Phoebe’s Positive Dog Training

Phoebe’s Positive Dog Training ✨ Certified Positive Dog Trainer
🐶 Private, Group, & “Just for FUN” Classes
🦴 Obedience thru GAMES
💕 nose work, dog acting, service dog, CGC +

04/07/2026

Phoebe is truly one of a kind. I have taken beginner, intermediate, and advanced classes with her, and she has gone above and beyond every single time. I have a working-line German Shepherd, and Phoebe has been there through every stage: puppy biting, big feelings, reactivity, difficult moments, and everything in between. No matter what challenge came up, she was always there to help me understand what was happening and how to work through it.

What I appreciate most is that Phoebe never just tells you what to do, she takes the time to explain why. She cares deeply about every dog and every owner, and you can tell she genuinely wants both to succeed. When my dog reacted badly to another dog near the car, she spent so much time helping me understand what had happened and how to prevent it in the future. When he was a crazy puppy biting me constantly, she helped me through that too. Through every hard moment, she has been patient, encouraging, and incredibly knowledgeable.
Because of Phoebe, I am a much better trainer, and my dog is the wonderful dog he is today. My Shepherd absolutely adores her and lights up every time he sees her. She treats every animal with kindness, respect, and so much care.
I cannot recommend Phoebe enough. If you are looking for someone who is knowledgeable, compassionate, and truly invested in helping you and your dog succeed, she is the best. Thank you Pheobe!

04/03/2026

Meet Debbie & Tucker! Isn’t he just the cuuuutest Rottweiler baby?! I love him so much.

Walking loose leash is made up of about 6 tricks all in one. That’s why it’s an uncommon one for people to master. Debbie took their training very seriously and was walking following the drills on the way to her car from class!

Tucker is so lucky and gets to practice multiple times a day and they’ve built his stretches of times between treats very far because of that repetition and practice.

Want to get your dog here? Reach out. Sign up on my website and feel free to dm me and ask about a loose leash walking workshop just for you and your dog!

03/10/2026

Our Pet Food Bank is here to help Whitman County pet parents get through hard times or stretch the food a little further so their animals stay fed and happy. 💙

The food and supplies in our Pet Food Bank comes from generous donations that don't quite fit what our shelter animals need at the moment (things like specific brands, sizes, or types we can't use right away). Instead of letting those donations go to waste or collect dust, we pass them along to local families in need. ✨

If you're in Whitman County and could use some help with pet food, come by the shelter during open hours (Saturday–Wednesday, 1–5 pm). We'll have a quick and friendly conversation about what you've got at home and what's on hand so we can find the best fit possible. Supplies and food options depend on what people donate, so it varies week to week, but we're glad to help when we can.

Have extra dry dog or cat food you'd like to share? Maybe some extra supplies your pet isn't using? Drop it off at our shelter it'll go directly to another pet in need and make a big difference. 💙

More info at whitmanpets.org/pet-food-bank 🐾

03/06/2026

How did we get here? And how can you teach your dog leave it to this level?

You can take a class from me! Also, I’ll break it down for you here.

Leave it level 1: using an open hand with a less valuable treat in it, ans a higher value treat hidden in your opposite hand behind your back. Present the less valuable treat to your dog near their nose & say “leave it” if they look away: “yes” + treat them with the higher value treat. If they don’t, (most won’t, the first time) close your hand before they get the treat and keep your closed hand there until they look away (there will be lots of licking & sniffing of your hand). The second they look away say “yes” + give them the better treat behind your back.

Ways to level up once they get it: wrap the treat in toilet paper, try leaving your hand open & saying “leave it”, switch hands.

Next is 2) floor “leave it” keep the treat near you at first, set it down and ask them to leave it (quickly cover it with your hand or foot if they struggle and go for it) once they look away from it capture that with a “yes” + higher value treat.

Level up: place the treat closer and closer to your dog until they can leave it even when you place it between their front paws or on their nose.

Now you’re caught up to where Andarna is! Don’t advance from 1 until you’ve mastered the first drill. Andarna and her parents’ training goal is to be able to go on walks & say “leave it” to squirrels & bunnies and have her keep her leash loose. This is also part of her journey toward not chasing the family cats around the house. She’s got this!

03/03/2026

Tail as old as time…dog saw other dog across the field and when they locked eyes, they both barked at each other. Lucky for them, I’m an old hat at getting puppies to behave for puppy classes. A little attention game here, a little slowly moving closer there, and a bunch of great effort, treats, & market words from their lovely pet parents 💕 Now we can think! Wait til you see more videos of how well they thought & acted coming up! It was a good dog training weekend! Wanna join? Reach out today! Sign up at the link in my bio. Ask me any questions you have. 🐶

02/28/2026

Dogs waiting at doors and thresholds (like gates) is so important that we practice it every day. Make your dog wait before going outside and coming inside to keep the focus on you around such an exciting thing every time you take them potty, on a walk, or out to play. It’s an easy way to get a lot of practice in and repetition helps solidify dog training.

Another place I always practice “wait” is at feeding time. Both meals, all dogs wait until they get their release word before eating. “If you can wait at mealtime, you can wait anywhere.” So you do the math, how often do we practice impulse control a day? 2 meals + 4-6 times to play and potty x gate & door waits… it’s like a lot. And it’s just part of our day.

How close are your treats to your door? I recommend having multiple inaccessible to the dogs, containers of treats in all your rooms and especially near your doorways. Tricks aren’t just for training time, they help us have great times with our dogs all day long.

Even better, take half your dog’s food and mix it with your treats throughout the day. They will be motivated because they didn’t fill up at breakfast & you’ll get lots of great random practice throughout the day!

For more great dog training tips, follow me. And check out my website to sign up for classes! I’d be happy to teach you more in person!

02/27/2026

Andarna had a great walk at Home Depot this week! She started to take treats on her walk, which isn’t something she typically does.

How can you do positive reinforcement if your dog won’t take treats or even answer to their name? Ever happen to you? It can be so frustrating and even painful because dogs that don’t listen: pull.

If this happens to you and your pup on walks, don’t fret. I can help you get them back into their thinking brains. Because that’s just it, when your dog can’t take treats, that’s a gauge to tell you they are not able to think. They may be in fight or flight mode or just waaaaay too excited/distracted.

You can see some techniques in this video, and there were other behind the scenes work that made it so she even got this far.

Replacement is a huge one of them. When our dogs behave for us and don’t act like, well dogs, it’s important that in return we give them a replacement activity for their natural instincts. It may seem counterintuitive but each day your dog has a full battery of instinctual urges: providing appropriate battery draining activities (tug, stuffy destroying, fetch, etc.) to replace the ones that frustrate you (pulling on lead, going after animals like squirrels, etc,) the LESS the dog will do those behaviors when you don’t want them.

Also, I have multiple drills I can teach you to help your dog loose leash walk as well as keep the treats usable during the walk. Feel free to ask me anything on my sign up sheet at my website! Also check out the “Just for FUN” classes on my website as well; there may be even more things you didn’t realize you’d like to do with your pup!

02/25/2026

Positive reinforcement dog training means we only add or take away positive things to ask for good behaviors from our dogs. We take the time to keep our dogs’ brains in thinking mode. Negative methods can make our dogs fearful, and unable to think. A good dog has to use their brain to think about their choices.

For example, the way I train, the leash becomes a joke because the dog knows to stay nearby without the leash being the reason.

Puppies see their person and offer positive behaviors because they know and love the game! Having a dog that thinks and chooses good behaviors for themselves, without coercion is what we aim for and get over here at Phoebe’s Positive Dog Training. Nothing cooler than a big dog who chooses to behave whether you have a treat or leash in hand or not 😊 🐶

Check out all the classes I offer at my website! Link in the bio. Also, make sure to attend the last weekend of Frozen at Pullman High School! It was incredible!

If my clients ask for it, I take the time to learn it. Prey drive management the positive reinforcement way: here we com...
02/20/2026

If my clients ask for it, I take the time to learn it. Prey drive management the positive reinforcement way: here we come! 🐿️ 🐈‍⬛

Often, people say prey drive can’t be fixed without an e-collar or shocking your dog. So then explain to me how people trained sight hounds & herding dogs before the invention of the shock collar?

Obviously there has to be a better more positive and humane answer for our dogs who get excited about prey (as they naturally do because that’s how they would eat before we domesticated them).

I’m very excited to implement the things I’m learning for my Private Lesson Clients! Interested in shock-free help for your dogs’ prey drive? Check out this book for yourself or message me and we can work on the lessons together.

02/19/2026

✨ Treat Trail Mix! ✨

- [ ] 1 bag of pea sized, soft & smelly treats
- [ ] 2-4 bags of different textured & flavored treats
- [ ] 1 bag of long treats (for adding when loose leash training)
- [ ] 1 bag of freeze dried treats (especially the Instinct ones shown here)
Layer into an emptied bag, equal parts of line 1 & 2 above. Close the bag & shake it.

When it’s training time, add 2/3 more of your dry dog food to the trail mix in your training treat holster. Top with 5-6 long treats & make sure to bring along your freeze dried treats for back up. Now you have the recipe to why your dogs get so excited to see me! Use wisely 😉

Have any questions? Message me. See me demo with further details in my stories today and the Treats highlight any time.

Address

Pullman, WA

Telephone

+15092945418

Website

Alerts

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

Shortcuts

Share

Category