Pawsitively Waggin' Academy

06/06/2026

So excited to teach this new class! Going to run a raffle for the first 15 people to sign up for a working spot for a 1-hour virtual private scent work session with me on anything scent work related!

*NEW CLASS*

Empty Chairs at Empty Tables: Hide Placement Strategies For All Levels
6 Week Virtual Group Class
Class begins July 22nd, 2026 (Private Group on Facebook)
Working Spot: $250+tax
Audit Spot: $125+tax​

Empty Chairs At Empty Tables is an all level scent work class, created for dog owners who are interested in getting creative about hide placement, while being thoughtful and smart about your dog’s search.
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Students will learn different set ups throughout the classes, learning about various hide setting strategies, and seeing how hide placement affects a dog’s understanding of getting to source. Videos will also be shown on hide setting at trials where Michelle has judged, along with feedback on how the search actually went/what dogs/teams did.​

This class was highly requested by my clients who consistently enjoy the feedback I give on being creative with hide placement, as hides don’t only have to be on the most “obvious” objects or places. So often teams get sucked up on locations where they think a judge would place a hide (chairs and tables being most common) instead of letting their dogs search. Similarly, a lot of teams predominantly practice on chairs & tables, which doesn’t allow their dogs to get creative about getting close to source. I’m excited to see team growth throughout the course of this class as both ends of the leash expand their toolbox!

Working spot: you have a personalized thread to upload videos to on our group. You work through the material from the class and upload hw assignments. I then comment on your assignments with critiques, how to fix & change things so you can progress as a team with your dog! 1-1 training within a “group setting”. Since the lectures are posted once a week, it gives you a full week to upload videos when you can (and you can continue posting as many videos as you’d want, it’s not just one a week)

Audit: you get all of the material and get to watch classmates videos and learn from them and my critiques, but I do not give you personalized feedback.

Classes will be uploaded once a week for 6 weeks in lecture style with a powerpoint with videos and instructions/education embedded

Link to info/sign up in comments!

06/05/2026

Let’s Get Sniffy level 1 is back! First 10 people to sign up get put in a raffle for a virtual private session with me to work on anything scent work related!

Let's Get Sniffy is a novice level scent work class, created for dog owners who are interested in getting started in scent work for competition or for fun! At the end of this class your dog will be confident in interior searches & container searches, and will have the building blocks for buried and....

10/01/2025

Tricks are such a great way to bond with your dogs! Zion completed her TKA title yesterday 💜

08/08/2025

Rainier had such a great weekend back to AKC Scent Work last weekend!

07/31/2025

I've been asked to put together in person scent work classes and am SO looking forward to these classes! These 2 classes are for started teams, I am looking for a space to teach classes for new teams :)

Let's Get Sniffy: Around The Town is a scent work class for started dogs, created for teams who are interested in continuing their scent work education for competition or for fun! This class will focus on interior searches & exterior searches, and will potentially cover container searches if the sp...

07/22/2025

We just got back last night from a 5 day trip to Acadia National Park, which for those of you that follow us on social media, you know that it’s our happy place! Having said that, we brought all 5 dogs along with us, which gave us a great opportunity to train & socialize Zion and Fennec, who were 14 weeks old during the trip.

We prioritized good public skills, settling at restaurants, and good “trail” manners during the trip, good car skills (8.5 hour drive one way, and all of the driving to different hikes, and being patient in the car) and both of the pups passed with flying colors. We were consistently asked if they were adult dogs, but small breed, or if they were puppies because of how calm and appropriate they were in public settings. I focused a lot on mat work in restaurants with Zion, which she has had previously done work with, which led to her choosing to just stay in a down as soon as she saw her mat every single time. She was also able to hold her down/stays in many different public settings, and generally speaking blew me away with all of the things I did not know she could do yet.

For trail manners, they learned to pull off of a trail to let people pass, worked on active passing of people and dogs, and ignoring the adult dogs (who actively ignore them during hikes) while hiking. They also did great in their backpacks when they needed breaks (growing puppy joints = not overdoing it). I really enjoy getting out in the woods with my puppies as it really teaches them a lot about body coordination and awareness. Acadia is known for many different terrains, including gravel, granite rock, dirt, roots, stones to cross over water sections, and so much more. They did really well with all of this!

In general they worked around hundreds of people (adults, kids, etc) and dogs (all breeds and sizes), went to many restaurants and stores, and did amazing. When asked to be pet, they were thrilled and appropriate, with Zion giving her signature hugs and loving on every child who asked to say hello to her, and Fennec happily jumping into people’s laps when they sat on the floor.

I’m so impressed by how they did on this trip and am now absolutely itching to go somewhere else with them soon! Thankfully we go back to Acadia in 3 short months for our wedding which is super exciting!

If you want to see how a certified dog behavior consultant sets their puppy up for success in life & sports, make sure to join Zion’s training diary: https://forms.gle/PjgLYWYmFfaxYRY67

07/11/2025

✨Tug Sale✨ coming at 6pm EST today, July 11th, 2025!

07/08/2025

This is why we take working outside in the heat seriously. When we have to reschedule due to heat, it’s for everyone’s safety.