slowly, pause, look away, p*e, and sniff. Unfortunately, we often reward dogs for rushing up to us, which can untrain polite behavior.
As a sketch dog approaches, get your dog behind you, and draw the dog's attention to you first.
Trust your gut. Err on caution. Go into "bear attack" mode: raise your arms, stomp, yell "out, back, go" while waving your arms or kicking.

2. Keep greetings short.
Use the 3-second rule: count 1, 2, 3 as dogs start sniffing, then gently interrupt. Tap the leash and ask your dog to take half a step away. Get the other dog's attention by making kissing or shoo sounds, waving your arms, & stepping near the dog. Stay attentive and assume any dog could be aggressive. Your energy must be calm, confident, and quietly assertive. If a dog can't respect subtle cues from you or your dog, that's a red flag. Stand your ground, don't run away.

3. If a greeting turns into an attack/bite:
Yell, wave your arms, kick. Grab the dog's hind legs and use steady pressure to drag them away. You may carry tools, grab a stick, use a water bottle, or -my fav - extra leash. Remember, by getting close you risk getting bitten, but it's worth the risk to save a dog's life.

4. If your dog is the one attacking:
You are the safest person to pull your dog off. Get your dog on leash and 20' away, apologize profusely. Share your contact info and your dog's vaccine history. Cover the other dog's vet bills and CALL A TRAINER IMMEDIATELY. Order a muzzle and condition your dog to wear it. Don't let them greet another dog until meeting with the trainer.

Dog bites happen, but most don't need to.
You have the power to keep your dog safe - just copy me and DGAF what anyone thinks of you for stepping into greetings or telling dogs to F off.

25/06/2024

I’m in love with these 30 minute sessions!

I used to only offer Virtual Coaching in packages that came with all my online courses so I wouldn’t spend our sessions saying “I cover that in lesson 3” etc.

I haven’t been putting energy into marketing my courses or coaching because marketing feels so - ugh - which means people don’t know what I offer and I haven’t been working with as many clients.

There are soooo many trainers out there. I know. And it can be hard to commit to an entire course (especially if you have a feeling what you learn requires you to change your whole dog life).

There are definitely parts of dog training that take a while to explain and address - which is why I love how comprehensive my courses are.

BUT there’s also some parts of making changes with your dog that are Very simple - especially when you have as much experience as I do.

The tips I give are clear, actionable, and set you up for success.

These sessions are perfect for dog owners:
🐶 With a minor annoyance it’s time to iron out
🐶 Who are traveling this summer or struggling with the change in routine
🐶 Who have a great dog with a new challenge
🐶 Ready to address a bigger training challenge like reactivity and who want help figuring out where to start or what kind of trainer to hire
🐶 With a video of a dog interaction or behavior they want some expert eyes to take a look at

I help owners understand what they need to do make what they want clear for their dogs.

I also help dogs communicate to their owners what they need!

You’ll be surprised how easy it is to make changes in your life with your dog that you thought would be impossible.

✨Head over to the link in my bio and grab your Quickie 30 minute Virtual Coaching Session ✨

I promise you will be enthusiastically satisfied with the experience!

23/05/2024

It's okay if your dog doesn't listen!!

They are a dog!
Heck, I'm a human and I don't always listen, even to important information or when someone is asking me to do something that I really want to do.

I think the worst thing about our dogs not listening is how down it makes us.
Like, it feels so personal, right?
It hurts our feelings.
Does our dog love us?
Aren't they grateful?
What are we doing wrong?
Are they bad?
Are we bad?

Your dog is a dog and you are a human and we are all imperfect and the world is full of surprises that set our plans awry and that is life.

So, now that we are all baseline good and doing exactly what we are meant to be doing - how can we make life work?

For me it's about:
Setting up a culture of listening and respect
(this means me listening to my dog, too! Especially when they say they need or don't like something.) It means getting real about what is important to you, what you asked and if you asked clearly, following through, not giving in.

Setting (and remembering) clear boundaries around the house over some non-consequential stuff so that strong listening when asked framework is in place when things are Very consequential.

Not setting a dog up to fail - so moving slowly, testing the various skills around listening in different areas before I take my leash or attention off my dog, not expecting them to listen in any given situation because they did last time or they love me or they "should."

Being willing to be with "what is"
That means no judgement! Whatever we are working with in the moment...
-my short fuse
-my lapse in focus
-how much something else needs my attention
-or the fact that I literally forgot to do the thing that I resolved to make sure to do 10 seconds ago

It's what is!
The sooner I can get to self compassion the better... I rarely make positive changes when I'm beating myself up.
I also need to be with the "what is" in any given moment for my dog and leash them, leave or remind them as needed instead of wishing they were behaving how I wish they would or know they could.

Do dogs listen perfectly to me?
NO!
That's not realistic.

But they listen to me maximum well... that's because I set them up for success and I make changes as needed to meet them, myself and the situation wherever we are at.

Want your dog to listen to you?

Check out my eCourse!! It's the tried and true program that has changed how hundreds of dog owners see, treat and understand their dog.

Not ready to commit?
Comment TOP 3 to get a link to my FREE top three training tips video series.
(I promise you won't get 10000 emails and a hectic sales pitch - I just want to share some great info that you can apply and see results from today!)

12/05/2024

his conversation about language won’t change the closeness you have with your dog!! It may even enhance it.

Do you really think I’d be ruining everyone’s fun if it wasn’t that I really love dogs, I really understand them, I have been watching people interact with dogs for 15 years and I started to pick up on trends and correlations in how dogs were being treated - often in very loving and considerate ways - and problems in their behavior or mental health?

Because we can communicate so well with them and we share so much time, intimacy, love and joy we can forget that dogs aren’t humans. I have noticed that when we see dogs through a human lens and treat them how we imagine they want to be treated, dogs’ quality of life goes down.

Follow along:
-My dog is my baby and I am their parent.
-I tell them I love them all throughout the day, stare at them as my heart swells, and pet them often.
-I want them on the furniture and in the bed because I want them to be maximum comfortable and love when they are close to me, especially touching.
-Because I love my dog so much I excuse a lot of their bad behaviors. I don’t want to make them feel bad, I don’t want to have a hard moment, overall they are so wonderful, and don’t we all have issues?
-I am getting my relational, love and physical needs met through my dog. I don’t want our relationship to change even though I have the sense that I am the cause of some of their problems.
-I hire a trainer who tells me that I need to make changes that introduce some separation - dogs off the bed, less petting - it feels like I’m taking my love away and losing the love that is really the whole reason I got a dog.
-The behavior gets bad enough and I NEED to make changes. I find that I feel very anxious without my dog to focus on. Without an active and very overt flow of loving behaviors between us I feel all the feelings I was using that relationship to keep at bay. It sucks.
-I don’t stick with the training for long enough for it to be effective, claim that it didn’t work and love my dog unconditionally, meaning I accommodate their behavior issues instead of continuing to try and resolve them.

This isn’t loving and it isn’t being a good parent. And I didn’t know this, realize I was doing this or do anything about this until my hand was forced and my sweet little Harley was about to get banned from being around the dogs I worked with because of her unresolved fear based reactivity.

Now, SOME of you may be very advanced and able to call yourself a “pet parent” and your dog a “fur baby” without it affecting your ability to see and treat them like a dog. This post isn’t for that 1% of dog owners. It is for the people like me who got a dog, did a little research, thought they knew what they were doing, and also low key knew that they were using their dog to fill some relational and emotional holes.

What’s your dog’s “BUT”?
If your dog is amazing, this post isn’t for you. Not amazing as a being, but amazingly behaved.
Ask your friends to give you real feedback.
Ask your dog walker, neighbors and family.
Take a real look at your dog and write a pro and con list for them so you can evaluate their behavior.

What is the behavior that you accept, deny, overlook or accommodate?
Whatever the issue, the relationship between dog and owner is almost ALWAYS part of the solution.

13/02/2024

Most dog owners show their dog love in human ways:
Telling them with words
Lavishing them with touch
Staring with adoring gaze or
Showing them by letting them have their way...
But what if that isn't what dogs really need to have good lives and feel loved?

Many huge-hearted dog owners who joyfully meet their dog’s desires aren’t necessarily meeting their dog’s needs.

Meeting our dogs’ needs can mean that we have to disappoint or frustrate them in the moment for their greater good.

It can mean giving up on something you enjoy, but don’t need so that you can afford a trainer to help you have the life you & your dog deserve, or a dog walker, or a higher quality food.

It can mean waking up an hour earlier to get your dog the extra exercise they need before being left home alone or taken out to burn off energy before taking on a challenge that day.

Love can mean setting boundaries, like keeping them off the furniture or cutting back on how much they get to sniff on walks that are increasingly becoming more unmanageable.

Love, in my experience with my dog, deep love, real love, the meatiest, juiciest, 'change who you are down to your soul' love, didn’t looked the way I thought it would. It wasn’t about me getting the affection I wanted or giving my dog whatever she wanted.

Instead it was when I was giving up some things I wanted to give her what she needed.
It was becoming who she needed me to be to help her feel safe.

I made a lot of the mistakes on these lists myself - and I studied dog training before I got my dog!
How to love dogs is something I learned over many years & what I want to share with you so your dog can have what you want - the best possible life.

If loving dogs was easy and if everyone knew how to do it, we wouldn’t see dogs with the problems they are having today.

Let’s change the way we our dogs.
Let’s change the way we see love.

Let’s do better for them because they deserve it, because after they go we will want to know we did everything we could for them, even if it wasn’t what we wanted it to be.

06/01/2024

“Good” is measured by how agreeable you are when you aren’t getting what you want.

So, how good is your dog?

Comment “ TIPS” to get my Monthly “Nude Letter” delivered straight to your inbox by signing up today!

Monday	09:00 - 21:00
Tuesday	09:00 - 21:00
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Friday	09:00 - 21:00
Saturday	09:00 - 21:00
Sunday	09:00 - 21:00

The Naked Dog

07/03/2025

28/01/2025

26/11/2024

25/11/2024

16/10/2024

19/08/2024

10/07/2024

25/06/2024

23/05/2024

12/05/2024

13/02/2024

06/01/2024

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