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In Person or Online: Individual 1:1 Personalized or Group Dog Training. From puppies to seniors, positive dog training promotes overall well-being.

Consistent and positive dog training builds trust and confidence between dog and handler. IAABC-ADT
CDBC

10/31/2026

20 YEARS CLEAN FROM MY DRUG OF CHOICE! ✨

If you or someone you love is struggling with substance use, I hope this reaches you. I hope you know you’re not alone, that recovery is possible, and that life can get better. So much better than you might be able to imagine right now 💗

I share this every year, not for attention or because I need anyone to marvel at the number, but because I hope that maybe, just maybe, it reaches someone who needs to hear that things can change.

20 years ago today, I used my drug of choice for the last time. I was 16 years old, and I had absolutely no idea what life could look like on the other side.

And today? My life is beyond my wildest dreams.

Not because it’s perfect or because every day is easy. Far from it! But because I get to be present for all of it. The joy, the grief, the laughter, the heartbreak, the adventures, the mundane, and everything in between.

Much like dog training, it’s taken management, behavior modification, lots of practice, and an incredible community of support. Progress, not perfection.

Just for today, I am endlessly grateful to Narcotics Anonymous, to everyone who helped me get clean, to those who have helped me stay clean, and to all the people who have been part of building this life I once couldn’t have imagined.

I don’t take any of it for granted.

And if you’re reading this wondering whether things can ever be different for you, please know that they can. You don’t have to have it all figured out today. You don’t have to do it alone.

20 years of just for todays 💗

📞 SAMHSA’s National Helpline: 1-800-662-HELP (4357). Free, confidential support and treatment referrals, 24/7.

10/21/2026

What if your dog’s progress doesn’t look like what you expected?

Maybe they’re still barking. Still struggling. Still having hard days.

But maybe you’re noticing their discomfort sooner, offering more choices, creating distance, or learning what helps them feel safe.

Progress isn’t always about doing more, tolerating more, or reacting less.

Sometimes it’s about understanding each other better and building a life that works for both of you.

And it’s okay if that looks different than you imagined 💗

💬 What does progress look like for you and your dog lately? Let us know in the comments below!

10/19/2026

This face is brought to you by a brain FULL of thoughts, hopes, dreams, and a whole lot of giddiness about all the opportunities ahead! 🤩🐘✨

The past week has been an absolute whirlwind of learning, growing, and feeling incredibly inspired!

After a virtual weekend at CANIS Conference I had the unreal opportunity to spend four days learning from and working alongside elephants, their incredible keepers, and Emily Lewis Emily Lewis. ELEPHANTS!!! 🐘😭💗

And the elephants weren’t the only incredible animals I got to learn from! 👀 Swipe through to meet a few more of my teachers from this adventure! ✨

And if that wasn’t exciting enough, I’m also thrilled to share that I’ve been accepted into the Kim Brophey Behavior Group, a community of professionals dedicated to deepening our understanding of dogs, their behavior, and their individual needs!

One of my favorite things about being a dog behavior consultant & trainer is that there’s always more to learn, more perspectives to explore, and more ways to grow. Getting to learn from other species, the people who care for them, and fellow behavior professionals is such a gift.

I’m coming home with a very full heart, a very busy brain, approximately a million questions, and SO many ideas I’m excited to bring into my work with dogs and their humans.

Feeling incredibly grateful for the people, animals, and opportunities that continue to challenge how I think about behavior, welfare, learning, and our relationships with the animals we share our lives with.

Here’s to staying curious, asking better questions, and never being done learning! 💗✨

08/24/2026

Come celebrate National Dog Day us!!

We’ll be hanging out at THE AVENUE at White Marsh Mall on Saturday, August 29 from 11 AM–3 PM for a day dedicated to dogs (which, obviously, is our favorite kind of day). 🐶💙

Stop by the Baltimore k9 Tutors | Dog Trainer & Behavior Consultant booth for:

🐕 Ask the Trainer: bring us your dog training & behavior questions! Oli Glick, CPDT-KA Grant Otto Voigt, CDBC, C-AAIS
🎓 AKC Canine Good Citizen (CGC) evaluations
⭐ AKC Trick Dog title opportunities!! Come show off what your dog knows!
🦮 Harness fit checks: we’ll help make sure your pup’s gear is fitting comfortably and safely
🎯 Fun activities for you + your dog
🎁 FREE giveaways while supplies last!

And there’s plenty happening beyond our booth, too: adoptable animals, pet contests, activities, photo ops, local vendors, and the Flea-less Market. (The Avenue at White Marsh)

Plus, Maryland SPCA will be hosting activities and events all week in celebration of National Dog Week, so be sure to check out their schedule and join in on even more dog-friendly fun!

Whether your dog has BIG FEELINGS, big skills, or just really likes free snacks, come say hi. 💙

📍 THE AVENUE at White Marsh
📅 Saturday, August 29
⏰ 11 AM–3 PM

Who’s bringing their dog?! ⬇️🐾

08/18/2026

POV: Your reactive dog might not need MORE.

They might need an opportunity to recover!!

When our dogs are fearful, anxious, reactive, or easily overwhelmed, it’s really easy to start adding things.

More training.
More exercise.
More enrichment.
More exposure.

But what if we also asked:

Can this dog actually rest?

Research involving 1,330 dogs found relationships between sleep characteristics and caregiver-reported problem behaviors. Dogs who were more easily disturbed from sleep also had greater guardian-reported problem-behavior severity.

And this is important!!
❕Correlation does not equal causation.

This doesn’t tell us that poor sleep causes reactivity—or that getting more sleep will fix fear, anxiety, or behavior concerns.

Behavior is far more complicated than that.

But it does give us a really good reason to include sleep when we’re looking at the whole behavior picture.

Is your dog able to settle?

Do they stay alert to every sound or movement?

Are they frequently disturbed?

After a stressful experience, do they have an opportunity to rest and recover?

And are we sometimes so focused on doing MORE that we’re forgetting about recovery?

The researchers themselves cautioned that simply increasing activity to address problem behavior may not be appropriate if doing so comes at the expense of adequate sleep.

Join the conversation: Does your dog truly switch off when they rest—or do they seem to keep one eye and one ear on everything happening around them?

And stick around for Part 4: How much sleep does your dog actually need?

Spoiler: there isn’t one magic number.

Educational content only and not individualized training or veterinary advice. Behavior concerns deserve individualized assessment. If you need help getting to the root of what’s happening with your dog, consider working with a qualified behavior professional. Need support? Link in bio. ❤️

08/15/2026

Your dog doesn’t stop learning when the treats go away. 🧠💤

We tend to think of training as the few minutes when we’re actively practicing a skill.

But your dog’s brain doesn’t just clock out when the training session ends.

Research in dogs has found that learning can change subsequent sleep activity—and that certain sleep-related brain measures are associated with how well dogs perform after sleep.

So if your dog just:
•learned something new…
•successfully worked through a difficult situation…
•or practiced a new way of responding to something they find challenging…

Sleep may be part of what comes next.

Not every behavior challenge needs:
more exercise
more enrichment
more training
MORE. MORE. MORE.

Sometimes your dog has done enough.

Sometimes the most productive thing you can do is let their brain rest.

And this gets really interesting when we’re talking about dogs who are fearful, anxious, reactive…or who are “sensitive” or have “big feelings”!

Because what happens when we’re not just asking a dog to learn, but asking them to process stress and big emotions?

👀 That’s what we’re getting into in Part 3.

Have you ever noticed your dog seem to “sleep on it” and come back the next day better at something? Tell me below. ⬇️

Educational content only—not individualized training or veterinary advice. Every dog is an individual, and behavior concerns deserve an individualized assessment. If you’re struggling to figure out what’s going on with your dog, I recommend working with a qualified behavior professional. Need help getting to the root of it? Link in bio 🐾✨

08/12/2026

Your dog barking in their sleep is adorable. But it also gives us an excuse to talk about something I wish we discussed more in dog training: SLEEP.

Sleep isn’t simply the absence of behavior.

It’s an active biological state, and research in dogs gives us evidence that what happens during sleep is connected to learning and memory.

In one EEG study, researchers found that learning a new cue affected dogs’ subsequent sleep activity, and aspects of their sleep EEG were associated with improvement in performance after sleep.

Other research has found associations between sleep spindles and learning performance in dogs.

So when I say that sleep is part of the behavior picture, I don’t mean:

“Your dog is reactive because they’re tired.”

Behavior is much more complicated than that.

I mean that when we’re asking a dog to learn, adapt, recover from stressful experiences, and develop new behavioral responses, sleep is one of the biological processes happening alongside all of that.

And that’s something worth paying attention to.

Coming next: what actually happens to learning after the training session ends?

08/02/2026

⬇️ Have you ever discovered a medical reason behind a behavior change in your dog?

Behavior isn’t happening in a vacuum.

One of the biggest shifts in my training career has been learning to ask “Why?” before asking “How do we fix this?”

Sometimes the answer is fear.
Sometimes it’s frustration.
Sometimes it’s a lack of skills.

And sometimes…

It’s pain or discomfort.

Pain doesn’t always look like limping, crying, or refusing to walk.

It can show up as:
• Reactivity
• Barking
• Guarding
• Difficulty settling
• Avoiding touch
• Seeming “stubborn” / reluctant
• Changes in play
• Changes in movement that are easy to miss unless you’re looking closely

As trainers, we can teach new skills and help dogs feel safer in the world. But we also have to recognize when behavior may be the body’s way of asking for help.

If your dog’s behavior has changed suddenly—or training seems unusually difficult despite everyone’s best efforts—it’s worth having a conversation with your veterinarian. A thorough medical evaluation can be one of the most important behavior interventions we make.

Behavior is communication.

Let’s keep listening.

07/23/2026

Enrichment isn’t just about keeping our dog(s) busy—it ideally supports their emotional wellbeing while also creating opportunities to support their physical health.

One easy way to do that is by using a VOHC-approved dental chew in an enrichment toy like Potato’s West Paw Qwizl. VOHC stands for the Veterinary Oral Health Council Veterinary Oral Health Council PR (VOHC) and products that earn their Seal of Acceptance have been shown to help reduce plaque and/or tartar.

It’s a simple way to support your dog’s health while giving them something fun and enriching to work on. If you’re looking for options, check out the VOHC’s list of approved products before you shop.

Find the approved list at VOHC.org

What’s your favorite way to combine enrichment with another aspect of your dog’s health or wellbeing? Share in the comments, let’s inspire one another!

06/30/2026

Harm reduction in dog training.

This is not a universal approach—and it’s not the right fit for every trainer. But it’s one that feels meaningful and aligned for me.

People and dogs show up as individuals.

Behavior change takes time. Skill-building takes time. Trust takes time.

As a positive reinforcement trainer, I do not recommend tools like prong collars, choke chains, or electric collars. I also recognize that many guardians arrive using tools because they were taught to, because they feel safer, because they’re overwhelmed, or because they haven’t yet been shown another way.

A harm reduction lens means I don’t require someone to already be where I hope they’ll end up in order to support them.

Instead, we focus on:
🐾 understanding behavior
🐾 building practical skills
🐾 creating safety
🐾 increasing confidence
🐾 exploring alternatives
🐾 making sustainable change over time

This isn’t about perfection.
It’s not about shame.
It’s not about proving who is “right.”

It’s about helping people and dogs move toward more communication, more choice, and more connection.

I’m curious:

✨ What helped you feel safer or more confident with your dog?
✨ Do you judge those who communicate using aversives with their dogs?

(Please keep comments kind—different people and dogs arrive in different places.)

Address

Baltimore, MD

Telephone

+16177980025

Website

http://baltimorek9tutors.com/

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