Ohana K9 Behavior Solutions

07/05/2025

Miss Bailey is our newest Perfect Puppy Program enrollee, and she just wanted to say “Good Morning!” and remind you to stay hydrated and safe this holiday weekend!

✨ Puppy Adventure Reminders: ✨

Keep socialization positive or neutral:
Not every new encounter needs to be thrilling, but it should always feel emotionally and physically safe for your puppy.

Watch your puppy’s body language:
Pay attention to how they feel about new people, weird noises, and unusual smells. This helps you intervene early if something becomes too overwhelming.

Beware of firework debris:
This time of year, leftover fireworks and litter can be scattered everywhere — especially on morning or evening walks. Keep an eye out so your little mischief-maker doesn’t grab something they shouldn’t!

Always have treats or a toy on hand:
If your puppy picks up something they shouldn’t, use treats or a favorite toy to trade for it right away.

Minimize conflict with “Drop It”:
As a last resort, you can gently remove something dangerous from their mouth — but we always recommend keeping these interactions as low-conflict as possible to build a strong, positive “drop it” cue for life.

Stay safe, have fun, and enjoy the holiday with your pups!

📞801-372-9140
✉️ [email protected]
🌐www.ohanak9utah.com

We have a 2 week opening starting July 16th priced at 25% off!

07/04/2025

We wanted to wish everyone an absolute fun and *safe* Independence Day full of family, friends, and care.

And remember, today is the biggest day for lost dogs of the year.

Tips for keeping your furry friends safe:

🎆Keep your dogs collar with their tags on hair in case they do manage to get lost
🎇Utilize a crate of they've been acclimated to one. If they're not crate trained, utilize a safe space they cannot break free from.
🎆Play calming music to help drown out the firework noises
🎇 Exercise early this morning and before dusk (if weather allows for it) before the fireworks happen.
🎆Give them an awesome chew, their favorite toy, or another enrichment item they don't see often.
🎇If your pup gets anxious, try not to make it a big deal. Dogs feed off of our energy and emotions. Play it cool and show them you're not concerned.

Building a confident and stable dog should be the first responsibility as a pet owner, and sometimes that's out of our control due to genetics or early life experiences, but the best time to help your pooch becomes confident with loud noises and weird smells (fireworks smell so weird to dogs), is the day after the loud booms happen.

📞801-372-9140
✉️ [email protected]
🌐ohanak9utah.com

07/03/2025

🧐 Reading Between the Lines of a Pretty Picture
Just because a dog looks cute doesn’t always mean they’re comfortable.

Here’s a 3-photo quiz to sharpen your observation skills 👇

📸 Slide 1:
Open mouth, soft eyes, forward posture.
🐶 “Hi! I'm happy to be here with you!”
✅ Body language check: Relaxed. Curious. Confident.

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📸 Slide 2:
Closed mouth, nervous grin, ears pinned back.
🐶 “I’m not so sure about where we’re at...”
⚠️ Body language check: Uncertainty. Maybe stress or overstimulation creeping in.

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📸 Slide 3:
Ears up, head lowered, body still sideways.
🐶 “Oh… what’s this on the ground?”
🔍 Body language check: Investigative but cautious. The dog is trying to reorient and process something new.

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💡Final Thoughts:
These shifts may be subtle, but they matter.
Your dog’s emotional state can change frame by frame—and learning to recognize it helps you become their best advocate.

🎯 Can you tell when your dog is uncertain—even when their tail is wagging?

📝 We’re adding a full breakdown of Freya’s emotional state in the comments.

Check it out and let us know what you saw!

07/03/2025

While a few thoughtfully designed styles exist, most harnesses restrict more than they support. They tend to disconnect the dog from their own body — limiting natural movement and muting that vital brain-body-environment conversation. For dogs learning to trust and move with confidence, that restriction can speak louder than we’d like.

We love dissolving the oppositional reflex the dog has built as habit, in order to help the dog learn to respect the leash and be mindful of the tension they're applying to themselves.

This is a repost(ish) but well worth repeating. Many of you have heard me harp on harness fit time and again. Having spent decades evaluating harness fit in working dogs of all types with thermal imaging (as well as having years of working and active dog experience combined with a strong biomechanics knowledge base) using front-clipping or "Gentle Leader" type harnesses only guarantee more structural stress in active dogs that makes for more work for me and other chiro/sports med colleagues. PLEASE only use harnesses that fit with proper ergonomics! [NOTE: I've tweaked the English & syntax in the added-on description below so it might read a little differently.]

"All dog owners should know this fact! A harness like this is a terrible injustice to your pet!! AVOID USING THIS TYPE OF HARNESS !

In a dog's forward movement, a harness with a tape that crosses its chest from side to side hinders it in the same way humans would bother going hiking with an elastic band holding their arms. Physiological movement of the front extremity is prohibited. Just like rubber would inhibit the pendular movement of our ARMS.

Thanks to the "Study of Canine Movement at the University of Jena", we now know that in the dog, the center of rotation of the front limb is at the top of the scapula, but in the human the center of rotation in the arm is in the shoulder. Jena's study demonstrates, among other things, the importance of scapular movement for dog locomotion. Now we understand the importance of taking into account the free movement of the dog's shoulder when choosing a chest harness.
That means there SHOULDN'T be bands across the scapular (orange) area, and they shouldn't cross the chest side to side either.

From the point of view of biomechanics and physiotherapy, it is recommended not to choose getting harnesses that have a strap that goes through the chest laterally, or that have straps that touch or press the scapula.

Always lean towards harness models with ERGONOMIC design, to allow maximum freedom of movement for your dog, improve his well-being and safety during his walk.
Source : REAL CEPPA"

07/02/2025

It’s not often we get in Pit Bulls or other bully breeds.

But what breed do you see most in any shelter?

Pit Bulls and bully breeds.

Coincidence?
Correlation?
Causation?

We’d like to think our local shelters would look very different if every owner invested in their dog’s emotional and mental well-being through professional training.

Let’s talk about what these dogs were originally bred for.

Pit Bull–type dogs were created for bull-baiting, and later, ratting and dog-on-dog combat in pits—hence the name Pit Bull.

These jobs required grit, drive, and laser-sharp focus—but interestingly, not human aggression.
In fact, dogs that showed any aggression toward people were often culled. Handlers needed to be able to reach into the pit during fights without being bitten.

📌 These dogs are not inherently dangerous.
📌 But they are inherently intense.
📌 They were bred to finish what they start—with everything they’ve got.

So if your bully breed has an idea—whether it’s tug, fetch, chasing squirrels, or barking at the door—they’re going to pursue it with 110% commitment.

And that’s not a bad thing.
But it does mean this:

👉 Bully breeds need training. They need structure. They need outlets.
Not because they’re “bad dogs.”
But because they’re powerful, intelligent, and deeply determined.

These are the kind of dogs who thrive in homes where they are seen, understood, and set up to succeed.

Miss Suki here is no exception to this. she is high drive and very committed to what she's doing, while also being the sweetest thing on the planet.

Her owners needed a little help wrangling in all of this sweetness, so she will be here with us for the next 4 weeks learning how to settle down, focus, and engage with her handlers appropriately.

📞801-372-9140
✉️[email protected]

06/30/2025

How do you trust someone with your dog?

Whether it's a boarding facility, a trainer, a Rover sitter, the neighbor kid—or even your own mom—it’s a big decision.

We’ve seen the headlines. We've had tearful calls from people who are desperate for help with their dogs… but terrified to leave them with someone new. And honestly? We get it.

We rarely leave our own dogs behind. There’s only two facilities in the entire state of Utah we trust.

Because the truth is, it’s not always just separation anxiety. Dogs have been lost. Some have gotten sick—or worse. And it’s heartbreaking.

But we also want to be fair to the many well-meaning pet professionals out there—because dogs are impulsive, chaotic little creatures by nature. They’re magnets for accidents and mischief, especially if they haven’t been taught how to slow down, think, and make safer choices. Accidents happen, and mistakes have to be made In order to learn.

So how can you know your dog is in safe hands?

Here are a few things we believe matter deeply:

1. They ask questions—and they use gear that keeps your dog safe.

We always use a martingale collar and a long line, or slip leash for untrained boarders. Your dog may be fine at home on their collar and clip, but new environments are unpredictable, and we don’t take chances.

2. They allow space for decompression and trust-building.
New places can be overwhelming. We never rush dogs into stimulation before they’re ready. Overstimulated dogs lose impulse control, and that’s when things go wrong.

3. They build trust based on more than treats and toys.
Our relationships aren’t surface-level. Even with our boarders, we form deep bonds built on trust, understanding, and emotional regulation. That’s what helps us administer meds, support dogs through stress, and navigate unpredictable moments with calm.

4. They prioritize structure and safety over convenience.
Crates are required. Door and gate bolting is a hard no. No off-leash time unless a dog is in an active training program. Those policies are life-saving.

If you're looking for a provider, ask the hard questions. The right people won’t be offended—they’ll be relieved you care enough to ask.

06/30/2025

Fear doesn't always look obvious.

When people think of a fearful dog,, they picture a dog who’s been abused — skittish, shaking, hiding under a table. And while that can be true, fear often shows up in the dogs who don’t look scared at all.

Sometimes fear looks like:
🔹 A dog who won’t come when called, even though they “know” the cue.
🔹 A dog who growls when you reach for their collar.
🔹 A dog who jumps, mouths, or pushes boundaries, our of fear or confusion.
🔹 A dog who looks confident but is actually running the show out of anxiety.

Trust is the foundation for learning, cooperation, and emotional regulation. Without it, you’re not training — you’re just managing behavior.

In our program, we build trust through:
🐾 Consistency
🐾 Emotional neutrality
🐾 Teaching the dog they can lean on us during tough moments
🐾 Advocacy (for what the dog needs, not just what we want)
🐾 And honoring their pace — even if it’s slower than we expected.

Because a truly connected dog isn’t just obedient… they choose to follow you. And that choice is rooted in trust.

Miss Luna is one of our newest training pups, and trust building will be a huge emphasis during her time with us.

06/28/2025

🐾 Saturday Spotlight: Spicy Ruby & the Power of Proprioception 🐾

This is Ruby. She’s new to our program — and yes, she’s a little spicy 🌶️
But behind all that sass is a dog who’s just deeply unsure of the world around her.

She lacks proprioception (awareness of her body in space), confidence, social skills, and real-world coping tools.

So what does that look like?
⚡ Overreacting to touch
⚡ Fear-based growling or snapping
⚡ Panic when she feels out of control
⚡ Misinterpreting new environments as threats

This isn't “bad behavior.” It’s communication. And it’s our job to listen.

We’ll be spending the next few weeks teaching Ruby how to move with purpose, build body awareness, and choose calm in moments of stress.

We’ll use:
🧠 Confidence-building obstacle work
👣 Leash and body language awareness
🎯 Structured routines that create safety

Because when you teach a dog how to exist in their own body and the world around them, they stop fighting it — and start thriving.

We can’t wait to show you her transformation. 💛

06/27/2025

💛 Price Matching

We know that choosing a training program is a big decision — not just for your dog, but for your family. And sometimes, cost plays a big role in that choice.

We do offer price matching on comparable programs because we truly want training to be accessible. That said, we also want to be upfront about what our pricing already includes — since it often covers more than what other programs offer:

🐾 We come to you — no added stress or extra driving
🐾 Training equipment is included
🐾 4–8 private lessons happen during the program, not just after
🐾 Boarding discounts for life — and sometimes, free boarding entirely

If you’ve gotten a lower quote somewhere else, feel free to share it with us. We’re always happy to talk through it, compare what’s included, and find a way forward that works for everyone involved — especially your pup.

We apply private matching to our boarding rates as well!

This isn’t about competition for us. It’s about making sure families have support, and dogs get the training and care they deserve with a company they've met, vetted, and trust without making finances be the biggest point moving them forward 🤍

06/26/2025

🐾 Meet Dodger the Cattle Dog Mix!

This handsome 8 month old pup just started our Basic Private Lesson Program to begin his journey toward becoming a Service Dog ✨

Service dog work isn’t just about advanced tasks—it’s about rock-solid reliability in the real world. That kind of confidence and composure can’t be rushed. It starts with a strong relationship, clear communication, and daily consistency from the dog’s handler.

That’s why Dodger and his owner chose private lessons. Unlike a board and train, where a trainer does the heavy lifting, private lessons require YOU to show up and put in the work consistently. It’s a slower path—but it can also be an empowering one.

Every behavior, every breakthrough, every challenge—you’re learning it together. And that’s exactly the kind of trust and teamwork required for future service work.

Whether you’re dreaming of a working dog or just want better behavior at home, our private lessons are built to help you create lasting change, not just quick fixes.

👉 Now booking for July—message us to learn more or schedule a free consult!

📞 801-372-9140
✉️ [email protected]

www.ohanak9utah.com

06/25/2025

We’re often asked: What’s the hardest breed of dog to train?

Our answer is usually…

“Whichever one has an owner who doesn’t want to learn.”

Today, we wanted to highlight one of the most challenging — and also one of the absolute best — breeds we work with:

Meet the German Shorthaired Pointer.
Or, as we like to call them: The Porsche 911 GT3 RS of the dog world.

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⚙️ High-performance engine
GSPs are built to go all day. They’re not just fast — they’re engineered to keep that pace over rough terrain, through mud, snow, or brush.

🧠 Manual control required
You can’t just throw it in drive and hope for the best. These dogs need hands-on handling, structure, and someone who knows when to upshift and when to hit the brakes.

🔊 Not exactly quiet
GSPs are loud, opinionated, and constantly communicating. Like a race car, you’ll hear them before you see them.

🛞 Not great on autopilot
These dogs aren’t plug-and-play. They need a driver who’s engaged, prepared, and always thinking a few steps ahead.

💥 Thrilling but unforgiving
When everything’s aligned, it’s magic — but if you slack on maintenance, skip training, or ignore the warning signs, things can go sideways fast.

⚡ Endless stamina
These dogs weren’t made for a 20-minute walk — they were bred to run all day.

🧩 Incredible problem-solvers
That sharp mind can turn into destructive creativity if they don’t have a job to do.

🎯 Laser-sharp prey drive
Squirrels, cats, birds, plastic bags blowing in the wind — their instincts are always “on.”

🚀 Hyper focus, zero chill
Once they lock onto something, calling them off isn’t just a training skill — it’s an art form.

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These dogs were built to hunt birds for eight hours a day, in freezing temps, through thick brush, without missing a beat. Their brains are fast, their bodies are faster, and they don’t come with an off switch.

That has to be built — through time, patience, and experienced hands.

Gundog owners know this.
Old-school bird hunters know this.
And if you’ve had more than one GSP… you definitely know this.

Despite all of that, right next to Huskies, they’re still one of our absolute favorite breeds.

📸 Photo Credit: Our GSP pup, Courage

06/24/2025

☀️ Summer Struggles: Why Your Dog Might Be Acting "Off" 🐶

Summer isn't just pool parties and sunshine — for some dogs, it's chaos overload. 🧨🏃‍♂️

Common summer triggers we see in training clients every year:

⚡ Fireworks = panic, reactivity, hiding
⚡ Guests & parties = barking, guarding, overstimulation
⚡ Travel disruptions = regression in potty training or separation anxiety
⚡ Kids home all day = no rest, no space, more nipping or outbursts
⚡ Sticky, Stuff, Humid, and Miserable Heat= Grouchy dogs, and delayed sleep schedules

If your dog’s suddenly acting “bad” — they’re not.

They're overwhelmed, overstimulated, or unsure how to cope, just like those of us who are struggling in this heat.

✅ What helps:

Predictable routines

Space to decompress

Mental enrichment over constant activity

Clear communication (not just “commands”)

Compassionate behavior support

And early early or late late physical activity

🐬When in doubt, find a quiet and secluded swimming hole, and jump in!

Seeing regression in your pup? We're more than happy to help at any time!

801-372-9140
[email protected]

📸 Miss Sophie Lou who went through our PBBM Program back in 2023!