Pawsitivity

We are currently not taking any clients, thank you!

Online behavior evaluations: $FREE
We**am sessions: $90/hour
Private sessions (San Diego): $120/hour

Certified Dog Trainer (ABCDT) & Behaviorist

INSTAGRAM: .pawsitivity
WEBSITE: www.PurePawsitivity.Weebly.com
YELP: www.Yelp.com/biz/Pawsitivity-Seattle

05/03/2026

Jacob died a month ago. Today would have been his 15th birthday. He had been fighting kidney disease and other age-related issues for the past year or two.

Thanks for loving Jacob, supporting our work in dog training, and being my dear friends. It helps to know he'll be remembered worldwide, and that we made a difference in other family's lives. Thank you guys for this beautiful little community where we can share our joys and sorrows. I know many of you have lost your dogs recently, too.

What a crazy life Jacob had. Maybe someday I'll write more. There are many stories that I never shared.

I'd say "rest in peace," but that's the last thing Jacob would want. I imagine him running wild for all of eternity--pissing off the males, wooing all the females, and dodging all the humans with his reckless stunts, and looking back through the crowd to see if I noticed him.

To share 15 years together was an incredible blessing. I did all I could, and I made so many mistakes. It would never have been enough time. Our chapter ends here. With the peace of knowing we did our best, I'm moving on from dogs altogether.

08/21/2025

Happy Friday from Jacob! Be sure to go outdoors this weekend 🥰

08/18/2025

Jacob at Fiesta Island, San Diego.

It's a dog-friendly city--arguably the best in the world--yet I still had the same amount of clients who don't walk their dogs! And although their options for doggy activities were vastly better in SoCal, owner's reasons for neglecting the daily walk were largely the same as I've heard in other cities/countries.

Does that mean we should belittle these owners? Make them feel like they're not trying hard enough? What's ACTUALLY going to motivate them?

In my experience, it's not a matter of laziness, available options, or even time. Therefore, it's not helpful to say "Just try harder!" It's the same thing that's missing in trying to: lose weight, save money, have a strong marriage...

Consistency in the mundane, tiny habits that slowly build the foundation for a healthy lifestyle. If you, as the trainer, can teach them the SKILLSET (not character value or moral judgement) of consistency, then you have empowered them to help themselves.

Don't fall for the temptation to put yourself above them and look down. We all started somewhere! We all had blindspots. We were all inconsistent at some point.

Walk alongside people until they are comfortable walking alone 😊

08/14/2025

Tip for trainers: Learn from those you disagree with!

Early in my career, I made it a point to intern with everyone possible--including trainers/organizations that I didn't like. The purpose was to avoid being tunnel-visioned by my OWN BIAS and get closer to the truth.

At the heart of things, I wanted to help people in their toughest moments through my skills in dog training. If that's really, honestly my goal, then my study of dogs should include the "opposing side's views," just in case I missed something... Or in case I really was wrong!

Trust me, I had already spent plenty of years prior to Pawsitivity being that loudmouth, righteous bitch with an appetite for fighting. I can almost guarantee that I've been in more s**t than you have. And I lived for it!

But... That's also why you won't find me arguing online or stirring up controversy or clickbaiting with upsetting videos. You definitely won't find me correcting strangers on the street anymore, making them feel like idiots. Negativity for negativity's sake harms people. Back then, it had nothing to do with actually helping others. And so nowadays, that's simply not part of my goal.

Pawsitivity is more than just a cute name. It reminds me to be the GOOD side of myself. To use my strengths to help others, and keep the other bulls**t to myself.

Just for brainstorming (you don't have to answer!): what is at the heart of your goal...?

08/07/2025

A dogpark in NorCal, around 2021. As a modern-day nomad, Jacob meets his share of new dogs. Or rather, as you can tell by their body language, they meet *him* as the stranger to their neighborhood play dates.

Dogparks are a bit like playgrounds for kids (or shopping malls, for adults). It's neither good nor bad. It can be a place of trouble, or fun, depending on how and when and where we use it.

It's just a tool--that we can choose to wield, or not.

The thing is: it takes experience to choose a good time/place, calm confident pack leadership, decisiveness and awareness of dog psychology, and most importantly, PEOPLE SKILLS to enjoy safely. That's a lot to manage!

For this reason, dogparks are not the best choice for owners who are just trying to "burn off their dog's energy" or "make my dog socialize." Just like playgrounds, we need to supervise and understand that anything can (and does) happen.

08/04/2025

QUICK TIP: It's not the training tool, it's us 🙂
Over the last decade, I have seen every type of contraption for training dogs--in countless living rooms and several facilities across the USA.

I've trained dog owners living in stunning mansions and in sketchy trailer parks; fellow dog professionals and first-time owners; in the desert and on the coast; north and south; military and civilian; high-ranking officers and lowly enlisted; PhD's and high-school dropouts; senior citizens and teenagers; east coast and west coast; and online as far away as the UK, Japan, and Australia.

From that experience, it became clear... That although certain techniques/tools tend to HELP the handler, the tool doesn't SOLVE the behavior issue. What mattered was the owner's energy and body language. The reason their dog was misbehaving (and the reason they had hired me) was NOT because they hadn't discovered the right technique/tool yet.

It was because the owner hadn't mastered themselves yet. They were--out of love and good intentions--humanizing the dog. This was true whether the owner was too harsh OR too soft! Rather than needing more training tools, these owners needed genuine confidence, a consistent routine, and a basic understanding of dog psychology. (In other words, Cesar Millan's formula for a balanced dog: Exercise, Discipline, then Affection). The rest is just icing on the cake.

Please, before we buy another tool, follow more social media trainers, or enroll in another expensive training seminar--remember that dogs are, in fact, incredibly simple and adaptable animals who have been our evolutionary partners for 15,000 years. Resist the urge to overcomplicate.

It's not the tool! 🙏🏼

08/01/2025

Jacob in a lotus field of Japan. It'll be nearly 100 degrees today. There's a lot of frogs, birds, and other fascinating things to smell. He says that the cool kids go outside every day 😎😍 Have a great weekend!

07/30/2025

Here's another great book that echoes the experiences I've had on-the-job.

Fair warning, though: it's a pretty dense read! Buy some post-it notes for this one.

07/27/2025

Jacob has moved every 2 years for his entire life. It's a given part of the military lifestyle; a truth so stereotypical that even the general public understands it.

Military families never know where or when--and things can often change last minute--but for the purposes of dog training, it doesn't matter. In fact, I'd like to argue that the circumstances NEVER REALLY MATTER.

It's not WHAT, but HOW.

Jacob doesn't care where this roadtrip leads, how many months we will be between homes, or the nerves we have about the upcoming duty station. He doesn't know that we have sold almost everything, said goodbye to everyone, and all that's left is inside this beloved car; which will also be sold. He doesn't know that today was the last time we will see this house--the best home we have ever had. He doesn't know that, at 14 years old, he may never see America again.

He doesn't know that I made the terrible decision to rehome him... that I tried to give him away to friends so he could enjoy a quiet retirement instead of risking overseas travel... and then changed my mind (a story for another time 😔). None of that matters to a dog! He doesn't understand any of it.

He only understands our reactions to it. And so, it is MY reaction which creates the result that the world sees: a well-behaved dog who can handle almost anything. Sure, I can explain my daily routine, my training tools, my methodology. But it was never about WHAT we did; it was HOW.

What matters is how we face life (...or not!). This has been true in all of my client cases--military or not--and completely proven in our personal life with Jacob. Across the world, humans face insurmountable challenges and unbearable pain, as they have since the beginning of time. But a dog's behavior has almost nothing to do with what's happening around us--it's all about what's happening within us.

Pack leadership (or any kind of leadership!) is the most necessary when the chips are down. That's why true leaders are so rare. It is really, really hard. And really, really necessary!

It's not what, but how.

07/24/2025

"Less is more" in dog training--that is, if we want to earn real-world trust and respect. Here, you can hear me toggle between commanding Jacob and also chatting with my husband; all while off-leash in the rugged mountains of Washington state. Jacob obeys instantly, despite being completely free and ahead of me on the trail. The corrections were simple and didn't take any power struggle. We continued on smoothly. As I have taught my clients, based on the philosophies of Cesar Millan, TIMING and INTENSITY are paramount in correcting our dogs. That's because dogs speak in body language with each other (and other animals). I'm using my voice rather than body language; but the ex*****on is the same. I'm using JUST the volume and sharpness needed for the situation; absolutely no more or less. The result is a whisper. A level 2 out of 10. One might assume I was talking to myself, and yet the dog obeyed and understood. (This takes genuine confidence that comes with experience; for beginners, use safety measures and be considerate!) There are no treats, recalls, excitement, or frustration because that would add unnecessary tension--thus teaching the opposite of what I intended. My tone carries no connotation of right or wrong, because animals have no concept of ethics--adding this only backfires as a result. The timing and intensity in my commands tap into the key which allows the animal kingdom to "speak" without using words, or even comprehending the deeper implications of morality. How can a pack of wolves travel together? How does our dog and cat learn to get along? This rudimentary--yet effective--communication is observable in everyday life. Obedience training, therefore, is a BRIDGE between species, but can never close the gap completely. How can it, when dogs are profoundly less intelligent than us? That would be like expecting humans to sniff or hear better--simply not possible nor productive. So, if our goal is to pursue more freedom with our dogs, then it's *our* job to become fluent in dog psychology, rather than their job to learn human psychology. It's simpler than expected--yet different from our preconceived notions and instincts. Less is more!

07/23/2025

At the airport stateside, waiting to board our military flight to Japan. Per request, I'll be sharing some firsthand experiences and lessons learned from our travels. For obvious reasons, though, I don't discuss certain specifics--thank you guys for understanding!

Address

San Diego, CA

Telephone

925-301-0797

Website

http://www.PurePawsitivity.Weebly.com/

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