Rise Above Dog Training

08/04/2026

It’s awesome to know with as much as the prison program does for us in our mission to help veterans find healing that the inmates in these programs are finding healing as well. The power of the unconditional love of dogs knows no bounds.

08/02/2026

Them: “We never see you at the club.” Us: “And we never see you out working your reactive dog…”

08/01/2026

A nice calm walk is something most owners envision when they decide to get a dog, but often at least the first half of the walk is anything but calm if your dog has anything to say about it. The reason for that is because a walk is inherently rewarding for dogs. ESPECIALLY the beginning of it. There’s new smells, new sights, fun things to do… and if you think about it strategically it’s a super reinforcer for training. So when Biscuit and Butter’s parents asked for help with reigning their rowdiness in we started at the start! The magic in training comes from humans recognizing when they’re in possession of something that the dog finds truly rewarding. So here we’re working on the best trade deal of all time. If you give us manners, you get more freedom. And dogs that are motivated for the reinforcer learn incredibly fast if we stay consistent on the terms of this deal. It’s a tough habit to break, but if you need help bringing your original vision of a calm dog walk to life we’re here to help!

07/30/2026

The road we walk with our dogs is far too short to let people who’ve never tread a similar path throw us off course. Listen to your heart. Turn over every rock and find the answers you need to live the life you want for you and your dog.

07/19/2026

Putting feelers out there for some volunteer help with the rescue. Fostering is the current focus. I’d love to get some of our current rescue pups out into homes with more individual time and attention for them. If you have the space for a pup to crash with you and you’re interested in attending a weekly group walk/ training with them to keep growing their skills towards adoption we’d love to hear from you. Obviously more hands on deck for administrative and fundraising work would be incredible too. If you feel like you’ve got time, energy, and a skillset to bring to our mission of bettering the lives of rescue dogs we’d love to hear from you!

07/15/2026

This month marks four years since we lost Willan Sadler. We want to spend this anniversary honoring him the way he would have wanted, by helping even more dogs get the chance to play.

Willan grew up surrounded by dogs who needed someone patient enough to understand them. Of the three Sadler boys, he was always the gentle giant; a little more easygoing, a little more attuned to the dogs around him. He had a natural ease with them, the kind that cannot really be taught, only sharpened. By 19, he was already teaching others the art of shelter playgroups. By 20, he was working advanced behavioral cases. By 21, he was leading seminars of his own. He wasn't just good with dogs, he was good for them, and for the people learning how to help them, too.

Starting today, we are kicking off a fundraising push for The Willan Fund, the scholarship program built in his name to train shelter caregivers in playgroups and handling skills. Every scholarship we fund in Willan's memory sends his gift out into the world again, reaching a shelter that needs it and dogs who are waiting for their chance to play. One trained caregiver can reach around a hundred dogs a day, so every gift toward The Willan Fund multiplies fast.

Over the next few weeks, we will be sharing more about Willan, his story, and the impact he had on the people and dogs lucky enough to know him. To get a head start on honoring his memory, you can give to The Willan Fund through this link https://loom.ly/Xlne3LY

Dogs live to play, now let them play to live!

07/05/2026

A cone hates to see this guy coming.

06/28/2026

Working on some leash skills with Azul around our ol’ reliable dog distraction Skeeter. Azul has been working through some pretty intense reactivity, so seeing him just vibing through this golden hour like the good boy we know he is is so rewarding ❤️✨

06/09/2026