Freak On A Leash, LLC

Freak On A Leash, LLC Transforming canine behavior one paw at a time! 🐾 Certified trainers focused on positive reinforcement.

From playful pups to polite adults, we help your dog unleash their best self! 🐕 Training, love, and wagging tails. 😊 If you are looking for an efficient and productive dog trainer in Virginia Beach, don't look further. You can tell my german heritage not only by my cute accent but also my punctuality and my organisation skills. You will not find a more dedicated or compassio

nate trainer to help you. I want you and your dog to live happy together and I'm confident that we can achive this goal together. Force free training is about the animal choosing to want to be part of it and enjoy the training process. Just because dogs are amazing creatures and will let you do things to them without reacting badly doesn't mean we should. If you can train crocodiles, dolphines and wolves with rewards why would you want to use painful devices on your best friend?

Enrichment Ideas for Retrievers, Spaniels, and PointersNeed fun ways to tire out your gun dog without throwing the ball ...
04/25/2025

Enrichment Ideas for Retrievers, Spaniels, and Pointers

Need fun ways to tire out your gun dog without throwing the ball 1,000 times?

Try:
🌲 Hide-and-seek with toys or people
🧩 Snuffle mats or “find it” food games
💦 Water play (sprinklers or kiddie pools)
⛰️ Long leash hikes with time to sniff
🎯 Scent work or feather drags

Let their nose lead—it’s what they were built for.

How to Fulfill the Needs of a Gun DogGun dogs need:⚽ Movement – Not just a walk. Off-leash sniffing, fetch, or swimming....
04/24/2025

How to Fulfill the Needs of a Gun Dog

Gun dogs need:
⚽ Movement – Not just a walk. Off-leash sniffing, fetch, or swimming.
🦷 Mouth work – Retrieval games, tug, or soft chews to carry around.
👃 Scent work – Nose games give their brain a workout.
🧠 Training jobs – Tricks, rally, or cooperative care—they love to work!

Meeting their instinctual needs is the key to calmer, more connected behavior.

Common Gun Dog Behavior ChallengesGun dogs are delightful—until they’re bored 🌀.Common challenges:🚫 Constant motion and ...
04/23/2025

Common Gun Dog Behavior Challenges

Gun dogs are delightful—until they’re bored 🌀.

Common challenges:
🚫 Constant motion and difficulty settling
🗣️ Chewing or digging from under-stimulation
🚶‍♂️ Pulling on leash like they’re tracking prey
🙌 Jumping on guests (friendly, but TOO much!)
🦷 Mouthiness or grabbing things constantly

These dogs were bred to do. If your sporting breed is acting out, it’s probably not defiance—it’s unmet needs.

What Is a Gun Dog, Really?Gun dogs (also called sporting breeds) were bred to work with people—flush, retrieve, or point...
04/22/2025

What Is a Gun Dog, Really?

Gun dogs (also called sporting breeds) were bred to work with people—flush, retrieve, or point game birds—and they haven’t forgotten it.

Living with one is like having a toddler with springs in their legs and a PhD in scent work 🧠.

You’ll find them sniffing the wind 🎯, retrieving random objects 🦴, and staring at birds like it’s their 9–5.

Welcome to the Wild World of Gun DogsLiving with a gun dog? You’re not alone—and you’re not imagining things.They’re fun...
04/21/2025

Welcome to the Wild World of Gun Dogs

Living with a gun dog? You’re not alone—and you’re not imagining things.
They’re fun, affectionate, brilliant, and completely bananas without the right outlet.

Gun dogs (aka sporting breeds like retrievers, setters, pointers, and spaniels) were bred to work closely with humans to locate, flush, and retrieve game. That means they’re:
🐾 Obsessive about scent
💨 Built to move all day
🐦 Social, mouthy, and high drive
Easily overstimulated
Absolutely wonderful when their needs are met

This week, we’re diving into what it’s really like to live with a gun dog—the joy, the chaos, the why-is-my-dog-carrying-a-shoe-again moments—and how to support these brilliant, busy dogs in real life.

Whether your dog’s a Lab who won’t stop stealing laundry or a GSP who lives to chase squirrels, this series is for you.

Follow along and show us your favorite wild child in the comments. Let’s make life easier—for both of you.

May is just about here and so are fresh chances to help your dog thrive! 🐾Whether your pup is barking at dogs on walks, ...
04/20/2025

May is just about here and so are fresh chances to help your dog thrive! 🐾

Whether your pup is barking at dogs on walks, struggling to come when called, or just needs a confidence boost, we’ve got a class or workshop for you.

Sign up on our website - FreakOnALeashDogTraining.com/book-now

Let’s make this the month things start feeling easier!

What Pain Can Teach Us About BehaviorOver the past week, we’ve talked about something that’s often overlooked in dog tra...
04/20/2025

What Pain Can Teach Us About Behavior

Over the past week, we’ve talked about something that’s often overlooked in dog training:
Pain.

We’ve looked at how it:

Changes the brain, making dogs more reactive and emotionally sensitive

Hides in plain sight—showing up as “stubbornness,” “aggression,” or fear

Triggers real, heartbreaking behavior changes that are so often misunderstood

We’ve also seen how relief leads to transformation.
Dogs like Jackson and Bella didn’t need more discipline.
They needed someone to say, “I believe you.”

🐶 Pain isn’t always visible.
🧠 But it rewires the brain.
💛 And when we understand that, we can meet our dogs with compassion—not correction.

If your dog’s behavior has changed... if something feels “off”…
Don’t wait. Don’t write it off. Don’t assume it’s “just behavior.”

Start with this question:
Could my dog be in pain?
Then take the next kindest step—from vet care to gentle behavior support.

What You Can Do💡 If your dog might be in pain, here’s how you can help:✅ Get a thorough veterinary evaluation—ask about ...
04/19/2025

What You Can Do

💡 If your dog might be in pain, here’s how you can help:

✅ Get a thorough veterinary evaluation—ask about soft tissue pain, arthritis, spine health, and trial pain meds if needed.
✅ Use hands-off training to reduce stress and build trust.
✅ Offer decompression walks, sniffy games, and low-impact enrichment.
✅ Consider mobility aids, massage, rehab, or acupuncture.
✅ Most of all: believe your dog.

Pain isn’t always visible. But it is real.
And support doesn’t have to be complicated—it just has to be kind.

Let us know if you need help creating a plan. You’re not alone.

Stories From Dogs in Pain📖 True stories. True pain. True transformation.✨ Jackson, a senior Golden, growled at the groom...
04/18/2025

Stories From Dogs in Pain

📖 True stories. True pain. True transformation.

✨ Jackson, a senior Golden, growled at the groomer—until we discovered spinal arthritis. With pain relief, he melted back into the sweet boy he always was.

✨ Bella, a German Shepherd, became aggressive with her housemate. Her pain and trauma from past injury made everything harder—until we treated her like a medical case, not just a behavior case.
Behavior is information. And these dogs were all saying: “I hurt.”

Ready to Train? We're Ready for You! We're ready to help you and your dog achieve your goals and Open Enrollment means y...
04/17/2025

Ready to Train? We're Ready for You!

We're ready to help you and your dog achieve your goals and Open Enrollment means you can pick the dates that work for you! With Positive Reinforcement training, your dog will learn in a stress-free, fun environment. It's time to start the journey to a better-behaved, happier dog!

Go to FreakOnALeashDogTraining.com/Book-Now to sign up!

The Science of Aggression and Pain🐕‍🦺 A 2020 study in Frontiers in Veterinary Science found that pain is a major contrib...
04/17/2025

The Science of Aggression and Pain

🐕‍🦺 A 2020 study in Frontiers in Veterinary Science found that pain is a major contributor to aggression in dogs.

Why? Because pain makes the world feel unsafe.

A dog who lashes out may not be angry—they may be bracing for the next thing that hurts.
They may be terrified someone will touch that sore joint, that unstable hip, that tight back.

So when a dog says “no” with a growl or a bite…
…it might really mean: “I’ve been saying no quietly for a long time. You just didn’t see it.”

If you’ve seen aggression pop up suddenly or in new contexts, it’s time to look deeper. We can help.

What Pain Looks Like (Hint: Not Just Limping)🐾 Did you know that many dogs in pain don’t limp, cry, or show obvious sign...
04/16/2025

What Pain Looks Like (Hint: Not Just Limping)

🐾 Did you know that many dogs in pain don’t limp, cry, or show obvious signs?

Pain can look like:

Refusing to sit or lie down

Growling when touched or picked up

Sudden reactivity to other dogs

Avoiding play, stairs, or car rides

Ignoring cues they used to know

These are dogs whose behavior “suddenly” changes. But it’s not sudden to them—it’s just finally too much to hide.

If your dog has changed in a way that doesn’t make sense, please don’t punish them.
Let’s get curious. Let’s rule out pain first.

The Brain-Body Connection🧠 Pain changes behavior because pain changes the brain.When a dog is in chronic pain, their ner...
04/15/2025

The Brain-Body Connection

🧠 Pain changes behavior because pain changes the brain.

When a dog is in chronic pain, their nervous system becomes hypersensitive. That means:

Sounds feel louder

Touch feels threatening

Movement feels harder to control

Emotions become harder to regulate

This is called central sensitization—and it’s a real physiological process.

So when a dog growls at grooming, avoids stairs, or becomes more reactive on leash…
…it might not be “bad behavior.”
It might be a body asking for help.

“Not Just Behavior Week”💔 “He’s just being difficult.”“She used to love walks—now she won’t even leave the porch.”“I don...
04/14/2025

“Not Just Behavior Week”

💔 “He’s just being difficult.”
“She used to love walks—now she won’t even leave the porch.”
“I don’t know what changed. It’s like he snapped out of nowhere.”

This week, we’re talking about a topic that’s often missed in dog training: pain—and how it changes behavior.

Because before we label a dog as aggressive, stubborn, reactive, or dramatic… we have to ask:
What if they’re just hurting?

Stay with me for the next few days as we explore how pain can show up, how it hides, and how to help.

“Built to Work. Wired to Connect.”And that’s a wrap on Herding Breed Facts Week!From the intense eye of the Border Colli...
04/12/2025

“Built to Work. Wired to Connect.”

And that’s a wrap on Herding Breed Facts Week!

From the intense eye of the Border Collie to the joyful hustle of the Pumi, herders remind us what it means to be focused, loyal, and full of purpose.

They weren’t bred to be chill. They were bred to do.

Whether you’re throwing frisbees, rolling sheep balls, or training in scent work, remember: you’re not “fixing” your dog—you’re fulfilling them.

Have a favorite moment from the week? Share it below—we’d love to see your brilliant herder in action!

“Sheep Balls: Not Just a Giant Game of Fetch”Think herding instinct can’t be satisfied without livestock? Think again.Sh...
04/11/2025

“Sheep Balls: Not Just a Giant Game of Fetch”

Think herding instinct can’t be satisfied without livestock? Think again.

Sheep Ball is a structured activity designed to channel your dog’s natural drive to control movement—without the chaos. It’s not fetch. It’s not wild play. It’s thoughtful, controlled herding with a soft ball and clear rules.

Your dog learns to:
• Move around the ball calmly
• Use body pressure
• Be patient, focused and anticipate the balls movement

We start small—stationary handler, single ball, no frenzy—so dogs learn to think, not chase. Great for Bouviers, Collies, Malinois, and mixes that love a job but need support in arousal control.

We love it because it builds confidence, reduces frustration, and creates joyful teamwork between you and your dog.

Would your pup enjoy structured ball herding? Let us know below!

“The Power of the Frisbee”Herding dogs don’t just need exercise—they need purposeful movement.Frisbee is a fast-paced, f...
04/10/2025

“The Power of the Frisbee”

Herding dogs don’t just need exercise—they need purposeful movement.

Frisbee is a fast-paced, focused activity that channels natural chase instincts into teamwork and control. It’s not fetch—it’s a sport. A Catahoula, Kelpie, or Shepherd mix can learn to anticipate, track, and time their leaps—exercising both body and brain.

We love frisbee for its ability to build connection while satisfying the need for speed.

Pro tip: start with a soft disc and short tosses, and always warm up those muscles!

“Treibball: Herding Without the Livestock”If your herder is obsessed with balls, you’ll love this:Treibball is a sport w...
04/09/2025

“Treibball: Herding Without the Livestock”

If your herder is obsessed with balls, you’ll love this:

Treibball is a sport where dogs learn to herd giant exercise balls into a goal—kind of like soccer, but with sheepdog flair.

This activity is a phenomenal outlet for breeds like Australian Koolies, Shelties, and Finnish Lapphunds, especially if they’re too intense for dog parks or not a fit for high-impact sports.

Treibball builds problem-solving skills, self-control, and that glorious moment where instinct and enrichment collide.

Best part? You can start in your own backyard.

Address

2536 Centerville Turnpike S
Chesapeake, VA
23322

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 8pm
Tuesday 9am - 8pm
Wednesday 9am - 8pm
Thursday 9am - 8pm
Friday 9am - 8pm
Saturday 9am - 8pm

Telephone

+17573011161

Website

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