Some Minor Dog Training

09/02/2026

A lot of people with reactive dogs get really good at avoiding other dogs. Cross the street, turn around, find a quieter route, or keep enough distance that nothing happens.

And sometimes that distance is exactly what the dog needs in the beginning. But if the long-term goal is improvement, eventually we have to do more than avoid the problem. We have to teach the dog how to successfully exist around the things they react to.

That doesn’t mean putting them into situations they can’t handle. It means starting at a workable distance, giving them clear expectations, and gradually showing them that another dog being nearby doesn’t have to be a big deal.

I put together a short video showing what that progression can actually look like with a reactive dog. If you’re working through reactivity yourself, this one may help.

Watch the full video here:

Reactive dogs don’t get better by spending their lives avoiding oth...

08/31/2026

When we got Jack, our Dogo Argentino, he was maybe 15 pounds. But we knew we weren't raising a 15-pound dog. We were raising a puppy that would eventually be a 120 pound dog.

So we thought about the rules we wanted him to have as an adult, especially because we have kids.

One of those rules was that he couldn't just jump onto the couch or bed whenever he wanted. At first, we simply didn't let him on the couch at all. Eventually, he stopped trying and his default became lying on the floor in front of it.

That's when we started giving him more freedom.

We'd call him over, ask him to sit, and then invite him onto the couch. Sometimes he got invited up. Sometimes he didn't. The important part was that getting on the furniture became something he waited for permission to do instead of something he assumed he could do.

Now he's 5 years old and 120 pounds.

If he wants to get on the couch or bed, he comes over and asks first. He waits for an invitation because that's the habit we built when he was still tiny.

That's one of the reasons I think it's important to look at puppy behavior through the lens of the adult dog you're raising.

Don't just ask yourself, "Is this a problem right now?"

Ask yourself, "Will I still be okay with this when my dog is fully grown?"

It's much easier to establish those boundaries while they're 15 pounds than to suddenly introduce them when they're 120. 🐶❤️

08/29/2026

Understanding WHY a dog does something doesn’t mean we have to accept the behavior.

A dog might bark because they’re nervous. Pull because they’re excited. Guard something because they’re insecure. Jump because it’s been reinforced. Ignore you because the environment is more rewarding than you are.

The “why” matters because it tells us what the dog actually needs from us.

Sometimes that means building confidence. Sometimes it means teaching a clearer alternative. Sometimes it means changing the environment, adding more structure, reinforcing better choices, or setting a boundary when the dog makes the wrong one.

Understanding behavior and holding dogs accountable aren’t opposites. In fact, understanding the behavior is what allows us to respond fairly instead of just reacting to what we see on the surface.

Don’t use the explanation as an excuse. Use it as your starting point. 🐶❤️

08/28/2026

Giving your dog more freedom should be an experiment, not a free-for-all.

As training progresses, we WANT to loosen the structure. Maybe the leash comes off in the house. Maybe they don’t have to stay on Place as often. Maybe treats become less frequent. Maybe the routine becomes a little more flexible. But don’t change everything at once.

If you remove the leash, stop reinforcing good choices, loosen all the boundaries, AND change the routine at the same time, what happens if the dog starts struggling? You have no idea which change caused it.

Instead, change ONE variable at a time. Give them a little more freedom and watch what they do with it. Do they make good choices? Great. That tells us they’re probably ready for that freedom. Keep it and experiment with loosening something else.

Do they start counter surfing, ignoring commands, pestering the other dog, blowing through doors, or getting into things? That’s information too. We don’t get mad at the dog. We simply tighten the structure back up, continue training, and try the experiment again later.

Freedom isn’t something we suddenly hand a dog because they’ve been doing well. It’s something they show us they’re ready to handle.

Give freedom gradually. Change one variable at a time. Let the dog’s choices tell you what comes next. 🐶❤️

08/26/2026

That statistic isn’t accidental. Most dogs are surrendered when they hit ADOLESCENCE, usually between 6 months and 3 years old.

This is the phase where:
• Puppies stop being “easy”
• Hormones kick in
• Independence increases
• Impulse control drops
• Previously learned behaviors seem to fall apart

In reality, nothing is “wrong” with the dog.

Adolescence is a developmental stage, not a behavior problem.

Dogs at this age are testing boundaries, struggling with self regulation, and learning how to function in a human world with distractions, expectations, and rules. Without structure, guidance, and follow through, frustration builds on both sides.

This is also the stage where many owners unintentionally:
• Reduce training
• Increase freedom too fast
• Stop managing the environment
• Expect adult behavior from an adolescent brain

Training during adolescence is not about perfection.
It’s about consistency, structure, and management while the dog’s brain catches up to their body.

Most dogs surrendered at this age don’t need new homes. They need owners who understand what stage they’re in and how to guide them through it. Adolescence passes. 🐶❤️

08/24/2026

The leash isn't just for controlling your dog.

We sometimes look at a leash as nothing more than a safety device. It's the thing that keeps the dog from running away, pulling us down the street, jumping on someone, or getting into something they shouldn't. And yes, it absolutely does those things. But a leash can be much more useful than that.

A leash can provide information. A little tension can tell a dog they're moving in the wrong direction. The release of that tension can tell them they've made the right choice. It gives us a way to communicate without constantly talking, repeating commands, or physically moving the dog ourselves.

It also helps prevent rehearsal. If your dog has practiced charging the front door 500 times, jumping on every guest, or running to the window every time another dog walks by, those behaviors aren't going to disappear simply because we started teaching something different. The leash gives us an opportunity to interrupt those old patterns before they happen and guide the dog toward a new one.

More importantly, a leash can create boundaries while a dog is still learning how to create those boundaries for themselves. Think of it like training wheels. We're not trying to physically control every decision forever. We're giving the dog enough structure that they can practice making better decisions until they don't need as much help from us.

That's why we'll use leashes inside the house. We'll use them around distractions. We'll use them when teaching calmness, greetings, door manners, Place, and dozens of other things that have nothing to do with going for a walk.

The goal isn't to have a dog that behaves because the leash physically prevents them from doing anything else.

The goal is to use the leash to help teach them what to do, then gradually need it less and less.

A leash shouldn't just control movement. It should help create understanding. 🐶❤️

08/22/2026

The Boston Terrier may be known as the “American Gentleman,” but their family tree is a little rougher than the tuxedo suggests. 😂

The breed developed in Boston in the late 1800s from Bulldog and terrier-type ancestry. Those early dogs came from a history of fighting and ratting before breeders eventually shaped the Boston into the smaller companion dog we know today.

That history can still give us clues about the dog in front of us.

Bostons tend to be playful, energetic, persistent, social, and VERY interested in what's happening around them. Without guidance, that enthusiasm can become jumping, pulling toward people or dogs, demand barking, chasing, wild play, or difficulty settling.

So with a Boston puppy, I wouldn't focus on exhausting them. I'd focus on teaching them what to do with all that enthusiasm:

- Practice settling around exciting things.
- Build leash manners early.
- Reward four paws on the floor.
- Give them appropriate outlets for chasing, chewing, playing, and problem solving.
- Teach them that seeing something doesn't mean they automatically get to interact with it.

That last one is a huge part of socialization too. They don't need to greet every person or dog. Sometimes their job is simply to exist around them.

Breed isn't destiny. Genetics give us tendencies, while training and experience help shape what we do with them.

Breed history isn't an excuse for behavior. It's a roadmap for what we may want to start teaching before those behaviors become problems. 🐶❤️

08/21/2026

I have a love/hate relationship with the word “training.” Obviously, I’m a dog trainer, so I use the word every day. But I also think the word accidentally gives people the impression that there’s a finish line. Teach the dog to sit. Teach them to stay. Teach them to walk on a leash. Fix the jumping. Fix the barking. Eventually, you have a “trained dog.”

Except I don’t really believe that’s how this works. I think we’re RAISING dogs, not simply training them.

Think about raising a child. We teach a five-year-old to sit quietly in their seat at school, but we don’t come home afterward and say, “Well, that’s done. They know how to behave now.” Of course not. That’s just one lesson in a process that’s going to last for at least the next 18 years.

As they get older, their world gets bigger. They’re given more freedom. The expectations change. They make mistakes. They test boundaries. New situations bring new challenges, and occasionally we have to revisit something we thought they already understood. Dogs really aren’t that different.

The puppy who learned not to jump in your quiet living room still has to learn not to jump when Grandma walks through the door. The dog who learned recall in the backyard still has to learn what “come” means when there’s a squirrel running across a field. The dog who can lie on Place for twenty minutes at home still has to learn how to settle when you take them somewhere they’ve never been before.

That doesn’t mean the training failed. It means the dog is still being raised. Training teaches individual skills, but raising a dog is about teaching them how to use those skills as their world gets bigger and more complicated.

That’s why I say it so often: You don’t finish training. You maintain it. Maybe an even better way to put it is that you don’t just train a dog. You raise one. 🐶❤️

08/19/2026

A lot of dogs learn that rain is something unpleasant because of how WE act when it starts raining.

Think about it. We rush them outside. We tell them to hurry up and go potty. We immediately head back toward the door. Every part of the experience says, “We don’t want to be out here.”

And our dogs pick up on that pattern.

Next time it rains, assuming the weather is safe, try doing the opposite. Slow down. Walk around the yard. Practice some obedience. Play for a minute. Act like nothing unusual is happening.

You might get wet, but you may also end up with a dog who stops treating every rainy day like a crisis. 😂

Does your dog care about the rain, or do they refuse to even step outside? 🌧️🐶❤️

08/17/2026

“My dog is only reactive on walks.”
A lot of people tell us this. They want to skip the work inside and get straight outside because that’s where they see the problem.

But then we meet the dog at home.

They explode when someone knocks on the door. They bark out the window. They rush to investigate every sound. And if something exciting is happening, getting their attention suddenly becomes very difficult.

That’s the same problem. We just don’t notice it as much inside because there isn’t a dog, person, squirrel, car, or bicycle passing by every 30 seconds.

The walk isn’t creating the problem. It’s exposing it. And underneath the reactivity, there’s often a relationship piece we need to work on.

How much does your dog value your direction when the environment is competing with you?

That’s why some of our most important reactivity work starts in the house. Calling the dog away from a window. Holding Place while someone comes through the door. Choosing to check in with you when something catches their attention. Learning that excitement doesn’t mean they get to completely tune you out.

We build that relationship where the distractions are easier first. Because another dog 20 feet away shouldn’t be the first time we ask your dog to choose you over something they really care about.

Reactivity work doesn’t start when you see another dog. It starts with becoming relevant to your dog when something else is more interesting. 🐶❤️