Best Life K9 Academy

06/01/2026

Training session warm up.

06/01/2026

Riley came to me with reactivity and overprotection issues. I had to start with the bite gloves on to be safe. I gave him the opportunity, but he chose not to actually bite.
Didn't take long to see what was missing. We spent the session working on how to improve the dog's life and build structure in his play. This will greatly improve the relationship and cooperation which will then give the owner the authority to deal with any leftover unwanted behaviors.

05/31/2026

She knows how to out the tug.

05/28/2026

Little more of Gretchen making mistakes and learning how to play with rules.

05/28/2026

Teddy meeting Gretchen. Teddy is making new friends all over the place. I took Gretchen with me to WARF - Wylie Animal Rescue Foundation - Northern Nevada today. I had a feeling this would be a great match for both of these dogs. They didn't disappoint. Both of these dogs have had issues meeting other dogs. Gretchen had help from another client dog of mine named W***y. She has been doing amazing meeting new dogs ever since.
Super proud and happy for both of them Was a lot of fun watching these two run and play together.

05/27/2026

I love this dog. It's so much fun watching her change. She's got a great tug game. Let them make mistakes then help teach them how to play the game. If they can learn to control themselves in high arousal. They can learn to control themselves anywhere. This is one of the many reasons we focus on play.

05/24/2026

Imagine being built to run and never being allowed to. Always being restricted by a leash. Off leash is always the goal. This is the first time Gretchen has ever been off leash to this capacity. From here on she will only earn more trust and gain more freedom.
We still have some big fear/confidence issues to resolve. This will make them that much easier to deal with.

05/22/2026

I was down and out yesterday with I believe some kind of food poisoning. Still wasn't feeling it today but we did get out for some play and heal practice. Gretchen's first heal command lesson. At the start we had to deal with her wanting to be ahead of me so she could see the ball. She quickly understood what we we're looking for. She was perfect after that. Very fast learner.

05/20/2026

Lyon County Animal Services
I love watching dog's play. Especially when it's slowed down and you can see what's really going on.
Both Mini and Cliff are available for adoption. If you're interested in adopting, please come in check out our dogs.

Send a message to learn more

05/20/2026

Sometimes you just need a little help.
Ranger helped me out today with a scared little girl named Florence. Ranger has had no special training. He was actually a really shut down skittish guy when he came in. I along with the the shelter staff and the help of other dogs got him into a much better place. Today he is playful and one of my most reliable dogs at the shelter. It's amazing what you can get when you actually play with and allow the dogs to play and be dogs. If only we could get the "experts" at other rescues and shelters to understand this. We might have less behavioral issues and less reason to euthanize perfectly good dogs.

Florence and Ranger currently available for adoption at Lyon County Animal Services