Clickstart Dog Training Academy

12/15/2024

Costco p*e pads are so needed and we only have one box so far. Please donate 🙏🏽

📣📣 Supply Drive going on now through the end of December. We could really use some Costco P*e Pads as we are totally out. You can drop off at for

12/07/2024

Don’t forget: This special event is tonight! Let us know if you’ll be joining us at the RSVP link below:

https://clickstart.as.me/schedule/62650bc8/?appointmentTypeIds[]=70320533

12/04/2024

11/14/2024

Support this wonderful rescue with some much needed supplies! 🐾

🐾💛🧸🪁🎾 Our friends at are doing a donation drive for

You can drop your donations off at their location in Lake Forest during business hours through the month of December 2024.

Some items that are high up on our list are in the Orange box (snuffle mats, kongs, west paw toppls, bully sticks, nylabones, any smart/brain toy, and Costco P*e Pads.

10/10/2024

If you’re a new puppy parent and you are:

- feeling overwhelmed by all of the competing priorities of puppy raising

- exhausted from early morning wake ups and midnight potty breaks

- frustrated with puppy teeth holes in your furniture, clothing, and body parts

- looking for a safe, fun, and comprehensive way to kickstart your pup’s socialization and training

Then check out our brand new Clickstart Puppy Academy! This program is designed to help pups 2-4 months old grow up into confident companions for life. Your puppy will learn, play, explore, and rest under the supervision of our expert trainers.

Our Puppy Academy runs from 9:00am-1:00pm every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. You can book a single day to try it out, or take advantage of our discounted packages for more consistent training.

Each Academy day includes:

Positive Reinforcement based training:
* Foundation Cues (sit, down, stay, come, leave it, leash walking, etc.)
* Common puppy woes troubleshooting (puppy biting, potty training, chewing, etc.)
Socialization
* Play opportunities with other puppies
* Meeting new people
* Exposure to novel objects, sounds, places, and more.
Nap and rest time
* Taking breaks from play
* Independence training
* Confinement training

Raising a puppy is tough. Let us do the heavy lifting! Visit our website to enroll in Clickstart’s Puppy Academy today!

Photos courtesy of .photographs

10/04/2024

One use of Leslie McDevitt’s 1-2-3 Pattern Game is to help build a new expectation when walking out the front door together.

Some dogs expect to see a trigger right outside the front door (because it’s happened before). They’ll pull, scan, and are quick to react if something is there.

We can use the 1-2-3 pattern game to help build a new, predictable, and safe expectation when walking out the front door.

Watch Pismo’s head glance around his surroundings real quick but then come back to the pattern game! It’s so simple but so effective. The more you practice, the stronger the pattern will get.

For more help with this game check out Leslie McDevitt’s Controlled Unleashed books or join one of our group classes!

10/01/2024

STIMULUS CONTROL is the new and improved impulse control.

We’re no longer focused on “controlling a dog’s impulses” with corrections. We’re focused on being good trainers and getting certain behaviors under stimulus control.

Stimulus control means that a specific cue prompts a specific behavior to happen - reliably.

In this video, the toy moving is not the cue for chase behavior. The words “get it” are.

To get here, we never corrected Trinket for getting up prematurely. Thanks to an errorless learning approach, we never had to!

We started by reinforcing Trinket for staying on the mat in the presence of very little movement of the flirt pole toy. After she hears the words “get it” we increase movement of the toy to encourage chasing. With practice, we gradually increase the amount of movement before the words “get it”. If we’re doing our jobs well as trainers, we will splice criteria so well for each rep that we won’t see any confusion or errors in understanding from Trinket!

If we focus on stimulus control, there really isn’t a need for impulse control anymore 🙌

What do you think? 💭

10/01/2024

When you train a Reliable Recall, what kind of body language do you want to see from your dog?

Optimistic, enthusiastic?
• Fast responses
• Low latency
• Loose body language
• No signs of FAS (fear, anxiety, stress)

Or pessimistic, hesitant, fearful?
• Slow/slinky movements
• Ears pinned back
• Head held low
• Stress pant
• Yawning and/or lip licking

Other than caring about dogs’ wellbeing, why does this matter? Because body language is a predictor of their responses in the future. How your dog feels about the cue will affect their reliability and ultimately their safety in the long run.
We want behaviors to get faster and more enthusiastic over time! Not slower and less.

Next time you ask your dog for a recall (however you train), film it! Slow it down and watch their body language in the footage. Be honest with yourself about what you see.

Even something like a pat on the head after they come to you could be considered a punisher to your dog. If you see them backing away, licking their lips, etc they might be saying “I actually don’t like that in this context and if that’s what I get for coming when called then I might hesitate next time.”

In order to see optimistic and enthusiastic recalls, we recommend using exclusively positive reinforcement. And remember to ensure your reinforcers are *actually* reinforcing to your learner!

Happy training! 💫

09/27/2024

Here Pismo is working on the his verbal cue for settling and rocking it!

What’s so impressive?
• We only have to say the cue once
• No hand signals or other prompts needed
• Significant distance from the mat
• Fluent behavior of targeting/laying on the mat

But what’s MOST impressive?

The JOY that Pismo shows while training.
• Bouncy body language
• Wagging tail
• Enthusiastic, fast responses
• Low latency after the cue is given

Even while we’re working toward beautiful, fluent, fast, clean behavior, we’re always watching most closely for joy and enthusiasm.

Here are some signs that your dog might NOT be enjoying training or a certain exercise:
• Yawning or lip licking
• Holding ears back
• Stress pant
• High latency
• Slow, cautious movements
• Displacement sniffing
• Bailing on the session
• Ignoring you
• Appeasement jumping

If we see these behaviors, it’s time to take a break and reassess our training plan or approach to a certain exercise.

Happy training! 💫

09/27/2024

Reduce stress on your walks with this simple activity.

Simone Mueller, author of Hunting Together and creator of Predation Substitute Training (a humane solution to prey-driven behaviors), recommends enjoying “Islands of Relaxation” or “Calmness Islands” regularly on walks with your dog.

A little over halfway through your walk, pick a nice, quiet, and shady spot to pull over with your dog. Offer them some water. Set out a blanket if that’s helpful. And just watch the world go by together.

You may notice the following behaviors from your dog:
* Air Scenting
* Slower breathing rate
* Sighs or deep breaths
* Rolling onto their hip
* Curling their paw
* Resting their chin
* Laying on their side
* Softening of their eyes
* Shake offs
* Seeking proximity to or affection from you
* More easily dismissing distractions

These are all behaviors you may want to reinforce (with a treat or familiar, calm praise) when you see them, so that they’ll occur more often in the future.

Notice how the rest of your walk feels after this moment of rest and calm. Is your dog’s body language different? Their movements? Their behaviors? Notice how you feel as well. More at ease? At peace? Connected to your pup?

It’s important to know your dog’s thresholds when it comes to picking a spot. Make sure you’re far enough away from certain triggers so that dismissing them is easy. Make sure your dog’s needs are met so that thinking about rest is easy. If this isn’t relaxing or enjoyable for you and your dog something needs to be adjusted.

What do you think? Want to try a Calmness Island with you dog? ⬇️

09/24/2024

Watch me teach my dog to stick her nose in a muzzle in less than 60 seconds!

Things I did not do:
• Lure her into the muzzle with treats
• Cue her chin rest behavior
• Move the muzzle toward her

Things I did do:
• Set the scene for her to be likely to offer her chin rest behavior (we’ve worked on that behavior many times sitting on the floor like this)
• Clicked for any behavior she offers that leads me closer to the goal behavior (of her sticking her nose into the muzzle and holding it there)
• Treated outside of the muzzle after each click (to reset her for the next rep. Clean loops ftw!)

Remember, being comfortable wearing a Muzzle is a good skill for any dog of any age or temperament!

Check out our Muzzle Magic ecourse (link in bio) if you’re wondering where to start with buying, sizing, and conditioning your dog to wear a muzzle comfortably.