Centre Stage Dog Training

08/07/2026

Join Benson on his first outing in vest! In all reality, this outing was no different than what we have been doing except that he was practicing wearing a vest instead of a balance harness.
At home I have been working on his comfort putting on and wearing his vest so that we can use it out in public, but the vest has no meaning to him right now and it is important to me that my dogs can work with or without this context cue- you never know what you'll forget! In our outing today he practiced pottying on stones, going through automatic doors, tiny bits of loose leash walking, a few cues, people watching, and then ended with some play!
Our entire outing was 12 minutes and we never left the entry area of our library for this baby dog, short and sweet for the win!

08/05/2026

POV your mom used to be a horse girl but now she trains dogs so she takes you to the horse shows for training!
We had a blast up in Manchester visiting the Vermont Summer Festival. Benson adapted easily to the horse show life, made lots of friends, did lots of watching, some zooms, and of course some good naps.
Who else went from horse girl to dog training or sports....?

08/05/2026

Seemingly overnight your sweet puppy class graduate went from coming running when you call them to forgetting their name and not listening to your cues. They’re jumping on neighbors, pulling you on walks, lunging towards dogs or squirrels, and sniffing in the yard instead of coming inside. Sound familiar?

If you feel like your puppy has suddenly forgotten everything they know, you’re not alone and your puppy hasn’t suddenly become stubborn. Welcome to adolescence! Here’s the basics of our survival guide for your teenage pup,so that you can come out the other side with a confident, well-mannered dog.

If you feel like your puppy has suddenly forgotten everything they know or has a new “stubborn” streak, you’re not alone and your puppy hasn’t suddenly become stubborn. Welcome to adolescence!  Here’s the basics of our survival guide for your teenage pup,so that you can come out the o...

08/03/2026

Wonder what a morning with a service dog in training looks like?
In our program, it's a little different everyday which is important because service dogs need to be adaptable!
This morning, Benson got his parade in, breakfast, some settling, a brief morning training session, and then practiced settling in a crate during an agility class. He is set up for success with management as he learns the habits we want him to build for his future as a diabetic alert dog!

07/31/2026

Teaching a service dog, or any dog, to put their head through an item can be very helpful for putting on gear ranging from vests to different harnesses, coats, collars, or even for veterinary care!
Benson started off learning to put his head through this popper tube, which we made smaller until he was pushing his head through. We then moved over to his vest, once he was coming right up and putting his head through, we started adding the cue "get dressed!".

07/30/2026

Join us in congratulating our apprentice trainer jillian_santana in graduating from the CATCH trainer academy and becoming a certified trainer in their program!

Jillian is our enrichment session extraordinaire, group class assistant, and will be helping take on lessons so we can help even more pups and their people. Congratulations!!

07/29/2026

Happy Birthday!!
Astro was able to celebrate his special day with his best friends and even got his very own cake (don't worry he shared)
A huge thank you to everyone who made Astro's second birthday so special!

07/27/2026

Want your dog trained while you're at work? Or just need a little extra support with the teaching so you can do the practicing?
Join Moose on his done for you puppy session! With a mix of snuggles, body handling, socialization, and obedience, he was ready for his nap after!
Good boy Moose!

07/24/2026

Celebrating Astro extra today for his second birthday!!! To the sweetest, goofiest, best boy, I am incredibly proud of you💜

Every dog you raise is with you during a different stage of life. Astro was with me through my toughest health challenges, multiple surgeries, founding a non profit I had as a goal for years, and so many adventures. I am so incredibly grateful and lucky that he was placed so locally and that he remains such a goofy presence in our lives.

Happy second birthday Astro, I hope you got all the cookies, bent tail zooms, upside time, snuggles, and parties today!! Swipe to see the babiest of Astros!

07/24/2026

Join my three minute puppy training session teaching the foundations for a "get dressed cue"!
Teaching your dog to put their head through something is a great skill for a future service dog who will wear a vest or harness, a pet dog who may wear a harness or coat, and for general body handling. The trick of using these awesome tubes came from Michele Pouliot during clicker expo NY!
I start by shaping him to put his head through and we will continue to make it smaller overtime to mimic his future vest before working with that. One of my new favorites!