08/05/2026
Meet Lilly! Lilly is here to learn the basics while building confidence. She struggles with separation anxiety, destructive behaviors, and leash reactivity—all common behaviors we often see in nervous, anxious dogs.
Before Lilly came to training, I asked her owners to hold off on purchasing any training equipment until I had the opportunity to evaluate her in person. Every dog is an individual, and I prefer to choose training tools based on the dog in front of me rather than making assumptions ahead of time.
In this video, Lilly is working on a slip lead, and she's doing very well with it. If she begins pulling hard enough to choke herself, I may transition her to a prong collar to provide clearer, more effective communication while keeping her comfortable and safe. But at this point, the slip lead is meeting her needs.
My goal is always to let the dog tell me what tools are appropriate. The exceptions are cases involving significant aggression or when owners have specific goals, such as off-leash reliability, that require different equipment. Just like no two dogs are the same, their training plans shouldn't be either. Every dog deserves an approach that's tailored to their individual temperament, behavior, and needs.
