There are a couple of basic rules I have when it comes to being good with dogs – one of which is being able to control your space.

This is something that people understand very easily when it comes to interacting with other humans –  we don’t sit on the laps of strangers, we don’t hang all over strangers, and most of us don’t excessively hug or kiss strangers.

In fact, getting into another human’s space is such an awkward action, we came up with a standardized way of getting into each other’s space so it doesn’t come off as hostile or awkward – the disarming handshake in our culture (in Europe and other cultures they have a similar, but still easily understood social protocol for entering a person’s space).
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However, this basic concept that is so intuitive in our day to day lives with other humans is oddly difficult to apply to our dogs. 

Georgia the Golden Doodle checked in yesterday and the training process is already well underway. She is walking better on a leash, she is learning basic essential commands like place, and she is beginning the off-leash learning process:

​When Bandit started here at AWDT, he was one of the worst runners / door dashers with one of the highest prey drives I have seen in a while.

Until now, as soon as he was able to get loose, he would bolt and not look back, leaving the owners waiting for someone to call with their found dog. Bandit truly earned his name by stealing his freedom and living life one squirrel chase at a time.

With two weeks here and a future of practice and controlled freedom, Bandit won't have to steal his squirrel chasing time anymore.

Here's what he looks like now

Learning how to "squirrel hunt" as a team:

Often times my clients’ houses are pure chaos - dogs dashing around the house, jumping on people, bouncing off the furniture, barking at windows. An awesome first question is “when everything is wrong, where do I start?”  
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While there is no one-size-fits-all approach – generally speaking, I like people to start with two things: 1) Learn how to walk the dog appropriately, and 2) tether the dog to a person in the house. 

We're coming to the end of our latest board & train client's time with AWDT and reflecting on how far she has come! Shandy is a sweet girl with great foundational training; however, like with so many dogs I see, she can become very reactive on-leash. As a HUGE proponent of off-leash training, we spent a lot of time e-collar training with a long lead and giving her plenty of exposure to other dogs while on-leash. After her two week stay with us, she can now walk on and off leash and can interact with other dogs stress-free!

Check out these videos of her progress! 

Thank you to all our clients - it's been a great start to my new business and I appreciate each and every one of you for not only getting your dogs the training they need but entrusting me to get the job done. It's been a blast getting to know them, seeing them make great breakthroughs, and nurturing them on their journeys to balanced and fulfilled lives.

Meet Elmer, a lovable French Bulldog and our latest board and train client. He's a swell guy most of the time - he's even pretty enjoyable to be around. So why is he at AWDT right now? Check out Elmer getting dropped of on Day 1:

Abbott the Golden Retriever has been with us for a couple of days and from the beginning I was amazed at the sheer power he has. When I first got him, he could pull harder than two pitbulls at the same time.  

Abbott is the kind of dog that trainers love to work with – his owners did a lot of the right things in his first 11 months, mainly bringing him to my awesome puppy socialization class, so he has a strong foundation that eliminates a lot of problem behaviors that I’m often called into fix (good social skills, namely). This makes it a little easier to come in and help them with the little things that will make him an ultimately successful dog and a pure joy to live with.

Every dog that comes through Andrew Warner Dog Training, I truly consider to be a permanent part of my pack even though they don't live with me forever.

The best part of my job is keeping in touch with owners of dogs as they continue to work with their dog - whether that be to hear about the successes, or help troubleshoot some of the problems.

I recently spoke with Whiskey's owners and she is doing awesomely - she is fitting in with her family and enjoying an off-leash lifestyle where she gets to go on hiking trails and play in the wonderful green spaces that the Midwest has to offer.

Check out Whiskey enjoying life as dogs are meant to: