Discovery Dog Training

05/09/2026

Group Classes are live on the website!

We have two classes open to the public - Scent Class and Brain & Body and several evening Basics Boost single classes open to previous clients!

*For those who received our email last week - the Brain & Body class start time has been moved to 2:15 on Friday afternoons.

We offer private lessons year round on a flexible schedule for your convenience. While some dogs and owners enjoy and thrive in a group setting, others find that private instruction best suites their needs. Private lessons allow flexibility, and when appropriate, we can add or subtract material fr

05/07/2026

Well, “they” were right. After doing one scent work trial, we signed up for another!

I was really proud of . Despite some challenges, she qualified on 5 of 8 runs, earned two novice element titles, and took a first and third place!

One of my favorite moments, however, was actually as we were walking back into the hotel from a potty break. We don’t often get to see ourselves and our dogs from an outside perspective in real time - but the reflection on the hotel door allowed just that. As we were entering one side, we spotted a few dogs exiting out the other. The dog who would have exploded at that proximity a few years ago immediately whipped her head up to check in with me to make sure I saw them - and I got to see it in the reflection. 🥰 We’re not perfect, but we’ve grown a lot.

And yes, if you’ve zoomed in you will notice that this was with the Dalmatian Club of America… 😂. She was one of only a handful of non-spotted dogs in attendance - and the only GSD so far as I saw. This also meant that we (the humans) found it a bit comical when a fire alarm at the hotel meant that the firefighters rolled up to a parking lot full of dozens and dozens of Dalmatians!

It was also really wonderful that the trial was close enough to our TN Search and Rescue friends that we could meet up for lunch! I consider Suzie my first dog mentor, which began 19 years ago when I was working on my senior exit project in high school. 🫣 They’ve spent decades volunteering their time, and dogs, to help others.

04/08/2026

Did you know…
A little bit of training is really exhausting when you’re a baby!

These two *giant* cuties are only 5 months old. Their humans have had many pairs of Great Pyrenees in the past, but when they realized that these two weren’t like the others, they reached out for help!

One of the things we often see with littermates (or just two pups of the same age) is that they can become over attached to each other and one usually is less self confident than the other. These owners did a great job at their lesson of helping these two begin to learn that they can do hard things - both with and without the other one. 🐾

(In general, we recommend one puppy at a time to avoid potential issues associated with littermate syndrome.)

03/24/2026

Part 2 to yesterday’s “silent conversation” between and 😂 See previous post for details.

I missed filming the part where Ellie shifted her body to say, “I’m done with the giraffe,” but please enjoy Jack’s very cautious testing to make sure she meant it. 😂 If you watch closely, you can see moments where she turns her head away, shows interest in other things, and generally acts unbothered. You’ll also notice there is no staring or totally still body language - her ears move, her head moves, and she only glances at him briefly. Silly dogs. 🥰

03/23/2026

Please enjoy this completely silent conversation between and about Ellie’s emotional support giraffe. 😂

Just this morning, I was chatting with a client about clarity in communication. Just because a dog asks the same question multiple times doesn’t mean that your communication necessarily has to change or escalate. This is also a great example of how proximity matters. If she were to get up and walk away, he would 100% take it. But right now, by body language and proximity, it is absolutely hers. (And he has continued to ask the same question, and receive the same answer, over the last several minutes.)

Want to learn how to think like and communicate better with your dog? Give us a call!

03/19/2026

Y’all know the drill! Just catching up on sharing the cute new faces of the last several weeks! 🐾❤️

02/23/2026

We had a great time this weekend at a Scent Work trial hosted by the CDTC in Rock Hill, SC! I’ll admit I was incredibly nervous to try something new - but everyone was really nice and helpful and Ellie handled it all so well!

I was hoping we’d at least qualify on a few of our runs, but Ellie qualified on all four and got one 4th place and two 2nd place ribbons!

02/14/2026

You might remember Opie from a previous post about very cute pajamas…

Jack and I happened upon Opie and his humans at the park earlier this week. Right as we were approaching, Opie was having words with a Bernedoodle. You see, Opie has concerns about the world - which seems fair since he weighs less than a bag of flour.

His humans are new to him and they’ve been doing a good job of working hard to build trust and help him see the world differently. But change takes time.

When I walked over with Jack, Opie lunged and barked his head off like he was going to kick Jack’s tail. I corrected him, Jack just looked at him, and off we went on our walk.

And for the next few dogs we passed, I put Jack between Opie and the other dog. And then we shifted to Jack out in front and Opie behind. Not surprisingly, Opie had a lot less to say and was much easier to handle.

Why?

Because Jack was trustworthy and safe. His behavior was and had been consistent. He didn’t crowd Opie’s space or beg him to be friends. He didn’t react at the other dogs. He walked with confidence.

Dogs always speak dog better than we do. So while we are working to help Opie understand that his humans can and will protect him, it was nice for Opie to have a walk with a trusted bodyguard of sorts. This is why I ask my clients to act more like (stable) dogs and to lead by example.

Keep up the good work, Opie! 🐾

02/06/2026

Clients have heard me say, “your dog is a nose machine with legs.”

It’s important to encourage our dogs to engage their noses for a wide variety of reasons. In this weather we’ve had lately, playing nose games can also be a great way to help wear them out when you can’t stay outside long or go new places.

As I was looking through the AKC website for something else, I came upon the Virtual Scent Work Title! Given the slowness of January, I decided this might be a fun activity for the dogs to try. While this certainly wasn’t the first time they’d played nose games, following the AKC format helped mix it up and gave the dogs some fun variety compared to what we’d done previously. They had a lot of fun earning their VSWE (virtual scent work experienced) titles.

So, if you’re feeling a little bored or too routine in your games, consider checking it out to freshen up the fun! (Remember, you can always use the parameters just to have fun - you don’t have to turn in the videos for review if you don’t want to.)

02/04/2026

We still have space for you!

Fundamentals class starts next week and there is still time to register!

Tuesdays at 11am February 10 - March 3. $200

This class will be four weeks in total and focus on loose leash walking, place, and boundary setting/household manners. We will also discuss ways to build trust and relevance, basic nutrition concepts, and add other basic commands or games as time allows. The course fee includes: 4 group lessons and a training tool.

Register at www.discoverydogtraining.propetware.com

02/03/2026

We graduated our first Brain and Body class today! We’ve had a lot of fun over the last few weeks - and everybody’s got some new skills! Each week we end with a new random obstacle course. A few of these pups weren’t so sure about it at first, but the third rep is usually the charm. 😉👏🥳