Holistic Dog Training

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Richmond, CA
Holistic Dog Training

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Training with us goes way beyond obedience as we are passionate about dogs and people!

With over 15 years of experience and positive reinforcement trainer accreditation, we provide clients with integrative dog training and behavior modification services.

10/27/2026

One of my favorite Mexican holidays is Día de los Mu***os (Day of the Dead), a beautiful tradition of remembering and honoring those who have passed away. In recent years, it has also come to include a special day to commemorate our beloved animal companions. ❤️

Today is that day—and it marks exactly one month since I said goodbye to my beloved Ari.

In honor of this special day, I’m offering two private grief-coaching packages, each consisting of four sessions, at a rate of whatever you can afford.

If you’ve lost a beloved pet, recently or long ago, and feel the need for support as you navigate your grief, I invite you to consider this opportunity. You don’t have to go through it alone.

The two packages will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis. We’ll start with a complimentary 30-minute call to explore your needs and determine whether we’re a good fit.

🐶 Interested? Please reach out through the contact form on our website:
www.holisticdogtrainers.com

May we continue to honor the love, the memories, and the paw prints our companions leave on our hearts. ❤️🐾

10/27/2026

Una de mis celebraciones mexicanas favoritas es el Día de Mu***os, una hermosa tradición para recordar y honrar a quienes ya no están con nosotros. En los últimos años, también se ha incorporado un día especial para conmemorar a nuestros queridos compañeros animales que han fallecido. ❤️

Hoy es ese día, y también se cumple exactamente un mes desde que me despedí de mi querido Ari.

🕯 En honor a esta fecha tan especial, ofreceré dos paquetes de acompañamiento individual para el duelo, cada uno de cuatro sesiones, a una tarifa de lo que puedas pagar.

Si has perdido a un compañero animal, recientemente o hace ya algún tiempo, y sientes que necesitas apoyo para procesar tu duelo, te invito a considerar esta oportunidad. No tienes que atravesar este proceso a solas.

Los dos paquetes se ofrecerán por orden de llegada. Comenzaremos con una llamada gratuita de 30 minutos para conversar sobre tus necesidades y determinar si somos una buena opción el uno para el otro.

🐶 ¿Te interesa? Escríbeme a través del formulario de contacto en nuestro sitio web:
www.holisticdogtrainers.com

Que sigamos honrando el amor, los recuerdos y las huellas que nuestros compañeros dejan en el corazón. ❤️🐾

✝️🐶🐾

10/20/2026

Here’s one of our faves about Ari:

He was handsome, intelligent, affectionate, adventurous—and the most food-motivated dog we’ve ever met. He wouldn’t trade his food for anything. Literally!

Ari started resource guarding as a puppy, and although training helped, we learned to respect his boundaries and manage the situation.

Except when we forgot… 😂

After a wonderful weekend in the mountains, we stopped for lunch and decided to give Ari a stuffed Kong in his crate in the back of our Jeep while we ate.

The moment we tried to close the crate door, our sweet boy transformed into a ferocious beast!

And there we were: two professional dog trainers, alone in the mountains, trying to figure out how to close a crate without getting bitten.

Our solution? A long, heavy branch to push the crate farther back so we could shut the Jeep’s rear door!
Once safely in the front seats, we drove away—and soon found ourselves laughing hysterically.

The lesson? Dogs have boundaries, and they don’t have to share everything. Understanding resource guarding and learning to manage it safely can prevent conflict.

Even professional trainers forget the basics sometimes. Ari kept us humble—and left us with stories we’ll treasure forever. ❤️

What is the story you want to remember forever about your pup?

10/15/2026

I've been preparing for this moment since Ari gave us a scare more than two years ago. And just when I thought we'd turned a corner and had a few more good months ahead of us, everything changed overnight—literally. A few days later, we said goodbye.

Death is messy, even under the best of circumstances. And if it's not messy for the one who leaves, it certainly is for those left behind.

Grief, the ways we navigate it, and the cultural practices that shape how we say goodbye are all worth exploring. I'll be sharing more about these topics soon, along with an upcoming workshop where we'll have space to reflect, learn, and share stories about the beloved pets we have lost.

Stay tuned—and join me in this important conversation. Details coming soon...

10/03/2026

🐶✨ As promised in our previous post, here are some important tips to help prevent this problem!

⚠️ Is your dog already showing signs of resource guarding?

Don't wait for the problem to escalate. Seek professional help as soon as possible, using positive reinforcement-based methods.

Every dog and every situation is different.

➡ If you need help understanding what your dog is communicating and learning how to handle this situation, contact us. We can guide you toward building a relationship based on trust, respect, and understanding. 🐾

09/27/2026

Resource guarding can appear at different ages and with different levels of intensity.

First, it is important to understand something: it is normal for a dog to value and protect certain resources that are important to them. We cannot expect a dog to want to share absolutely everything — their food, their belongings, or something they have found — with other dogs or with us.

The problem begins when this behavior becomes frequent, intense, or creates conflict.

In some cases, it can start during puppyhood.

The good news is that many of these situations can be prevented.

We can teach our dogs from puppyhood that our presence around their resources does not automatically mean we are going to take them away.

In our next post, we’ll share some practical tips to help you prevent this problem from the beginning.

09/19/2026

Here are some signs you can look for:

🐾 Interest in exploring and sniffing their surroundings.
🐾 Fluid, natural movements.
🐾 A relaxed mouth and breathing.
🐾 A soft, relaxed gaze.
🐾 Relaxed muscles and a loose body.
🐾 The ability to lie down and rest, even when away from home.

Being relaxed doesn’t mean your dog has to be completely still. A relaxed dog can explore, move, observe, and then settle down to rest.

09/12/2026

Can you see the conversation between these two dogs? 🐕🐕

Calming signals are a normal part of canine communication. They help dogs keep social interactions within comfortable boundaries.

This video shows a conversation between two dogs who don’t know each other. Through their body language, they are establishing agreements and boundaries. It’s a fluid and respectful conversation in which both dogs listen and respond to each other, with the goal of avoiding conflict or escalation.

One of them feels a little more insecure than the other. Can you identify which one?

Insecurity or fear are not bad behaviors. They are emotions, and it’s important that a dog is able to express them freely through their body language so that the other dog can understand and respect them.

What may look strange or concerning to us, another dog may understand perfectly well. Dogs have the ability to communicate and resolve many of these situations without our intervention, as long as they have the right conditions: enough space and freedom to use their body language, without a leash restricting their movements or interfering with the flow of communication.

In this video, we can observe several signals, including:

➡ Orientation of the eyes and head
➡ Sniffing and looking away
➡ Changes in posture and speed
➡ Increasing or decreasing distance
➡ Pauses during the interaction
➡ The way each dog responds to the other’s signals

And finally… everything ends peacefully.

Our responsibility when we live with and interact with dogs is to learn their language and the way they communicate.

It takes time, practice, and a lot of observation.

But learning it is wonderful. And once we begin to understand what our dogs — and other dogs — are saying, so many things start to make much more sense.

08/30/2026

Communication is a fundamental part of positive reinforcement, and to build a harmonious relationship with our dogs, we also need to learn to speak their language.

Sometimes, we humans try to express affection to dogs in the same way we would with another person, but that isn’t always the best way for them. Likewise, it’s important to learn to recognize what our dogs are communicating to us through their body language and signals.

08/22/2026

About 15 years ago, I adopted Quetzal, a dog who had survived abuse and life on the streets. He was extremely reactive, and I honestly had no idea how far we would get.

I started by doing something very simple: I respected him.

I gave him space, I didn't force him, I learned to listen to him.

Over time, something changed—not just in him, but in me.

I learned to trust him, He learned to trust me.

And once that bond was strong enough, everything else started to fall into place: He became more relaxed, more tolerant, and eventually we were able to walk together in places I once thought were impossible.

Quetzal taught me something I carry with me in every behavior modification case I work with today:

Before asking a dog to change their behavior, build a relationship where they feel safe enough to trust you.

Because the bond isn't just part of the process, the bond is the foundation. ❤️🐾

Address

Richmond, CA

Website

https://www.holisticdogtrainers.com/

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