RiotDog Sports & Training

01/26/2026

Your regularly scheduled reminder that:
1. Enrichment doesn’t have to be elaborate or expensive
2. All pets need enrichment!!

This is a plastic bubble cushion thing out of a package I got YEARS ago. It’s perfect for small cat treats or kibble, and water! Tonight they have a squeezey gravy treat thing & some freeze dried bits I crumbled in there (since Phoenix had 3 teeth pulled on Friday and can’t have any hard food yet) and water! This is a great way for them to get some extra yummies and hydrate!

Getting cats to drink enough water can be hard, so incorporating it into a game or treats is a win win! It slows down how fast they get their treats and they drink extra water!

Now I just need someone to do the same for me 🤔🫙

01/25/2026

Socialisation: Your Dog Doesn’t Need More Friends… They Need More Skills

“Socialisation” might be the most misunderstood word in dog training. It’s right up there with “he’s friendly” (usually shouted while the dog is launching like a furry missile).

Most pet owners think socialisation means:
“My dog should meet every dog and every human.”

A decent trainer knows it means:
“My dog can cope with the world calmly… without needing to interact with everything in it.”

Because socialisation isn’t about collecting strangers like Pokémon.
It’s about teaching your dog how to function.

✅ Real socialisation builds:
• Neutrality (seeing things without losing their mind)
• Confidence (the world feels safe and predictable)
• Emotional stability (recovering after surprises)
• Good manners (no barking, lunging, jumping, or chaos)

❌ What socialisation ISN’T:

🚫 Meet-and-greet with everyone
🚫 Dragging a worried dog into “busy” places
🚫 Dog parks as a personality test

Every greeting is a training repetition.
If your dog learns “I see a dog = I must go say hello”, you’re building a habit…
and that habit turns into frustration when the answer is no.
That’s where a lot of “reactivity” comes from, not aggression… just over-arousal + big expectations + no skills.

✅ What good socialisation looks like:
• Watching the world calmly from a distance
• Short sessions, not marathon outings
• Teaching disengagement (look at it → look back to you)
• Curated greetings only (rare, calm, controlled)
• Parallel walking instead of lead-collisions

📌 Remember this:
Your dog doesn’t need to greet everyone.
They need to exist around everyone.

That’s not antisocial.
That’s stable.
That’s safe.
That’s the dog you can actually take places without starring in a live-action drama series.

01/25/2026

Put your puppies down for nap time! Scheduled, structured (in a crate) nap time helps them regulate behaviors, learn to listen to their bodies and know when (and that it’s ok!) to rest, builds an off switch, and aids in crate training.
Let
Your
Puppy
Nap

https://www.petplay.com/blogs/tips/puppy-sleep-schedule-by-age?fbclid=IwdGRjcAPjQHZleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAo2NjI4NTY4Mzc5AAEexE6EUZvN5hY1OCYH1KJ6Av3-VkX2cJ1v9j0_0WZDjVT_yDSuT31osg4vd-A_aem_Mv5gTZbpWWbpXFPVE3kamQ #:~:text=According%20to%20the%20AKC%2C%20puppies,age%20for%20more%20specifics%20below

To keep your puppy healthy and obedient, you need to establish a daily routine, including feeding, walking, playing, and sleeping schedules. This article will discuss what a puppy sleep schedule should be and how much puppies sleep at different ages.

01/23/2026

Breed specific enrichment. What does that even mean?
Every breed was created for a specific purpose, which is why you’ll see puppies of certain breeds exhibiting very unique behaviors as young as 5-6 weeks old! Pointers pointing, border collies stalking, malinois biting, all showing true genetic traits with no training whatsoever. This is why you’ll almost never (there’s a unicorn out there somewhere I’m sure!) see a golden retriever doing bite work or a chihuahua hunting ducks. Not only does that sound absurd, but they simply don’t have what it takes to do the job seriously. 🧬

Of course, some of those jobs are less common these days. It’s critical that you research breeds you’re interested in BEFORE getting a dog to ensure that they’ll be a good fit for you, but just as important, that YOU’LL be a good fit for them. Don’t get a husky if you just stay home all day and want a couch buddy (you may not even have a couch left!) or a pug if you want to bikejor with your dog. There’s a breed out there for everyone!

Pearl is a Llewellyn setter, she was bred to hunt all day every day if needed. She has a LOT of energy and just as much drive. We are her second home, but she’s fit into our active lifestyle well. She’s trained to find deer and elk (and hopefully moose!) sheds, and she gets lots of exercise in addition to her training. When we aren’t training or actively hunting sheds, she needs an appropriate outlet, otherwise she’ll come up with her own plan. Like digging or chewing up stuff she’s not supposed to 😖

By integrating mental work into an otherwise simple, and thoughtless game of fetch, she’s getting the same exercise, but safer because she’s not sprinting full speed with no plans to slow down safely at the ball, and she’s having to think. She’s practicing impulse control (which is always a struggle for high drive dogs!) with basic obedience skills, she’s using her genetic traits of marking where the ball disappears (like dropping a very accurate pin they can find easily just by watching where it goes), searching/using her nose, and retrieve! All of this combined will wear her out mentally and physically, leave her feeling more relaxed and fulfilled, and build & reinforce real life skills we can use in daily life.

Nitro adds some competition fun and this is a good outlet for her drive as well!

01/19/2026

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01/14/2026

Sit on the dog. A simple, sometimes loooong, and sometimes boring exercise of doing…..nothing! If you’re working on this with your dog, just remember it can’t be rushed ( the dog has to decide to settle on their own), and don’t start it if you dont have time to kill. I called this person when I started this exercise, decided to video 17 minutes in, Zack finally decided to settle at 30 minutes. Total time from sitting down to finishing this session: 39 minutes😅

01/12/2026

01/07/2026

What treat motivates your dog the most? 👀 Dragon works really well for her kibble but she loves peanut butter (and potato oles 😭 Taco John's come baaaaack we miss you)

01/03/2026

01/02/2026

If you’re getting a puppy, invest in training right away! It sounds silly and maybe a bit “extra”, but no matter how stable your puppy’s genetics are, early exposure and training will play a pivotal role in the dog they become.
Shoot us a text to find out how to enroll your new best friend in our Puppy Preschool Day Train Program and get them started on the right paw! 🐾
307.321.5090

Baby Pistol at the Memorial Day ceremony, getting proper exposure to new places, people, things, and sounds 🇺🇸

12/28/2025

Getting a puppy soon? 🥹
Did you know we offer puppy day training?
Get your new best friend started off on the right paw with weekday puppy camp where they’ll learn everything from crate basics, handling, name recognition, basic recall, get proper & appropriate exposure to new people, places, things, and safe dogs, and so much more! Plus, you’ll still get your puppy home at night and on weekends! 🐾
www.oneofakindcanine.com
Text us for more info! 📲 307.321.5090
**available exclusively for puppies 8-12 weeks old