PAWSitiveTransformations

PAWSitiveTransformations Dog Training
šŸ¾PAWSitive ReinforcementšŸ¾
šŸ¾Successive ApproximationšŸ¾ I am a firm believer in positive reinforcement.

At Pawsitive Transformations my work is finding your dog's drive, using games and techniques that your pup finds fun. I will work with you, teaching you how to keep your dog's attention and engagement as your dog learns through positive reinforcement and successive approximation. The other key factor is successive approximation. Shaping, or as it's formally known, ā€œshaping by successive approximat

ions,ā€ means breaking down a behavior into tiny increments, and reinforcing the dog at each incremental step until you've achieved the full behavior. Through these methods, I will teach you how to clearly and effectively communicate. Your dog will be excited and eager to learn, using a positive approach to motivate your dog with enthusiasm and respect instead of fear and pain, the result will be a well-behaved and balanced dog. If you currently use electronic collars, prong collars, or choke collars, I will gladly work with you and your pup to transition away from pain and use positive reinforcement and successive approximation techniques. Benefits of these techniques:

ā€¢ Builds a strong bond with your dog based on trust and respect.
ā€¢ Avoids increasing anxiety or aggression.
ā€¢ Uses fun, easy training methods for the entire family.
ā€¢ Provides mental stimulation, preventing boredom and problem behaviors.
ā€¢ Allows a dog to choose, without fear of repercussions. I believe that training should involve the entire family. I will work with all of you so that your relationship is happy, healthy, and with clear boundaries & expectations! Training should be fun and involve every one of any age and ability!

05/29/2026

I want to apologize for being a little quieter than usual on this page.

Many of you know that PAWSitive Transformations is more than a dog training business to me. The support and trust youā€™ve given me not only helps provide for my family, but also gives me the ability to help our unhoused neighbors and their pets through Atypical Place for Transformations.

Lately, it feels like there is a war being waged against our unhoused neighbors. What started as helping my friends and their animals has evolved into advocacy, public speaking, and fighting for solutions. If you know me, you know I hate public speaking, but my heart keeps leading me back to the same place: Chattanooga needs more compassion and a truly low barrier shelter that helps people where they are AND their pets.

The beautiful guitar music at the beginning of this video is from one of our unhoused neighbors. Behind every tent is a human being with talents, stories, and value.

Iā€™d also like to introduce Ryder! Weā€™re working on heel, and you can see him beginning to understand that when I stop, he should automatically stop and sit too, even when my attention is on Lucy. Itā€™s not perfect yet, and thatā€™s okay. Learning is messy.

Toward the end, youā€™ll see me using leash pressure to work on his sit. Heā€™s still figuring it out, so I adjust and help him find the right answer. Training is all about communication and helping dogs understand one small step at a time.

Ryder is progressing phenomenally, and Iā€™m so proud of him.

Thank you to everyone who trusts me with your dogs. Your support helps more people and animals than you know. ā¤ļø

05/12/2026

Somehow while digging through my video editor, I found throwback clips I never posted and this one hit me right in the heart.

This is Flint working with AK, a beautiful Belgian Malinois. Looking back at these videos is wild because you donā€™t realize how much time has passed until you see it in front of you. His voice, his confidence, his handling skills, his patience with dogsā€¦ heā€™s grown and changed so much.

Iā€™m so incredibly proud of the young man heā€™s becoming and the skills heā€™s worked so hard to learn over the years. Watching him grow up alongside these dogs has been one of the greatest gifts of my life.

Part of me wishes time would just slow down for a little while.

These old videos are such a reminder that all the little moments matter.

As many of you know, I am a huge advocate for ethical breeding. Temperament, genetics, structure, health testing, stabil...
05/11/2026

As many of you know, I am a huge advocate for ethical breeding. Temperament, genetics, structure, health testing, stability, and purposeful pairings matter. They shape not only the dog you bring home, but the life that dog is capable of living.

One breeder I genuinely respect is Remedy Ranch Aussiedoodlesļæ¼. They put an unbelievable amount of thought, care, time, and intention into their program. They are not just breeding for looks. They are breeding for stable, intelligent, affectionate family companions with the potential to excel in therapy and service work with proper training and guidance.

They currently have an amazing Guardian Home opportunity available for a beautiful young male named Forest.

Forest is described as affectionate, people oriented, eager to please, gentle, loving, and incredibly connected to his humans. Honestly, these are the exact traits I look for when evaluating dogs with higher potential for advanced training and service work foundations.

This is not just ā€œgetting a free dog.ā€ Ethical guardian programs are partnerships. The breeder continues protecting and preserving the bloodline they have carefully built, while the dog gets to grow up living a full, loved, family centered life instead of in a kennel environment. In my opinion, when done ethically and responsibly, guardian homes are a wonderful thing.

Dogs like this are not created by accident. Stable, confident, social, biddable dogs come from generations of intentional selection, enrichment, socialization, and proper raising.

If you are someone looking for an active, involved companion and are committed to continuing training, structure, socialization, and biological fulfillment, this could honestly be an incredible fit.

I always tell people:
Good dogs are not luck.
They are genetics, guidance, consistency, relationship, and purpose all coming together.

Huge respect to Remedy Ranch Aussiedoodles for the amount of work they put into producing phenomenal dogs.

05/11/2026

Happy Motherā€™s Day from all of us at PAWSitive Transformations.

Today I just want to take a moment to say thank you. Thank you to every single person who has trusted me with your dogs, supported my small business, shared my posts, recommended me to friends, believed in my training, and helped this dream continue to grow. Your support has done far more than help build a business. It has helped provide for my family, helped support our nonprofit efforts through Atypical Place for Transformations, and allowed me to continue giving back to our community and neighbors in need.

To all the moms out there, whether youā€™re raising children, rescuing animals, fostering, mentoring, surviving, healing, or simply showing up every day with love in your heart, I hope today reminded you how important and appreciated you are.

I hope everyone had a beautiful Motherā€™s Day filled with love, laughter, healing, peace, and time with the people and animals who matter most to you.

Thank you all for being part of this journey with me. Truly. šŸ¾

One of the biggest things I try to teach owners is that training is not just obedience. Itā€™s about biological fulfillmen...
05/07/2026

One of the biggest things I try to teach owners is that training is not just obedience. Itā€™s about biological fulfillment.

Rain or shine, dogs still need to go outside. They still need movement, structure, exploration, sniffing, problem solving, and healthy outlets for their energy. So many ā€œbehavior problemsā€ are actually unmet needs.

Yesterday I went on a walk with Meredith , working with Winnie and Buckley. Their neighborhood has had loose dogs running up while theyā€™re out walking, which has caused some struggles with excitement levels, impulse control, and listening through distractions. These are real life situations and exactly why dogs need continued exposure and guidance.

The puppies also recently got an electric fence so they can safely run and play freely outside, which is wonderful for them physically and mentally. Winnie accidentally got shocked going out the front door though, so Iā€™ve been helping her rebuild confidence and understand the difference between when sheā€™s free to move through the door and when boundaries are in place. Dogs learn through experiences, both good and bad, and itā€™s our job to guide them through those moments clearly and fairly.

If your dog is acting out, before labeling them ā€œbad,ā€ ask yourself:
Is my dog biologically fulfilled?

Are they getting enough physical exercise?
Enough mental exercise?
Enough structure?
Enough decompression?
Enough opportunities to simply be a dog?

A tired dog is not always a fulfilled dog either. Fulfillment comes from meeting their instincts and needs in healthy ways.

And if life gets busy and you need help, I highly recommend and her amazing dog walking company. Having someone dependable helping meet your dogā€™s needs can truly change their behavior and quality of life.

05/01/2026

This is Belle.

When Belle first came to me, she was highly reactive. Pulling on the leash, fixating on people, jumping on strangers and struggling when guests entered the home. She wasnā€™t a ā€œbad dogā€ she just didnā€™t have clear direction, boundaries, or the tools to exist calmly in the real world.

In this video weā€™re at Barnes and Noble working in a real life environment with real distractions. People walking by, stopping to talk, noise, movement all the things that used to overwhelm her. And instead of reacting, sheā€™s choosing to stay engaged, calm, and neutral.

What youā€™re seeing is the result of consistent training through distance, duration, and distraction. We donā€™t avoid the world we teach dogs how to exist in it.

Youā€™ll notice strangers stopping me to talk about how well sheā€™s doing and thatā€™s the goal. A dog that can be out in public, handle interactions appropriately, and make good choices even when life is happening around them.

At the very end, we even test some off leash work and Belle absolutely shines. That level of trust is earned, not forced.

Iā€™m incredibly proud of her.

I also work closely with her owner in parks and locations near their home so this training transfers into her everyday life. Because training isnā€™t about what a dog does with me itā€™s about what they can do when they go home.

Belle is learning how to just be a dog. Calm, confident, and free within clear boundaries.

Thatā€™s the goal every single time.

04/30/2026

In this video, Onyx and I are out at Barnes & Noble putting in real world work.

We started outside the store where we stopped to chat with a kind woman, and Onyx showed exactly what all the training is about. He held a long distance down while I wheeled myself inside and completely out of sight. That means trusting his training through distance, duration, and heavy distractions all at once.

This didnā€™t happen overnight. This is the result of successive approximation. We build piece by piece. First duration, then distance, then distractions. Layer by layer until the behavior holds in real life.

Inside the store, you can see another level of his training. When I first start with dogs, I use very clear communication with higher pitched tones for praise and exaggerated lower tones for corrections. Over time, as they truly understand, everything becomes quieter. In this video, Iā€™m working him at a whisper and he still responds. Thatā€™s when you know itā€™s clicking.

Onyx has done phenomenal. Watching him think, process, and choose the right behavior even with the world going on around him is exactly what weā€™re aiming for.

Just a few more days and his mom is making the trip down from Wisconsin to bring him home. Iā€™m going to miss him, but Iā€™m so proud of the dog heā€™s becoming and the life heā€™s about to step into.

04/29/2026

I want to take a moment to recognize some people doing truly life saving work in our community.

A huge thank you to The Dandelion Kind for everything they do to keep pets of our unhoused community safe, healthy, and up to date on vaccines. Because of their dedication, I was able to immediately bring Alfie into my home without hesitation and care for him safely.

I can only and will only ever allow dogs that are fully up to date on my property this is for the safety of my fur babies and yours!

Their actions and kindness mattered more than words can explain because his owner needed urgent help. I had to take him straight to the emergency room for a severely infected leg that required immediate IV antibiotics to prevent sepsis. In that moment, there was no time to think twice about Alfie. I just needed to act, and I could, because of the foundation Dandelion Kind had already put in place.

For those who may not know, I also run Atypical Place for Transformations, a nonprofit focused on supporting the unhoused community here in Chattanooga through weekly outreach, providing food, clothing, pet support, and creating a space where people are treated with dignity, connection, and care.

This is what real community looks like. People stepping in, doing their part, and making sure no one falls through the cracks, human or animal.

We are better because of you.

Pup Pup our Rottweiler is still alive and acting like a boy crazy teenager! Alfie thinks she crazy šŸ¤£

04/28/2026

In this video Iā€™m working with Belle, and I want to talk honestly about what youā€™re seeing and why it matters.

Belleā€™s owner is currently healing from being knocked off balance and falling due to Belle, so in this situation there is no room for error. Safety comes first, always. Thatā€™s where the e stem collar comes in. This is not a shock collar. Iā€™ve used it on myself and it feels like a tens unit, just a light muscle stimulation.

Belle has been trained that the moment she feels even the slightest sensation, it means come straight back to me for a reward. Thatā€™s the association. Not fear, not punishment, but clarity. Communication.

Weā€™re still dialing in her baseline. Some days she responds at a level 5 out in the field, other times it takes closer to 25 depending on distractions and environment. Thatā€™s normal. Training isnā€™t linear, itā€™s responsive to the world around them.

And hereā€™s the part I love mostā€¦

Belle is THRIVING.

Sheā€™s getting to run, explore, play with other dogs, get muddy, have designated sniff spots, and just be a dog. That freedom only comes because there are clear boundaries and expectations in place. Dogs donā€™t struggle with structure. They flourish in it!

Sheā€™s becoming a quicker learner every single day because she finally understands whatā€™s expected of her.

This is what balanced, fair training looks like. Freedom through communication. Confidence through clarity. šŸ¾

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Chattanooga, TN

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+14238259579

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