Connecting K9

10/01/2026

Today is National Black Dog Day!

Do you have a black dog (or mostly black)? Show them in the comments!⤵️🐾

09/30/2026

Fun Fact Wednesday!🐾

09/29/2026

Come join us for training!
We've got different options to make sure it's a good fit for you and the dog. For dogs 12 weeks and older. All breeds welcome.

Board&train programs: 2 weeks, 4 weeks or 6 weeks for obedience. Spots available in October, November and December.

Group class: obedience or small behavioral issues. Wednesday, 5PM. All experience levels welcome.

Private training: options for obedience and behavior modification. A great way to learn together with your dog.

Akc evaluations: trick dog, fitdog, virtual home manners. Your dog doesn't have to be AKC to do our virtual FitDog course, but it does count towards FitDog titles when needed. AKC also has registration options for mixed breeds if you want to earn titles with your dogs.

Send us a message for more information or to sign up!🐾

09/28/2026

It's almost time to start searching!🐾

Event alert!

A Halloween Scent Work Mystery is coming this October!

Something terrible has happened... Mr. Bones, Keeper of the Halloween Treat Vault, has been found DEAD. And the halloween treats are missing.

There are suspects, motives, witnesses and clues hidden throughout the investigation. And we're going to need some VERY good noses to solve this case.
Throughout the entire month of October, dogs and their owners can become part of the Connecting K9 Detective Team and attempt to solve: Who did it, what the weapon was, why it's done and where the stolen halloween treats are.

Your dog will use scent work to locate hidden evidence, while YOU examine the clues, investigate the suspects, eliminate the innocent and piece together what happened.

Owners must sign up for a day and time to complete the investigation with their dog. This way we can also accommodate to reactive dogs or dogs with other behavioral problems.

Each dog-and-owner team will receive their own Connecting K9 Detective Case File to use while working the case.

No scent-work experience is required! The goal is to let your dog use their nose, work together and have some Halloween fun.

CONNECTING K9 HALLOWEEN COSTUME CONTEST!

Our Costume Contest will also run for the entire month! Bring your dog dressed in their best Halloween costume when you visit us and enter them into the contest. We want to see them all! The winner will receive

More information about the Costume Contest and voting will be announced!

Send us a message to reserve your day and time in October for the Who Killed Mr. Bones? Scent Work Mystery. Daily between 9AM and 6PM.🐾

09/27/2026

Our availability for next week!

We're also getting pretty booked up for the rest of October already. We have 2 board&train spots left available. One starting October 1, the other starting October 12. Both can be used for a 2-week, 4-week or 6-week program.

Make sure to book on time, and to go through the whole booking process. Spots are only secured after filling out the paperwork and paying the deposit.🐾

09/26/2026

So much training this week!
Donut went home with 2 new AKC titles: Trick Dog Novice and Trick Dog Intermediate. We also did some extra tricks just for fun.

Nova and Navi are working hard on their own skills. Nova is mostly working on her focus, while Navi is working on confidence.

Lucy just started her training. And look at her go! Her puppy brain takes over a lot, but she's already starting to understand her basics.

We've got 2 October spots left for our board&train programs at the beginning of the month. Both are for obedience and can be used for our 2-week, 4-week and 6-week program.🐾

09/26/2026

Tip of the week: Learn from your dog, your trainer and yourself.

We always teach our dog something new. Obedience, behaviors we want to see and maybe even dog sports. But we also have to take time to learn from our dogs.

Dogs are always telling us a story. Your dog is constantly communicating with you. Pay attention to what motivates them, what makes them uncomfortable, when they’re confused, when they’re becoming overwhelmed, and when they’re ready for a bigger challenge. Every dog is different. What works beautifully for one dog may not work the same way for another. The more you look at your dog and what they're telling us, the better your training goes.

Also listen to the trainer. A trainer isn’t there just to teach your dog commands. We’re also here to teach you how to communicate with your dog, recognize behavior, use your training tools correctly, set realistic expectations, and continue the work when the trainer isn’t standing beside you. Ask questions. Practice what you’re shown. Do the homework. And most importantly, understand why you’re doing it.

And last but not least: learn from yourself. Sometimes we have to look at our own habits, too. We have to ask questions about our consistency, what we practice, if we're rewarding behaviors we don't want and whether or not we have realistic expectations for our dog. Everything we do with our dog, or everything we don't do, influences the future.

Your dog can teach you how to listen. Your trainer can teach you how to communicate. And your own mistakes and successes can teach you how to become a better handler and owner.🐾

09/25/2026

Who benefits more from training or behavior modification: the dog, the owner or both?
Before reading the rest of the post, drop your answer in the comments!⤵️

Here’s a better question: Who actually NEEDS the training more?

Sometimes, it’s the dog. A dog may need help learning impulse control, building confidence, understanding boundaries, developing better coping skills, or replacing unwanted behaviors with more appropriate ones. We teach the dog how to cope with everyday life.

But sometimes? The owner needs the training just as much. And occasionally, even more. Because we can teach a dog to sit, stay, recall, walk politely, settle, disengage from triggers, or make better choices, but the dog still has to do it at home too. After a board&train program, dogs KNOW what to do. The difference is that they have to get used to doing it at home again. As an owner you have to know when to reward, when to correct/redirect, how to recognize stress, how to set boundaries and what your dog's needs are. You have to maintain the training for long-lasting results.

Behavior modification makes this even more important. When dealing with fear, reactivity, aggression, resource guarding, anxiety, or other behavioral concerns, changing the dog is only one part of the process. Sometimes the environment needs to change, sometimes routines need to change, sometimes expectations need to change. And sometimes the way the humans interact with the dog needs to change.

I can spend weeks helping a dog develop new skills and better behavior, but if the dog returns to the exact same patterns that contributed to the problem, those old behaviors can return.

That’s why good dog training isn't simply fixing the dog. It's teaching the dog, and teaching the owner how to life together. And when both sides are willing to make changes, that’s when training has the best chance of becoming a lifestyle instead of something the dog only does for the trainer.

So, who needs training more? Sometimes the dog. Sometimes the owner. But for lasting change? Usually both.

Because I'm not just training dogs. I'm teaching dogs and humans how to understand and work with each other.🐾

09/25/2026

All the dogs for this weekend!
Some are here for training, some for boarding. But we'll make sure that each and every one of them is going to have fun!🐾