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Modern K9, Indian Land, SC (2026)

06/04/2026

Don’t worry. Nothing is wrong with him-other than the fact that he is a drama queen.

We were practicing doing nothing and he was not happy about it. I did not ask him for that position. I didn’t even ask him for a down.

He just knows this routine and went right into it, but made sure he told me of his disapproval.

06/04/2026

I often get requests seeking advice on how to get a dog to settle. I am asked how I teach this to my dogs.

But this isn’t really a skill you can teach your dog.
It is something your dog has to learn how to do on their own.

However, it doesn’t mean that we completely remove ourselves from the process. What we can do is provide our dog with opportunities to relax or settle.

We start with an environment that is easy for the dog to truly relax in, and we join them in doing nothing. Well, fortunately, for the human, you don’t have to really do nothing. You can sit down and read a book, go on your phone, watch TV. Etc.. but the idea is for your dog to learn how to be bored. How to do nothing. And be comfortable while doing it. All you really need is a leash and a place to relax. We only give enough leash that allows the dog to stand and lay down comfortably.

As long as you’re choosing an environment and location that is suitable for this type of practice in the beginning, your dog will eventually learn that relaxing feels good and may even start choosing to do it on their own.

In this video, we were on vacation, but even on vacation training never stops. I was still providing my dogs with moments to practice doing nothing.

06/03/2026

How important is dog play really?

Play is a natural inherited canine activity. During play dogs learn life skills such as running, chasing, and ambushing.

Being captive animals, many of our pet dogs may not really need those skills. So do they still need opportunities to play with other dogs?

The answer is an astounding yes!

Play has many functions, all of which can influence a dog’s behavior. Not only does it promote physical dexterity and coordination, it actively builds mental flexibility. Because play allows for experimentation & stimulates inventiveness, dogs learn how to adapt to sudden changes.

One of the most critical times to allow this type of play is during the socialization period. This can help to develop a dog that is more intelligent and highly evolved because it allows them to problem solve or create solutions for different situations.

How a dog interacts with their littermates during the socialization period is the cornerstone for our relationship with them in the future. How the puppy treats others or is treated by his litter mates can make or break the way he acts later on.

Not only does it teach cooperative behavior, it teaches the inhibited bite a.k.a. the soft mouth.

Dogs that are isolated from other dogs during this period can become hyper aggressive toward other dogs. They can have a high fear of people, animals and noises. They may exhibit odd behaviors, such as self mutilation, and they are often poor learners reluctant to explore.

When choosing the right playmate for your puppy, there are a couple of factors to consider. Be careful not to expose your dog to other dogs that may have infectious diseases. And don’t allow your puppy to play with potentially aggressive or dominant dogs. This may create problems in the future.

If your dog is older and does not enjoy being around other dogs, don’t force it. Always make sure that it’s something your dog genuinely enjoys before setting up these opportunities.

06/03/2026

Uninterrupted sleep is essential for dogs. It helps them to rest, recharge and maintain their overall health.

But what’s really happening when they sleep?

Dogs have short sleep cycles that last 45 minutes. During this time they cycle through REM and non-REM sleep twice.

About 80% of sleep time is slow wave sleep or NREM (non-rapid eye movement) sleep. During this stage, their body temperature drops, heart rate decreases & brain activity slows down. This is when their body repairs muscles & strengthens the immune system.

After about 20 minutes, they shift into the deeper REM (rapid eye movement) cycle. During this stage they dream and process daily experiences. This stage helps rid the mind of excess information, consolidates learning and memory, and restores the nervous system. In other words, this is when short-term memories from the day (like training cues) are converted into long-term memories.

Look at all that is going on during sleep! Look at what the dog would be missing out on if they didn’t consistently get a proper amount of sleep. Dogs that are denied REM sleep suffer from behavioral issues such as irritability, hyper-reactivity, and destructive behaviors.

The average adult dog may need around 16 hours of sleep per day, but this can vary. To ensure your dog is receiving uninterrupted sleep make sure you have the following:
- a quiet and comfortable space
-exercise routine that involves both physical and mental stimulation
-a healthy diet-avoid feeding high energy foods before bedtime
-a healthy predictable nighttime routine

06/02/2026

For those of you that don’t know, dog training is my part-time job. I also have a full-time teaching job. So I am out of the house by 6:20 AM and I typically come home at 2:45 PM.

However, just because I’m a dog trainer, it doesn’t exclude my dogs from getting ridiculously excited when they know I am home. In fact, if you noticed they were already waiting by the door because they know the sound of the garage opener and my car pulling inside the garage.

For me, having three dogs get this excited is overstimulating. It’s almost too much for me to handle. I know that if I started petting and loving on them and even talking to them, it would just make them even more excited-that means I’m likely getting jumped on, hit into, or pushed. And honestly, it’s just not my idea of a nice greeting when I come home. I know some of you absolutely love this, so more power to you if you do-I say go for it. But for me, it’s too much.

But I don’t fault them for this. I know they have been waiting all day for me to come home. My returning home is the predictor to their day starting. So I get it. And I’m understanding of it.

I have found it easier to come in without talking to them, put my things down and sometimes I change out of my work clothes first.

I wait until they’re just a little bit calmer, usually 3–5 minutes. And then I love on them each individually.

Do your dogs get crazy excited when you come home?

06/02/2026

For dogs, sniffing is essentially their version of scrolling through social media. It is their main way of exploring the world. A simple sniff can provide them with a massive amount of information.

Not only does scent processing act as a source of information, it also is an emotional regulator. It activates parts of the brain that release dopamine. This in turn helps calm the nervous system, lower the heart rate, and makes them feel more optimistic.

The olfactory bulb (which is how dogs process scents) connects right to the limbic system (the part of the brain responsible for emotion). This connection explains why smells sometimes trigger emotional responses in dogs long before they process them visually. They can develop smell memories that last a lifetime, which sometimes can affect their behavior.

But perhaps the most important piece of information for dog owners to know about sniffing is that it provides a ton of mental stimulation and exhaustion. Processing different scents can be highly demanding. Many believe that just 15 minutes of intense sniffing can be the equivalent to walking (not replacing) for a full hour.

06/02/2026

Most dog owners notice that when their dog sleeps, it almost looks like they’re sleeping with their eyes open. But it’s kind of an illusion. What you are really seeing is the dog’s “third eye” (nictitating membrane). It covers their eyeball as a protective mechanism during deep or REM sleep to keep the eyes moist and shield them from debris.

During sleep, when the dog’s eyes roll back, it pushes this translucent eyelid out.

However, not all dogs’ third eyelids look the same. Some breeds have more prominent or loose third eyelids like Boxers, Pugs, English and French Bulldogs, Boston Terriers, and Pekingese.

But something to make note of is if you are seeing the third eyelid out while the dog is awake, that can be a signal of injury, illness, pain, or conditions like Horner’s syndrome.

06/01/2026

There could be many reasons a dog barks at night (being startled, pain, dreaming, stress- to name a few) but here is one explanation that I don’t think many consider….They heard a noise we were incapable of hearing. So while we may say they are barking at “nothing”, it could be something.

Dogs can hear sounds four times the distance we can. They can also hear higher pitches. While we hear up to 20,000Hz they can hear up to 70,000Hz.

Rodents such as mice, rats & voles make high-pitched squeaks that are usually between 30,000-50,000Hz.

A few years ago, while hiking, Lincoln went off the trail a few feet to the left. I could easily see him but had no clue what he was doing and why he seemed so intent to go to this one particular spot. Without hesitation, he dug for 3 seconds and pulled out a mole.
I was in awe and so naive to his hunting abilities. I couldn’t believe how he just knew there was something underground from 20feet away.

So the next time your dog is barking randomly, don’t forget the possibilities that he might just be telling you have pests in your walls 😉

05/30/2026

Dogs have some amazing abilities. Their sense of smell in incomprehensible, their hearing unparalleled, but their vision-eh-not so much. Well-it depends on how you “look” at it!

While they don’t see as many colors as we do (grey, yellow & blue) this has more to do with the positioning of their eyes. They are more laterally placed vs frontally placed like humans.

While a dog’s eyes are more sensitive to light and movement than ours, their vision is not as acute as ours. The more a dog sees laterally, the less it can see straight ahead. It creates a “blind spot”. This is why sometimes they won’t see what is right in front of them.

However, the positioning can vary among breeds. For example a bulldog or pug have frontally placed eyes and therefore have better depth perception and the ability to see straight ahead. But a dog like a German Shepherd or Greyhoound have laterally placed eyes. This allows them to have a higher field of view for scanning and tracking movement.

And the last interesting piece of information-dogs are nearsighted. They typically have 20/75 vision compared to our 20/20 vision.

While dogs may not be able to see crisp detail like we can, they are amazing hunters that can work in low light to detect prey.

05/29/2026

My dogs love fruits and vegetables. In fact, it’s very rare that they turn down food.

But I am no stranger to that funny behavior that dogs have around new foods. Do you know the one I’m talking about? The one where they take it, roll it around in their mouth, and then spit it out. However, this is not a signal to me that they don’t like it-I actually will try for a few more days to keep offering it.

Why?

It has a lot to do with a dog’s palatability.

A dog’s palatability isn’t based on taste alone. In fact, they only have 1,700 tastebuds in comparison to humans’ almost 10,000. It is first based on the smell of the food, hence why they sniff it first. Then the second is texture-cue in the playing with their food and last…the taste.

This is the biggest reason why I reintroduce foods that dogs initially refuse. Because sometimes they need to work up the courage to try it. And when they finally do-they typically end up liking it. However, after many failed attempts, I usually will stop trying.

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