Our Positive Reinforcement, Private, In Home Puppy & Dog Obedience Training Is Relationship Building And Highly Effective! Dogs LOVE The Off Leash Training/Socialization Groups!  8 - 12 + Week Puppies Are Safely Socialized!       

Compassion, Trust, Clear Communication, Loving Leadership, and Respect = Results!

Compassion from genuine care and understanding of what pets need and desire (bonding with those they love, daily exercise, stimulation both mentally and physically, ongoing training and socialization at various levels throughout their lives, good nutrition, a safe and somewhat peaceful home environment). 

  • Trustworthy because it’s the right thing to do
  • Clear, consistent communication which enables pet families and their pups to easily learn behavioral changes. Having been a counselor and taught classes, it's important that everyone feels comfortable, including puppies, and understands.
  • Loving Leadership –Teach dogs what you want them to do and help them understand how to do it in an atmosphere of motivation and fun. Dogs are pack animals (family oriented) and instinctively need fair leadership in the home in order to feel secure and know their boundaries. Do you have a dog that jumps on everyone to say Hi? Training a polite greeting and being reinforced for it:)
  • Mutual respect is a gift that is watered long term in order to stay alive
  • Great results for all from appropriating the above
A puppy is laying on the bed looking at the camera.

TRAINING

Puppies of all ages LOVE the personal attention, self confidence and numerous opportunities that are awarded a well trained dog. Operant Conditioning primarily includes positive reinforcement and if need be, small amounts of punishment, the same way Momma  treats her pups.

A dog laying in the grass near a slide.
A collage of photos with puppies in the background.
A puppy is standing in the grass near a basket.
A close up of a dog 's face with its eyes closed
A group of dogs sitting next to each other.
A puppy sitting next to a bowl of water.
A white dog laying on the ground with its head down.
Two dogs in a field with trees and sky

There are very safe ways to socialize your 8-9 week old puppy during their “Critical Socialization Period". 

PLEASE, if you are getting a puppy, get a trainer BEFORE you bring your precious puppy home or ASAP in order to PREVENT problems. If the pup is from a breeder, make sure they are responsibly socializing her EARLY and CONTINUE ASAP yourselves. You just can't be prepared too much for this new life which is completely dependent on you being pro-active.  Set your puppy up for success!  Did you know:

-When you first get home with your puppy, carry them from the car to the backyard potty area, praise & treat as soon as they go.                                -Please do not give your puppy the opportunities to make mistakes (or worse, hurt themselves) by allowing them even 15 seconds of unattended supervision to roam your house.                                                          -Freeze Kongs and other chew toys in order to relieve teething inflammation.                          -This is a tiny glimpse of the "Puppy Program", our proven comprehensive, positive reward based in-home life changer.  It has been foundational in shaping the lives of numerous pups, starting at 8-9 weeks of age.              We do this by:                                                           -Safely meeting social and developmental needs, fun, relationship based behavioral and obedience training,  implementation of calming management techniques,  appropriate mouthing/teething support (not our hands or arms!), potty training, obedience fundamentals and socialization ideas, even safely before full vaccination. You will be  giving your precious puppy a firm foundation in which to flourish. PLEASE do not wait to socialize your pup until fully vaccinated and I encourage you to read about this at the American Veterinarian Association website.  During your puppies first 3 months of life, she/he will experience a critical socialization period that will influence their future personality and how they function as an adult. Learning how to safely socialize your young puppy to textures, sounds, other pets, people, places, car rides, heights etc., in conjunction with the proper kind of personal training, will aleviate many behavioral problems seen even in 4-5 month pups.  Allowing young, growing puppies to learn social & obedience basics in playful ways and be motivated to continue learning and growing into well balanced and happy dogs that adore you, is every puppy owners dream.

If you rescued, recently acquired or are just fed up and you are looking for serious help regarding obedience and behavioral issues, read on.  Does your dog seem to ignore you, run the opposite way when asked to "come",  show signs of reactivity towards people, dogs, cars - any moving thing, and barks, lunges, is air nipping, or even default to more dangerous aggressive symptoms?  I understand and have probably been there with my own dogs in the past, as well as successfully trained many with similar behavioral problems. If you could talk to some of my dog owners who once felt helpless, even tried other trainers to no avail,  you would feel hope. Sometimes I set it up for new clients to talk to my other clients who have gone through similar struggles and are now on the other side.  It is HUGE to have a dog who is unhappy, not knowing how else to respond, not to mention being a distraught and embarrassed dog owner, possibly with feelings of being a failure as a pet parent, or at least in this area. This, plus seeing so many other distraught owners and dogs in similar situations brought me to my knees.  Praying and asking God for wisdom and direction in this area,  I was led and continue to be led into specialized training for aggressive dogs with a passion to keep them from being put into a pound or worse.  Yes, I'm privileged to come along side dogs and the people who love them, during all life stages and be an instrument of well deserved change. Expect a miracle!  Put in the time and resources it takes. Be an active partner in learning, loving, setting boundaries, even when it is hard, and your pooch, family and friends will be forever grateful!

GROUP OUTINGS

According to most dogs, "Doggie Adventures" as I tenderly call them, are one step above dog walks. Our group fun times are for students who are currently training with me or have finished a training package. This way all dogs are safe and attentive, or somewhat, Ha Ha (as they are racing around) and I call the whole group to come, sit, stay, then the beloved word "OK"!!! and off they go again:)  The pups have a blast and stay in shape while strengthening their social skills and enjoying some training refreshers! Our group outings are held primarily in a beautiful fenced 3/4 acre area in Portuguese Bend. No dog parks because of unpredictability - I have trained several dogs who because the other park dogs did not read or respect their warning signals, escalated from a stiffening, to a growl to a full blown bite in order to keep "the wild ones" away. Then these same dogs can become reactive to all dogs out of fear). This is another reason I am all of the pups' advocate and if any get overly excited, I remind them of some impulse control activities like sit/stay, until they calm down and are again ready for more fun:)
Young, not fully vaccinated puppies are socialized carefully with this great group of pups and truly benefit from this fun socialization. I train many 4-5 month pups with fear-reactivity toward dogs due to lack of early, safe exposure and socialization.

DOG WALKS

Dogs are not meant to stay in a backyard, no matter how nice it seems to us, or inside a house hour upon hour, bored and sometimes becoming depressed, overweight, experiencing joint and other health issues partially or fully because of a sedentary lifestyle. This does not just mean physical exercise, although very important, but mental and emotional stimulation.  How many Huskies, German Shepherds, Labrador Retrievers and other working breeds are acting out because they are not getting their inherent natural needs met. Terriers were originally bred to hunt small rodents,  Aussies to herd, Sighthounds to hunt primarily by sight and speed. Most, even cute little Pugs, love and need their exercise and stimulation.  Dogs' crave their walks, not only for the sheer joy of an active lifestyle, being with those they care about, experiencing the natural enjoyment of being out and active, but they also find out “Who’s Who in the Neighborhood” (by smelling other dog’s scents they acquire information about their neighbors – age, sex, breed etc). We call our dog walking service “attentive” because it is just that...Mike pays attention to how your pup is feeling and if anything is out of the ordinary with him/her, as well as their living environment, you are the first to know.

 

OTHER PET SERVICES

All pets from Rabbits to Hamsters, dogs to cats, fish to birds, depend on us to care and nourish their emotional, physical and mental needs.  Thank you for loving your pets the way that only you can! Finding the caring and trustworthy pet support is huge and we sure understand. Please book all trainings, walks and pet services in advance because we do fill up!

 

A cat laying on the floor with its head down.
A dog is laying on the ground in the woods.
A cat sitting on top of a wooden table.
A black dog sitting in the middle of some bushes
Two dogs laying in the grass with a ball on the ground.
A group of dogs sitting in the grass.
A dog sitting in front of a fence.
A herd of sheep grazing on grass in the field.
A dog running in the grass with another dog.
A husky dog with blue eyes is laying in the grass.
Three bears in a field with trees and sky
A dog laying in the grass on its back legs.
Two dogs sitting on the ground in a park.
A group of dogs in the grass with one dog holding a ball.
A group of dogs sitting in the grass.
Four dogs sitting on the side of a road.
Two dogs playing with a ball in the yard.
A group of dogs sitting on the ground.