A Better Dog

A Better Dog Personalized, one-on-one dog training designed to strengthen the bond between you and your dog. Free follow-up support included
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We help solve behavior challenges like anxiety, aggression, leash pulling, and more with in-home, walking, or virtual sessions. ABD seeks to improve relationships between dogs and their owners through focused, attentive training sessions to address a variety of issues including pulling, lunging, jumping up, resource guarding and aggression.

Sometimes you have to adapt….Being an in-home dog trainer means working in a variety of different environments. Helping...
06/02/2026

Sometimes you have to adapt….

Being an in-home dog trainer means working in a variety of different environments. Helping our clients get the most out of their dog and their relationship is the goal. Not every client wants or needs the same things.

Sometimes there are unique situations that we have to adapt to. For example, working with a client who resided in an assisted living facility (posted May 19th) or helping a client navigate living with two high energy dogs after losing a leg in a motorcycle accident.

In the case of this 6 pound, 8 year old dynamo (name withheld for privacy) it was helping the family to improve the daily interactions between the dog and a their special needs (SN) son.

This toy poodle had been with the family for about three months after being rescued from a hoarding situation. In that time she had already started to guard her mom and bark and growl whenever the SN son was around. This ramped up the stress level for all involved.

As a trainer, working with a dog in the home environment affords me the chance to see the dog how it truly is and in this dogs’ case it was very nervous/anxious.

We spent time talking with the entire family about how the dog processes both verbal and nonverbal interactions from each family member (because the dogs’ reactions can vary from person to person). We specifically addressed the dogs’ relationship with mom to eliminate the guarding behavior that they have been dealing with.

We practiced how the family can best handle the dogs’ poor choices around their SN son. This included a food/treat based protocol that the SN son used to start the process of redefining his relationship with the dog.

Progress with dogs in sometimes slow and that will be the case here but this family is up to the task. Fortunately they reached out early which increases the chances for a favorable outcome.

05/21/2026

The following is an email from a client after only having a brief phone consultation.

Hugh Thanks from Olive.

Phil, your advice made all the difference! Unfortunately, we weren’t able to record a video, but we did train her on the step inside and outside the house. Then we used the horizontal leash method—and roast beef, which she never had before and only got during car training.

Please feel free to use the following review…

Phil from A Better Dog was so helpful to us in getting our rescue puppy Olive house trained. His method was different from anything we had heard of before, and it worked.

Two years later, 55 pound Olive refused to get into the car, no matter what we tried—for months. We were desperate to board her, so we could go to our granddaughter’s graduation in Orlando. Again, Phil came to the rescue.

We worked with Olive for a few weeks, following Phil’s advice. Eventually Olive very reluctantly got into the car in time for our trip. Two weeks later, she started getting into the car by herself. Now, we can take her for walks in the park and get her to her vet appointments.

I don’t know what we would have done without Phil and A Better Dog. We highly recommend them! —Susan Wilkinson, Jackson, MI

Let’s talk about child safety…..As some of you may know our GSD Emma and I have done safety presentations for the last c...
05/20/2026

Let’s talk about child safety…..

As some of you may know our GSD Emma and I have done safety presentations for the last couple of years to Elementary school children. During this sessions we hear about negative encounters the children have had with a dog that often results in injury. These are almost always the result of an issue with the family dog. I also learned something that genuinely surprised me. A number of these small children had negative encounters with other dogs (outside their own home) while they were out walking their own dog or puppy BY THEMSELVES. I’d like to share a recent personal experience as to why letting your child walk their dog by themselves might not be the best idea.

Last week my two dogs and I were attacked by a large breed (deliberately vague) off-leash dog where I sustained a bite injury and one of our dogs received a minor injury.

Before you send your child(ren) out to walk the family dog or puppy please consider….

*We have little to NO control of the environment we walk our dogs in.

*The dog that is out walking with that child may serve as a target for any reactive or aggressive dog they may pass by.

*A child is going to be less situationally aware than an adult and may not recognize a dangerous situation before its too late.

*A child will serve as less of a physical deterrent to a reactive or aggressive dog than an adult might.

Please realize that the dog that attacked us was fully intent on taking on an adult human with two dogs. How do you think a small child would have faired?

Experiencing a dog attack can have life long physical and emotional consequences for both human and dog alike. Please think carefully before putting either of yours in a situation they are not prepared to handle.

There is a first time for everything…..We were recently contacted to assist a client residing in a senior living facilit...
05/19/2026

There is a first time for everything…..

We were recently contacted to assist a client residing in a senior living facility. Their dogs’ overly excited behavior had led to the staff getting scratched often while providing care to the owner. Additionally, the staff would occasionally have to be “hands on” to assist the owner in a variety of situations which was made more difficult by the dogs propensity to guard the owner.

The staff was already doing a great job walking the dog multiple times a day to assist the owner but the dog was starting to wear out her welcome.

Did I mention the dog in question was a 69 lb Dogo Argentino named Pinky.

To best address the issues at hand, we coordinated with the facility to schedule two separate visits so we could see the dog interact with a variety of staff members on different shifts. Luckily Pinky is a sweet, slightly cautious girl at heart so that made working with her that much easier.

We discussed and demonstrated best verbal and non-verbal communication practices to give clear yes/no responses to Pinky’s behavior choices. We also discussed the times when using a food reward or the leash would be the best option.

I am told things with Pinky are much improved. We feel very fortunate to be able to help in such a unique situation.

Let’s talk about…..b o u n d a r i e s.Every week we help clients who struggle with a variety of issues. At the core of ...
05/01/2026

Let’s talk about…..b o u n d a r i e s.

Every week we help clients who struggle with a variety of issues. At the core of many of their issues are the lack of boundaries between the dog and its owner/family.

This brings us to Sonny, a 9 month old, 80 lb. Aussie-doodle. Sonny passes the time jumping on mom and visitors alike, demand barking, nipping and digging holes in the yard.

We first established the expectations of good manners when on leash with his mom. Once that was done we moved inside the home to see the full Sonny show. The dog was all gas and no brake.

It was time to set up a different expectation of behavior for Sonny. We taught him that mom could sit down in her favorite chair and not have Sonny barreling in demanding attention.

Sonny also learned to wait for permission to exit the crate. Why is this a big deal? It’s important for the dog to “check in” with mom and not just come out of the crate like a racehorse. This helps mom with the leadership component of her relationship with Sonny. The small things matter!

Sonny also had a habit of being under foot when mom was in the kitchen. Obviously not a safe practice. We used the area between the counter and the refrigerator as our “line in the sand” boundary for the dog. Sonny really struggled but eventually he started to get the message. You can see in these series of photos the change in Sonny’s posture indicating the training was sinking in. At first Sonny cheated his way over the “line” with his front feet. The next photo shows Sonny sitting back from the kitchen opening. Lastly, Sonny chose to lay down outside the kitchen.

Over the course of our session you could see the Sonny start to engage the thinking part of his brain instead of allowing the impulsive side of his brain to lead the way.

04/28/2026

We have for you today the story of Biscuit, a 4 year old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. Biscuit is know for being high strung which goes hand in hand with his desire to “bark at everything” that passes his house. Add to that the fact that he enjoys barking and reacting to cars when out for a walk and you can imagine how much extra work that makes for his family.

We began our session with setting boundaries for the dog with his family members. We set out teaching the dog that jumping up on or crawling all over his people on the couch was not allowed. Instead, he would have to wait for permission to be invited into their personal space.

Why does this even matter? The foundation of a healthy relationship with your dog starts with the dog respecting your personal space. If your dog can not respect that how could they respect you as any type of leader?

When is came to walking their dog the owners were in a tough spot. They had multiple off leash encounters in their neighborhood that made that route less desirable but when they tried to walk along W. Milham ave (near their home) Biscuit was a complete dip 💩. On our walk with Biscuit is where this all came together!!

The video clip takes place on W. Milham ave a little over and hour into our session and only about 15 minutes into his new “structured walk”. This new approach was an immediate success as you can clearly see. Look how little mom has to do. Very impressive Biscuit!!

Sometimes the changes you are looking for are not that far away. Don’t hesitate to consult a professional.

This transformation even caught me by surprise….We first worked with 2.5 year old Chase in mid March. The post from our ...
04/23/2026

This transformation even caught me by surprise….

We first worked with 2.5 year old Chase in mid March. The post from our session (3.30.26) included a video of him frantically barking at a squirrel in a tree at the park. To be clear, that barking was a staple of expression for Chase. Since mom had to let me into the secured apartment building when I arrived, Chase was left waiting in the apartment. As we got off the elevator you could hear that frantic barking plain as day filling the hallway. When I got to the door Chase took a run at me as well. He was a bit of an emotional wreck.

Fast forward just a couple of days later when we received a text from mom, “Hello! Thank you for your help. We did a 4.5 mile walk and it was like walking a new dog”…

When I arrived for our second session in Mid April I could not believe my ears!!! Mom again came to let me into the building. When the elevator doors opened on her floor it was dead silent. WTH! Mom said she had been practicing and it showed. When I came into the apartment Chase calmly walked up to greet me. 🤯🤯

During the entire session Chase was much calmer and more focused than the last time we met. The difference was night and day. Everything we did from walking to recall to Place training were all greatly improved.

Chase is a great example of what can happen when we ask more of our dogs….we get more in return.

04/15/2026

Our rescue Jango…. One year later

It’s been almost a year since we brought Jango home. He has come to be a tremendous addition to our family.

I wanted to share a couple videos showing you the type of guy he is.

We discovered very early on that he has an Idiopathic head tremor which was scary to witness the first time he had an episode. These tremors are a fairly frequent occurrence but with practice they have become relatively easily to deal with.

We also saw a dog that needed a little help with the basics😬. What’s a sit? (See comments for video)

We cannot imagine our life without sweet boy but it took more than love & pets to get here. It started with structure & engagement from each family member for us to have the great relationship we have today. We love you buddy!!

ABD went to Caledonia to meet with Kane the 9 year old Husky who shares a home with his human family and two other dogs....
04/10/2026

ABD went to Caledonia to meet with Kane the 9 year old Husky who shares a home with his human family and two other dogs. Recently Kane has taken to remodeling the family home without the permission of his owners.

We spoke with the client about crate training and proper crate selection prior to our session to make sure they got one that could keep Kane safe.

While this guy wasn’t as excited about crate training as I was he took to it very quickly even laying down in the crate for over 20 minutes while the other dogs were moving around the same space.

Introducing a 9 year old to a crate can be challenging but Kane made it look relatively easy. Now there is still work to be done but we were all pleased with his initial response to the training.

Some of this was stressful on Kane but that’s where the growth happens.

Even after all of his training Kane came to sit under me at the end of his session which I took as a sign of trust.

Sometimes getting more out of your dog requires you asking more of them. Seek professional assistance if you’re not sure how to proceed.
Animal Rescue Project Zhang Animal Rescue Center

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Centre Avenue
Portage, MI

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