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The Dog Nerd

Behavioral dog training and canine nutrition... based in VA, but I can help people anywhere 🤓

10/19/2025

In my Facebook memories today: one year ago I was losing my mind raising Smiles' eight pups, but the puppy snuggles were absolute perfection even though their little nails were sharp haha 🫶🥹💖

10/05/2025

Dogs don't need meds... they need training! This is an awesome video from Dr Melanie Uhde talking about the recent sharp increase in prescription meds and the issues surrounding them on a neurobiological level. Absolute love this breakdown! 🎉 thanks to Dr Uhde for engaging in this controversial but crucial conversation.

09/30/2025

Understanding and recognizing temperament in dogs is like seeing the future, because understanding what motivates them at their core enables you to predict future behavior in even novel situations. And train accordingly ;)

09/26/2025

Meet Dunkin! This two year old labradoodle is with me for the next couple months after he started attacking the new puppy in the household. The puppy will be coming as well towards the end of his stay for reintegration. Dunkin's a pretty challenging guy: insecure, anxious, and very sure he should be in charge.

First order of business is building our relationship and some basic manners like walking with me on a loose leash, yielding at thresholds, and being quiet in the crate. My pack will also be helping him learn some better skills with other dogs.

09/25/2025

Demonstrating how I bring a new dog into my pack for the trainers in SC... I've built a cute little team of helper dogs who are my trusted partners in training. Not all dogs are dog trainers, but I chose these girls for my pack because they balance each other and work cooperatively to teach new dogs the right way, right away. Dogs are able to teach other dogs much faster and more effectively than humans, so rehab is easier and quicker using the power of a balanced pack. And they teach me a ton in the process 😉🐶

09/24/2025

The best dog trainers aren't humans: they're dogs 😉 structured socialization is so rewarding and allows dogs to teach and help other dogs a lot faster than people can. We held several of these sessions in SC, and I coached the humans on best practices for keeping everything safe and fun.

09/22/2025

I had an absolute blast delivering a 3 day custom designed intensive hands-on learning experience for the lovely ladies at Major Wags Dog Training, LLC covering my ABCD methodology for behavioral training, temperament, canine communication and body language, precursors to aggression, and tons of socialization. I helped them develop a cohesive and balanced pack amongst their personal dogs and assessed some of the more difficult cases they're working with, including a forward resource guarding chocolate lab, a very tough and intense GSD puppy, and two adult male bully mixes living in the same home who've had some struggles getting along.

I am sunburnt, exhausted, and brain dead, but WOW my heart is beyond full. It was an incredible experience, and we all learned so much, including me 🤓 there are some naps in my future, but I'll post more in the coming days, so stay tuned!

09/21/2025

Few things in life bring me more joy than seeing a struggling dog start to find balance for the first time ever through the teaching/mentorship of a stable pack 🫶🥹🖤 all made possible by some amazing dog trainers who are leading with vulnerability and being open to learning more.

I'm having the best time here in SC and doing the worst job at taking pics/videos haha 🤣🤷‍♀️

07/23/2025

Maaany moons ago, when I was just a crazy cat lady, rescuing and rehabbing ferals for fun 😹 I made some friends at animal control, and the city used to call me when they couldn't catch stray dogs.

That's how it all started, and I learned on my feet in life/death situations how to read body language and become a safe and trustworthy human to dogs in fight/flight. No catch poles. Rarely food. Lots of patience, problem solving, and a leash if I was lucky. I have probably secured hundreds of dogs over the past 12 years.

I don't spend much time catching loose dogs anymore, but every now and then, an opportunity presents itself.

Still got it 💪 little miss stinker is home safe and sound after making me carry her out of the woods and across acres of farmland in the midday heat.

(Negative comments will be deleted-- accidents happen to the best of us.)

07/21/2025

🎶 Started from the bottom, now we here 🎉

Dog trainers have to train our own dogs too, and anyone who knows me, knows fluffy boy Boone keeps me on my toes... bringing Smiles into the pack was no exception.

Boone's Great Pyrenees genetics make him suspicious and resistant to newcomers 👀 and Smiles' presence made him very uncomfortable at first. I've been managing and creating small positive interactions for months, gradually integrating them more and more.

The past few weeks, we've really turned the corner, and Boone has been making all good choices and hasn't tried to eat her once 😎

My general approach with clients is starting with the basics: guiding the dog to make the right choice in the easiest situations first. When everything is easy and smooth sailing for a period of time without reversion to old unwanted behaviors, we increase the difficulty slowly and give the dog more autonomy over time.

This is how true long term behavioral change happens in the brain. 🧠 It does not happen overnight and cannot be forced, as that's just not how habits work or how neural pathways function on a biological level. If you've ever broken a bad habit, you get it ;) It takes time to learn things a new way and for that new way to override the old.

Yes, it takes longer this way. Yes, it requires the humans to change too. But the results are undeniable and long lasting when we spend the time needed to actually change the brain and dogs learn to make different choices on their own. It just gets easier over time.

Here's the choice Boone made this morning. All by himself-- I didn't put him here or tell him to lay down, and there are other beds he could've chosen. He has now accepted Smiles as a pack mate, and they will be friends for life 👯🐾💖

07/20/2025

Digging is good for your dog!

Maggie taught all her puppies to dig in the dirt, and not just because it's fun. 😉

Healthy soil is full of beneficial microbes called Soil Based Organisms (SBOs) that have tons of health benefits, including:

🥕 Balancing the microbiome and improving digestion

🦠 Regulating the immune system

🌾 Reducing allergies and inflammation

🥰 Mood/behavior benefits via the gut brain axis

➕️ and many others!

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Bowling Green, VA
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