Run A Mutt

06/15/2026

Soaking up every ounce of sunshine today! This week's forecast looks a little on the wet side.

No walks Wednesday this week - the trusty van is going in for maintenance.

06/10/2026

A little shade time under a lilac. Pretty crazy when it's already over 25 degrees by 11am 🥵

A few stops to let the dogs cool were required

06/08/2026

A big day today!!

This Monday crew has been split in two since the start of walking season.

Why?

In order to walk a group with control, you need to be able to walk a pair with control. In order to walk a pair with control, you need to walk individuals with control. This bottom up training approach is fundamental.

Both Wolfgang and Cerys have made huge strides in their walking skills. I don't need perfection, but I do need to know that the training is working and how the dogs will respond to various scenarios. This is even more important when we mix one of the largest pups with one of the smallest!

Today was the first time all together. And just in time too, with the heat rising once again I think we wrapped up walks today just in time.

Sadie Lou, Cerys, Nora, Wolfgang, Nova

06/05/2026

It's a little humid out - and that means the mosquitoes are here to play. Just because the outdoors is unfavourable doesn't mean that your dog has to do nothing.

Did you know that a little bit of brain work can be as tiring for a dog as a good walk? Some dogs will even get MORE out of thinking than from running.

One good resource is Do More With Your Dog! This is a "trick title" program where you can pay for evaluations of your tricks and get a fancy title for your dog. But you can also use their Tricktionary to get ideas for fun behaviours to train with your dog. They all include some basic tutorials to get you started.

One piece of advice I have is to consider the tricks you choose wisely. Imagine your dog doing that trick with every ounce of enthusiasm possible, or using it to try to get your attention...You will be reinforcing this as a "desired" behaviour, so expect to see it! I generally won't train dogs to shake a paw or speak as tricks, but I love roll over, sit, down, crawl, etc.

You also don't have to spend hours training! A five minute session more frequently is actually better than irregular or infrequent long sessions.

Free Tricktionary App   Our Tricktionary is a dog tricks dictionary that gives you access to any dog trick, any time.  Click here for printable trick list Tip! Want to link to a specific trick? Replace last word “Sit” with the trick of your choice. https://domorewithyourdog.com/DogTricks/trick...

06/04/2026

I regularly get asked "can I come say hi?", or "are your dogs friendly?"

I walk such a mixed bag of dogs daily, that the answer is almost always going to be "nope"

The expectation of interactions causes either excitement (for dogs that love it), or stress (for dogs that don't love it). Predictably helps both! By not interacting with other people or dogs, excitable dogs learn to chill, and nervous dogs gain confidence.

Every dog I walk is social to some degree - they walk in groups! But meeting random strange dogs that they may never see again isn't really necessary. People only see the nice walking groups and don't realize the excitement or explosive reactivity that we've already trained to overcome.

So rather than explain these rationale, I choose to be concise and straight forward.

My clients aren't mean dogs, but we're training and I like to choose calm over chaos.

06/03/2026

Morning only today, and possibly tomorrow as well.

Remember that dogs don't sweat to cool like we do. They cool using their nose, tongue, and direct contact with cooler surfaces.

Be careful with activity in warm weather. Older dogs, fluffy dogs, and ones with short noses (like boxers) are generally more susceptible to overheating.

06/02/2026

Stopping to sniff the flowers 💐

Sometimes we cover loads of ground on our walks, and sometimes we're talking in everything along the way. It really depends on the group and the day!

06/01/2026

Just a couple of boardwalk bros 😎

Our groups can take up a fair bit of space on the trails, but I'm always watching. We always give way to other users - we practice an "over" which means we pull slightly off the trail and sit to wait for things to pass. Sometimes if I think the group is up for it, we will keep walking with an "on by" which means we just walk and mind our own business.

If I see another dog, I assess their body language. We will give more space to dogs that appear nervous or overly friendly, and less to dogs that are doing their own neutral thing (as long as the walking group can reciprocate that chill vibe).

Training for neutrality is awesome, and it doesn't come overnight for many dogs. If you are out and come across us and want to work on some things with your dog in training, just ask! Sometimes a few extra passes can really help.

05/29/2026

Tomorrow was today for sweet Ebony. She met her forever family this afternoon and said "thanks, see you later" 💗

Have fun Ebony!

05/28/2026

Hard not to feel like a pro photographer when you have models like these 🐾