Quest Companion Dog Training

06/13/2025

I'm excited to share that, after many years of only offering private training, group classes are back!

I'm thrilled to be partnering with Animal Humane New Mexico and their Train Humane program to offer group classes at their Pet Resource Center. Best of all: these classes offer different options for cost, to help make them accessible to all!

My first classes are coming up very soon:

Fridays at 12:30 PM starting June 20th
Saturdays at 1:00 PM starting June 21st.

Come join me for this round of Civilized Canine! Sign up here:
https://animalhumanenm.org/behavior-support/train-humane/

11/21/2023

Do you train through play with your dog? If you've worked with me, you might have been encouraged to practice skills or even teach them during play. This is why!⬇️⬇️⬇️

One of my very favorites: using Hide & Seek to strengthen "Stay" and "Come" behaviors. But there are lots of games we can use to teach and strengthen skills! So, get out there and play with your dog!

09/01/2023

September is National Service Dog Month! The best way to support service dogs and service dog handlers? Learn more about service dogs and the work they do!

07/04/2023

New blog post!

Have you every thought about how the words we use to describe another's actions impact how we then treat and think about them?

Words matter! Check out this month's blog for some thoughts on the language of needs and how it affects our relationships with our dogs.

https://questcompanions.com/the-language-of-needs/

07/01/2023

Oh hi there, friends! Fancy seeing you here!

After a lengthy break without new content, Quest Companion Dog Training is back!

Why so quiet for so long?

Because for the past 9 months, I’ve been extremely busy with a life-changing education course, plus working with wonderful new dogs and their families. And, I’m afraid to say, social media took the back burner. But as we move into an exciting second half of 2023, I’ll have some neat new info and offerings to share. So, keep your eyes out over the coming weeks for more announcements.

Oh, and give your dog a treat from me 😘

03/07/2023

There are many reasons to use rewards-based methods, but by far the most compelling reason for me is the mental health and welfare benefits it provides to our companions!

When dogs are trained with methods such as leash jerks, yelling, and shock collars, they have worse welfare than dogs trained solely with food rewards

11/16/2022

Have to share this nice article by one of my favorite puppy experts: Jane Lindquist of Puppy Culture!

She writes a lovely explanation of the “culture clash” that often happens between us and our dogs when it comes to walking behavior. While Jane is specifically talking about setting realistic expectations for young puppies, what she shares applies to the experience of our adult dogs, too: during a walk, our dogs’ goals are different from our own.

Give the article and look and tell me in the comments: how do you make sure that both you and your dogs needs are met while you walk together?

https://www.puppyculturestories.com/read/having-trouble-walking-your-puppy-try-less-skinner-and-more-darwin?fbclid=IwAR3JOVBHPumbv449fqL35-vWbIdJDhJSfDYHR99y3FzzItkWBWatIYTBcTY

Robin, most definitely not walking.

10/26/2022

Halloween can be a stressful holiday for our pups (and cats, too!). How can we make it a better, more peaceful experience for all? Have a plan!

The Family Dog have an excellent infographic laying out what your plan for your pup might look like, depending on your own plans and how comfortable your dog might be about visitors coming to the door.

So, what's your plan? What will you be doing for Halloween to make your dog's evening a good one? I'll actually be out at a training class myself that night, a win-win for both dogs and me!

When it comes to BUSY FAMILY LIFE with kids and a dog - a PLAN is your best friend!!
And HALLOWEEN is one of those days when you're really going to need one!

It's a SUPER WEIRD holiday for dogs, and can be *REALLY* tricky for them - here's how you can help make their night ALL TREAT and no trick.

Check out my guide and pick the PERFECT PLAN for your PUP! Your night will be so much more fun, when you know your fave fluffy friend is truly being cared for.
🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡

10/25/2022

Today’s cool but sunny fall weather made the perfect setting for a training walk! And pup King agrees!

Thanks for the lovely morning, buddy!
🍁🍂🌞

King is one of my Day Training clients. This means I spend time training directly with him, then show his mom what he has learned so she can keep practicing and get the nice behaviors she hoping for. It’s one of my favorite ways to do training, as it speeds up and smooths out the learning process both for the pups and their people. If you’re interested in what types of Day Training packages are available, be sure to visit the website at QuestCompanions.com

09/17/2022

Fun things happening in this month's Quest Log, the QCDT monthly newsletter! Here's a pic of Vesper taste-testing a fun enrichment recipe including in the September issue!

If you'd like to connect more with Quest, read helpful and interesting short articles, and get a heads up on new services and specials, sign up for the Quest Log newsletter at:

https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/kqZYjmH

09/02/2022

Hooray for September!

New month means a new blog post!

Building off last month's topic, this time I dig into how our human experience of using punishment can make it hard to walk away from.

Understanding more about how our own brains are working can make it easier to be more compassionate to our dogs AND ourselves. So check it out!

In-home private training in Albuquerque, the east mountain area (Cedar Crest, Tijeras, Edgewood & Moriarty) and Santa Fe. I also work with service dog teams from around Northern New Mexico.