Full Life Behavior & Training

04/28/2026

Something that keeps happening, and I can't figure out why, is clients not telling me that they need help with something.

If you don't see information you are expecting from me, let me know. It probably went to your spam and I can re-send. I am human and do sometimes forget things, but am usually pretty on top of getting clients what they are promised.

Also, if you struggle with email, texting, filling out the behavior questionnaire, etc., you have to tell me so I can come up with an alternative. I can only help if I know what the issue is.

04/15/2026

03/12/2026

I guess I'm famous! (Not really, lol.)

Today we’d like to introduce you to Alisha Fritz. Alisha, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?I’ve always loved working with animals and majored in biology, so I’m not surprised I ended up working with pet behavior professionally. I....

03/02/2026

Clients often ask me if it's necessary to use food to reward your dog forever. The answer is technically no, but why not? They love it and they have to eat anyway.

My dogs today got me thinking about this. They are rewarded regularly for a variety of behaviors that are useful around the house. There's a contractor currently here removing cinder block walls in our basement. It's loud so the two bigger dogs are set up in exercise pens in the garage. This is not something they're used to at all.

After I let them out in the yard for awhile, I asked them to "hop in", which is the same cue that I use for getting in their crates. They ran right into their pens, happily expecting cookies. It's made today much easier.

Why not consistently reward behavior you want the dog to do? It'll pay off throughout their lives.

02/10/2026

I love how I get lots of people calling saying they're interested in me because I charge less than so and so, and then the occasional person who thinks I'm too expensive.

I promise, my prices are competitive. If anything, I'm a little on the low end as I don't want to price out everyday people who want help for their pets.

Keep in mind, I travel to the client's home and my certification is more specialized than a standard trainer (if they even have one). You get what you pay for. Except sometimes not because board and train programs that use shock collars and prong collars on absolutely every dog no matter the situation are usually pretty pricey.

Send a message to learn more

01/28/2026

I passed! I've been certified under a previous organization, but am switching to this one:

01/06/2026

This often surprises clients, but trainers like me hate being compared to Cesar Millan. I know it's unintentional, but it's kind of an insult. Fear free trainers don't use techniques that cause animals pain or fear. The reasoning is solid, you can suppress behavior while increasing aggression. That's not a good outcome.

He's certainly charismatic and makes for a good TV personality, but his earlier techniques included hanging and choking dogs. I'm not going to do that and I'm not going to ask clients to. Rollerblading with your dog also seems unrealistic for most people. Not everything you see on TV is safe or useful, and his techniques definitely aren't scientifically sound.

I heard a CAAB (Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist, with a PhD) refer to him as the dog screamer once. I think his techniques may have calmed down more recently, but to this day he still hasn't sought out any formal education. I don't get that, I love learning, especially when it benefits my clients and their pets. I look at where my skills are weak and actively seek out more education in those areas.

It's an older post, but the American Society of Animal Veterinary Behavior remains confident in their advice to avoid harsh training methods.

https://avsab.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Cesar_Millan_Response-download.pdf

12/29/2025

https://www.thesprucepets.com/dog-trainer-red-flags-11796344

Looking for a dog trainer? These warning signs can help you avoid a bad match and keep your dog safe

12/02/2025

Something I've noticed is how consistently clients are surprised when their dogs are fearful, defensive, even aggressive when people who are unknown/strangers to the dog enter their yard or home.

Think about it from the dog's perspective, they don't know why this person is there. You can't explain it to them ahead of time. How would you feel if someone totally unfamiliar to you suddenly just let themselves into your house? How would you respond to this?

Guardian breeds like mastiffs, pyrenees, rottweilers, and others were specifically bred to be wary of strangers entering their territory. Our modern version of these dogs may or may not be specifically bred for this anymore, but some breeds struggle more than others.

Learn who your dog is as an individual and give them whatever support they need. Teach them that people entering the home predicts good things for the dog (yummy food usually does the trick). Put the dog away with a fun chew where they don't have to deal with the invader. I'm convinced many dogs are grateful not to have to deal with the stress.

Here are some great resources to help you learn about normal dog behavior and how dogs communicate:

http://www.ispeakdog.org/dog-behaviors.html

https://iaabcfoundation.org/courses/canine-body-language/

Reach out to a professional if your dog is struggling, before there's a more serious problem.

Pictured is my mastiff mix. He's made a career of patrolling the yard and sitting in this window barking at passers-by while the other dogs, who are totally different breeds, sleep and couldn't care less. He's good at his job and I am grateful, but it's important to acknowledge that this behavior can become unhealthy and to help the dog understand that guests are not a threat. We're currently working on not getting so worried every time the (very nice) mail carrier stops by the house.