Victory Road Dog Training

Victory Road Dog Training Visit my website to see what training services I provide :)
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05/29/2026

Fear, 'working through it,' building resilience, creating safe spaces.

(drugs are great btw, work with your vet)

I am only thinking of one thing today and it's my friend's dog hovering at death's door. I've known them since the very ...
05/25/2026

I am only thinking of one thing today and it's my friend's dog hovering at death's door. I've known them since the very start of their journey. I also know, very personally, how it feels to watch a young, vibrant dog suddenly fail. It defies all sense of reality. It makes you question whether there is meaning left in anything.

I understand why people believe in higher power. We want there to be some pathway, whether through wealth, karma, or prayer, through which we can stop these calamities. I don't believe in such things. I believe in their vet team, who has used every advancement in modern medicine to keep him alive. I believe in animal resiliency, and I can see the fight in him.

There is a story that our dogs cross the rainbow bridge when they leave us. I think it speaks to the ego of human nature that we envision our dogs simply waiting for us there, as if they have nothing better to do. And I find it cheesy as hell, but I suppose it's nice to imagine color in dark times.

Today, I cleaned the urns of the ones I lost. I chose to imagine my boys in this fabled afterlife. I told them, if you see him at the bridge, do not let him pass. It is not his time.

There is something special us gals have with our dogs. Not the family dogs, OUR dogs, the ones most bonded to us.There i...
05/24/2026

There is something special us gals have with our dogs. Not the family dogs, OUR dogs, the ones most bonded to us.

There is also something special us gals share with each other. And if there is one thing I could wish upon the men in our society, it's the ability to sit around a fire and talk about hopes and fears, parenthood and individuality, the sorry state of the world and even more fiercely, how we will live through it. I'd like to share the ability to say, out loud, "I'm so glad to be here with you."

Dog training was like that for me. With all of my clients, not just women, we'd notice and say, "Did you SEE what he just did?" And it might have been something small to the world, like passing by another dog without barking. But that moment mattered so much that I was paid to make it happen. And that moment would hopefully become a hundred more moments of a coexistence that is easier, better. We'd see it together, say it out loud, and celebrate it.

I'm no longer a professional dog trainer but I will always see the world through this lens. The mountain, the poorly packed ramen lunch, the way people around me laugh, the blazing fire before me in contrast to the cold at my back. Notice it, name it, revel in the sheer simplicity and importance of these things.

It's dangerous to go alone. Take... three dogs and lots of photos.What a privilege to hike with Ravi, a dog I trained wi...
05/11/2026

It's dangerous to go alone. Take... three dogs and lots of photos.

What a privilege to hike with Ravi, a dog I trained with nearly a decade ago as a young scallywag. At ten years old, he is still spry enough to keep up on 12 mile hikes. Damn, I can make this entire post about watching dogs grow up. But all that's important here is Ravi has the best family anyone can ask for, and as a trainer it is special to see him again.

What a joy to see EVERY wildflower carpet the ridgeline. I was drawn to shooting stars but my friend pointed out the stunning Calypso orchid, and truly all our other beauties were on display. There were enough glacier lilies to take a nibble. And that northern alligator lizard... Let's just say Paya pointed it out to us towards the end.

Humbling was the snowclad Bitterroot range on the horizon, as was the curtain of deadfall we navigated.

This is why I live here, to go on a 'let's just see' adventure on a stunning Sunday, and have this slice of paradise all to ourselves.

Our training is imperfect but entertaining. The first video shows a true find - we were in a patch, but I did not know t...
05/09/2026

Our training is imperfect but entertaining. The first video shows a true find - we were in a patch, but I did not know those shrooms were there. In that sense, Paya truly found them. But from a functional perspective, we would've found them with our eyes even without dogs.

They are getting to be good Patch Sweepers. Over the day there were fewer false indications, which Paya did at the beginning of the clip when she lay down at some stems (we had just picked them). We want alerts on hidden, intact shrooms, not our bags of shrooms, not the other dog's find, not the stem of the one we just picked. Thinking on these concepts, this is a complex game. I'd like for P to become a Patch FINDER. But it's hard when realistic training is limited to a few weeks each year. I'm learning that I'm good at teaching basic scentwork - Paya can find my missing glove in a field over half a mile away. Mushroom hunting is a different beast.

All that said, at its core, foraging is about being outside intentionally, even better when there's good company. Take a look at this company (not pictured - an owl, a hawk, a deer), and know that our amble was full of wonder and whimsy.

04/30/2026

Long form storytelling about neighbors, serendipity, and dogs.

04/26/2026

Non-American wisdom. Reposted this separately because the video was cut off in the other post.

"I feel guilty taking the money."

"Why? You deserve it!"

"Because we are all human."

We (America) are a brash, naive, infantile country.

We were built upon the ideals of independence committed as genocide.

We have a lot to fu***ng learn from people more humble than us, cultures centuries older than ours, and societies that have already have risen and fallen cyclically through wanton greed.

When Americans say "we should feed the hungry," it's labeled as socialism.When an immigrant says it, it is a core value,...
04/26/2026

When Americans say "we should feed the hungry," it's labeled as socialism.

When an immigrant says it, it is a core value, an act of humanity irrelevant of policy.

You don't get to know a person by questioning them about ICE. You do it by cooking with them. And the beauty of their being in America is not what they left behind, but what they brought here and share so freely.

I was in the room when many members of non-white communities voiced their fears and concerns, the regular harassment they face, and the increasing difficulty of simply surviving (federal policies are actively severing their access to services). I was at the table eating a meal made by refugee families who work in childcare, and have seen their own childcare costs increase astronomically due to grant cuts. These families were invited to come to this country, and now fear leaving the city limits.

And still, they, like the woman who taught me her food, would give their time and resources anyway.

Think about that.

Then, let's think about what Missoula can offer them in return, because it's not nearly enough.

--

Media posted with permission. And in fact, if YOU would like to learn how to cook these amazing dishes, and would pay for the experience, reach out to me. I'll put you in touch.

04/25/2026

Paya's doing some advanced movements for her PT plan, primarily to strengthen her glutes. Lateral movement, rear end awareness, high stepping over obstacles, unstable surfaces, all in one exercise to target specific muscles.

I'm the dog trainer, so I was confident about teaching Paya whatever she needed. But I relied on the experience of a human/canine physical therapist to develop her plan.

04/19/2026

Stay with me, because this post is about dog behavior.

This exchange between me and my friend Josh is a perfect example of play, the kind our dogs do.

It started with an invitation, also called teasing/flirting, like when a dog pounces, or just 'acts silly' next to another.

When I accepted, we mirror, or copy, each other's behaviors. A minor escalation - I punch Josh in the face. Another escalation - Josh lifts me up. Escalation can be when dogs are open-mouth-jousting and one bites too hard. It can also be when one dog overwhelms the other by pinning.

Josh put me down, because PAUSES in play are healthy, and designed to prevent continued escalation.

He switched roles and allowed me to dominate, made himself smaller by self-handicapping. This would be the husky rolling over for the corgi. Loose body language, smiles, and inhibition of power throughout.

I ended with a redirection, a friendly pat before putting my attention elsewhere. This would be the dog breaking from play to chew on a bone, or shake a plushie.

Dogs are the same, If we raise them to have healthy social cues.

An invitation, in the wrong context, wrong partner, wrong intensity, is not "friendly."

The line between play and fight is razor thin. And remember, dogs bring knives to the proverbial fist fight.

When trainers say, socialize your dogs well, we aren't telling you to let your dogs play with everyone, just as I don't go around punching everyone even though I love this game. What it means is to teach your dog when NOT to play, when to give someone space, how to approach (hint, rushing in is only reserved for close friends), and how to match the other dog.

None of this is learned in dog parks, or in unrestricted hiking areas. Because in those spaces, the ones who dominate (and teach) the lessons your dog will remember most are the rushers, the slammers, the pinners... "But he was just trying to play!"

The dog who 'aggressively' tries to ward the other away is almost never the problem. Remember this.

And thank you to my brothers at the gym, for inviting me to play and always making me feel safe doing so.


(permission given from all parties in video)

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