Heather Pope Dog Training at the Wagology Institute

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Heather Pope Dog Training at the Wagology Institute

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06/24/2025

Beautiful loose leash session with Caleb this morning! When this sweet pup came to us, he was a jumping bean and ping-ponged all over the leash. This is a huge improvement! 👏👏👏

06/19/2025

Training opportunities are everywhere.

I'm not entirely sure what they're doing, but this has been going on in front of our house all day. Phoenix was having a bit of a meltdown with all of the commotion, so I took her outside to help her through it.

It took maybe 5 minutes of acclimation and positive reinforcement for her to focus on me instead of the big scary equipment.

We worked through it together, then enjoyed the show! 😉

06/18/2025

I have to apologize to all of my recent graduates for not getting their photos up in a timely manner. My editing program was not cooperating (technology and I are not friends).

Please help us congratulate Blue for graduating from our board and train program. This puppy gained so much confidence while he was with us! He was a completely different dog when he left. Super proud of this sweet boy! ❤️

06/17/2025

Kaiser is really loving this "middle" position!

Since he will need to ride on elevators with other people, I thought this might be the best way to give him a safe zone to be in while doing so.

I can see now that he is cheating by not keeping his butt on the ground while in position. This is the beauty of videoing your training sessions. Without the benefit of the mirrors in the training room, it's difficult to see the details in our training sessions. Playing back the video gives me so much clarity on what exactly needs work to perfect the skill we are working on. From my end, it seemed like he was staying in the sit. Not so much, little cheater! 🤣

06/10/2025

Please help us welcome Caleb to the crew!🥳

This sweet boy will be with us for three weeks learning some house manners, and correcting some less than acceptable behaviors he has just started to develop. I think he thinks he rules the roost...it's always the little ones! 🤣

We are looking forward to getting to know Caleb and watching him grow into the good boy we know he can be! ❤️

06/04/2025

Everyone, meet Kaiser. This super smart, outgoing, not to mention handsome, GSD pup will be staying with us for three weeks for a board and train before moving to Texas to tackle new adventures.

His dad is a pretty active and adventurous guy, so we will need to up the frequency of hikes and outings with this little dude.

Quick question for all of my awesome friends and families out there. Kaiser and his dad will be living in a building where he will need to ride nicely on an elevator. Do any of you have any ideas of where we might be able to practice elevator manners? We have thought about approaching the hotels on Bear Creek, but that's all we could come up with. Shoot me some ideas, please! 😊

06/03/2025

Photo dump of Kit training to be neutral and relaxed in any environment.

That's part of the job. As a guide dog candidate, Kit needs to be able to be around people, move through crowds without pulling to get attention or jumping as she walks past, ignore other dogs, ignore distractions, be calm and confident around things that move or make weird noises...the list goes on and on.

This is exactly why you NEVER touch or try to pet a service dog. These dogs provide a service to their handlers, and must stay on task. Any interruption of the dog performing the job could have deadly results for the handler.

I'd like to clarify a few things, since there seems to be a lot of confusion regarding service dog's vs. emotional service animals (ESA) vs. therapy dogs.

*** A service dog not only has a high level of obedience training, but also task training. Some learn to alert for oncoming seizures, some alert for low blood sugar, maybe the dog serves as a mobility dog or a seeing eye dog, there are those who calm their owners when PTSD kicks in, and too many others to name. These dogs are specifically trained to perform a task which helps keep their human partners, healthy, alive, and functioning in every day life. These dogs can by law go everywhere with their handlers.

*** An emotional support dog, or emotional support animal (ESA), is an animal that provides emotional support and companionship to individuals with mental health conditions like anxiety or depression. Unlike service dogs, ESAs are not required to be formally trained and do not perform specific tasks. The primary purpose of an ESA is to offer comfort and alleviate the symptoms of a mental health condition through their presence and interactions. To legally claim an ESA, a letter from a licensed mental health professional is usually required to document a qualifying mental health condition. ESAs may be exempt from pet policies in housing, but not in public places. These are not service dogs, and do not have the same public access rights or the same legal rights and protections as service dogs under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

*** A therapy dog is a trained animal, often a dog, that provides comfort and support to people in various settings like hospitals, schools, and nursing homes. They offer emotional support and can reduce stress and anxiety. Therapy dogs are not service dogs and do not have the same public access rights.

Hopefully, this helps everyone understand that there is a very important difference in these three labels. I see far too many people parading their dog out in public as a service dog when clearly they are not, making it very difficult for trained service animals to do their job. I've seen many dogs out in public with a service dog vest on lunging at other dogs, barking at people, and dragging their owners across a store. Folks, that is not a service dog; I don't care what the vest says.

Education is so important so that these dogs can continue to do their jobs. I hope this information helps. ❤️

06/01/2025

Photo dump of Blue's first outing to the Co-op.

For a dog who came to us with zero confidence (especially with new people), and who used to alligator roll on a leash, I'd say he's come a long way in the short three weeks we have worked with him.

Blue took almost two weeks before he was comfortable enough to even play with a toy, let alone learn. We had to be patient, build trust, and build a solid bond with him first. Mutual trust is the foundation of training and learning. If there is no trust or mutual respect, you have nothing to build upon.

Please take the time to build a solid relationship with your dog. There will be nothing that compares to that bond if you do. ❤️

Since FB won't allow me to post videos and photos in the same post, I will try to post a video in the comments.

05/24/2025

Another goofy goober has graduated from our board and train program with flying colors!

Please help us congratulate Forrest! This boy is so smart, and has been so much fun to train! We wish him and his family continued success in building a beautiful life together. ❤️

05/21/2025

Miss Foxy, just living her best life. What a stinking cutie pie!!! ❤️❤️❤️

05/19/2025

Please help us welcome this beautiful girl to the Wags training family! ❤️

This is Kit. She's actually a return student from one of my puppy classes, with a client, and now dear friend, who has been with us (with a few different dogs) since Wags opened in 2020.

This board and train will be a little bit different. Why? Because Kit is training to potentially be a service dog - specifically, a seeing eye dog. Debbie takes these dogs as 10 week old puppies, and works with them until they are mature enough to do specific task training. Her job is to raise these puppies to be stable and well-socialized dogs, with basic obedience and house manners under their belt. She brings all of them through our group classes for socialization and a foundation.

Since Kit will potentially be working with a visually impaired partner, there are rules that we must follow that differ from our usual board and train protocols. We also have to shift our training program a bit to keep her in line with her program. She will be staying at our home to help her establish good house manners and socialization with the kids, and we will be going on lots of working outings.

I'm so excited to get this party started! Kit is going to be so much fun! ☺️🥳

Address

1740 N Main Street
Mount Pleasant, TN
38401

Telephone

+19315058818

Website

http://www.heatherpopetraining.info/, http://heatherpopedogtraining.propetware.com/

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