Astro K-9 Training

09/26/2025

🐾 Exciting News from The Salty Paw! 🐾

Could your puppy use a lesson in good manners? The Salty Paw and Astro K-9 Training are exploring a Good Manners & Basic Handling class for dogs under 1 year old! 🎓🐶 If you and your pup are interested in participating, please visit https://www.saltypawspa.com/training to fill out an interest form.

✨ In this 6-week course, you and your pup will learn the foundations of good behavior, polite manners, and handling skills to set them up for a lifetime of success.

📍 Location: The Salty Paw Spa & Woof Wash
📅 Tentative Start Date: Monday, October 27th (evenings)
💲 Cost: $180 for the full 6-week session

This is a small-group class, so space will be limited.

Let’s give those puppies the best start possible! 🐕💛

08/31/2025

One of the goals of holding my outdoor public manners class is to get people to this point with their pups. This client did not think she could sit at an outdoor space like a café or a brewery and have her dog be calm. But it’s happening. 🤩Another outdoor public manners class will be starting in October on Sunday mornings. Comment below if you would like more information. 

04/17/2025

Thank you for the nice write up Alice!

12/29/2024

Sage advice

12/13/2024

Dog trainers aren’t making it up. Dogs pull harder on harnesses.

Dogs generally pull about 60 per cent harder on a leash when wearing a padded harness compared with a collar, even when the equipment is marketed as “anti pull” – putting the people walking them at risk of injury.

Some dogs – especially smaller breeds – pull with a force more than twice their body weight on the collar, potentially damaging their throats, says Erin Perry at Southern Illinois University.

“It’s really very shocking,” she says. “The dogs are almost choking themselves on that collar repeatedly. But the harnesses in our study just didn’t inhibit pulling in any way, and that’s definitely a wake-up call – especially because of the risk to owners.”

Read more: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2459747-dogs-pull-harder-on-the-leash-when-they-wear-a-harness-than-a-collar/

Image: CBCK-Christine/Alamy

11/19/2024

Good Vibes Please!
Show me your
favorite dog
picture! 🐾😄

11/04/2024

This is a skill that can be applied to so many situations. It can truly be a lifesaver

10/15/2024

Not sure who gets credit for this one, but thank you K9 Command for sharing it. I may not do board & train but the principle still applies.

These are the principles we teach to every dog owner as well.

Copied and Pasted

A very common question I get from owners when a dog is here for Board & Train: “well what happens when…”
Nothing. Nothing happens when… because I don’t set the dog up to fail like that.
I train and prepare a dog. Baby steps. LEASH ON. We trainers, we use a leash a lot, and for a very long time, for a reason.
A leash is a communication tool, not simply a restraint tool.
I am not going to see what your dog does without a leash until they know what to do WITH a leash.
I am not going to see what your dog does when someone knocks until I see that they know how to act when someone doesn’t and just walks in.
I am not going to see your dog’s reaction to situation B, until I know they can respond appropriately to situation A.
When trainers do things in small steps and with leashes on, it’s because we are TEACHING. We aren’t running around, throwing dogs into situations that could be scary or stressful, hoping for the best and crossing our fingers which are subsequently sitting on an ecollar button.
How would you feel if you went to school, were told to do a geometry problem when all you know is basic math, then socked in the face when you get it wrong?
The LEASH is the ultimate teaching tool. It’s how we teach the geometry to the student who only knows basic math. It’s how we communicate.
If your dog can’t do it ON a leash, your dog can’t do it OFF a leash.
Put the leash on the dog.

10/07/2024

The crazy weather we are seeing should serve as a reminder to the importance of crate training. It is invaluable at times.

10/04/2024

Quiet is powerful

Some things always remain the same. With every board and train drop off I start by sitting and doing nothing. Teach a dog right away to cope with the initial stress of separation from their owner. Letting them know I’m at their side to ensure security but that I don’t coddle and baby talk them into a perceived sense of comfort.
Comfort and bonding occurs by sharing space and building trust… not acting a fool with crazy attempts to settle an anxious mind.
Often the best communication you can give a dog is sit there and shut your pie hole and just be still. You can’t listen if you are talking.

10/01/2024

People coming together to help others is so powerful. I have contacts in NC & SC. Reach out if you’d like to contribute.