Off Leash And Unfiltered: The Truth In Dog Training

Send us Fan Mail Is your dog on go all the time? Do they have a hard time settling? Do they tend to drive you a little crazy if you have folks over or try to go somewhere with them? Maybe they require too much energy from you to just manage them because it seems like they are so full of energy or excitable all the time. Or maybe they have destructive or neurotic behaviors that have begun to take r...

Send us Fan Mail Nervousness and fearfulness in dogs can be one of the most challenging things to deal with and overcome. It certainly doesn't help that most of the internet advice out there is the polar opposite of what you should actually be doing.  It can be very counter intuitive to implement the discipline necessary to help your dog achieve more confidence. Exposure alone will not help y...

Send us Fan Mail Internet Inquiries is a specific format of episode where I enter a partial prompt into my web browser and I look at the suggested auto completes. Lots of great questions came up when I entered "How do I get my dog to". I'll be answering a variety of questions on poop eating, barking, service dogs and emotional service animals! Support the show Love the show? Sign up...

Send us Fan Mail Most people have a vision of bringing home their new puppy and everything going swimmingly. They expect challenges, but nothing they can't overcome...right?  But we find that puppies often don't just fit right into the household, the family, and the routine.  They often don't get along with kids and find ways to get into things even though you are "watching&quo...

Send us Fan Mail It is too easy to just keep doing the same thing you've been doing. And nothing changes when you do that! Here's the thing I have found to be true. People are motivated to change, but they don't know what they are supposed to be changing. If you don't have a clear plan and faith that it will work, it's nearly impossible to stay motivated or to be consisten...

Send us Fan Mail Consultation files is a specific format of episode where I discuss actual cases people are dealing with and what our initial consultation entailed. Real life issues and real life advice. On today's episode—"my dog bit the dog sitter!" Support the show Love the show? Sign up to access our new exciting Xtra content! This content is unique and is ONLY available to our...

Send us Fan Mail Pack dynamics change as you add dogs to your household. The more dogs you have the more important it is that there is order. Especially if any of the dogs have a proclivity toward being pushy, or being nervy.  Support the show Love the show? Sign up to access our new exciting Xtra content! This content is unique and is ONLY available to our paid subscribers.  Subscriptions are onl...

Send us Fan Mail We aren't huge fans of dog parks and daycares here, however some folks use them, and it works for them. Some of the reasons I hear for this are that there is no other way they can let their dog run, or they only go when there is nobody else there. Or some folks work super long shifts, like actual 24 hour work-days, and don't have anyone to help out with their dog. But th...

Send us Fan Mail The narrative out there is that you need to figure out why your dog is doing what they are doing and how they are feeling.  This can leave you exploring possible "causes" of the behavior for weeks, months, or years. Trainers get their pockets lined and usually make little to no progress. So is there any value in exploring root cause? Support the show Love the show? Sign...

Send us Fan Mail Support the show Love the show? Sign up to access our new exciting Xtra content! This content is unique and is ONLY available to our paid subscribers.  Subscriptions are only $3/month! You can also just sign up to make a small donation monthly if you want to support the podcast. Or, if you can't do that right now, just hit subscribe in your favorite app and tell a friend abou...

Send us Fan Mail Your dog is the master at discovering patterns. That means it isn't as simple as a behavior is rewarded or a behavior is punished. It is actually a lot more complex than that. Your dog takes a picture of everything when a consequence occurs. Over time, the brain can compare these pictures to pull out the precise things that trigger that consequence.  This is the precise reaso...

Send us Fan Mail We talk about the two biggest things we do to create huge changes in a dog's behavior on day one! And why people get stuck in ruts and keep struggling. Resistance is very human, but it isn't serving most of our clients very well. Change starts with you! And you can do these things today. Why are we able to live a normal and sane life on day one with a dog that was wreaki...

Send us Fan Mail Summer is finally here, and hopefully you're doing all sorts of funs stuff! And hopefully you are able to include your dog or you're working on it so that they can live a fuller life  with you and the fam.  I love it when people train their dogs to a level that they can bring them anywhere and include them in anything.  But (you knew that was coming), we see a lot of peo...

Send us Fan Mail Everybody talks about stress like it's this really damaging thing, but is it really? And if your dog is stressed by something is that bad or harmful? Most people try not  to stress their dogs, yet we are increasingly seeing dogs that are stressed more than normal by just typical everyday things that they should be able to tolerate. Is there a connection?  And how do you know...

Send us Fan Mail People tend to get overwhelmed and way off track with all the different catch phrases out there pertaining to training and "types" of training. Most people don't really understand what all of the terms out there really mean. And they also don't fully understand the process of effectively and efficiently building, shaping, or modifying behaviors which makes anal...

Send us Fan Mail The most common approach to fixing behavioral issues, or even just trying to teach our dogs to ignore distractions, is to use obedience. This is a huge mistake, and will either lead to frustration or a long life of constant management.  Most dog owners that are relying on obedience to fix issues are leaving out a critical step. We discuss this often overlooked step and give real l...

Send us Fan Mail So many folks prioritize their dog's "happiness" over their training. This is a problem in and of itself, but especially when we don't actually know what a "happy" dog is.  A cool, calm, collected dog doesn't look "happy" by everyone's standards. But how will your dog ever become the superstar they could be if they are running arou...

Send us Fan Mail Regression is something that nearly everybody deals with when they are training their dog. If you get lax because life gets busy, or you go away and leave your dog with someone else, it is bound to happen.. But sometimes it happens spontaneously, and it can make you feel like your dog just isn't ever going to get there.  I'm here to tell you the road to the finish line i...

Send us Fan Mail It seems everybody is an expert, and they don't hesitate to tell  you what you're doing wrong or even that you are a bad dog owner. Especially if you use a prong collar or an e-collar. So, what do you do? Remember, boundaries require the other person to do nothing .  If you don't get comfortable setting boundaries with people, how will you ever succeed with your dog...

Send us Fan Mail Don't worry...he's friendly!!  Need I say more?? Off leash dogs are by far the biggest threat and biggest concern when we go out with the dogs. How do you enjoy outings or give your dog freedom when you know random off leash dogs could be around any corner at any moment?  Support the show Love the show? Sign up to access our new exciting Xtra content! This content is uni...

Send us Fan Mail Sooo many people train their dogs but not to their fullest potential. Even my own clients, a fair percentage of them, never raise the bar enough for their dog to be truly reliable. Don't forget the point in training. It's one thing if your dog can do it, but it's another if they will do it—each and every time. Support the show Love the show? Sign up to access our ne...

Send us Fan Mail Anxiety is something we hear about a lot. The thing is, it isn't very well defined. But any kind of mental discomfort qualifies. We find that anxiety in dogs can improve immensely if you know how to eliminate uncertainty in your dog's life by doing some of these things we talk about on the show. Some of them might surprise you. Support the show Love the show? Sign up to...

Send us Fan Mail This episode is dedicated entirely to talking about punishment (corrections for those that are too ninny to use the p word). We are very effective at stopping unwanted behaviors, so...how do we do it? I explain in detail what the process looks like. And I'll talk about why it doesn't work for so many folks (they are doing it wrong).  This is stuff nobody will tell you! H...

Send us Fan Mail Dog training looks a little different for every dog, but there are some major differences between how we are generally training puppies and how we are training older puppies and adult dogs.  We are very focused on patterning and rewarding and guiding puppies and also using lots of management. What does that look like? And how and when do you get them out of kindergarten and expect...

Send us Fan Mail This is a topic that is very near and dear to my heart as it took me a while to really understand that my own struggles with my own dog were not anything to do with me.   Training isn't everything. Lifestyle isn't everything. Communication isn't everything. There is something else that has an impact, and it's the BIGGEST impact on your dog's behavior. Let&...