High Peaks Canine

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06/26/2026

Reactive dogs don’t need to run themselves tired.

They need to learn how to slow their brain down.

One of my favorite tools for that? The treadmill.

And no... I don’t primarily use it for exercise.

I actually start the treadmill at a very slow pace. The goal isn’t speed—it’s a better state of mind.

On the treadmill, the dog has one job:
• Stay on the treadmill.
• Pay attention to what their body is doing.
• Don’t feed off the environment.

As the dog starts to relax their body, and not be as frantic, I’ll either increase speed and use it as exercise or add distractions; train another dog in the room, play with another dog, clean etc.

Why?

Because reactive dogs often struggle with impulse control. Their brains are scanning everything around them, looking for the next thing to react to. The treadmill gives them a clear task and teaches them that they don’t have to respond to every movement, sound, or distraction.

It’s not about exhausting the dog.

It’s about building focus, patience, and the ability to think before reacting.

A calmer mind creates better decisions. And that’s what behavior modification is really about.

👇 Have you ever seen a treadmill used this way?

06/23/2026

Your reactive dog doesn’t need more corrections.

They need more clarity.

If you have a reactive dog, I get it. It’s frustrating. Every walk feels stressful. You’re constantly scanning the environment, trying to avoid triggers, and correcting your dog when they explode.

But here’s the reality:

If your dog is reacting on every neighborhood walk, every hiking trail, every trip to the park, stop practicing reactivity.

Give your dog a reset.

Take a break from the environments where they’re struggling the most and go back to the basics.

Work on:
✔️ Engagement
✔️ Walking drills
✔️ Following leash pressure
✔️ Checking in with you
✔️ Making small, successful decisions

Then start applying those skills in easier environments and work your way up.

Practice in:
• Different parking lots
• Parks
• Your driveway
• A busier parking lot
• Outside a dog park at a distance
• A control dog

Most reactive dogs don’t need more corrections.

They need:

✔️ Clear communication
✔️ Engagement with their handler
✔️ Consistent expectations
✔️ Better timing from the owner
✔️ Hundreds of successful repetitions

Before we worry about stopping the reaction, we need to teach the dog how to exist around the trigger.

Can they check in with you?

Can they walk calmly on leash?

Can they follow leash pressure?

Can they disengage from the environment and choose you?

Because reactivity isn’t fixed through one correction.

It’s fixed through hundreds of successful repetitions where the dog learns:

👉 “I see the trigger.”
👉 “I know what’s expected of me.”
👉 “I know how to be successful.”

Corrections have their place. But if your dog is reacting in every scenario, the answer usually isn’t more corrections.

It’s more clarity.

Train the behavior you want first.

Build the communication system.

Then hold the dog accountable to what they understand.

That’s where real progress happens.

06/18/2026

06/16/2026

Introducing HPC Foster-to-Adopt: River Blue

You’ve probably seen him on my stories but it’s officially time I introduced River!

River is a 2-year-old English Shepherd who recently joined us through our Foster-to-Adopt program.

Like many herding breeds, River struggles with overstimulation, big emotions, and making good decisions when the world gets exciting. He’s a sweet dog with a lot of potential, but right now his brain often moves faster than his ability to think.

Over the next few months, I’ll be sharing his training journey as we work on building a calmer, more thoughtful dog through:

✔️ Clarity and communication
✔️ Breed fulfillment and appropriate outlets
✔️ Confidence building
✔️ Slowing his brain down and teaching him how to settle
✔️ Real-world exposure and life skills

Training isn’t just about obedience. It’s about helping dogs learn how to navigate our world successfully and make better decisions when life gets challenging.

I’ve been taking tons of videos throughout the process and can’t wait to bring you all along for the journey. Stay tuned to watch River Blue transform into the best version of himself. 💙

**Important note:** Please do not reach out asking me to take your dog. River is a special circumstance, and High Peaks Canine is not a rescue. While I occasionally help train and place a dog when the situation is the right fit, this is not a service that I offer and it is not something I do regularly.

06/04/2026

✨Core Skills & Everyday Obedience✨

Mondays @ 7:00pm starting June 8th

This isn’t just obedience commands, this is building clarity, structure, and communication so your dog understands what’s expected of them.

We’ll cover:
- Engagement around distractions
- Impulse control & duration
- Leash pressure
- Foundational obedience & place work
- Real world applications

The first four lessons will be held at the Southside Community Center, the last week will be held out in public! That way the skills we learned are applied in the real world.

Because a well trained dog doesn’t happen on accident- it’s built.

5 weeks. $350. Limited Spots

Sign up in bio👆🏻

06/03/2026

Air Canada just launched a new certification pathway for owner-trained service dogs ✈️🐕‍🦺

Check out the news article in my bio!

06/02/2026

✨If you’re not willing to crate your dog, then I’m probably not the trainer for you✨

Before you get offended, hear me out.

9 out of 10 consult calls I get are for fearful or reactive dogs. The dog is barking out the window, pacing the house, following their owner from room to room, struggling to settle, and constantly looking for the next thing to react to.

Then I ask a simple question:

✨”Is your dog crate trained?”✨

Most of the time, the answer is no. And when I suggest using a crate, people say something along the lines of:
• “I’d never do that”
• “But they’re fine in the house, it’s only on walks”
• “We tried but they were so anxious”

Here’s the reality: your fearful, anxious or reactive dog doesn’t need more freedom. They need structure, predictability, proper sleep, and a way to decompress.

A dog that spends the majority of their day pacing, watching out windows, and following you everywhere is practicing a state of mind that is not helping them.

That crate isn’t punishment, it’s a reset.

It’s a place where dogs can turn off, relax, and learn that they don’t need to be involved in everything.

And guess what… if you’re not willing to work your dog through the stress of crate training, how do you expect them to work through the stress of reactivity?

Growth requires some level of discomfort. I’m not talking about flooding dogs or ignoring legitimate panic. But teaching our dogs the skills to work through frustration, settling on their own and realizing they are capable of handling stress.

I use crates with every dog I train and own. At some point in their life, every dog will likely need to be confined. Whether that’s at the vet, a boarding facility, groomer, during travel, after surgery or in an emergency.

BEING COMFORTABLE IN A CRATE IS A LIFE SKILL.

A dog that can calmly settle in a crate experiences far less stress when those situations arise.

Is this a hot take? Or common sense? Let me know in the comments👇🏼

05/26/2026

The boys took on the Ithaca Farmers Market this past weekend.

Stetson is 5 months old and currently training to become my personal service dog.

Rosco is 10 months old and training for Operation Stress Intervention (OSI), where he’ll develop the public access skills and task work of a service dog while ultimately serving the community in a variety of ways.

Today wasn’t about perfection. It was about exposure, engagement, and learning how to exist calmly in a busy world.

We spent most of our time working outside the market, building value in choosing engagement over distractions — people, strollers, babies, dogs, loud noises, food smells, and live music included. Rosco also got to practice greeting a variety of people appropriately while both boys learned to work through the chaos without losing their brains.

A lot of brain cells were used and the boys slept hard on the drive home. I’m excited to continue to see them mature and learn!

Quick note: only service dogs are allowed in the pavilion. Dogs are welcome outside the market

05/24/2026

People assume because I’m a dog trainer my dogs live this ultra strict, military-style life. Truthfully? My dogs are still dogs. They sleep on the couch, get human food, make mistakes, and are allowed to exist as individuals.

I tend to feed my dog table scraps all the time — but it depends on the dog.

My shepherd? He’s incredibly stable around food. Giving him scraps doesn’t create pushiness, guarding, whining, or entitlement. Meanwhile my Newfoundland is way more likely to become obnoxious about it. Different dogs, different rules.

I genuinely don’t care if your dog sleeps in your bed, walks in front of you on walks, or gets human food. What I care about is whether those things are negatively affecting behavior.

If your dog is resource guarding, demanding, anxious, reactive, pushy, or unable to regulate themselves… then yeah, some of those “little things” may need to change for a while. But if your dog can handle freedom without it creating problems? Cool!

Balance matters. Structure matters. But so does letting dogs be dogs.

Address

64 Main Street
Cortland, NY
13045

Website

http://www.highpeakscanine.com/, http://highpeakscanine.com/groupclasses

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