Golden Moments Dog Training

15/09/2025

Ne vedem la Doggy Septemberfest! 🐾🦮🐕‍🦺🐩🐕

13/01/2025

Happy New Year!

In 2025, I wish for you to focus more on your relationship with your dog, rather than just their obedience. I hope you view behavior as a reflection of how your dog is feeling or coping in the moment, rather than a measurement of how "good" or "bad" they are. I encourage you to move away from labeling behavior as good or bad and instead consider what your dog is trying to communicate. This year, I hope you'll think more about your dog’s perspective when addressing behavior, recognizing that dogs don’t act out to annoy us but to meet their own needs. Finally, I wish for you to work on expanding your dog’s world, rather than restricting it further.

If you need help with all of this, let me know :)

The sky is the limit!

03/12/2024

Day 2 of Christmas themed enrichment ideas: Holiday "candies" 🎄🍬🍬🍬

Use kibble or higher value treats as candies and plain paper or wrapping paper as candie wrappers. The idea is to use what you have already!

Make sure to supervise all enrichment activities and ONLY give something like this to your dog if you know he is NOT going to eat the paper as well.

Follow for more enrichment ideas :)

Check out Kinga & Spotty ❤️’s video.

02/12/2024

🎄🎄🎄 Yesterday, I kicked off a series of Christmas-themed enrichment ideas! If you want to include your dog in the holiday fun and festive preparations, follow along for daily inspiration. 🎄🎄🎄

Day 1: Chritmas tree lickymat.
Use what you have, it doesn't have to be a lickymat, an icecube tray could also work great. Use your dog's daily food as a base (or prepare something fun if you want), then add veggies & fruits for the tree and ornaments 🎄

Give it a try, and let me know in the comments how your dog liked it!

Check out Kinga & Spotty ❤️’s video.

29/11/2024

In an attempt to distract myself from the current political news (wt*, Romania?!),I started looking through my photos from this year’s visit to Prague Zoo. Near the elephants’ enclosure, there was an exhibit with information about elephants and their training. It was a pleasure to see that they use the targeting technique with a clicker as well!

Anyone who works with me knows I highly recommend using a clicker in my training programs for dogs. I believe dogs grasp the concept of a clicker more easily than marker words (which we often change unintentionally, as it's hard to sound exactly the same every time).

For those unfamiliar with a clicker: it’s a small device that emits a consistent clicking sound when pressed. Initially, this sound means nothing to dogs, but after conditioning (pairing it with rewards like treats), the dog begins to associate the click with a reward. This helps the dog understand the exact moment they did something right and what they’re being rewarded for.

Timing is crucial! If your timing as a trainer is off, you may accidentally teach the dog something different than what you intended.

Do you use clicker in your training?

07/10/2024

Just a friendly reminder: if your dog struggles during firework season, today is the perfect time to start preparing! You still have almost 3 months to help desensitize your dog to loud noises. Just a few minutes of daily practice, with consistency, can make a big difference over time.

09/09/2024

Continuous education and staying up-to-date with current scientific studies are crucial in all fields, which is why I’m happy to have had the opportunity to attend this incredible conference organized by IAHAIO. Two days filled with fascinating topics presented by knowledgeable and experienced professionals—a real goldmine for a master's student like myself. While the knowledge I gained from these amazing presentations cannot be captured in pictures, here are a few highlights:
** "We do not see things as they are, we see them as we are." – Anais Nin. This message is something we should all reflect on, not only when working with animals but also in our everyday lives.
** I appreciated Cherished Pets' vision: "A world where the human-animal bond is recognized and valued for the role it plays in healthy and connected communities."
** Last but not least, our words matter. How we communicate about working with animals can shape the future of animal-assisted work and human-animal interactions. We should shift our mindset and language from 'using' animals in various activities to 'collaborating' with them toward a common goal.

This message resonates with me deeply, as I always encourage my clients (humans) to work with their dogs as a team, fostering mutual respect and collaboration to achieve shared goals. It was reassuring to hear this approach emphasized.

18/07/2024

I always say that enrichment activities don't have to be fancy; you don't have to buy expensive toys or go above and beyond. Easy enrichment activities like cardboard shredding or finding treats in towels can be just as fun and enriching as the fancy, expensive puzzle toys (sometimes even more interesting).

However, sometimes I do like to go above and beyond and get fancy, like with the 3-tier moving lickymat below. I added the usual daily food (rehidrated kibble, rice&chicken meal), some fruits (blueberry, apple, banana), some cheese and bell pepper. Basically any dog safe food you have, in small amounts, can be a great addition to the regular feeding.

Try it!

If you don't have a lickymat, use a silicone icecube tray, works just as well :)

01/03/2024

O primăvară frumoasă!

14/02/2024

Happy Valentine's Day!
The cutest pupp bringing me the cutest balloon 🎈with the following message: ❤️ 'I love you, just the way I AM' ❤️ How cute, how funny, but most importantly how true!

I would like to take a moment to acknowledge and emphasis the following: if you don't have the most cuddly dog or a dog who always wants to lay next to you, or if you have a dog who doesn't like hugs or kisses, or whatever other behavior you would want them to perform as an act of "love", it is important to accept them as they are, don't force your way of affection onto them, but accept their version of affection. They love you just the way they are. psst. you can work on hugs and kisses later, in a form of a trick that is performed on cue, it can be just as sweet of a hug as an intended one. 🤗❤️

P.S. a dog won't 'love' you just because you are the 'owner'. Love and respect is earned, not guaranteed, this is true in any other relationships. So be the kind of human who sees their dog the way they are, and tries to actually build a relationship instead of demending one. 🤗