Kind Dog Training

10/08/2026

TBT to 2023 with Fern working hard for the generous salary of a couple of treats.

Sit, down, stand, sit pretty, tadaa. All on verbal cues only, with my hands behind my back.

Honest question: Does your dog really know the words? Or are they watching your hands, guessing, and offering whatever has earned the most snacks before?

Try it with your hands behind your back. You may discover that your dog knows every word. You may also get six sits and a blank stare.

Fern knew the assignment. Excellent worker. Terrible negotiator.

10/04/2026

Fall colors, conveniently available in dog form.

Caramel, cinnamon, toasted, golden, slightly burnt.
Very lucky I get to spend my days helping these faces make good choices. 🍂🤎

09/15/2026

September is Animal Pain Awareness Month, so the new newsletter has less fluff and more detective work. Pain doesn’t always limp. Sometimes it skips a favorite trick, reduces patience, or quietly rearranges a dog’s routine. Before you call it stubborn, check the body. Link in bio.

Pain does not always limp into the room. Sometimes it quietly changes what a dog volunteers for, tolerates, enjoys, or recovers from. Those changes are easy to file under “behavior,” especially when the dog is still eating, playing, and otherwise appearing very much like themselves.

08/27/2026

Ollie is five months old and already showing some wildly impressive self-control around airborne snacks.

Session two, and I can drop treats right in front of him, quietly say “leave it,” and he’s like: Yes, obviously. We have standards.

The secret is almost disappointingly boring: make the right choice ridiculously easy, reinforce it, repeat, then increase the difficulty by about half an inch.

No corrections. No intimidation. No frustration marathon. Just a puppy getting very, very good at making choices. Turns out you don’t have to make training unpleasant for it to be impressive.

puppytraining

08/06/2026

Your dog may not need a backpack, but they definitely have a few lessons to learn. 📚🐾

Inside the August newsletter: back-to-school survival for canine class clowns, what training looks like for blind dogs, a little National Dog Day celebration, and a tribute to Lou Bear, my ancient Chihuahua who wore a serape, stole Nylabones from dogs ten times her size, and ruled the house with zero qualifications and absolute confidence.

Read it before your dog eats the homework.

This does not automatically mean “separation anxiety.” Dogs can struggle alone because of fear, panic, frustration, outside noises, or simply because they have not learned how to settle without company. One eaten shoe is evidence of poor shoe security, not a complete diagnosis.

07/10/2026

Good timing makes training look a little like magic. 🪄🐶

But it’s not magic. It’s just information arriving at the exact moment your dog needs it. Your marker tells your dog, “Yes. That thing right there.”

The treat is important, but the timing is what makes the message clear. Mark too late, and your dog may start connecting the dots in a very creative direction.

Clean timing builds cleaner behavior, fewer accidental rewards, and a lot less “how did we end up teaching that?”

07/05/2026

Fourth of July may have arrived, but June deserves one last curtain call.

Dogs making excellent decisions.
Dogs making… other decisions.
Treats disappearing at record speed.
Bully sticks vanishing like they never existed.
Olympic-level naps.

And somewhere in between all of that, a whole bunch of dogs became a little braver, calmer, and more confident than they were just a few weeks ago.

That’s a wrap on June. On to whatever July has in store. ✨🐾

07/02/2026

🐕‍🦺🎇 Flags, Fireworks, and Frantic Lap Requests

Did your dog hear one firework and immediately apply for witness protection? My July newsletter is out now, covering fireworks fallout, the Boom Buffet, travel-season logistics, medication without the guilt spiral, and August classes. Tiny spoiler: your dog’s ideal Independence Day plan involves snacks, white noise, and zero sky explosions....

06/21/2026

Some dogs hate baths. 🫧

Some see you grab your keys and think, “Well, this is how the story ends.“ 🎬💔

Separation anxiety isn’t stubbornness, spite, or a dog trying to guilt-trip you into staying home. It’s panic.

The barking, pacing, destruction, accidents, and escape attempts aren’t the problem. They’re the clues.

The good news? Separation anxiety is treatable. And despite what that one guy on Facebook keeps insisting, „cry it out“ isn’t part of the treatment plan.

If your dog treats every departure like the season finale of a reality show, you’re not alone. Reach out if you’d like help, or if you need help finding resources that can make goodbyes a whole lot easier.

06/04/2026

Is your dog having the best summer ever… or did their brain just open 72 tabs at once? My June newsletter is out now, and we’re talking fun meter malfunctions, stress zoomies, overarousal, and why “just tire them out” can sometimes backfire. Tiny spoiler: your dog’s nervous system may need a dimmer switch, not another beach day.

At first glance, a dog who is running, jumping, barking, spinning, and doing tiny parkour off people’s kneecaps may look like they are having the best day ever. And sometimes they are. But sometimes the fun meter is broken.