Dog Dynamix

09/20/2025

09/18/2025

Why does my dog respond to me at home, but not outside?

Have you proofed all elements of the skills? There are three components that go into proofing the skill. We call these the 3 D's of dog training:
- Duration
- Distance
- Distraction

Our goal should be to manipulate the environment in a way that allows us to hone in on one of these at a time, while incrementally making it more difficult.

For example: rewarding for maintaining a sit for one second (duration) and slowly working your way up to 10 seconds. Then rewarding for maintaining a sit while taking one step away (distance) and working your way up to 10 steps away. And THEN distractions - maintaining a sit while placing a piece of food on the ground and working your way up to throwing a handful of food right in front of them.

Don't beat yourself up if they can't do the skill with all levels of difficulty to the max! This takes time and hundreds of repetitions. You are on the right track and have taught the skill, now increase its proficiency through the 3 D's to get a more reliable skill in a variety of situations!

09/16/2025

Controversial hot take: you don't crate your puppy enough.

Young dogs need a LOT of management to prevent accidents, excessive barking, inappropriate chewing, rude social behavior, and encourage relaxation. This doesn't happen on accident.

Stricter management early on leads to looser management sooner. Loose management early on leads to stricter, more stressful management longer as the criteria for day to day routines have been inconsistent.

Set your young dog up for success!
- Give them potty breaks after every activity (eating, drinking, playing, napping)
- Provide age appropriate chews and put away your favorite shoes
- Mitigate barking through sufficient exercise and training
- Allow interactions with well rounded adult dogs, people, etc. that will be a part of their lives regularly (not random dogs from the sidewalk)
- Utilize multiple forms of confinement to encourage relaxation: crating, ex-pen, tethering, standing on the leash
- No free roaming the house without direct supervision

Although teaching foundational skills is valuable to puppies at this age, it does not even compare to the value that comes from teaching them about the world, how to co-exist productively, and have an on/off switch

09/11/2025

Today we remember the ones we lost and heroes of 9/11, including the search and rescue dogs.

09/06/2025

Did you know that all of the dogs and our dog training programs get graduation videos? It’s really cool to see how far they’ve come.

07/22/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/1CPP15SRzZ/?mibextid=wwXIfr

07/22/2025

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DFYQfdySavO/?igsh=MTJ5cWw2azQ4OHpucA==

07/09/2025

We just returned from our annual Doggopolooza for 4th of July. We had a great group of dogs! Friends, fresh air, fun and fidos… What more do you need?

06/20/2025

🌡️This weekend brings excessive heat warnings!

☀️ Remember, pavement, concrete, and sand can become scorching hot, in direct sunlight, for our pups in temps as low as 85°F. 🐶🥵

Keep those paws cool and safe by sticking to shaded areas or going for walks early in the morning or late in the evening. Let's keep our pups happy and healthy during this heatwave!

7 Second Rule: Place the back of your hand on the pavement. If you can't hold it there for 7 seconds, it's too hot for your dog.

06/20/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/12MpYN6hqtX/?mibextid=wwXIfr

06/19/2025

Did you hear that?

Denver is supposed to be almost 100°F tomorrow! 🤯

Remember to give your pup plenty of water, rest breaks with heightened activity, limit exposure to dark pavements, and don't leave them in the car alone!

06/17/2025

Crate training is about accepting your leadership, and staying put where told.

Crate training is about self-soothing and patience.

Crate training is about the reasonable acceptance of confinement.

Crate training is about teaching the dog to hold themselves together, even if they don’t ‘like’ it.

Crate training is about so much more than potty training, or keeping your stuff safe, or even keeping your dog safe, although that stuff is important, too!!