Kelly Engel Dog Behaviorist and Training

01/13/2026

I have been receiving the same question from many clients recently, and I believe it is worth addressing here, particularly for new puppy owners.

Question: After I interrupt or correct a behavior that I do not want my puppy to repeat, should I give a reward once the behavior stops?

Answer: No. When you interrupt an unwanted behavior, you are applying a form of pressure, both mental and physical, to stop a behavior you do not wish to reinforce or live with (examples: jumping on owners and pushy barking during family dinner, biting pant legs, or chewing furniture). The moment the puppy stops the undesired behavior, all pressure should be removed immediately and the handler should remain neutral and quiet. The removal of pressure is the reinforcement. Adding stimulation back into the moment by using a high-pitched voice, offering food, or touching the puppy reintroduces energy into the interaction and can undermine the clarity of the correction.

The actual correction could just be clapping your hands and moving toward the puppy or using a leash and adding tension to the leash while saying a clear NO right when the tension is applied.

When dogs correct or warn puppies or other dogs, they apply pressure through freezing often with direct eye contact, silently lip curling to show teeth and or increasing to a low growl. In some cases, a dog may briefly use physical contact as a correction. A behaviorally stable dog will immediately release that pressure once the puppy disengages or stops the inappropriate behavior.

06/26/2025

‘But in the context of feel, every moment is different, and there could be a thousand options.’

This is a great post by a horse trainer whom I follow and admire. Just replace horse with dog as you read.

My job is to guide you, not tell you how to think

There are a lot of things I think are facts. There are a lot of ways to work with a horse that work better for them than others. There are principles that i believe we should hold to with unwavering focus.

But in the context of feel, every moment is different, and there could be a thousand options.

How can you manage your current situation? The way I might ride it might look very different than how I tell you to manage it. And that’s based on the information I have in front of me, how I interpret your ability, your emotional security in the moment, and your horses ability to recieve that information from you.

We understand that horses respond to each person differently based on your ability, intent, technique and feel - and yet in a clinic or learning situation , we want prescriptions, exercises, and steps.

I can teach you to see, to feel, to become your own “you.” But I cannot give you a box to sort through where everything will fit just as promised- because in real life a thousand variables in a day change the reception of each of them- just like there are steps to flying, but weather, time and many other factors change HOW these steps are applied.

We have gotten used to getting answers easily and we are deeply uncomfortable not knowing- even more uncomfortable sorting through uncertainty as we gain our skill.

But if you want to know how I got to know what I do now, it is because I taught myself to be ok with being uncomfortable, getting critique often, and making lots of mistakes. And I can’t give that to anybody - you have to choose it. I can teach you what I see, and you have to do the work yourself to learn to apply it.

It’s not the end of the world to be uncomfortable - in fact, it will serve you quite well to snuggle right up to it as your new best friend.

06/23/2025

This morning, I opened up my local Santa Fe page to see yet another dog posted missing after it wiggled out of a harness on a walk. This inspired me to address the topic of tools for safety.

For all of my behavior rehab and training work, I almost exclusively use 4 training tools: slip leash (or sometimes a martingale collar), slip long-line, muzzle (for behavior cases), ecollar (behavior cases and off-leash training). I use a slip leash the most. The reason for this is SAFETY and clear, direct communication through the leash while finding softness in the dog. When I meet a new client with a fearful, feral or aggressive dog - it is almost a given that their dog has escaped a flat buckle collar or harness at some point resulting in either temporarily losing the dog or the dog causing harm to a human or another animal. Many well-intentioned owners seeking training guidance are bullied by a trainer or online community into using a harness without being given feedback that dogs easily escape harnesses. I live in an area with a heavy flow of fearful and feral dogs moving through our shelters and if they are blessed to be adopted, they’re often quickly lost by slipping their plain collar or harness. Side note: I do keep a Tractive GPS on all client dogs while they’re in my training programs and recommend GPS trackers for high-risk dogs.

Reminder: the tools that we use are for safety and to teach safety and handler engagement. That’s it. Not for short cuts, not for lack of awareness, not to bully a dog into compliance. I’ve used every tool available for over 30 years of handling dogs and through experience, the tools noted above are what have become my go to for safety.

06/09/2025

This past week Kelly Engel Dog Behaviorist and Training and Hart to Heart Canine Training, LLC hosted the first ever Feral and Fearful Dog Rehabilitation immersive retreat. It started as a 2-day workshop with a great group of trainers and dog handlers at the Las Vegas, NM animal shelter, learning the fundamentals of rehabilitating feral dogs. After the workshop, 4 participants (handlers) were assigned to their own feral dog and we moved to a beautiful retreat property north of Santa Fe. Over several days, we hiked, sniffed, traveled to different locations to explore, navigated being in a house together, and other exercises to build curiosity and connection with our dogs. Additionally, the handlers came to my farm and had an opportunity to move my horses (they present similar energy to feral dogs) and we used my dog pack to evaluate a couple dogs who were presenting conflicted social behavior with other dogs.

During this time, the handlers learned why we need extra safety precautions with these dogs because they are masters at escaping from collars, crates and fences. Most importantly, we observed and experimented with how to build our value as humans to these dogs. These dogs survived without us and some for multiple generations. Within a few days, we watched dogs transform from wild to willing partners. They were wagging tails on their hikes and seeking affection by the end.

To my knowledge, this was the first ever feral dog rehabilitation immersion offered in the US. Our goal was to help these dogs by making them more adoptable (feral dogs are typically euthanized in the shelters) or to have their handlers take them back home and continue working with them after the program. We do have one handler who will be driving back from Boston to take her dog home for further rehabilitation.