Improving Pets

Improving Pets Improving Pets formerly FurEver Family, LLC brings calm to your family. [email protected] Our goal is to work with families who are dealing with challenging behaviors and help find calm in the chaos.

Through positive reinforcement we strive to help your pets and your family work together to find peace of mind and enjoy each other's company. Improving Pets formerly FurEver Family, LLC was established by Carla Blackmon, CPDT-KA, a Northern Virginia native in 2016. We do all our training in home for the benefit of you and your pets. After all, that is where we spend the most time with our pets.


Carla our head trainer/owner has an extensive background in animal behavior, training and animal care. Carla is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer, Knowledge Assessed (CPDT-KA) Certified through The Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers (CCPDT®). She successfully completed the Dog Trainer Professional course with Karen Pryor Academy. Carla has over 25 years of various animal related experience and education that she uses to formulate a customized training plan for your family and pets. Her background includes experience working for a variety of local and national veterinarians as a veterinary assistant/technician, a federal canine handler, a master's student apprentice dog guide instructor, and currently the owner of Improving Pets. She utilizes all of her skills to provide a pet friendly, holistic training plan incorporating health, environment, personality, and family needs. Carla will create a training plan that is fun and easy for all who are involved. Carla is a member of the Association of Professional Dog Trainers (APDT), Pet Professional Guild (PPG), and Doggone Safe.

09/02/2026

Sometimes enrichment is created by accident.

Ellie and I were playing with a ball that fell under the bed. She wasn't confident enough to crawl under the bed to get it. Instead she was happy if it was slightly under the bed. I rolled the ball to get and she decided this back and forth was a great game.

Ellie is sitting nicely at her "station".Walking reactive and anxious pups can often be a challenge and each day is a ne...
08/25/2026

Ellie is sitting nicely at her "station".

Walking reactive and anxious pups can often be a challenge and each day is a new experience. Is today going to be a good day or is today going to be a hard day? These are questions that arise walking pups who have a lot of concerns on their daily walk.

To help ease some of the anxiety, and make it a bit more rewarding to be out, we often have natural "stations" along the walk where we focus on fun activities and lots of treats. This becomes a fun break and great place to hang out as we let more concerning things pass by (trucks, people, other dogs, etc.)

Places I like to use as stations, corners, sidewalk corners, under big trees in wide spaces, public patios off the main path, any place out of the main flow of traffic with an easy out if needed.

Our goal is always to help our pups through their struggles so we can all have an enjoyable time together.

Sometimes you just have to sit in the dark and pet the neighborhood kitty. Norman is happy the rain stopped and has come...
08/20/2026

Sometimes you just have to sit in the dark and pet the neighborhood kitty.

Norman is happy the rain stopped and has come out to visit.

She amazes me with her resilience. Rain, sleet or snow she disappears and then shows up when the nasty weather has passed. We still don't know where she goes and how she stays out of harms way. She definitely has some great survival skills.

It's been great to watch her grow over the years. Luckily, she's cared for by a wonderful neighbor and has a fantastic life.

Do you care for your neighboorhood cats?

This 4th of July, how are we celebrating? With lots of enrichment (stuffed Kongs, Himalayan yak chews and Woof Calming P...
07/05/2026

This 4th of July, how are we celebrating?

With lots of enrichment (stuffed Kongs, Himalayan yak chews and Woof Calming Pupcicles)
Calming smells (ThunderEase Adaptil) on beds and blankets, low lights and even good calming music, Through a Dog's Ear.

Keep them safe, calm and comfortable.

It's Hot! Be Safe! Please take pups out for a quick potty and p**p. On days like this where the temperature is too hot ...
07/01/2026

It's Hot! Be Safe!
Please take pups out for a quick potty and p**p.

On days like this where the temperature is too hot for safe walks. Up your enrichment game to keep everyone occupied and hydrated. Some options are Frozen filled Kongs, Pupcicles, Frozen Topples, etc. Don't have freezable toys? Put some ice in their bowl with a few treats and treat crumbs (we save the bottom of the bag for days like this, frozen fruit in water bowl, or a little frozen chicken broth.

How do you keep your pups cool?

Rasa and Lil' Buddy Alek are learning some important behaviors this week. We are working on kitchen boundaries. When foo...
06/23/2026

Rasa and Lil' Buddy Alek are learning some important behaviors this week. We are working on kitchen boundaries. When food is out pups are out of the kitchen. This help with a few things: no one trips over the dog, spilled food that can be harmful can be cleaned up instead of eaten, prevents burns from hot foods or appliances, prevents counter surfing in the long run and just makes it a bit less stressful for everyone.

Address

Occoquan, VA

Opening Hours

Monday 10am - 7pm
Tuesday 10am - 6pm
Wednesday 10am - 7pm
Thursday 10am - 6pm
Friday 10am - 5pm

Telephone

+15718822316

Website

,

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Improving Pets posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Business

Send a message to Improving Pets:

Shortcuts

Share

Category