Through The Muck Dog Training

06/15/2026

The power of the Place command!
Ryder went back home to his fosters the last week and a half to wean off of the meds he was put on in the shelter.
After being dropped off today to finish out his training program with me, the separation anxiety returned (luckily, it was quite minimal!) upon seeing his people leave.
Instead of doing what he does when he’s feeling anxious (pacing, panting, not sure what to do) I put him in his place command.
If you want a dog to feel differently about something or to stop doing an undesirable behavior altogether, you cannot just correct the behavior. You must also teach the dog what to do instead. It’s a give and take. Clear direction. Clear guidance. Clear rewards and clear consequences.
With all of this, instead of pacing he decided to relax and take a nap.
A huge reminder that dogs - old dogs, big dogs, small dogs, nice dogs, not nice dogs - they’re all TODDLERS in animal form. Without clear guidance and predictable outcomes you cannot expect to have a consistent change of behavior. It (as it always does) comes down to the human handling the dog - are you consistent and clear with your expectations and energy or not.

06/11/2026

did NOT sign up for this 😂😅

06/06/2026

✅ Potty break
✅ Sing the song of my people

05/29/2026

😂

05/27/2026

Meet Ryder!
Ryder was rescued by Saving Shepherds of MN from the shelter just a few short weeks ago.
Ryder deteriorated quickly in the shelter environment. He began truly losing his marbles when he was in his kennel. Barking profusely, pacing, drooling, jumping, you name it. Completely unhappy and overwhelmed with no clue how to feel better.
His amazing fosters took him in and soon found out that he was just as much of a mess in his kennel at their home. Got his head through a closed Ruffland Kennel door to be specific (which is incredibly hard to do!!) and a whole canine through the side of the kennel (also not easy to do!) Separation anxiety to the max.
Ryder is here in my 4 week board and train program to work on calmness and acceptance of his kennel, learning how to be content and stable when alone, as well as to learn all of his basic obedience commands to set him up for his new life.
This dude is such a sweetheart and deserves the best chance at his new beginning.
Follow along to see how Ryder progresses - I can already tell working him through his struggles is going to be extremely rewarding - we can’t wait to see what these next 4 weeks bring!

05/27/2026

05/14/2026

Meet Remus!
Remus was found as a stray in North Minneapolis and was rescued by his (now) owner before being scheduled to be euthanized. The kennel environment was hard on him and im sure because of that (and Lord knows what else!) he has shown pretty severe reactivity and just a general uncertainty of the unfamiliar since being in his new home.
Through my private session package, we are working at that reactivity and big displays of those emotions and taking it a pace that allows him to become comfortable with life little by little.
As most shepherds do - he looks and sounds ferocious. And as most shepherds are, he’s a sensitive guy and has a lot of love to give. Just isn’t sure who’s worthy of getting it.
These types of training sessions are my favorite to do! Not only are we working towards changing how the dog feels and reacts to things, we’re also working on teaching the owner how to manage a dog with these feelings and reactions and how to begin to move passed it 🐶

05/08/2026

This video doesn’t look like much is happening at all….thats the point 🐶
When Koda first started her training program, her favorite way to release any bit of energy was to go BALLISTIC at our neighbor dogs. Dogs out on walks, dogs passing by the windows; any dog was fair game.
6 weeks later and she looks at these two pups (very sweet dogs but quite noisy 🤣) and keeps it moving.
She has learned over the course of her program that instead of reacting, she can look at me and get a reward. She no longer needs to be watched like a hawk - she has built trust, consistency in her actions, and a lot more neutrality around unfamiliar dogs.
Dog training is not only teaching commands. It’s changing the way a dog thinks and feels about things that were previously impossible to even look at without tipping over the edge