Diane the Dog Trainer

Diane the Dog Trainer Fun and effective training for your dog, young or old, timid or aggressive. Private lessons done in your home (or wherever your dog has a problem).

I take a holistic approach to training so your dog becomes a wonderful part of the home and community. I do private, in-home lessons. For the first session, I evaluate the dog and household. Together, we come up with a plan of attack and I demonstrate how to handle various situations. Typically, I do 1-2 training sessions a week until you are satisfied with your dog's actions. Between sessions, I

am available through text, phone calls, and email. I use mostly positive training methods. The use of treats, praise, and play are integral to my training. Interacting with you dog should be fun for everyone! Positive reinforcement creates a dog that wants to please you, that is willing to explore, and that is happy. Boundaries are upheld with the least amount of force that will work for your dog, you, and the specific situation.

03/29/2025

Laying the foundation for trust and handling can be excruciatingly painful. It may seem like you're getting nowhere. You will want to push the envelope, make more progress quicker. But pushing too hard too quickly will take you longer to reach your goal. The proper foundation will leap you forward. Every dog I have worked with makes a huge leap forward at some point during the process. Taking it at your dog's pace is the best way to make the most progress in the shortest time. Check out Captain's page for the previous training sessions we've done. I have videoed and posted about 40% of our sessions. Most of them look the same. 😂 You can see that there's not much progress between each lesson. I even pushed his trust yesterday with bathing and blow drying. Today, he voluntarily let me clip him. He came up to me and asked me to continue after each break he took. I think he was hot 😂 Notice how relaxed and calm he is. There is no tension (except the occasional tension when I do his legs) and he's free to leave but chooses to stay. Work on those foundation skills!

03/24/2025

Resource guarding is common in dogs. Captain has been known to run across a room to guard resources from both people and other dogs. The underlying reason dogs guard resources is because they don't want to lose them. By showing the dog that they aren't going to lose the item, they lose the drive to guard it.

One of the biggest triggers for aggression in handling is pain. Working closely with a vet for pain management is unnego...
03/23/2025

One of the biggest triggers for aggression in handling is pain. Working closely with a vet for pain management is unnegotiable. Also, be aware that some days are worse than others. Allowing your dog to decide that they aren't feeling well enough for training at a particular time increases their trust in you.

I'm not feeling great today. 😔 My arthritis is bothering me. Mom gave me some meds and told me to just relax today.

03/20/2025

A lot of behavioral problems are due to dogs instinctual needs not being met. Even little lap dogs have needs. A walk around the block or a few hours in the backyard is not enough for most dogs. They have instinctual drives due to their genetics. Many dogs need to run, play fetch, tug on a toy, or dig holes (yes, that's a genetic need).

Captain is no exception. He's much less likely to try to bite when he's had structured, hard exercise. You will find that your dog will be much calmer and better behaved if you meet their physical and mental exercise needs. Research the history of your breed and find things to do with them that mimic their original purpose.

03/15/2025

Captain is starting to learn the bucket game. The rules are pretty simple. He looks at the treats, allows me to touch him, and he gets a treat. If he stops looking at the "bucket" of treats, pulls away from me, or otherwise disengages, I stop what I'm doing. But if he asks me to stop, the treats also stop. It's a simple yet highly effective way to teach a dog to allow handling. It also puts him in control of the handling which removes the need for the dog to resort to aggression.

03/15/2025

My rules for myself in dealing with Cappy are to ensure that biting gets no reaction from me. I will not stop what I am doing if he bites. If he gives me any other signs of discomfort, I will back off. Notice how he turns his head away from me, averts his eyes, and refuses treats. All of those are signs of stress and avoidance. Respecting those cues builds trust. Captain is learning that I understand his discomfort and will not push beyond what he wants to do. This is important so he learns to give me cues to back off instead of biting me. When he cooperates with me and allows me to handle him, he gets paid.

For my safety and his comfort, I wanted to get the fur out of his eyes. I need to be able to see his eyes to watch what he’s trying to communicate. He needs to be able to see so he doesn’t get surprised when I touch him. I want him to see me coming. Start to finish, the trim took 5 minutes. At the beginning, you can see that he needed long breaks in between each snip before he was ready to take another try. By the end, he allowed me to trim continuously and his stress levels completely dropped.

03/14/2025

One of the foundation skills that Captain needs is a solid leave it. He resource guards and has bitten when touched. Leave it will help to prevent him from getting resources that he shouldn’t have. It’s also the foundation for the Bucket Game, which is what I use to teach dogs to handle grooming and medical procedures.

I'm excited to start this adventure!
03/13/2025

I'm excited to start this adventure!

FREEDOM!

03/02/2025

❤️Sunday Love❤️

02/28/2025
I'm going to be fostering Captain the Troubled Sailor in a couple weeks. Follow his page for updates!
02/25/2025

I'm going to be fostering Captain the Troubled Sailor in a couple weeks. Follow his page for updates!

**NEUTERED (IN FOSTER CARE 3/13/2025)** ... Captain (affectionate known as Cappy) is a cute 7-1/2 year old male Shih Tzu who was surrendered to the HSOV on August 27, 2024 because his owner/mistress could no longer take care of Cappy due to her health issues :(

Captain has a pale brown long smooth coat with a patch of white on his chest, a long fluffy tail, and an adorable Shih Tzu face with pale brown eyes, wiry whiskers on his short muzzle, and small floppy ears

I might have to try this 🤔😂
02/22/2025

I might have to try this 🤔😂

02/17/2025

The truth about dogs that counter surf 🤔😂

Priya is a highly distracted dog who simply adores people. When she experienced a traumatic interaction that caused her ...
12/11/2024

Priya is a highly distracted dog who simply adores people. When she experienced a traumatic interaction that caused her to become afraid of people, her owner called me. Priya will cautiously approach some individuals but bark and back away from others. We are working to increase her confidence and reduce her fear.

Address

Littlestown, PA
17340

Opening Hours

Monday 10am - 8pm
Tuesday 10am - 8pm
Wednesday 10am - 8pm
Thursday 10am - 8pm
Sunday 10am - 8pm

Telephone

+14404470441

Website

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I take a holistic approach to training so your dog becomes a wonderful part of the home and community. I do private, in-home lessons. For the first session, I evaluate the dog and household. Together, we come up with a plan of attack and I demonstrate how to handle various situations. Typically, we meet once a week for a training session until you are satisfied with your dog's actions. Between sessions, I am available through text, phone calls, and email. I use positive training methods. The use of treats, praise, and play are integral to my training. Positive reinforcement creates a dog that wants to please you, that is willing to explore, and that is happy. Using positive methods does not mean that your dog is allowed to misbehave. I am firm in my requests and expect obedience. But the dog, client, and I work with mutual respect and upbeat, loving methods.