Conversations with a Dog Trainer

Tazie 2007 Training a service dog is not easy, and only 1 in 10 actually make good service dogs. It's a very hard road to training a service dog.  There are days when my mental energy is so low that I just can't push through.  Just getting out of bed in the morning is more than I feel like I can handle some times.  I have a wonderful support system in my husband and friends though.  I know that there is a reason that this is my calling and the more I devote to it the more I love it.   Marley & Yadi I was very lucky with my first service dog Tazie.  I lost my hold on a lot of things when I lost my Tazie.  I felt that my connection to dog training had just been cut off as he was my partner.  He taught me that I could do things on my own if I would just trust myself the way he trusted me.  He was always up for learning, but then again maybe I was always up for training him, we were a good team that way. I finally got around to try...

Marley sleeping on the job!  Yesterday I went to the Neighborhood Market with Tim (my husband). We just had a few things we needed to pick up and then we had to run home and I had to run to an evaluation.  I got distracted by the candles and I heard Tim say something behind me and from the corner of eye saw him move off to my right. When I was done picking out the candles I wanted I turned to go find him, and I couldn't!  I walked from one end of the store to the other but could not find him, and I felt gripped by the fear and panic of being alone surrounded by people.  As I got closer to the end of the isles that he could be on I felt like my chest was in a vice grip and I almost lost my breath.  It was literally all I could do to hold on to the candles in my hands and not drop them and sit in the middle of the floor and cry.  Once I got to the end of the isles I turned to see him behind me about half way across the store.  By the time he got to...

SDIT Patch We know that the world of Service Dogs is a one that is hard to navigate.  The laws are open to interpretation and there is no education to the general public.  That's one of the reasons I am all for the laws and regulations governing Service Dogs to be changed.  We put so much work into our Service Dogs to have someone that just wants to take their pet dog with them where ever they go and not put any training into it, causes us to have a harder time with our real Service Dogs. I lost my Service Dog about 4 years ago and I've had to learn to live without him.  I've gradually shifted to needing to be with my husband when living my daily life.  I can't really handle being by myself unless I'm doing training.  I can't really explain that other than that I've been doing training for so long that it just feels so natural and I get more relaxed when I'm training a dog.  Many friends watching me train have often said that I am a different per...

Disapproving Corgi giving me the "Look"- Yadi It has been said that a dog will talk to those who know how to listen, and this is true.  A dog will tell you everything they intend to do with their body language.  Knowing what our dogs are trying to tell us allows us to have a better relationship with our dogs.  We get the opportunity to see the things that frighten or make our dogs anxious and help to change the emotions associated with that thing.  We get the chance to make our dogs lives better by knowing how to listen to them.   Something that I always suggest for my students is to pay close attention to their dogs at home and learn their dog’s normal postures. If you know your dog’s normal body posture, then you will know very quickly when your dog is not comfortable and secure in their surroundings.   The parts of your dog’s body that you need to learn to read are the eyes, ears, mouth, tail and overall body post...

*disclaimer - I have not been endorsed or supported by any of the products mentioned in this blog.  I have however used them in my own training journeys and found them to be very useful* One problem behavior that almost all pet parents have to deal with at some point in their furry companion’s life is chewing.  I often have pet parents that come into their first class with me and are beyond frustrated that their beloved pup is chewing up their shoes or phone chargers.  Or if your me, you walked into your kitchen and found this...     The important thing to remember is that chewing is a natural and necessary part of their life.     In fact, it is important for the mental well-being of our dogs that we encourage their chewing.     The trick, however, is to make sure that we are encouraging them to chew on the appropriate things.     Chewing is an inherent behavior in dogs.     A dog’s teeth and the ski...

Yadi laying beside me as I work on my laptop One of the things I don't often talk about is my own need for a Service Dog. To look at me from the outside you wouldn't think I would need one.  I'm a successful dog trainer and entrepreneur, I have a lovely family with two boys and a very happy and amazing marriage to a husband who spoils me rotten.  Why would I need a Psychiatric Service Dog? I grew up in very turbulent home.  My mom was an alcoholic and I watched her try to kill herself so many times it became almost normal.  I didn't understand that it wasn't something that everyone tried to do.  I began having my own battles with depression and anxieties when I was very young.  The first mental block I have was at age 13.  I don't have memories before that age, I have what I call photo memories.  I've seen a picture of something and my mind has formed a memory around that picture but I don't remember the actual event.  I've had several ...

I've often spoken about how Yadi gets grounded and put on Leash Restrictions but I don't really ever take class time to explain just what that means.  I thought I'd write a post to explain more about what Leash Restrictions are, and how I use them. When Yadi does something that proves that he has not quite earned the amount of trust that I have given him, he goes on Leash Restrictions.  I gets put on the leash in the house.  Depending on what he did, I may just let him drag a short leash or light now, I just hold the leash.  Yadi is pretty good on leash and doesn't pull when we are in the house so there are times when I'm busy doing something that I will just put the loop for the leash over my foot so it's around my ankle.  I have control of him at all times. This latest round was cause because he decided that he wanted to chew on electrical cords.  I'd rather have him leashed up with me in the house than dead from chewing on a cord that is plugged in...