Victory Road Dog Training

Victory Road Dog Training Visit my website to see what training services I provide :)
(EMAIL inquiries, I rarely check FB)

09/06/2026

She loves to be brushed.
She loves to hug while being brushed šŸ„¹

My friend Cee Carson has a new family member and we're all going to make sure Reggie grows up with safe social skills ar...
07/21/2026

My friend Cee Carson has a new family member and we're all going to make sure Reggie grows up with safe social skills around other dogs. A puppy's socialization window is when they are 4-12 weeks of age. We are doing short, controlled exposure to Paya.

But they're not playing... That's exactly the point! Socialization doesn't mean making dogs play. The majority of a dog's relationship to other beings is not play, and people who treat socialization as such run the risk of accidentally creating pushy, snappy, socially inappropriate dogs.

06/22/2026

The view from Trapper peak, highest point in the Bitterroot (10157')

06/20/2026

ZIGGY!!!!

He was fired from multiple groomers in the past due to aggression. Our training led to this point, an actual groomer working with him in his home. He even tolerated handling of sensitive areas like legs and nails.

I don't think this family needs me anymore. His next journey will be building a relationship with his new groomer. This is the greatest privilege to witness.

06/19/2026

This is in reference to the Verkada cameras they want to install in our parks. Vote NO on all AI surveillance, including dismantling the existing Flock cameras.

They say they won't use certain features. I don't trust those in power to hold the line. And, if the federal government makes us comply, will local government deny them?

Mass surveillance ALWAYS wrecks people in marginalized communities first. Choose humans over property. There are other ways to protect property too, we can be more creative than that. Do not line the dominoes for our fascist government - Andrea Davis Kristen Jordan Mike Nugent Missoula Resists Montanans Against Data Centers Action Team

05/29/2026

Fear, 'working through it,' building resilience, creating safe spaces.

(drugs are great btw, work with your vet)

I am only thinking of one thing today and it's my friend's dog hovering at death's door. I've known them since the very ...
05/25/2026

I am only thinking of one thing today and it's my friend's dog hovering at death's door. I've known them since the very start of their journey. I also know, very personally, how it feels to watch a young, vibrant dog suddenly fail. It defies all sense of reality. It makes you question whether there is meaning left in anything.

I understand why people believe in higher power. We want there to be some pathway, whether through wealth, karma, or prayer, through which we can stop these calamities. I don't believe in such things. I believe in their vet team, who has used every advancement in modern medicine to keep him alive. I believe in animal resiliency, and I can see the fight in him.

There is a story that our dogs cross the rainbow bridge when they leave us. I think it speaks to the ego of human nature that we envision our dogs simply waiting for us there, as if they have nothing better to do. And I find it cheesy as hell, but I suppose it's nice to imagine color in dark times.

Today, I cleaned the urns of the ones I lost. I chose to imagine my boys in this fabled afterlife. I told them, if you see him at the bridge, do not let him pass. It is not his time.

There is something special us gals have with our dogs. Not the family dogs, OUR dogs, the ones most bonded to us.There i...
05/24/2026

There is something special us gals have with our dogs. Not the family dogs, OUR dogs, the ones most bonded to us.

There is also something special us gals share with each other. And if there is one thing I could wish upon the men in our society, it's the ability to sit around a fire and talk about hopes and fears, parenthood and individuality, the sorry state of the world and even more fiercely, how we will live through it. I'd like to share the ability to say, out loud, "I'm so glad to be here with you."

Dog training was like that for me. With all of my clients, not just women, we'd notice and say, "Did you SEE what he just did?" And it might have been something small to the world, like passing by another dog without barking. But that moment mattered so much that I was paid to make it happen. And that moment would hopefully become a hundred more moments of a coexistence that is easier, better. We'd see it together, say it out loud, and celebrate it.

I'm no longer a professional dog trainer but I will always see the world through this lens. The mountain, the poorly packed ramen lunch, the way people around me laugh, the blazing fire before me in contrast to the cold at my back. Notice it, name it, revel in the sheer simplicity and importance of these things.

It's dangerous to go alone. Take... three dogs and lots of photos.What a privilege to hike with Ravi, a dog I trained wi...
05/11/2026

It's dangerous to go alone. Take... three dogs and lots of photos.

What a privilege to hike with Ravi, a dog I trained with nearly a decade ago as a young scallywag. At ten years old, he is still spry enough to keep up on 12 mile hikes. Damn, I can make this entire post about watching dogs grow up. But all that's important here is Ravi has the best family anyone can ask for, and as a trainer it is special to see him again.

What a joy to see EVERY wildflower carpet the ridgeline. I was drawn to shooting stars but my friend pointed out the stunning Calypso orchid, and truly all our other beauties were on display. There were enough glacier lilies to take a nibble. And that northern alligator lizard... Let's just say Paya pointed it out to us towards the end.

Humbling was the snowclad Bitterroot range on the horizon, as was the curtain of deadfall we navigated.

This is why I live here, to go on a 'let's just see' adventure on a stunning Sunday, and have this slice of paradise all to ourselves.

Our training is imperfect but entertaining. The first video shows a true find - we were in a patch, but I did not know t...
05/09/2026

Our training is imperfect but entertaining. The first video shows a true find - we were in a patch, but I did not know those shrooms were there. In that sense, Paya truly found them. But from a functional perspective, we would've found them with our eyes even without dogs.

They are getting to be good Patch Sweepers. Over the day there were fewer false indications, which Paya did at the beginning of the clip when she lay down at some stems (we had just picked them). We want alerts on hidden, intact shrooms, not our bags of shrooms, not the other dog's find, not the stem of the one we just picked. Thinking on these concepts, this is a complex game. I'd like for P to become a Patch FINDER. But it's hard when realistic training is limited to a few weeks each year. I'm learning that I'm good at teaching basic scentwork - Paya can find my missing glove in a field over half a mile away. Mushroom hunting is a different beast.

All that said, at its core, foraging is about being outside intentionally, even better when there's good company. Take a look at this company (not pictured - an owl, a hawk, a deer), and know that our amble was full of wonder and whimsy.

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Missoula, MT

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9am - 6pm

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