Dog Training - Sue Battel

09/04/2026

MEET COOPER.......A BEAUTIFUL DOODLE WITH A GENETIC BEHAVIOR ISSUE.....SAVING HIS HOME .....HEALTHY POSITIVE STRUCTURE.... I met Cooper when he was just 12 weeks old......just two weeks ago. I obviously fell in love with him and his family adores him but unfortunately Cooper has a genetic behavior issue.....resource guarding.
He is super friendly and loves to play with the kids in his family and he is super smart but when I met him he truly showed his behavior issues with the resource guarding the first day.
The resource guarding is a genetic behavior problem and when you have such a young puppy showing this behavior this is not normal....so then what do we do to help keep him in his forever home with his forever family?
Well this is NOT a correctable behavior. We can not take the genetics out of the dog and if we challenge this behavior when he acts out....well he will become more defensive and things will become very dark.
So we start by building such SAFE and POSITIVE guidelines and boundaries and yes we will temporarily be using treats as well. We will be teaching him " Drop it" and " Leave it" exercises as well and we will be also teaching RESPECT with gentle guidance but what we will NEVER do is use an electric shock collar or any form of dominance in this process.
This little guy has such a sweet loving side to him and ultimately we are going to work on bringing that side of his personality out. We will be teaching him that just because he REALLY wants to keep whatever he is resource guarding all for himself the reality is.... he can't but we must not break him down to address the issue.
This was his very first lesson and him and his momma did awesome and we talked about changing some things at home and the report is.....he is doing well ❤️❤️! I have nothing but respect for his family for trying. We talked about never being able to guarantee anything and about the commitment that is involved with him and they are willing to make this work and I will give them everything I have to help them because even though this is not a correctable behavior this is a behavior that we can still live a happy safe life with. When I can help clients like this.....well it's why I am here! I will continue to share his story and how their relationship grows ❤️!

08/29/2026

MEET CHAROLETT........CALMING ANXIETY......WATCHING A CONNECTION GROW..... So this beautiful little soul is Charlotte and she is a one year old pug who is a super awesome little girl however she has so much anxiety that she truly couldn't sit still for even a second when I met her.
I love how her momma completely understands that not only is this going to be a long journey and take a lot of patience and understanding but at some point we may have to reach out to her veterinarian and ask for anxiety medication but for now we are going to see if we can do this naturally with proper positive reinforcement training.
I see Charlotte and her momma once a week and I can honestly say that every time I see them I see tremendous improvement and miss Charlotte is actually becoming calmer.
When I received the text of the picture of Charlotte laying on the floor chewing on her bone and her momma said that this wouldn't have happened without me .....well my heart just fills with so much joy that I know how much I am helping.....and this is a team effort so if her momma wasn't as committed as she is then Charlotte wouldn't be doing as well as she is.
We are still at the beginning of this journey and the changes are amazing ❤️! This is why I became a professional dog trainer.....to help souls with any and all behavior issues. I love getting text messages and reports like this ❤️! I will continue to share miss Charlotte's story as her and her momma grow . This connection is what positive reinforcement training looks like! This is a super happy puppy who is smiling and happy and is not stress panting or being forced to do anything she is learning how to make her own choices and how to choose to look at her momma because she wants to and feels safe to not because she is being forced or commanded to.

08/24/2026

MEET TEDDY.....REHABILITATING A RESCUE......CREATING AN UNBREAKABLE BOND..... This beautiful little soul is Teddy and he is about 6 years old but truthfully acts so much like a puppy. I met him not too long ago and his parents said he was picked up as a stray at one of the local shelters.
The shelter people had marked him as a dog with having behavior issues including resource guarding and biting. They said he was only in the shelter for two days and his wonderful parents decided to foster him which led to a full adoption so Teddy found his forever family ❤️!
They reached out to me asking for help with his issues and not knowing any history on Teddy I have to do the best I can with my experience and education to help them as best I can. I explained how resource guarding is not a correctable behavior in itself so we will work on respect and boundaries and communication skills without pushing Teddy into a defensive place in his head. I will definitely say Teddy has a lot of anxiety and we will do our best to help him naturally with proper behavior training which means we will never put an electric shock collar or stimulate collar on him regardless of his behavior.
I know for trainers who use those collars use them even on little guys like Teddy and this is the only way they know how to " Train" if that's what you want to call it ....I see it as abuse and cruelty. So with the patience from his parents and understanding that we may not be able to eliminate all behavior issues I will find a way to keep everyone safe and to keep Teddy's head out of his defensive place so he can enjoy all of the love his parents have to give him.
I am super proud of his parents commitment and understanding and the love they have for this little guy is amazing!!!! I love helping to support my clients and being honest about whether I can help them! I will continue to share Teddy's story and progress ❤️!

08/18/2026

08/18/2026

MEET DAISY PART TWO......HER SECOND TRAINING SESSION.....HELPING RAISE A PUPPY.....I did a post just a couple weeks ago when I first met Daisy and her family so I just want to continue to share their journey of raising her .
I had been in constant contact with her family for weeks before I met them just to support them and help guide them through the transition of Daisy going from the breeder to their family and the stages they had to go through and continue to go through. I first met Daisy when she was 11 weeks old and this beautiful little soul is a spitfire of adorable who truly needs proper training and boundaries.
So in this journey as much as Daisy wants to be in control we are in the most positive way teaching her that she must respect her family. I will say that if Daisy was in the hands of a hard core trainer she wouldn't have a chance to develop into the beautiful soul she has the potential to be as an adult.
There will be NO hard neck jerks on her and there will be no STOP START STOP walking pattern if she pulls on her leash and there will be no " Time Out " or " attaching her leash to a doorknob " or " AIR horn Pet Corrector " used on her but there will be positive reinforcement structure and love patience and boundaries in this journey and most importantly.....I will guide her family in ways to keep her soul safe and her family happy because that is what professional dog training is.....raising puppies the right way!
I was super proud of how awesome Daisy did as a 13 week old puppy in her second session in training. The pride and attention she gave was beautiful! Stay tuned as I continue to share her training journey.

08/16/2026

RAISING HALE......OUR JOURNEY FOUR YEARS LATER..... I was not looking for another dog when the person who Cece came from reached out to me and asked if I would be interested in bringing her home. I was not ready. I wanted another year to continue to raise Cece and I was going to adopt from a rescue or shelter but after a bit I decided to bring Hale home.
My breeder breeds German Shepherds from Germany and I figured since I had such a great experience with Cece I would be getting another great dog......never imagining how incredibly difficult this journey was going to be.
The day I picked her up I met her father and as absolutely beautiful as he is my intuition said don't trust him and her momma died a week after she was born so she was bottle fed but he did have his other females who had litters nurse from them however bottle fed puppies always have certain behavior issues so I knew I was getting myself into a bit of a challenge.
I also saw his daughter toss my puppy down by her front paws as she jumped on her and just tossed her like a ball which really upset me so I was still not convinced I wanted her.....but I took her home anyway. I had major behavior issues as I raised her. Hale was aggressive towards people and dogs as a three month old puppy.
Hale attacked Cece over Cece's dinner the first night I brought her home she just bolted across the room and went after her and yes I corrected that immediately!!! I spent every second of every day building structure with Hale and trying to help her understand that being touched doesn't mean she will be hurt and just trying to stabilize her mind. I know for a fact that this IS a genetic issue as every puppy that has the same father has the same behavior issues .
There was a point when Hale was a year and a half and she viciously attracted Cassie which was so off because she knew Cassie was the alpha amongst them and I have never seen a dog check out in their eyes like I did with Hale.
So our journey would continue but I had to put her on Prozac because I can not take her genetics out and I reached out to her breeder in the hopes he would stop breeding her father....well that never happened and he blamed me for he behavior issues. So I have completely disconnected from him and I cried for at least a month and promised Hale I would not fail her and I have not!!! The improvements in her personality are AMAZING and she helps in class every day AND we have been in such a great place at home and the bond that her and Cece have is BEAUTIFUL!! I however am now dealing with a genetic health issue called EPI which is.....Exocrine Pancreatic Insufficiency .
I have not been able to get weight on her and I call her My Skinny Mini because she is SO skinny and she eats 6 cups of food a day. I finally did a special blood test on her and she was diagnosed in December because as she has aged I see her not looking healthy.
So basically she is starving all the time and not getting any nutrition which is why she is SO skinny and why her coat looks horrible and she is constantly shedding because her body can not process food so she is on a pancreatic supplement that is 200.00 a month but as I am learning with this journey high fiber dog food prevents the enzymes from working and she lost another 6 pounds.
So we changed her food to a low fiber prescription diet and she is finally doing better. The bottom line is this.......before I brought Hale home I was going to rescue a dog.....not realizing that this would actually be Hale.
I never thought I would be in this place especially with what I believed was good bloodlines but I am . I have had SO many clients say to me " I didn't sign up for this " but the reality is......yes you did and ABSOLUTELY YES I DID !!
I promised Hale I would not fall her and I have been able to give her soul the peace she deserves and I am now able to help her body function properly as well. I will also take this education and pass it on to my clients because a big part of dog training and dog behavior absolutely has to do with how the dog is doing physically and if I limit my education then I am not doing my clients justice when they reach out to me. I made my promise to Hale that I WILL NOT FAIL HER and my god I meant it!!

08/15/2026

MEET CHAUNCEY.......SAVING ANOTHER SOUL.... I met Chauncey and his dad yesterday and Chauncey is a rescue from a shelter who was picked up as a stray and was so matted up and skinny. This beautiful little man was adopted by his daddy just a few weeks ago and the story is .....they live in a senior community and it's a very busy senior community and there are people with walkers and wheelchairs and canes and he has to use an elevator to get up to his apartment.
So not having any background history on Chauncey but meeting him in the shelter he was super friendly and extremely affectionate so his daddy took him home. So as Chauncey felt more acclimated to his new home he started showing extreme anxiety and his triggers are the elevator and people suddenly walking up on him.
Chauncey definitely shows signs of reactivity anxiety that he has no trust and his first instinct is to protect himself so of course this becomes a problem so his daddy reached out to me and I saw him yesterday.
I wasn't sure what I was going to see but I definitely could see how guarded he is and how he truthfully wants to trust but I can see that he just doesn't know he can. I will say he was totally fine with me and yes of course he stole my heart so......this journey is going to be about rehabilitating an abused and severely neglected soul that truly deserves a chance of having the best rest of his life with peace and unconditional love!!!! I started my dog training career so I could help save dogs like Chauncey and over forty years later and so much more knowledge here I am doing what I do best.....Keeping dogs SAFE with ALL POSITIVE REENFORCEMENT and with UNCONDITIONAL LOVE and keeping dogs in their homes for the rest of their lives! I will continue to share his story and progress so stay tuned ❤️!

08/15/2026

MEET INDY......HELPING RAISE A PUPPY...... This beautiful soul is Indy and I met him and his parents a few months ago when he was a little fellow and he definitely was a spitfire .
So this is a case that could have gone completely the other way meaning Indy had so many signs of a major mouthy attitude and without the proper intervention he could have grown up being a very unmanageable adult dog.
They did not get good information on how to manage him like to turn their back when he jumps up or bites at them. This obviously does not address the issue it just teaches the dog that he/she is in control of you.
There also was not a good structured foundation of training for him so the proper boundaries had also not been put in place. So anyone who knows me definitely knows I do not believe that your dog is not permitted on the furniture or to sleep in bed with you however YES structure respect and great communication skills are what always helps to mold any puppy/ dog.
So today we continued to build a beautiful connection with Indy and his parents with distractions and as watched how their session went on I was just amazed and proud of how far they all have come!
This journey is about helping families build the most beautiful life with their dog/ puppy and its such a deep honor to be on this journey with Indy and his parents. They are SO gentle with him and they are so committed to helping him learn and they love him so much and this is what professional dog training is always all about and this is my WHY my PURPOSE my LIFE and I love it!!!

08/15/2026

HAPPY GOTCHA DAY CECE.....I can't believe five years ago today I started my life journey with my beautiful Cece !!!! This was a very emotional day because I had lost Leah in June and I was still trying to process that but poor Cassie was SO depressed and REALLY needed a friend.
I named Cece in honor of my Mom who passed away eleven years ago. My mom's middle name was Cecilia so I decided to honor my mom and her life with this beautiful girl!❤️
I have enjoyed raising Cece and she has become such a wonderful good girl. Cece is my partner in training classes as well and absolutely loves everyone she meets. I love our bond and how much our relationship and trust has grown. I love my girls!!!❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

08/13/2026

I had a client tell me that the reason why she is training with me is because she knows how deeply I feel about my career and she can tell that my career IS my passion and that I will give everything I have to help and she said that she can tell that I truly have her dogs best interest at heart.
So yes I cried because this was such a heartfelt compliment that really touched me. I have really worked SO hard for my education and for my ability to help my clients and those who follow me or just reach out through a phone call or text for some advice.
I went right out of high school to my passion my career. I never gave up. I have a track record of not moving around to too many places and if I was at a place for a short period of time....well maybe it just wasn't a good fit for me .
I am a very dedicated and loyal person who when I am in my what I call my second home which is my training space and I have the peace I deserve as well as treated with respect........well I am not going anywhere!
I have landed exactly where I belong for the rest of my life and I couldn't be happier. I set up personalized training programs for each individual client and their lifestyle and needs and most importantly for the dogs best interest.
So what this looks like is.....proper positive reinforcement training and behavior modification but never hard core training and what this will NEVER look like is teaching my clients what their dog already knows and NEVER teaching the " Paw" trick as I am not a fan.
I will clean up their handling if need be but yes I do have a process I stick with....because it works! The other thing to know about me is how protective I am of MY career!!! I started at rock bottom literally and worked very very hard to get to the place I am in so I WILL NEVER have my name or career associated with anyone who teaches TRICKS or who uses ALL treats for training or who is completely about the money and not the client.
I also will NEVER take on a case without being COMPLETELY honest with my clients as to whether or not I can help them. I will NEVER use any methods like squirtting a dog with a water bottle or using an AIR HORN like the " Pet Corrector" to SCARE the crap out of a dog to listen. I will NEVER do a " Time Out " as this is also a cruel way of trying to alter a behavior or tell a client to tie the dog to a doorknob or walk around the house with the dog tied to the owner the entire time.
This is NOT dog training this is CRUEL!!! I will NEVER have my name associated with ANYONE who uses an electric shock collar or stimulate collar. I have actually seen what they really do and YES THEY ARE ABUSIVE CRUEL AND BURN THE DOGS NECKS!
This is MY CAREER MY REPUTATION and MY HARD WORK and I will NEVER have anything to do with anyone who is not on the same page because as my client said to me this week.....I HAVE THE DOGS BEST INTEREST AT HEART and I WILL NEVER DO ANYTHING TO HURT A DOG!!