Good Dawg Training LLC

05/30/2026

This is a frustrated, not dangerous dog. The barking is communication, not aggression. But because he doesn’t get to practice dog‑dog interactions, he’s stuck in a cycle of excitement → frustration → barking His owners are patiently working with him to help him overcome this challenge. reinforcement

05/29/2026

Dogs usually paw at their water bowl because of natural instinct, playful boredom, or a need to cool down. Because dogs don’t sweat like us, splashing is a way to cool their paws, or it can simply be an entertaining game.

05/29/2026

I trained marine mammals for 27 years.

We trained each behavior in small increments and this built trust and confidence.

We often go way too fast with our dogs, bypassing crucial steps in building their trust and understanding. Just because we can restrain a dog to get the result, it doesn’t mean we should

I have a client whose dog needs to have her teeth cleaned. I told her about how we trained it in fur seals. I looked online and to found some horrendous tutorial videos on how to get a dog to open their mouths…

When choosing a dog trainer, find someone who doesn’t give you a quick fix. Avoid words like alpha, dominance, obedience, commands, balanced, corrections and look for words like agency, confidence, trust, relationship, fear free, science-based, reinforcement.

05/28/2026

A “sniffari” is an adventure dictated by your dog’s nose. This sensory-rich experience provides deep mental enrichment, helping to tire out active dogs and relieve stress for anxious or reactive ones.

05/28/2026

Puppy socialization is so much more than puppies just meeting each other. Puppy socialization is the intentional process of safely exposing a young dog to diverse people, animals, environments, to build positive associations and prevent future fear or aggression.

05/25/2026

05/25/2026

Neutering reduces indoor urine-marking in roughly 50% to 80% of male dogs, but it only completely eliminates the behavior in about 40% of cases. While removing testosterone significantly lowers a dog’s hormonal drive to claim territory or signal sexual availability, it is not a guaranteed cure.

The Difference Timing Makes

* Early Neutering: If a male dog is neutered before adolescent hormones kick in—or right when marking begins—the behavior is nearly eliminated (reducing the lifelong likelihood of marking down to about 2%).

* Late Neutering: If a dog has been actively marking indoors for months or years, the action evolves from a hormonal drive into a deeply ingrained habit. Once it becomes a learned behavioral pattern, the dog will continue to mark out of habit even without testosterone. Consider them wearing a belly band.

Why Neutered Dogs Still Mark Indoors
If a dog continues to mark after being neutered, or starts the behavior later in life, the triggers are typically environmental rather than hormonal:

* Anxiety and Stress: Changes to the household—like a new baby, a different work schedule, or moving to a new house—can make a neutered dog feel insecure, causing them to use their scent to self-soothe.

* Lingering Odors: If past marking spots were not cleaned with a specialized enzymatic cleaner, the microscopic scent remains. This lingering chemical signature acts as a continuous trigger for the dog to re-mark that spot.

* Inter-Pet Tension: Conflicts or social competition with other household pets often drive a neutered dog to establish boundaries by marking vertical surfaces.

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05/25/2026

The 1-2-3 Pattern Game is a powerful dog training exercise created by Leslie McDevitt as part of her Control Unleashed program. It relies on classical conditioning to create a highly predictable, comforting structure that helps anxious, distracted, or reactive dogs focus on their handler and navigate challenging environments.

05/23/2026

Shaping down means rewarding your puppy for gradual steps toward a full lie-down. Adding duration (staying down) and eye contact (focus) builds a calm, attentive puppy.