​The crate is the easiest, most practical tool to manage a dog in the home, and if there is space for it, in the car.  We see about 6-10 clients every week for basic obedience to problem behaviors such as reactivity.

One of the first questions I ask is:  ‘How often is your dog in the crate?’

The answers are mixed between:

• ‘Never’
• ‘We leave the door open and he/she goes in and out on his own’
• ‘only at night’

 So here lies part of the problem. Most dogs view space as a resource.  When we allow dogs too much freedom too soon , they assume it’s theirs to do with what they want. The can guard , bark, destroy, zoom around, pee and just  treat the space like romper room because no one has shown them otherwise.

Here are some reasons you SHOULD be using a crate:

• To help teach calm behaviors. By reinforcing calm in the crate, the dog is learning how to self soothe & power down Anxious dogs can feel more secure and less overwhelmed,  Puppies won’t get over stimulated, it reduces territorial issues and allows the dog to practice impulse control
• For the ‘impossible’ teen dog (6 months -2 years), it can help with any entitlement issues of ‘owning’ space and create a more polite dog.
• Obedience training. By crating your dog in-between training sets give the dog a chance to rest, decompress and think about the lesson.   When you take your dog out of the crate they are fresh and ready to learn.
• Life Skill. At some point in a dogs life it will be in a crate or kennel. Whether at the vets, groomers, or if you ever plan on traveling in his or her lifetime. Our lives can change quickly, new job, new baby, grandma moves in …crate training  is as important as teaching a dog to come when called or walk on a leash
• Safety & Security.   By crating your dog when you can’t watch him, you decrease the chances of your dog counter surfing, getting into the garbage etc.   For the car it’s a must.   If you are ever in a traffic accident,  the chances that your dog will be injured, lost or worse will be a lot less if your dog is in  a crate .
• Give yourself a break.  It’s ok to ‘put the dog away’ when you want to have friends over or just have a ‘dog-free’ time.  No guilt necessary. 

 
How to get started:
If your dog struggles going into a crate or you have a new puppy, then check out Susan Garrets Crate Games to help you with crate training.   Feed your dog all their meals in the crate. Make it a comfortable place with a bone or two.  Have one crate for sleeping and one for ‘hanging out’  in during the day. Structure your dogs’ day having crate time between playing, training & exercise.
 
So when can you start to fade the crate out?
 Not so fast....once a dog has matured, can move about the house & life in a respectful way the crate can be fluid. You can crate as you need to when you need to. Teach your dog a 'Place' command and use place as a middle man for the crate to ease the dog into having more freedom.   If you have multiple dogs, then you should plan on crating more often to ‘rest’ the pack and to keep dynamics in check. The crate can be a part of your dogs entire life. Some dogs (even old ones) like to have a place of their own

Learning something new is never a straight line progression.  Let’s repeat together: Learning something new is never a straight line progression. There are dips that come from lack of understanding, lack of time spent & lack of motivation.

We all want the end result of a perfect beach body but are we willing to do what we have to get it?  If the motivation is there to do the work, it will come.  Maybe you will fall off the wagon a few (or many) times…have lulls in your motivation of exercising, enjoy the taste of pizza a little too much (guilty) but if you work at it, the benefits of a healthier lifestyle will emerge. Maybe not in the form of a rail thin model, but feeling better & having more energy is its own reward.
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It took me at least 10 attempts to quit smoking until I actually stopped for good. The habit was 15 years hard and…I enjoyed it. But for my own health, I needed to stop. I have been 18 years smoke-free. I don’t even think about smoking anymore…the idea of it is so foreign and gross. The idea of staying off social media, however, gives me a slight panic attack. ‘Fear of missing out’ wastes so much time, but that knowledge won’t stop me from picking up my phone & checking the newsfeed. It’s like quitting smoking all over again and I am not alone.

•  As flawed as humans are; why is there so much pressure on our dogs to learn new skills or change a behavior in a short period of time?  
• Why do we think that taking a 6 week class with an hour or two of practice between lessons will make monumental changes in the dog if we aren’t setting the dog up for success in every area of his life? Like using a  crate,  a leash or the proper rate of reinforcement?
• Why do we think that a board and train will cure everything if the dog is going home with no changes in human behavior or environment?  
• Why do dogs fall off the wagon if they ‘know’ how to do something but choose not to?

Dog training fails because it’s a marathon, not a sprint.  Teaching complex behaviors or modifying behavior takes time, skill building & the patience to work through all the dips and valleys.  Dog training (like all learning) is NEVER a straight line progression.

Visualize the picture of behavior you want, evaluate the environment & your teaching skills.  Learn how you can set the best stage for success. If you are struggling, then call a pro to help you.  If you are committing to a training class or program, then commit to the homework and lifestyle change that goes with it. If you want to teach your dog to come when called, but you are letting him off the leash 50% of the time and your dog finds the air, trees and other dogs are more interesting than you, then you are setting the dog up to fail.  Dogs are pretty darn good at being the honest, wild creatures they are born to be and won't self loath after  rolling in poop or chasing a squirrel.
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Our job is training dogs and teaching people. Which you think is harder? We love what we do; being educators and advocates for the animals we chose to spend our life with. We continue to learn all the time, and no, we aren’t perfect. No dog trainer is perfect. The flawed human side is always there. And dogs love us despite it. 

Leash reactivity: this general term that describes dogs barking, lunging, growling and seemingly ‘lose their mind’ at the sight of a trigger.  Triggers are generally other dogs, people, cars, bikes, skateboards etc.

The dog has an emotional response to what they are seeing which creates arousal. Arousal creates the crazy leash behavior. The INTENT of the dog could be aggression, excitement, fear, frustration, but the behavior we see is usually the same.

So how can you help your dog?

• Consider your relationship . If your dog spends time at dog daycare or several hours a week at the dog park and can’t cope with seeing a dog on a leash, then take a step back and focus on the relationship . Your dog doesn’t need social time with dogs; it needs dependable leadership  & quality time with you.  Learn how to play with your dog and incorporate play into your daily training  Be an advocate not an activities director  
• Address the emotional component. Reactive dogs are unable to cope with what he/she is seeing or hearing.  He/she doesn’t know HOW to  and relax & ‘stay in his/her lane’. Desensitizing/counter conditioning exercises are the foundation of any good program. ​Work toward building a mentally resilient dog.  
• ​Dependable structure. How does your dog live with you? If he is screaming at the window at everything walking by, the leash reactivity will never go away.  Teach your dog that your home isn’t romper room. Use a crate on the regular which may mean taking away some freedom to give him a reboot so he can earn it back
• Teach Foundation obedience skills.  Coming when called a structured heel & place training are paramount. Most of the reactive dogs we work with don’t come when called, have no understanding of walking on a leash and are acting bonkers in the house.  Teach life skills to fall back on.​
• Don’t be afraid of tools: Educate yourself. If you don’t understand how a training tool works (clicker, prong collar, e collar, head collar etc.)  or how it can help you, find a trainer with proven experience that shows results in their work and ask them a lot of questions. Be inquisitive & get references. Find a trainer who is transparent, has a plan and explains the process step by step.      

 Your dog is an emotional & imperfect creature, not a robot.  Enjoy them, advocate for them and help them be the best version of themselves.  
 
 

From time to time, you may see videos and pictures of our dogs biting sleeves, barking at the 'bad guy' in the blind, climbing walls to grab a tug or pulling a sled.

​What is this all about and why do we do it? First…we are nutty dog people, so dog sports is in our blood.  Once a person starts down the rabbit hole of a dog sport, there is a natural deep appreciation for a dog's intelligence, genetics and power. What a dog is bred to do...or capable of doing despite the genetic map is mind blowing.  

There are many terms that describe a trainers’ methodology that can be confusing to dog owners.  Here is a little break down:  

• PP, Fear Free: uses only positive reinforcement/negative punishment.  Adds or removes reinforcers to increase or decrease behaviors and manages behaviors that aren’t able to be fixed with food.
• LIMA: Least intrusive/Minimally Aversive.  Allows for punishment   
• Balanced: a loose term describing trainers who use all 4 quadrants, but in no way are all balanced trainers created equal