Free + Balanced Dog Training Blog

Let’s face it: having a reactive dog can feel like being a contestant on a reality show called “Who’s That Barking?” One minute, you’re enjoying a lovely walk in the park, and the next, your pup is channeling their inner superhero, ready to protect you from that terrifying squirrel or, heaven forbid, another dog who dares to invade their personal space. But fear not, my fellow dog warriors! Today, we’re diving into the wonderful world of muzzle training—because a little extra safety never hurt anyone (unless, of course, you’re that squirrel).

Why Muzzle Train Your Reactive Dog?

First off, let’s address the elephant (or the overly enthusiastic pooch) in the room. Muzzles can be a game-changer for reactive dogs, offering both safety and peace of mind. Here’s why you might want to consider it:

1. Safety First: If your dog’s reaction to other dogs or stimuli includes a bit too much enthusiasm (barking, lunging, or even snapping), a muzzle can help prevent any unfortunate encounters. It’s like a seatbelt for your dog—just because they’re restrained doesn’t mean they can’t enjoy the ride!
2. Freedom to Explore: With a muzzle, you can take your dog to places that once felt off-limits. Imagine strolling through the farmer’s market or enjoying a sunny day at the park without the constant fear of “Will they be the one to start the drama?” A muzzle can help turn those nightmares into a dreamy adventure.
3. Training Tool: Muzzle training can be a fantastic way to desensitize your dog to their triggers. It’s like introducing them to a new toy—one they can chew on without any risk of it breaking. Over time, wearing the muzzle can become a positive experience for them, leading to less reactive behavior.
4. Less Stress for You: Knowing your dog is secure and can’t cause harm to others (or themselves) will take a load off your shoulders. Think of it as giving yourself permission to breathe while you walk—literally.

When Should Your Dog Wear a Muzzle?

Now that we’re all aboard the muzzle train, let’s talk about when it’s appropriate for your pup to don this stylish accessory. (Yes, muzzles can be chic if you choose wisely!)

1. Busy Public Places: Think of places like dog parks, crowded streets, or community events. If you know your dog can get overwhelmed or reactive, a muzzle is a smart choice. It’s not just for your peace of mind; it’s also a kindness to others who might not appreciate the sudden. Regardless of how long you have been training them to be able to handle more tight and busy locations, having a muzzle on will ensure everyone's safety if your dog does have a moment of regression, which is completely normal.
2. Vet Visits or Grooming: If your dog tends to express their discomfort through a bit of nipping or growling when they’re getting poked and prodded, a muzzle can help make these necessary outings less stressful for everyone involved as you continue their desensitization work with your vet office.
3. Training Sessions: While you’re working on building up your dog’s confidence and skills, using a muzzle during training can help you both focus without the fear of mishaps. Plus, it can set the stage for success as you work through triggers together.
4. At Home During High-Stress Situations: If you’re having a gathering and anticipate potential triggers (doorbells, loud noises, that one uncle who loves to wear hats), consider having your dog wear a muzzle. It keeps everyone safe and allows your pup to feel more secure in their own territory.
5. At Home When Nothing Is Happening: If you’re only putting the muzzle on during specific situations, your dog will start to anticipate those specific situations and start to dislike the muzzle since its now the first step towards them doing things that are uncomfortable for them. So make sure to mix things up and have your dog wear the muzzle during times of fun and relaxation, not just for training and tough situations.

Muzzle Training: The Road to Confidence

Now that you’re convinced that muzzles are the new black, let’s talk about how to train your dog to wear one without the drama. Start slow—like introducing a new flavor of peanut butter, you don’t want to overwhelm them.

1. Introduce the Muzzle Gradually: Let your dog sniff it, explore it, and eventually wear it for short periods while doing something they love. Treats and praise are your best friends here—use them liberally.
2. Short Sessions: Start with just a few minutes at a time, gradually increasing the duration as they become more comfortable. You wouldn’t want to throw them into the deep end without a life vest!
3. Pair It with Positive Experiences: Take walks in the muzzle, play games, or offer tasty treats. The more fun your dog associates with the muzzle, the less they’ll see it as a punishment or something to fear.
4. Be Patient: Training takes time. Celebrate small victories along the way, and remember that every dog is different. You’re in this together, and your patience will pay off.

Final Thoughts

Having a reactive dog is not a reflection of your abilities as a pet owner; it’s simply part of the unique journey you share with your furry friend. Muzzle training is about safety, confidence, and giving you both the freedom to explore the world together. So don’t shy away from the muzzle—embrace it!

With a dash of humor, a sprinkle of patience, and a commitment to training, you and your pup can navigate life’s challenges with a little more grace (and a lot less barking). So gear up, strap on that muzzle, and get ready to take on the world—because together, you’ve got this!

Advocate

[verb ad-vah-keyt]

Verb, ad-vo-cat-ed, ad-vo-cat-ing

1. To speak or write in favor of; support or urge by argument; recommend publicly
2. To act as an advocate

Thanks, dictionary.com.

But what does it really mean to advocate for your dog?

It means protecting your dog from anything that could hurt them, whether that's other animals or people. It means using your voice to stand up for your dog - because dogs can't speak up for themselves. It means having their back at all times, you're their ride or die. 

Before you can be a true advocate for your dog, you have to be able to identify when your dog feels uncomfortable. 

 Then, you have to figure out why they're not cool with the situation and how you can make things better (or when to just walk away).

Learn to Read Your Dog's Body Language

One of many amazing things about being a dog owner is that it's hard to fool us. Not because we're super smart. I mean, we are. But it helps that dogs suck at hiding their feelings. Master manipulators, they are not.

Dogs do vocalize, but the easiest way to tell if your dog is stressed or flat-out panicking is by observing its behavior. Trust and believe - they will tell you when something is wrong.

Stressed out dogs can lash out with aggression, act erratically, and even completely forget every obedience cue that they've learned. Stressed dogs don't know how to act, so they react on instinct and that's never good. 

It could mean breaking away to flee, it could mean biting in fear… or it could just cause emotional wounds that are hard to see and even harder to heal.

Some of the most common signs of extreme stress in dogs include:

Plus panting, trembling, scratching, furrowed brows, tail between the legs… the list goes on. 

Some breeds may exhibit stress differently, and some physical characteristics may make the signs less clear. Dog behaviorists, trainers, and veterinarians are all great resources for helping humans understand their dog's language.

Learn to Read the Room

Things can go haywire anywhere, but there are a few places where tension goes from 0-60 lickety split. Play the tape in advance. By going through various scenarios before they happen, you'll be able to handle them like a pro. 

No one needs to know you're also stressed out. (Seriously. No one. Keep your cool, because dogs can read our body language, too. Fake it and you'll both make it.)

At Home

Home is your dog's happy place. Let's keep it that way, shall we? Think twice before inviting new people into your home and doing what they want with your dog.

Especially children. The little rugrats can be fun, but they often don't know how to behave. Unwanted hugs, funny games that are definitely not funny to most dogs, and shrill laughter can grate on the nerves of the most zen-like dogs.

Same goes for your friend who just got a new pup. The two will likely become fast friends in time, but inviting an interloper into your dog's small indoor space and letting them do whatever they want may not be the cute meet you were hoping for. Puppies can be annoying, it's okay to admit it and a lot of grown dogs don't know how to teach pups boundaries in a way that won't traumatize the pup and leave you questioning if your dog is a good fit for your home anymore.

Having guests over is supposed to be fun for all but sometimes dogs don't thinks so at first so it's okay to insist on some house rules with your guests. No antagonizing the dog. No rough play, slipping snacks, howling like a fool, or encouraging other behaviors you've worked hard to redirect. 

You know what your dog needs and what they like from guests and what they don't like. Now is the time to advocate for your pet by making the rules clear for everyone.

At the Vet's Office

The veterinarian's office can trigger major panic attacks in many dogs. For one, they go when they're sick. Or getting a shot. Or otherwise experiencing shit that just isn't fun. What can you do?

For starters, find a vet with a bedside manner that puts your pup at ease. But you can also scope out the waiting room before bringing your dog inside. (Sometimes my dogs stay in the car till we can go in the exam room)

Make sure there's plenty of room for personal space. Bring a toy or high value treats to distract your pup from other pets. Dude, your dog is not the only one that hates the vet. Waiting rooms can be full of negative energy even if the vet is the coolest.

If your pup's a little wiggle worm that just won't sit still or stay put, the vet tech may need to gently restrain them. If you know your dog isn't comfortable being handled by practical strangers, it's okay to ask to take on that role. 

Your dog will feel much more at ease with you by their side. You're the protector, and your dog will know there's nothing to fear.

In Public Places

Consider potential triggers when out and about. Crowded sidewalks can feel overwhelming. 

You may be tempted to get evening walks out of the way. Consider your dog's reaction to crowded spaces, and choose the road less traveled. If walking off-hours feels safe, it may be better for your pup's mental health to wait until the crowds thin out.

The best thing about advocating for your dog in public places is that most of these situations are easy to avoid. 

 In cases like these…

Know When to Hold 'Em and When to GO

No matter what's happening in the room, you're the adult here. So, it's your job to (wo)man up and keep things cool. 

If the room still feels too hot to handle, then the best way to be there for your dog is usually to walk away. Keeping your dog safe - both physically and emotionally - should always be priority numero uno.

 First off let's talk about space and what it means to a dog.

Space is how a dog communicates to other dogs, animals and people (even though we may not understand it.)

They might want distance from something or to possess something. Closing the spacial gap or creating more of it will communicate that to everyone around them. 

Dogs are constantly in and out of each others space and using it to tell the other what they want and how they are feeling. If closing the gap or creating more space doesn't get their point through, there will be other signs of communication.

I NEED SPACE!

I had an awesome session with my clients new dog and got see how she responded to being at a dog park. She was not interested and very uncomfortable with the other dog in her space. Her communication was so clear if you know what you are looking at. 

✨ The first photo, she pins her ears back and turns her head away from the dog who was trying to stick his nose in her face which is a very rude first introduction. 

THE LESSON IN ACTION:

One of the ways you can use this knowledge about space is to communicate back to your dog by owning the space around you and giving your dog space so they can trust in your ability to respect their boundaries just like you want them to respect yours. 

You can achive this by…

Stepping in towards them till they move away

Pairing a back up cue with food tossed behind them

Putting a leash on them and using that to get them to move and then rewarding them with food or a toy

A second way is to move things away from them that they don't want in their space like other animals or people. You can accomplish the same as above unless the other animal is not yours, at that point you can either carry a backup slip leash for them, use canned air to scare them off or get their owner to move them.

Get these little techniques down and watch your dogs understanding of what you want go from huh???? to OHHHHHH I get you now!!!

Training your dog to walk nicely next to you is one of the most fundamental and rewarding aspects of dog ownership. It not only ensures your walks are enjoyable but also reinforces a positive bond between you and your pup. One common and effective method to teach this behavior is through the use of food rewards. However, an equally important aspect of this training is knowing when and how to fade those rewards.

Here’s why fading food rewards is crucial in teaching your dog to walk politely at your side.

Food rewards are powerful motivators that can help capture your dog’s attention and reinforce desired behaviors. When starting out, using treats is an excellent way to encourage your dog to stay close to you. By rewarding your dog consistently for walking beside you, they quickly learn that staying near you is beneficial.

This initial phase is all about creating a strong association between the behavior (walking nicely) and the reward (food).

Why Fading Food Rewards is Necessary

1. Preventing Dependency on Treats: If you always rely on food rewards, your dog may become dependent on them. They might only walk nicely when they see a treat in your hand or hear the crinkle of your pouch. This dependency can make it challenging to transition to a treat-free walk.
2. Encouraging Consistent Behavior: Dogs need to understand that good behavior is expected consistently, not just when a reward is in sight. By fading treats, you teach your dog to maintain good behavior regardless of immediate rewards. There is still hope dog getting a reward eventually, the when is just not predictable. 
3. Practicality and Health: Carrying treats on every walk can be impractical sometimes. Although I always encourage bringing treats or their meals every time, I know we are all busy and sometimes it gets forgotten. Cutting back on the constant rewards also helps your dog not gain excessive weight, especially if they struggle with eating their meals instead of high values foods during the walk. 

How to Fade Food Rewards Effectively

1. Increase the Time Between Rewards: Start by increasing the intervals between treats. If you’ve been rewarding every step, shift to rewarding every few steps, then every few minutes. This gradual reduction helps your dog transition smoothly.
2. Introduce Variable Rewards: Instead of giving a treat every time, vary the rewards. Sometimes offer a treat, other times give praise or a toy. This keeps your dog engaged and less likely to expect a treat every time.
3. Use Life Rewards: Incorporate real-life rewards such as letting your dog sniff around, play, or continue walking. These activities can be just as rewarding as food.
4. Reward After the Walk: Gradually shift to rewarding your dog at the end of the walk instead of during. This helps them understand that walking nicely will lead to a reward, even if it's delayed.
5. Praise and Affection: Don’t underestimate the power of verbal praise and petting. Dogs respond well to positive reinforcement through your tone and touch, which might eventually replace the need for food rewards depending on the dog.

Monitoring Progress and Adjusting

As you fade food rewards, keep an eye on your dog’s behavior. If they start to regress, it might mean you’re moving too quickly. Adjust the pace according to their progress, ensuring that the transition is smooth and stress-free for your dog.

Conclusion

Fading food rewards is a critical step in training your dog to walk nicely next to you. It helps prevent dependency on treats, encourages consistent behavior, and maintains practicality and health. By following a structured approach to gradually reduce food rewards, you ensure that your dog understands the importance of good behavior, leading to a more enjoyable and harmonious walking experience for both of you. Remember, patience and consistency are key to successful training, and your efforts will pay off with a well-behaved and happy fur-companion

Not preventing your dog from practicing unwanted behaviors, adds more work to your training process once you get started

Adding in training right away is a normal thing a lot of owners do, but everyone skips on the prevention part so although your dog is learning something new, they are still practicing the behaviors you don't want

This is why they still struggle to stop barking quickly after you tell them to stop, or are destructive when you leave the house or room. This is why they can't stop being reactive on the walks even though you are exercising them and teaching things like sitting and focus on you around their triggers

Even though it feels hard right now to get the training to stick, you are on the right path. But teaching without prevention is not going to get you as far as you would like. 

Time to refocus on ways you can prevent their unwanted behavior instead of just teaching them new ones

One of my main habits is sticking my hands in my pockets to get ready to grab a piece of food quickly while training.

The reason it’s not something you want to be in the habit of is because dogs will use that as a cue instead of listening to your words or making choices on their own.

If you want your dog to truly understand a word or if you want them to choose you over everything else when they are not expecting a reward, make sure you get rid of as many body cues as possible, including sticking your hands in your pocket or treat pouch before the dog has done what you are wanting them to do.

Unless you always walk around with hands in your pockets, this will become a very hard cue to get rid of for your dog,

Prep, prep, prep!

first and foremost, if your just trying to get out the door, you may be missing a huge training moment that will help you have a more relaxed and engaged walk.

Prep your time so you have enough of it to help your dog calm down before the walk even starts.

Don't just throw the leash on and walk out the door with your dog dragging you out after them. Slow them down and get them sit still to put the leash on. If they cant do that, ask them to sit and if they get up, you move the leash away and wait till they sit still again.

When you open the door and they move forward, close the door and wait for them to back up or sit. You can even toss a treat behind them to get them away from the door. Rinse and repeat till you can fully open the door and walk out with out them dragging you out.

Once on your walk, let your dog sniff. Give them the full length of the leash but stop moving or circle around when your dog pulls. You should only be moving forward if your leash is loose. Letting them sniff is usually a calming activity unless they are moving frantically. Frantic moving is not calm so I will stay in the same area, getting my dog to sniff and not pull till I see their movements become less chaotic.

In the beginning of this new routine, all your time planned for this walk may be used up before you reach your neighbors house, that's ok though. If you stick to this every time you go to walk, your dog will get calmer and calmer faster each time. By the end of the week you will have a calm dog from the start and an easier walk you both enjoy going on.

That being said, every dog is so different so if this does not work for you after a week, reach out and we can help you problem solve with your individual dog.

Preventing your dog from sniffing on walks doesn't make your dog want to sniff less and in fact, it can make them want to sniff more. The more access to something a dog has, the less valuable it will be. In the case of sniffing, your dog wont fully be able to give it up because its so natural for them and is how they intake information about the world but what it will do is lower the constant fight on the leash to get to the smell because they know they will get to it at some point.

During the walk you do still want to make sure your dog maintains a slack leash and doesn't drag you around. That type of behavior can lead to a dog getting more amped up instead of calm which is what sniffing does for our dogs. We want our walks to be enjoyable for all involved. For our dogs, sniffing is a calming behavior. Serotonin is released in the brain during a long calm walk which helps keep our dogs relaxed throughout the day along with the physical movement.

If your dog struggles with reactivity, sniffing on a slack leash will help keep your dog in a thinking state of mind so they don't flip as easily into the reactive state of mind like they would if they were pulling on the leash and darting from one side of you to the other.

If your dog is not a sniffer then I would get them more invested in the ground by scattering their favorite treats in the grass. If you make this a daily habit, your dog will start automatically start sniffing around in the grass, at that point I will reward them by hand or give lots of verbal praise before moving on to another area on the walk.

Instinctually we know what the right answers are for ourselves, but life and time has taught us to not trust that voice and so we look to others for validation or come up with excuses for why that initial instinct is wrong.

The first step to trusting your own judgment is to stop trying to impress others or worry about what they will think if you do X Y or Z.

Making choices and changing your life’s norm is hard enough so stop thinking of others when you should be thinking of yourself.

I know that sounds selfish but it’s your life and no one else’s. No one else is going to be raising your kids or living with your dog. No one else is paying your bills or knows what places your want to vacation at.

Once you can stop the people pleasing, or putting others up higher than yourself, then you can authentically bring your whole self to the present moment, and you know who’s going to notice that change right away? Your dog!

Dogs don’t care about what others think and they do what they feel is right in the moment, which sometimes means not follow your direction because it’s not coming from a place of authenticity, it’s coming from anxiety, fear or frustration.

Your dog wants to see the real you and have a leader they can trust so be more present and stop worrying about what other people think about how you choose to live with your dog or train your dog.

A lot of people have a fenced yard for their dogs but still struggle to wear them out and bring them to a happy, balanced and fulfilled mindset. It ends up becoming a easy place to send our dogs to make us feel like they are fulfilled, especially if it’s a large backyard. Then what ends up happening is that our dogs start to dig, obsessively bark or fence fight and so we turn to finding ways to correct them for those behaviors instead of getting to the deeper root cause.

I am so guilty of doing this with my dogs. I had almost two acres and half was available to the dogs for a while till I got tired of picking up their mess in that much space and I couldn’t correct Chance when he would bark non stop at whatever it was he thought he was seeing. I have been learning a lot about what naturally puts dogs in a more calm state of mind and leaving them to roam mindlessly in the same area multiple times a day is not one of them.

They need guidance and leadership from their human, explore using their nose first then eyes and ears and completing task as a pack.

Some dogs need more physical outlets than others but all dogs need what I just described above and the cool thing is, you can use your fenced yard for a lot of this. In your yard you can teach or practice agility, obedience and duration work. You can simulate a hunt together by walking the perimeter at their first and last potty times. Show them what to sniff or where “prey” might be hiding. If your dog loves to chase toys or play tug, you can add obedience tasks to make it more challenging which gives them a full body and brain work out.



Exposing your dog to more places is very much my recommendation if you want to fully fulfill their needs because you will be together and you strengthen the trust and relationship by guiding them in all areas and contexts of their life. Dogs migrate and explore naturally so it doesn’t make sense to keep them confined to just your home and yard but I know sometimes it’s hard to take dogs out when they are reactive or drag you around everywhere. If that your current struggle and it’s easier to just keep them home, I encourage you to just start for 5 minutes somewhere new. Start with practicing something you have taught at home then build it up from there.

One of the hardest things about working with the dogs, is having to explain to their owners about how their emotions, reactions, frustrations and disengagement is effecting their dogs mental state.

Talking about it to them makes me feel like I’m blaming them and judging them and like so many people, that criticism feels like a negative thing.

But deep down I know telling the truth of a situation is better than letting someone continue on the same path and never actually working on the core issues.

We all get anxious, distracted, frustrated and struggle emotionally at some point in our lives. We are human and there’s nothing wrong with that.

Pinpointing our triggers and being able to step back while we are anxious, reactive or frustrated is a practice that will help us in the moments where we see our dog struggling.

It’s a practice that helps us in many other aspects of our lives too.

As dog trainers, a majority of what we do is coaching the owners through how to make their dogs behaviors better and that means having those hard conversations about their habits and patterns.

Learning how to speak to others and not offend anyone is a big part of my practice. I aim to always improve on my communication skills and remain compassionate about what they are going through. This is a responsibility I enjoy having and growing from.

Taking care of our own physical and emotional needs must come first if we want to make real progress on any area of our lives, especially with our dogs who need our guidance through this human world.

Reaching them and bettering their reactions starts with us bettering our own reactions and leading by example.

When I was 22 I bought my first house. It was a two story “Detached Condo” which means it has no other living establishments touching it and it has its own back yard even though the other surrounding houses are very close together. Because it had its own fenced in back yard and it was my first house payment which means its mine and permanent, it was time to  get my own dog. So off to the nearest shelter I went to find a dog. I left that day with the black dog that was in the main waiting room because he had just been returned and was very sad about it. His name was Chance, he was a 2.5 year old Shar-pei, lab, rottweiler mix and he gave my 2.5 year old daughter the sweetest most gentle kisses.

Chance was a decent walker, loved other dogs and people and didn't chew things up. I started taking Chance to the dog park every few days that was two minutes from my house. He did great, just wanted to greet the other dogs, sniff butts and go mark the park up for 20 minutes before I decided we had enough & went home.

Six months after I got Chance, my boyfriend moved in and wanted to get a Weimaraner  puppy so that's what we did. She was beautiful, sweet and super playful. She and Chance got along great. After we followed the vets recommended amount of time before socializing Booma, we started taking her to the dog park too. After a few visits, we started to see a different reaction to the other dogs compared to Chances happy go lucky attitude. Booma was terrified. She used me and my boyfriend as blockers, ran away in fear and rarely tried to play. Every other owner said to keep making her go so we followed the advice. When Booma was 6 months old, a neighborhood dog got loose from the little girl that was allowed to walk this beast of a dog alone. He ran up into my garage and started a fight with Chance who had just got out of our pickup tuck. Booma was there circling Chance and the dog not knowing what to do as I had this things leash and was trying to control it as the little girl is screaming and crying in the middle of the street. Booma ended up being bitten on her back, the owners finally showed up and got their dog with no offer of apologies or care if everyone was ok and I managed to get shaken Booma and care free.

Chance who was off in someone else yard doing his business, back home. Between that incident, us forcing her to the dog park and a day at the dog park with two blood hounds that were all up in her face loudly howling and barking, Booma finally starting taking her safety into her own hands and began going after any dog that showed any interest in her at the dog park or on the street. I tried taking food and treats with to add a positive spin and kept her on leash with me so she could bolt towards the other dogs. Both those ideas seemed to make it worse because the food brought the other dogs to me, if i dropped food, which happened a few times, those poor dogs got attacked for going after it. I think the leash caused more anger because she was stuck around the dogs she was scared of. I was following advice from people with dogs who meant well but it all made things worse so I eventually gave up.

What I know now about my Booma girl is that she is sensitive to high energy dogs and nervous dogs. She needs slow introductions, not fast paced meet and greets. If she gets body slammed shes going to be very mad. But she is actually interested in being in the company of other dogs who respect her space and can just co exist. I have her set up in my main room with all my board and trains and boarding dogs. She passes them with ease even if they look at her with bad intentions. Booma is not a dog park dog. She is a TV and chill dog. lets all go for a long walk or car ride. Chance was my dog park dog. He loved it and avoided all confrontation. He didnt take it personal if a dog snapped at him, he just walked away & went to the next dog.

When clients want to know if they should take their dog to a dog park, I tell them its up to your particular dog. If you have a nervous, scared dog, don't go in with crazy pushy dogs that will ignore the body signals and just rush into their space. Or I tell them to find out more about their dogs social personality by have play dates with known dogs they trust and with owners who are willing to control their dog if they end up playing too rough or ignoring the signs. And same goes for having an overly confident dog who is pushy and controlling of space. There are dogs out there purposefully looking to start fights, maybe that is your dog and going to a park filled with strange dogs who might not be afraid to fight back, might be a bad idea. There are so many good social groups you can join that do controlled play dates, pack walks and off leash adventures. Dog parks started as a great idea to help dogs and owners connect and give dogs a chance to be around other dogs in a safe place but most of us don't know whats actually happening during a dog conversation because we haven’t learned their language yet. Even when we do our homework, subtle moments can be missed and dog fights can still happen.

Another thing to think about is the cleanliness of the park itself. Maybe bring your own bowls and water so your dog doesn’t risk catching something at the park and never allow puddle drinking.

I'm not against dog parks on a whole like some trainers but I think its really wise to study your dog first and avoid that type of stress as much as possible till you know your dog can actually handle any personality that arrives that day. And when a fight does happen, you both will need to be able to recover and move past it very quickly. If you stay in that adrenaline state or feel sorry for your dog, those feelings could fester into fear or anxiety towards other dogs or the breed of dog that the fight was with or even with that location. Not every dog or owner is meant for that stress so be honest with your self about the dog you have, what you can actually handle and use that knowledge to find other ways to connect and socialize them.

Build trust and respect by following through with your request.

Teach fairly before demanding.

A kind request goes farther when they know how to give you what you want.

Keep their minds active and challenged.

Make space for them to be the type of dog they were made to be.

Stick up for them when another dog or human is invading their space too much.

Set the daily rhythm so they know what to expect that day become relevant to your dog so they want to listen and follow the rules.

So when a rough situation comes up, they don’t just react from impulse but look to you for guidance first so they can feel more comfortable in their own skin.

This Pressure both positive and negative is actually really good for a dogs growth. 

It’s really good for our own growth. If I want to get something done that’s really important to me I have to put pressure on myself and say sit down and do this right now. 

For example I really want to get good at creating videos and editing to make them look really good. If I don’t pressure myself every single day to sit down for 15 minutes a day and learn how to do it, then I’m not going to do it. It’s been really frustrating for me to learn until I found the correct videos on YouTube and I started practicing on my computer with the videos that I’ve already recorded. I’ve had to take baby steps and succeed at one little thing at a time before I finally started wanting to do it more often and got less frustrated. By adding that little bit of pressure on myself at the beginning to just sit down in front of my computer is what got me to eventually learn to like the learning process and succeed at editing a video. 

When I get a new dog in to train there’s a little bit of pressure on the dog to hang out with me in the room. If it’s a naturally skittish and scared dog them just being in the same room as me is a ton of pressure on them. When being in the room with all that pressure starts to get them a reward such as food, their perception of what the pressure means could change dramatically. It could start out as a negative because they’re scared of me and I’m in the same room as them but by adding something that they enjoy such as food they see the pressure of me being in the room as a positive. But if I don’t put the pressure on them in the first place and I stay out of the room we would never get to that reward and the dog would still be stuck being afraid of me. If I started putting to much pressure on the dog it could definitely get worse. I could instantly go and start talking to the dog with the squealing voice and a handful of food that I’m putting in their face but that amount of pressure too soon is going to add more failure to the dog then success. 

The dog can’t handle me being in the room let alone speaking to them in the sweetest voice with the best smelling food, so why am I going to put that much pressure on him? People think that because their intentions are to become friends with the dog it’s ok and what the dog needs.  They don’t understand the concept of pressure. 

When I’m adding a negative pressure such as engaging the prong collar when they pull at the end of the leash, the feeling becomes uncomfortable but if I release the pressure as soon as they step into it, they understand they have control to turn it off. 

If I didn’t add this negative pressure they wouldn't understand how to get out of a situation that’s uncomfortable. It’s a very important lesson for the dog.

For us humans, the pressure of a police siren right behind us, triggers us to pull over. Once we are pulled over the siren will shut off. The cop had to add that negative pressure to get us to pull over, weather it was to drive past us or give us a speeding ticket, the cop needed that pressure to communicate to us.

So let’s start looking into this pressure concept more and understand how we need both positive and negative pressure for personal growth as well as growth with our dogs

Can dogs hold grudges? They sure can!

Remember that time the neighbors dog ran up to your dog and bit it for no reason?

Or when your older dog was being a jerk to your new puppy?

What about at dinner the other day when one of your dogs pushed the other one out of the way while you were petting it and sitting at the dinner table?

There was also that time during fetch where one dog took the ball from the others mouth.

These are all daily situations where grudges start to build between dogs. We unknowingly miss the signs and tension grows.

Ive been there before with my own dogs.

Booma always ran up to Chance while he was in his bed just minding his own business. He was 3 years older than Booma and had a calmer personality too. It bugged him that she always got in his face and stood over the top of him. If he tried to move or gave a small sound of disapproval, Booma would attack him and then there was a huge fight leaving chance shaken and injured. It started happening a lot more offten too because even though chance was a more mellow dog, he wouldn't stop protesting Booma being a jerk. I cant recall any tension before Booma came into her first year as an adult dog, but there could have been, i didn't know anything about how to live with dogs or about their body cues.

Thankfully the grudge Chance had for Booma dissipated after I started learning more and structuring both of them.

They learned to listen to my commands, were held accountable for their bad decisions and after some time, chance felt safe and more comfortable with Booma being around.

Sometimes there's no  big signs of a grudge building up like in my beginning  examples. Dogs could be giving the stink eye or tense body language as they pass by each other. Some times when they push too much of their amped up energy at each other,  the other dog can take it in a negative or threatening way.

Learning more about your dogs body cues, watching multiple dogs interactions very carefully to make sure everyone feels good about the others, interrupting firmly for cruddy looks and behaviors, not allowing dogs to steal from each other or push the other around physically will help prevent tons of possible issues down the road.

Grudges between dogs do exist and having fighting dogs can be so stressful and emotionally draining. Be your dogs protector even if its from your other dog!

I have been at my corporate job for almost 12 years, this August. At first I believed this was going to be my whole life until I retired. My family taught me to be good with money and save for retirement so I can have the best life after 30 years of hard work.

I’m glad I listened to their propaganda at that age. I met awesome people, became more social and confident, had enough money for a house, found my husband here, had 3 wonderful kids that are financially cared for and finally discovered that I want more for my life.

I work on moving lines and production areas. It’s good honest work but it’s just a job. It’s a profitable business but in the emotional aspect of life, i don’t feel like I’m making a difference working here. Every day is the same and every part is the same. It takes 1 or 2 days to train someone on this job. I can be replaced by anyone here and now I have hit my expiration date. 

When I found dog training 4 years ago, I became obsessed with how good I felt doing it. It was challenging and I started seeing results with dogs and then their owners. 

It’s been changing so much of my own mindsets along the way. I’m really having to pull up every strength I have in order to pursue what sometimes feels like a hopeless dream. I’m fighting off issues with scarcity of money and self worth as they rise up to detour my efforts.

It’s been a tough road and I’m still scared to death when I think of how much I’m shaking my world up by pursuing this business dream. My life is so easy here, I really don’t have to put much effort or thought into it. If I stay, I know I will never be as fulfilled as I could be by doing work that I love and feel truly connected to. 

I think more and more people are seeing this norm as outdated. They see the negative effects of being dominated by a large corporate company and are tired of just feeling like numbers and not being appreciated for their individual contributions. Our creative and diversified thoughts are not being cultivated here.

We are not encouraged to grow and use these skills that could lead us to the next big idea that helps push our world into a better reality.

So this is my peaceful revolution.

I am stepping away from the safe life that I’ve known for 12 years, and into chaos where my individual self and flourish.

Look for your own ways of peacefully revolting against the messages and way of living they we have been taught to follow. Find and think as an individual and not just a collective. Live and cultivate the life you want.

I want to cultivate a permissive dog because the absence of options relieves the mind and leaves room for learning sociably acceptable behavior.

When dogs are amped up, used to living a free lifestyle with no rules and lots of options, they tend to make a lot of mistakes and bad decisions.

I’ve also noticed too many options start to overwhelm them and they develop a lot of anxiety throughout their day.

The first part of my program focuses on eliminating all the options by taking their leash and teaching them to follow my lead.

Teaching a dog to sit every time I stop, go to place when I say place, stay there till I get them off, puts them into a mindset of trust and respect for their handler and environment.

Without the option of running to the front door when the doorbell rings, our dogs learn to watch the door open and people come in without worrying about what to do.

For a lot of dogs, it takes the option of biting people out of protection or fear away from them. He can’t practice that terrible behavior when he gets protective or scared if he is on place. Instead he gets patterned to just sit back, mind his own business and relax.

The second part of the program is correcting the bad behaviors like breaking place command when the door bell rings.

Once these two halves are practiced enough, you get to start loosening up and see what you get. I don’t want my dogs to only be in a state of looking at me to make sure they are doing the right thing.
I actually want them to start using the new knowledge to help navigate through real world situations. I want them to be walking through the house and see the neighbor walk by the front window, will they start barking and rush the window or will they make a better choice? Maybe one little bark escapes, I say NO and they stop and choose to go do something else.

I’m looking for respect of the rules and my leadership, not a robot. The only way to get that is by eliminating options, correcting none compliance and tons of real world practice.

If someone tries to tell you that your not skilled enough to do certain things, are you really going listen to them?

I'm going to tell you right now, I don't listen to those words. As a business owner, I know that if there is something I am still getting better at, I wont charge the same prices for services as an experienced business. I will still do the work.

I believe that in order to build up skills, you need to get in as much practice hours as possible. You have to put your self in situations that are not as comfortable as the ones where you already know everything. You need some friction to help move you forward in your growth.

As a dog trainer who has less than 5 years of experience, I know I have lots of gaps in the skills necessary to call myself a professional. I keep taking on clients though. I take in every dog I can except for severe human aggression, that's too dangerous for my family right now.

One day I will be open to that challenge. I will have zero restrictions on what I can do and achieve. I feel like an unstoppable force when it comes to reaching my goals and I just cant let peoples talk of me not being skilled enough, stop me from pushing forward and learning new things. Every big Dog trainer that I know and study, didn't have anyone but themselves to learn from. There was no social media and the big trainers were not willing to share their secrets. If they had given up because they were not skilled enough then the dog training world as I know it now, wouldn't exist. They all made plenty of mistakes and I know I will too. I feel confident enough in the safety protocols I have been taught, to be able to handle most situations without any major injury.

I'm excited to try and fail at this lifestyle. I know owning a business will not be easy or successful all the time, but I'm still going for it. I also know that the dogs I encounter will be all different and unique in their own ways, but that wont stop me either. I want the friction that leads to growth, no ones words are going to work to stop me from achieving this.