Trevor’s Dog Training

05/10/2025

At some point or another, our pets are going to need to take medicine. However, do you ever notice after giving your pet medicine, the next day it’s time to administer the dose, you reach for the medicine, and your pet is nowhere to be found?

What has likely occurred is what’s known as associative learning. Your pet has made the association between you reaching for the medicine (or opening the cabinet) and the unpleasant experience of taking medication. But surely there are going to be times you will need to administer medication to your pet.

Here I’m demonstrating how to create a positive association with the syringe I will be using to administer medicine to Petie at a later time. (Video in the comments).

04/17/2025

Meet Benji! 🐾

Benji’s owner needed some help with potty training. It’s not uncommon for smaller breed dogs to struggle with potty training…smaller bladders hold less liquid!

First things first, confine puppy to an area you can supervise to limit accidents. If puppy does have an accident no need to scold. Simply pick puppy up and take them outside.

Take your pup out frequently and provide plenty of praise and treats after a successful potty trip outside!

Taking puppy out for frequently short walks with plenty of time to sniff and explore can help encourage puppy to fully empty their bladder.

Remember, never scold! It does not teach puppy not to eliminate in the house, it only teaches puppy that eliminating infront of you is the problem. This can lead puppy to “hold it” while you’re outside together, only to sneak off when back inside.

Helpful tip, if puppy likes spending time outside, allow for 5-10 minutes after relieving themselves before bringing them back inside. If going potty results in immediately being called back in, some dogs will learn to hold it in an attempt to stay outside longer!

04/02/2025

Meet Hershey! 🐾

Hershey is a six month old ! His mom reached out to discuss coming when called (recall), loose leash walking, and mouthing/nipping. We addressed how to use positive, reward based methods to improve Hershey’s understanding so he can be the best pup he can be!

12/14/2024

Does your dog startle easily? Some dogs are overwhelmed or stressed by certain noises, and a noise box could be just what they need!

A noise box is a fantastic enrichment activity that can help desensitize noise-sensitive dogs. By allowing your dog to control the sounds the box makes, and pairing the experience with tasty treats, they can learn that noises aren’t scary—in fact, they can be fun!

For dogs who are nervous about sounds, start simple. Add just a few plastic bottles or other noise-inducing ones to the box. If your dog seems hesitant, sprinkle treats outside the box at first to build their confidence.

As your dog grows more comfortable, you can gradually increase the challenge by adding more items or introducing novel items with unfamiliar sounds. Using high-value treats can also make the activity more engaging.

For confident dogs, like Baloo here, you can take it to the next level with a fully loaded noise box!

Have you ever tried a noise box with your dog? Do you think they’d enjoy this fun enrichment activity while building confidence around sound? Give it a try and share your experience in the comments!

12/12/2024

I had the privilege of working with these cuties yesterday at Wags & Wiggles Rescue! Such wonderful pups! Jolly Roger in particular is just the sweetest boy. If you’re looking for your new best friend check out some of their adoptable dogs at https://wagsandwigglesfw.com/available-pets/

12/02/2024

Meet Luna! 🐾

Luna is such a sweet pup, she listens so well inside the house, but as soon as she gets outside she struggles to pay attention. Here is a little trick to help with this problem…it’s called using a !

So what is a treat ladder? A treat ladder is when you rank treats by order of value. This is subjective and determined by the dog, however a good rule of
thumb is to use dry crunchy treats (maybe even kibble) as your low value reward. Soft chewy treats can be a good mid-value reward to use. Save real meat or cheese as a high value reward for difficult situations. Always start with the lowest value treat your dog is willing to work for, that way you have the opportunity to move up the ladder as you increase the difficulty of your criteria.

It’s also helpful to rank distractions on a ladder as well. Ensure you’re always using a treat that is one step above the ladder compared to the distraction you’re presenting.

So if low value treats work inside the house, you may need to up the value of the reward you’re giving when moving to the backyard.

Here is a short video by Fear Free Pets which explains a bit more about treat ladders

https://youtu.be/ZpIu1pWMsNc?si=Bg2dstUiBP84ZxKN

10/19/2024

I want to wish Snowflake a very Happy 17th Birthday 🎂 🥳

I adopted Snowflake seven years ago at the age of 9! I didn’t know just how far our journey together would go. Snowflake has been my partner through every step of the way in my dog training journey and it was her partnership that helped me pass my VSA certification assessments!

Senior pets are the best, and it’s important to cherish every moment you still have together.

09/13/2024

Meet Cash! 🐾

Cash is absolutely adorable. His dad reached out for help about Cash urinating when people go to pet him. This is often an involuntary response to feeling excited, uncomfortable, or even overwhelmed.

If your dog dribbles when guests arrive, try taking them out for a potty break beforehand.

Make greetings low key events. Perhaps put a note on the door to text instead of knock for when guests arrive. When guests do arrive, having them ignore the dog at first can help keep excitement/arousal levels down.

Refrain from petting without asking for permission first! Sometimes petting can be overwhelming for pets. To ask permission, a great way is to put your hands down by your side and wiggle fingers. This is a nice invitation to pet. If the dog doesn’t take you up on the invitation, that’s okay, just let the dog be. You can always ask again at a later time!

When you do pet, stop after three seconds to see if the pet nudges for more. Sometimes pets are simply tolerating an interaction rather than enjoying it. By following these simple tips you can make sure both parties are enjoying the interaction.

09/12/2024

Meet Molly! 🐾

Molly struggles with aggressive reactions towards other dogs. Aggressive reactions can come from a variety of feelings.

Some times the source of aggressive behavior is fear. When the source of the aggression is fear, you’ll often see a shift in body weight away from the source of fear or discomfort. You might also see signs like their tail tucked between their legs or ears going back accompanied by a lip curl, growling, snarling, etc.

Other times your dog might be feeling angry. Say you’re at a dog park and another dog comes up and wants to play too roughly. If the other dog continually harasses your dog in an attempt to initiate play, your dog may start to feel angry about that interaction and want to be left alone. When anger is the underlying emotion, you’ll often see forward body language, ears pointed forward, tail up and sometimes over their back, piloerection (hackles raised), along with other more overt signs of aggression such as snarling, snapping, lunging, etc.

Regardless of the source, the protocol is much the same. Conditioning a positive emotional response to the trigger. So how might one do that?

To condition a positive emotional response, you’ll want to present the trigger at the low enough intensity not to trigger the aggressive response, and then also pair the trigger with something positive, like food. Eventually the dog learns the trigger (i.e. the sight of another dog) now predicts something pleasant. In doing this, we’re able to actually change how the dog feels about the situation rather than suppressing the undesirable behavior through the use of aversive techniques like corrections.

09/10/2024

Did you know you can push your dog too much during training sessions? Think about how mentally fatigued you were after a difficult exam in school. Dogs can feel the same way. Here are some helpful tips!

Keep training sessions short! Aim for 10-15 minute sessions a couple of times a day. (If you’re working with cats, sessions should be even shorter, 5-10 minutes).

When working on a difficult task during training sessions, but make sure you throw easy wins in there along the way! Doing so will help keep your dog engaged in the training process.

Quit while you’re ahead! It’s tempting to want to get just one more repetition in, pushing your dog to the limit each time can teach your dog training session are going to be long and arduous. Quit while the dog is still wanting more!

09/07/2024

Just like with human teenagers, adolescent dogs often struggle with making good choices. The cortex, the part of the brain responsible for decision making, is not fully developed yet!

Adolescence is the number one age group to be surrendered to shelters. Having patience with your adolescent dog, providing enrichment activities, and playing impulse control games like can go a long way in helping to teach your pup how to make good choices.

Adolescence occurs between six months and 18 months of age—a time when guardians typically struggle the most with their dogs. Some guardians are so overwhelmed and underprepared for this developmental stage of their dog’s life, they choose to surrender the dog to a local shelter or rescue group. In a recent study published in the Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science found that the majority of the surrendered dogs (47.7 percent) ) were between 5 months and 3 years of age (M.D. Salman,John G. New, Jr.,Janet M. Scarlett,Philip H. Kass,Rebecca Ruch-Gallie &Suzanne Hetts, 2010)

The neurobiology of adolescence is fascinating, with some key events that alter both the structure and function of the brain.

During canine adolescence, changing s*x hormones effect the animals stress responses. Adolescent dogs have a decreased ability to process information they are receiving from the environment including the presence of dogs, vehicles, people, or really anything around them. They behave in ways that might feel frustrating or upsetting for the dog’s person.

The connectivity between the frontal cortex (responsible for decision making) and amygdala (responsible for emotional processing) decreases, resulting in less behavioral control. We see increased risk taking and more sensitivity to fear.

So what does this mean? This could mean that what was once no big deal to the dog now feels scary; what was once easy to do is now stressful; what once made sense is now confusing. At times, the world can feel like ‘too much’ for the adolescent dog.

As your puppy undergoes this transition into adulthood their inner world is intense, even chaotic. Many pet owners experience an increase in undesirable behavior and find themselves becoming increasingly frustrated. In turn, our own frustration and impatience can cause us to act unpredictably. This adds to our puppy’s inner turmoil. When the inside and the outside are both unpredictable it can be difficult for our dogs to adjust.

If you have an adolescent dog, what can you do? You can give your dog the time and space to observe what is going on around them when on leash at a distance away from the activity when possible. You can give your dog long walks to sniff and explore in nature, giving their brain time to decompress. You can offer your dog a quiet space to sleep so that they can consolidate memories effectively. You can continue training various skills, breaking them down into easier steps that can be generously reinforced.

By understanding what our adolescent dog is experiencing we gain greater compassion and understanding. When we approach adolescence with patience we create a world that is predictable and gentle so our puppies grow up to be their best adult selves.

09/05/2024

Meet Peppermint! 🐾

Peppermint is a lovable who is excited about life! So excited his parents reached out on how to work with him on polite greetings when people come over and not jumping on mom when he wants to play. Playing games like helps to teach impulse control so when Peppermint gets excited, he is able to stop and think about his response rather than just reacting!