Chasing Tails Dog Training

08/28/2026

🐾 Adventures with Wilma: Being a Dog is Exhausting 🐾

Apparently Wilma had a VERY long day.
She played with her boyfriend, supervised her tiny human, contributed some very real-life examples to Puppy Class 😑💩, and then promptly buried herself in a mountain of pillows and clocked out for the evening.

But I have to give a special shoutout to our Senior Canine Consultant, Toby. ❤️

Toby put in some WORK today helping other dogs. He helped one nervous guy practice being around another dog, then joined my adult class and somehow seemed to be the missing link that helped two nervous girls decide maybe they could be buddies after all. 🥹

Then he came home, climbed onto his giant fluffy bed, and said, “My work here is done.”

And honestly? Fair.

Wilma may be the star of Adventures with Wilma, but she still has a LOT to learn from the old man. ❤️.....

Although judging by the pillow fort, she has already mastered his most important lesson:
Work hard. Nap harder. 😂🐾

08/25/2026

Because obviously we had to get the **professional** Locals Love Us photo...
..and then there was this one. 😂

Nothing says **“award-winning professional dog trainer”** quite like proudly posing with your giant #3 sign while rocking a medical boot. 🥉🐾

✨ Professional? Absolutely.
✨ Graceful? Debatable.
✨ Locally loved? **APPARENTLY SO.** 😂❤️

The dogs don't care what I'm wearing as long as the treat pouch is full. 🤷‍♀️🐶

Just a little behind-the-scenes reminder that Chasing Tails may officially be an award-winning business now...

…but it's still being run by the same slightly chaotic human. 😂🐾❤️

08/24/2026

🐾 Adventures with Wilma: The Cletus Edition 🐾

It's been a little while since we've had an Adventures with Wilma update!

She's getting bigger. She's getting smarter. She's learning all sorts of important life skills and slowly turning into a real dog.

And apparently... she's also growing buck teeth. 🤦‍♀️🤣

Meet Wilma Cletus. 🤠🦷

I don't know what happened here. I don't know why those two little front teeth have decided they need to experience the world before the rest of her face does.

But every time I lift her lip and see them, I absolutely lose it. 😂

Dog training teaches you a lot of things.

How to build confidence.
How to communicate clearly.
How to meet a dog's needs.
How to patiently shape behavior.

It does not prepare you for discovering that your puppy has unexpectedly entered her hillbilly era.

Until next time...

🐾 Adventures with Wilma 🐾

08/22/2026

🌿 Saturday Gentle Reminder 🌿

Your dog doesn't have to focus on you every second of every walk.

In fact... they shouldn't.

Walks are meant to be enjoyed.

🐾 Let them sniff.
🐾 Let them explore.
🐾 Let them take in the sights and sounds around them.

The magic happens when your dog chooses to check back in with you.

Those little moments of connection—

👀 A glance in your direction.
🐾 Walking back to your side.
💙 Choosing you over a distraction.

Those are the moments worth celebrating.

Training isn't about competing with the world around your dog.

It's about becoming part of it.

🐶❤️ The strongest relationships aren't built by demanding attention—they're built by creating connection.

08/21/2026

08/21/2026

🧠 Fun Fact Friday 🧠

Did you know...

👃 A dog's sense of smell is estimated to be up to 100,000 times more sensitive than ours!

While we rely mostly on our eyesight, dogs experience the world through their noses.

A single sniff can tell them:

🐾 Who has been there.
🐾 Which direction they traveled.
🐾 How recently they passed by.
🐾 Even information about another animal's health or emotional state.

No wonder it's hard to compete with an interesting scent!

Instead of thinking of sniffing as a distraction, try thinking of it as your dog's way of reading the morning newspaper. 📰🐶

💙 Giving your dog appropriate opportunities to sniff can be incredibly enriching—and when it's time to move on, teaching them to check back in with you helps create the best of both worlds.

🐶 Let them enjoy the sniff... then celebrate when they choose to reconnect with you.

08/21/2026

🥉 IT’S OFFICIAL — CHASING TAILS IS #3! 🥉🐾

I am incredibly excited (and still a little shocked!) to officially share that Chasing Tails Dog Training placed #3 in the 2026–2027 Locals Love Us awards! ❤️

When I started Chasing Tails, my goal was pretty simple: help dogs and their humans understand each other a little better, celebrate the small wins, and make training something that strengthens the relationship you have with your dog.

Seeing this giant sign next to my little business logo feels pretty surreal. 🥹

This recognition came from **YOU** — the clients, families, friends, fellow pet professionals, and members of our community who took the time to vote, recommend me, share my name, trust me with your dogs, and support this little business of mine.

I genuinely would not be standing here holding this sign without you.

Thank you for trusting me with your puppies, your seniors, your wild children, your nervous pups, your reactive dogs, and all of the wonderfully weird personalities in between. 😂❤️ Every single one of them has helped make Chasing Tails what it is.

I am incredibly proud to be your #3 Locals Love Us Dog Trainer — and even more grateful that I get to keep doing a job that I absolutely love.

Thank you Quad Cities Area Locals Love Us for hosting these awards and helping businesses shine throughout the area!

08/20/2026

🐾 Thursday Spotlight 🐾

This week's spotlight goes to Tie-Dye! 🎉🐶

Tie-Dye is an awesome Catahoula Hound mix with an equally awesome dad!

Like many hounds, Tie-Dye was bred to use his incredible nose. Once he catches the scent of something interesting, he can become completely focused on the task at hand.

In Tie-Dye's case, that means there are a few spots in the yard where he's discovered chipmunks, squirrels, groundhogs, or moles... and boy, does he love checking them out! 😂

Rather than expecting him to ignore those instincts, we've been working on something much more realistic and valuable:

💙 Choosing to break away from those exciting scents and check back in with Dad.

It's not about teaching Tie-Dye that sniffing is "bad."

It's about helping him remember that even when something exciting is happening, Dad is still worth paying attention to.

That's a huge life skill!

I'm so proud of both Tie-Dye and his dad for all the hard work they've put in. It's been so much fun watching their communication and teamwork grow with each session.

🐶 If you'd ever like to meet Tie-Dye, you can usually find him hanging out with his dad at Rocket Resale in the East Village in Davenport. Be sure to stop by and say hello! (If Tie-Dye is busy sniffing first... now you know why! 😉)