Canine Confidence

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Coatesville, IN
Canine Confidence

My name is Lauren Gargano and I am a Fear Free & Karen Pryor Certified Dog Trainer

12/31/2025

Hazel worked on socialization and training last night! She saw, heard, and smelled a LOT of new things like dust mops, carts, people, different textured floors, dogs, items, people carrying things, carts being loaded, etc. Socialization is MUCH more than just meeting people and dogs. It is a combination of new experiences done in a positive way! It is also a wonderful confidence booster as she is experiencing new things and associating them with something good (food/praise) which will help her want to try new things in the future 😉 She did a fantastic job even though shw was a tad unsure to start! 💜

12/29/2025

Leo update on his class! We are definitely not progressing through the lectures as fast as they are going up, but that's okay because I am still obviously seeing progress 🥰 He is starting to pivot around the bowl WITHOUT me moving which is a huge win for him 💜 And we have plenty of distraction in this session compared to others and he still did well! We still have work to do, but happy to see the little wins!

12/22/2025

This is Nala working on the very beginning of her mat/place behavior! She has a difficult time staying in one spot, so I feel like this will end up being very helpful once it is a more fluent behavior! A mat/place behavior can be helpful for while you are cooking or eating dinner, letting guests into the house, or out in public at a game or dog friendly patio (and MUCH more!). The biggest tips in the beginning that I use is ALWAYS feed from the mat (place food on the mat instead of into their mouth), and do NOT leave it laying out until the behavior is fluent (otherwise it just becomes another 'bed' they use whenever with little to no value) 😉

12/21/2025

Here is Ryder's start to his pivot bowl! I attemped shaping but he was a little all over the place, so switched to luring for more steadiness, and then eventually I figured out a chin rest (previously worked on but not perfect) was the best way to keep Ryder calm and on the pivot bowl! We have quite a bit to work on here, but I am really enjoying this class through 🥰

12/20/2025

I'm obsessed with this new little guy! Meet Wilbur! He has a wonderful new family who is experienced with English Bulldogs and is ready to give him everything he needs and more 🥰 We talked about a LOT of puppy basics and routines, and even added in a couple of behaviors to work on already! It is never too early to start training 💜

12/17/2025

I am taking a class through on pivots and heeling (my boys are pretty good at walking already, but something new to try is fun!)! I always love the content FDSA has and enjoy expanding my knowledge. This process is fairly new for us to try and Leo has very little body awareness, so it will be a process for sure! If you watch the beginning, I didn't realize I was capturing a head dip as he swallowed 🤭 Doing this with Ryder looks a LOT different, so I will attempt to get a video of that as well. They are very different personalities 🤪 When you know better you do better, and everyone starts somewhere! It is hard to know EVERYTHING in dog training, but I strive to learn more about what my clients would benefit from and my kiddos benefit from my practice for you 💜

12/15/2025

Now that it's FREEZING outside, you may be looking for places to work with your dog! Not all dogs are ready for the high distraction environment, and small sessions are typically best to start with (sometimes 5-10 minutes of just exposure and working on a pattern game or two to start with).
If you aren't sure of dog friendly places in your area, Bringfido.com is a wonderful option! It gives you lists of pet friendly places (hotels/stores/parks/etc.) in your area! If you think a place might be pet friendly but isn't listed (happened to me last week), feel free to give the business a call and ask ahead of time so you aren't stuck in a crappy situation! Happy training 💜
*Leo LOVES people watching when we go out 🤭

12/13/2025

Leo crushed it at At Home yesterday! This was my first time working with him in public! We did start with a private in-home session last week, and Mom and Dad have been practicing their homework! This is what happens when you put in the work and build a strong relationship with your pup! He is working towards Canine Good Citizen certification in hopes of doing therapy dog work 💜 Therapy dog work isn't for everyone, but he has the PERFECT personality and confidence 🥰 We still have some work to do, but he is a fast learner. Keep up the fantastic work!
*And because I feel like I always have to say it for the ones who don't believe me, harnesses DO NOT cause pulling 😉

12/12/2025

✨️Luring✨️

Luring is another method used in positive reinforcement training by holding something of higher value (food/toy) in front of the dog's nose to physically guide them into a desired position. This is a great method to get the 'muscle memory' of some behaviors for your pup (or cat 😉).

Leo is familiar with using a lure so catches on quickly to the 'around' I am teaching him! I lure him halfway around me and click/treat, then finish luring back to where he was and click/treat. Eventually, I fade out the first lure and then the second (no food in my hands), and click/treat at the end of the behavior (so he is just following hand movements). I will also add in my verbal cue 'around' once he seems to understand the behavior. After, I will fade my hand movements (unless that is something you prefer to keep!).

Sit, down, and loose leash walking are all good examples of behaviors that can benefit from luring in the beginning. The MOST important part is remembering to fade the food/treat once they are catching on (at your dog's pace). If you don't, that food/toy becomes a part of the behavior and the dog will typically only do it when that food/toy is present. Happy training!

12/11/2025

✨️Shaping✨️

Shaping is a positive reinforcement method that teaches complex behaviors (or sometimes not so complex) by marking and rewarding successive approximations (very small breakdowns) of the final behavior (no luring and no forcing)! This is GREAT mental stimulation because he has to try different behaviors to figure out how to get a click and a kibble (also a fantastic confidence building activity 😉).

My end goal is Ryder in the box sitting, but since he doesn't know how to do that yet, I start marking and rewarding for glances at the box. Once he was glancing at the box consistently, I raised my criteria for a click/kibble for head close to/in the box. If he struggled, I still rewarded a glance to keep his rate of reinforcement high. I continued slightly increasing my criteria as he was successful.

The whole process took about 10 minutes, so I sped up the video and took sections out. In the middle you see he is putting his foot in for the first time, and at the end he is getting in and sitting down! Training doesn't have to be fancy or eye catching (I'm sure the majority will think this is absolutely boring!), but watching a dog learn WHILE having fun is so special to me. I love building that bond and trust which is part of why I became a dog trainer. I train this way because I want my dogs to listen to me out of trust, not fear 💜 Happy training, and thanks for watching if you made it through 🤭

12/05/2025

Frozen Friday! Let me see your pups enjoying the freezing cold snow! I need a smile because cold weather is not my jam 🥶

12/03/2025

🌟Here are my 3 biggest tips when working on recall! Recall is a SUPER important behavior, so be sure you are practicing consistently and in MANY different places 😉

✅️ NEVER punish your dog when they come to you, regardless of what JUST happened. Dogs are very live in the moment creatures which means you just punished them for coming to you (they already forgot about the dead animal they were rolling in) 🫣
✅️ This should be heavily reinforced in the beginning with HIGH value food (my dog's favorite was freeze dried pork heart). Remember, you can use the environment as reinforcement by releasing them back to what they were doing (as I do in this video) ⛰️
✅️ Do NOT use your recall word to do something they don't like (bathing, nail trims, etc.). This will poison the word when you attempt to use it later 🛁

Address

Coatesville, IN
46121

Website

http://canineconfidencetraining.com/

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