Jenn Stellbrink

08/19/2025

This is a very boring photo of a behaviour that makes me very happy. Oban and I are staying in a hotel and his routine and environment have completely changed. But when he needed to go outside he laid down and waited in front of the door. It’s not a behaviour I trained and with the way our routine works at home, it’s not a behaviour he’s used there either. But he figured out how to ask for something he needed in a way that I consider polite - and in a hotel especially, not barking or pawing is important to me!

08/09/2025

I know people have wildly different opinions on this, but I like teaching my puppies how to politely ask for something they want. This can be food I have (yup, I share if it’s doggy safe), to go outside or help in getting a toy from under furniture. By being intentional in how I want them to ask I avoid accidentally rewarding behaviours I don’t want, like barking or pawing at me. I have dogs who love to bark, so “quiet” asks are important to me.

I don’t cue these behaviours (like going to the bed or putting the chin down), but will reward offered behaviours I like. Oban is young and doesn’t have much training history or attention span, so he gets rewarded quite quickly after doing the behaviour, especially initially. My adults will go for long durations quietly waiting for something they want.

08/08/2025

08/02/2025

The more we can break down complex or difficult behaviours for our dogs and train the individual parts, the easier it tends to be. While it might feel like it will take longer initially, it can get us past what can otherwise feel like insurmountable hurdles.

One of the steps I take in muzzle training my dogs is to get them used to the sound of the snap closing. It’s a little thing, especially for a dog that’s not especially sound sensitive to begin with. But when I actually do up the muzzle, the snap closes right behind their ears while they are dealing with having the muzzle and straps on their face. If all those pieces are trained individually, I’m less likely to have a dog that gets worried when I need to combine multiple pieces together.

07/29/2025

07/25/2025

Those hovering hands?
They can cause more issues than solve.
"It worked for me"
Maybe it did.... for your individual dog and your exact circumstances but the advice of taking a bowl away and giving it back or patting a dog eating creates more issues than it prevents.

"I saw a trainer make a video and it worked for him".

Please.....I need to say this clearly, don't do it.

This is one area where following advice online does more harm than good.
They can bite.
That injury may not happen to you but to someone you love.

Puppy showing these issues?
Look to see if their food is adjusted in quantity as they grow.
Sometimes we forget just how quickly they are actually growing and how hungry they become because of that rapid growth.

Looking for more tips?
I'm really sorry..... there are none here.
This is an area that needs a thorough assessment, careful understanding and tailoring an individual plan.

There are no five minute fixes for such a complicated behaviour that affects everyone in the family.

Respect their need for space.

07/24/2025

Puppies explore the world with their mouths and seem to be constantly picking up items. I work on teaching Oban to drop various objects so he’s more likely to drop an item when needed.

I always “pay” him with a piece of food for dropping an item because I want to increase the likelihood of him dropping items for me in the future. If I just took it out of his mouth he may in the future start running away with an item or quickly trying to gulp it down.

07/22/2025

I practice handling on a regular basis with all my dogs but especially with a young puppy. Oban is learning to let me handle different body parts and we’ve already had to use this exercise in real life - he got stung by a wasp a few weeks ago and it caused an ear infection. Having him already trained to calmly accept handling of his face and ears made the daily cleaning and medication application much easier!

07/18/2025

My dogs eat a lot of their meals/ snacks out of various food/ puzzle toys. Puppies and adult dogs who’ve never eaten out of a toy benefit from starting with something that’s easy to figure out before you increase the difficulty level so they don’t give up or destroy the toy out of frustration.

07/12/2025

It's not always what you think!

Behavior is often the canary in the coal mine. Many times, clients notice a behavior change before their pet shows obvious signs of physical pain or illness.

So before you label your dog stubborn or old or protective, let's really dig into what might be going on.

I’m here to help you spot the clues, teach you how to get good videos for your vet and communicate what needs to be said in a concise way and to help you advocate for them. ❤️

Read more in my post: https://rescuedbytraining.com/2025/07/07/pain-causing-behavior/