Marquardt K9 Behavior Training

04/17/2025

This cutie is 8 year old Lu y, a purebred . Her owner called because after they moved to Wisconsin and their other beagle passed away, Lucy's anxiety increased. She would and cry when they were gone. She even chewed up the moulding around the front door due to her . We definitely needed to put the owners in charge of leadership, and Lucy was doing a lot of dominance which is harder to recognize. She was doing many things throughout the day to get the owners to do something for her. She was really in charge. This was partially the cause of her separation anxiety. The owner learned how to show canine leadership but still give Lucy lots of attention. Separation anxiety is not a quick fix, but they got a good start in the right direction. With our guarantee we will be back to help them.

03/24/2025

Finn is a 3 year old purebred . The owner told me he had not Finn well when he was a and although Finn lives with another , he is with other dogs outside. He had tried different training techniques but had not been consistent, and Finn needed extra help. When I met Finn, I found a very friendly, 100 pound dog who liked to on people and that could frankly scare some people. That was something that we would have to stop. Finn needed to learn some manners. He does love people and really wanted to please his owner, so that was very helpful. We started using he language of the dog to train Finn and he of course recognized it immediately. And he responded to it right away. The jumping stopped very quickly, and he started doing what his owner asked him to do. He was taught to go into his crate with the door staying open and stayed there when someone came to the door until he was released to meet the guest, and then came to meet them without jumping on them. What a good boy. The stairs were a bit of a danger zone as he was running very fast up and down the steps, and could knock someone over or injure himself, so we started teaching him to walk up and down the steps. Finn also learned to respect his owner's personal space and only come into that space when he was invited. He still received a lot of love and affection, just the timing was a little different. Finn is such a sweet boy, and in a few weeks when his owner has had some time to do some homework with him he will be ready to work on the next step, which is walking calmly past other dogs on the walk. I love working with dogs that have a good relationship already with their owner and want to please their owner. It makes my job that much easier!

03/24/2025

Remember Simba the ? Well he and his owner have been working hard and he is doing much better. His is getting better, and his is getting to be quite good! We are working on having me do a lot of touching on him so he can get ready for a visit. He is mainly just used to his owner touching him, so that is new for him. he is a . He can get to make new friends though as you can see in this picture, he looks rather happy, don't you think? He did real well at his last visit.
At the , many can get nervous with the smaller exam rooms and the owner getting and that passing down to the , so we have been talking about all of those things. Setting up the situation and practicing it is a way to make it less imposing when the time comes.

03/13/2025

Marquardt K9 Behavior Training has a brand new website! It just went live today. You can check it out at marquardtk9behavior.com Let me know what you think!

Get lasting results with Marquardt K9 Behavior Training. We use trust-based, positive reinforcement methods to help dogs and owners communicate effectively.

03/11/2025

is a 3 year old / I started working with recently. He had become of his owner and was doing some and , and he would also and at other on a walk. So he had also become a bit since he had been attacked by another dog when he was about a year old. He kind of had free reign at home, and not very many rules, so Apollo thought the rules didn't apply to him. We needed to put some in place so Apollo could become a good canine citizen. He had come close to biting someone and we didn't want that to become a reality. His owner loves him very much and really wanted to help Apollo change. His owner learned about and how to use that with Apollo, using Apollo's own language in order to train him. Apollo learned the new rules quickly and learned his owner would make the decisions about who was safe, so Apollo didn't have to. Apollo didn't have the to be a pack leader anyway, so he didn't really want that role. I was happy at the end of the first session when Apollo came over to me, leaned against me, and licked me and asked for some pets. I had made a new friend. Dogs with issues aren't angry or mean or anything like that, they are just nervous and scared mostly. They don't want to be that way and are generally very happy to give it up. Today we did some with Apollo and he did very well. He saw his nemesis, another dog he had reacted to every time he saw him, and he did react, but quickly stopped when his owner gave him the right information. He continued on the rest of the walk peacefully. What a good boy.

03/11/2025

What do you think of these two beautiful ? I was happy to work with Dexter and Sirus yesterday morning and their owners. Dexter is 6 years old and Sirus is only 8 months old! He is about 90 pounds already! He is one big boy. They were both a little out of control as far as is concerned, had a problem with , , and Sirus had a little problem yet still being a very large puppy. They definitely needed a . We talked about and how we would use and to work with the dogs and train them. The owners were amazed at how quickly they calmed down and began listening . They weren't jumping and barking, and when I rang the doorbell they sat quietly and waited for them to answer the door. The owner said it was a miracle, but really it was just canine communication at work. The boys wanted a leader and when the owners started showing canine leadership, they were happy to let them take over. Aren't they gorgeous dogs? Now . Bad behavior can be normal, but it doesn't have to be permanent.

02/11/2025

I was happy to be able to work with Simba last week. He is a purebred , only about 2 years old. His owner was not able to have Simba out with visitors because he would the entire time without stopping and was very . He also seemed to have some from her. She was quite surprised at how quickly the barking subsided and Simba actually warmed up to me. I won't say we were best friends immediately, but he was coming up to me and licking my hands trying to get to know who I was, which was pretty big for him. Simba needed to learn that he would not be the one to make the decisions in the household, and that his owner would take over that position. He would feel much better without all that responsibility. He certainly looks pretty happy here, doesn't he? I will see him again next week, and check up on his progress. His owner has the which gives her confidence she will always have help available.

01/28/2025

Doesn't it seem now that the temperature is above 0 that it's SO much warmer outside?? It's making me think a lot more about these days. My are not winter dogs, but when the temperature gets to be close to 40 degrees, I start thinking about bringing them with me on my winter walks. So what are some things to remember about leash walks with your dog?

First, remember to always walk your dog on the same side. Then he will always know where he is supposed to be. It's no fun walking a dog who is always criss crossing back and forth around you. His shoulder should be next to your knee. If he starts to get ahead, stop, get his attention back and then continue. Some people find it helpful to have a "focus" object for the dog to focus on or to get the dog's focus back, such as a squeaky toy or a favorite ball or toy.

If you don't yet have the control you want from your dog, you may want to use a well-fitting on your dog. A that attaches to the leash at the chest will give you more control than one that attaches at the back of the dog. Working with a will help you to get the control you need to be safe with your dog.

If your dog gets over-excited when he sees other dogs, first see how he does from a distance with other dogs. Gradually work him closer, moving him farther away if he gets too excited again until he's calm, and moving closer when he's calm again. This may take several weeks. Reward him when he is calm. Working with a will help you to make faster gains as well.

Remember your dog can get frostbite just like we can. If you are cold, likely he is also. Wipe his feet off when you come inside so you wipe off any salt or chemicals that can cause tenderness or soreness. and enjoy the fresh air but be safe!

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01/20/2025

Here is a great story I came across regarding a dog in Turkey who found help for her pups.
https://www.ktsm.com/news/animals/watch-stray-dog-brings-sick-freezing-puppy-to-vets-office/

This dog mom knew where to find help for her pups! Do you know where to find help for your dogs who might be having some ? Call Marquardt K9 Behavior Training! 920-428-3569.

A stray dog was caught on camera carrying her sick puppy to the front door of a veterinarian clinic in Turkey earlier this week.

01/19/2025

It is the next few days. Here are a few safety tips from the ASPCA regarding cold weather and your .

1. If it's too for you, it's too cold for your pets so keep them indoors during this . Also, don't leave them in the car. The car will act as a refrigerator and hold in the cold air and they will freeze to death in the car too.

2. Repeatedly going out into the cold and coming back inside can cause itchy, dry skin so keep your home humidified. Keep close attention to your pets' feet and remove ice balls from between their toes so they don't develop skin irritation there.

3. You can massage or vet-approved into your pet's paw pads prior to going outside to protect against chemical agents. Booties provide even better coverage and can prevent salt and sand from getting lodged between their toes and causing irritation. Use pet-friendly ice melt whenever possible.

4. Never shave your dog down to the skin in the winter. The long coat provides warmth in the winter. Simply trim the coat or trim off any ice balls that collect, and don't neglect between the toes. Consider buying your short haired dog a coat or sweater that covers him or her from the neck to the base of the tail.

5. After each walk, wash and dry your pet's feet to remove salt and chemicals. Check for cracks in the paw pads. You may carry a towel along on the walk to wipe the feet if they begin to sting.

6. Bathe your pet as little as possible in the winter. Bathing often removes essential oils from the skin and can cause itchy, dry skin. You can ask your vet to recommend a moisturizing shampoo.

7. Promptly clean up antifreeze spills as it is toxic to dogs. Clean up any liquid spills from your vehicle. Consider using products containing propylene glycol instead of ethylene glycol as ethylene glycol is extremely . Ice melt can also be toxic to dogs, so keep all chemicals up high and away from your pets.

8. It's ok to feed a little extra in the wintertime as they use more calories to stay warm. Make sure they have plenty of water to drink so they stay well hydrated.

9. Never let your dog off leash on snow or ice, especially during a snowstorm. Dogs can lose their scent in the snow and easily become lost. More dogs become lost in the winter than in any other season. Make sure your dog always wears an ID tag.

Keep your dog and other pets safe and warm! And you too! trainer

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01/10/2025

It's been quite a while since I've updated my page, but I have been busy! I thought I'd put a few pictures up of some of the I've worked with! On the top is Molly, a beautiful mixed breed who, after she was adopted had gotten
of her family against strangers. Her mom and dad just needed to learn some skills and skills to let Molly know it wasn't her job to make those decisions. She is such a sweet girl! Below left is a beautiful 7 year old
named Tanya. Tanya is a who never raced, so she didn't get the benefit of being handled regularly until she was 2 years old like the racers did. Consequently when she was almost 2 and was adopted, she was very skittish. Her family did what they could but Tanya continued to be skittish and actually became protective of her bed and at times. Finally they called for help. They also needed to learn and skills. Tanya needed to learn she wasn't at the top of the and she needed to follow the rules. I was amazed at how far she had come after 2 weeks at our follow up lesson! This family worked very hard with their and took very seriously! Tanya was a new dog. She still has a way to go but she also has come a long way in a short time! Just learning she doesn't have to shoulder the burden of being the leader has made her more comfortable. In the middle bottom picture is Frankie! Frankie is a mix pup not quite a year old. Her family hadn't had a puppy in a long time, and I had trained one of their last dogs some years ago, so they contacted me again. Marquardt K9 Behavior
Training's is a great value for a young dog! Frankie is a sweet pup who just needs to gain some confidence and learn a few skills to make her a great dog! At the bottom right is Baxter, who is working on with his owner. This is an exercise we use to help get better control with dogs. Baxter had already gone through a few sessions with Marquardt K9 Behavior Training and he worked up to this session. Baxter did a great job at staying in the yard for his owner. As you can see from no snow on the ground, this session was last fall.
Marquardt K9 Behavior Training is ready to help you and your dog!

07/28/2024

Awwww, Jade is a beautiful 17 week old Doberman puppy. The owners called because she was overly rambunctious with their 4 year old daughter, but perfect with their 14 year old daughter. Their veterinarian had suggested they call because she had growled when the Vet came into the exam room. She is somewhat of a timid, shy dog with strangers and I'm sure she was scared of the Vet. This is unusual for a puppy this age, so it is good that the owners called for help. They also needed to get a bit more focus from Jade and they needed help with potty training. Once we started using canine communication with Jade, she perked up right away and responded beautifully. The owners learned about canine leadership and were already doing some things right like keeping her off the furniture and beds. Jade settled down quickly and the owners were surprised at the quick changes in their pup. They will continue to work with her and we will do a follow up session in a few weeks. Jade is a beautiful pup, don't you think?

07/28/2024

Asher is an Australian Cattle Dog who is somewhat of a nervous dog. The owner called because after July 4th and the fireworks this year, she had trouble getting Asher to go outside at night. He was also afraid of loud noises and he barked when people came into the house. He barked at other dogs when on the leash too. During the session I found that he also had gotten very afraid of thunderstorms to the point that even if it started sprinkling out, he would not stay outside and wanted to go into the basement. That was his safe spot during storms (probably because there is only one small window and he can't see the lightning flashes very well). I found we really needed to work on canine leadership with his owner. Asher thought he was the leader, and his owner said that probably they had not required a lot of him. When a timid dog or a nervous dog feels like he needs to be the lead dog, it can make him extra nervous. So we had to put several things into place to show Asher that he was not the leader. This will in turn make him feel more comfortable and not so nervous. His owners have to initiate all the attention and not Asher, he needs to stay off the furniture and beds, and they will give him his safe spot during thunderstorms, but when it's just raining they will try to initiate some type of game with him like fetch or another game that he enjoys to get his mind off of the rain. There are some other things they will do as well. Asher above all needs to feel safe, and safety comes with knowing he has a good canine leader. His owners are learning good canine leadership.

Blue is a purebred German Shepherd who is also a dog who feels he is the leader, and whose owners need to step up and become the leaders in the household. Blue had been basically bossing them around, telling them when to play and when to pet him and so forth and if they didn't do it, he would do something naughty like take the cushions off the couch or something like that. Getting in trouble was better than being ignored in his opinion. One of his owners had a little more control than the other, because he had Blue since he was a puppy, but they both agreed that they hadn't asked a lot of Blue. German Shepherds are a rather confident breed and if you don't take control of them, they will take control of you. They also have some homework to do to get good leadership of Blue. Blue has to live on a leash for several days until they get better voice control, and when he earns it, he can lose the leash in the house. He has been quite anxious thinking he has to be the leader, so taking the leadership away from him will make him much more comfortable and happy. Dogs who don't have the temperament to be the pack leader but feel they have to be the pack leader become very anxious for it.

And finally we come to Joey, the Cavapoo. He is King Charles Cavalier and Poodle. Joey is typically quite wonderful to strangers, but has been bossing his family around to the hilt! He has been growling at them, grabbing their pants legs with his teeth, he has been very naughty. He also has been one who has tried to be the leader of the household but really did not have the temperament to do so. Again we used Joey's own language to let him know what we expected of him and that his behavior was not acceptable. Things did begin to change that first day. I won't say everything was perfect from then on, but things did begin to change. Joey had things his way for 3 years, and consistency is what makes training work. Joey can be a good little dog, and he can be so sweet at times. He has those times when he is not sweet that sours everything, but I know he can change and I know his owners can do this. They do love Joey and if they are consistent they can help him make the necessary changes.

07/28/2024

Hello everyone, I am going to add a few dogs to each post to try to catch up on my postings! There have been some wonderful dogs that have crossed my path and I can't wait to tell you about them! Dixon is an adorable Lab/Basset Hound/ maybe something else mix who had recently developed a bit of a prey drive. The family owned cats and he had been chasing them, had grabbed a goat, and was very interested in the small animals they had in the house. They definitely needed better voice control with him. They needed him to focus better and he had a habit of constant jumping which was a little concerning to visitors. Dixon proved to be very suitable for training, and took to it very well! The family was very happy to see how quickly he settled down and became focused without using any physical techniques. They were very surprised, but happy too! Using Dixon's own communication methods helped him to understand what his owners wanted of him very quickly.

Snoopy is a Cane Corso, and had lived with another dog and gone happily to the dog park, but when his housemate found another home, he somehow lost his desire to get along with other dogs. He had a less than desirable living arrangement and went into foster care. His rescue person wanted to be able to place him with another dog if possible, so she reached out to me. When I met Snoopy I was optimistic that he would be able to be placed with another dog based on what I saw. We worked with him only 2 times and he was placed with a woman who had other dogs. She carefully watched them over the weekend but was able to put them all together very quickly. Snoopy was just a joy to work with. He was definitely a people pleaser. A gentle giant.

Sully and Murray are the 2 dogs in the last picture. I am behind Sully and Nikki Chaganos, owner of Pet Sitter Galore in Neenah WI is behind Murray. Murray is one of her dogs. Sully is a dog that she petsits from time to time, and one of her new dogs Percy was still learning about other male dogs and she wanted a little help getting Sully and Percy together because Sully also could question other male dogs at times. I had worked with both dogs previously so I was familiar with both of them. Percy was already in the house so Murray graciously stood in for the picture. :) Sully and Percy did great for their first meeting and were going to meet a few more times and go for a few walks together as a bonding experience as it was something they both greatly enjoy.

I hope you enjoy these stories!

06/11/2024

When I spoke to Tasha's owner, she was very concerned. Tasha had become very and her in this regard had scared her husband so much that he wanted to end Tasha's life. Tasha's owner loved her very much. She did not want this to happen and really wanted to save her. When Tasha was away from her owner, other people like the Veterinarian and the Groomer could handle her. This told me that Tasha could be trained and I could help her. This was a issue. We set up a time to meet and I told her to have Tasha in another room when I got there so we could talk first. We spoke about and about , and how we would use that to train Tasha. Her owner thought it all sounded like it made sense. I told her how I would like to meet Tasha. We went through the process I explained to her and she started using with
Tasha using and that I taught her, and Tasha responded beautifully. You don't need physical techniques to train a dog, you just need to be able to communicate with that dog in a way that he or she understands. Most are a matter of miscommunication or misunderstanding. Tasha settled down quickly once her owner started showing her she knew how to be a good . She now had to prove that could be a good consistently. I showed her some exercises to practice with Tasha and she even stopped # at the neighbor dog outside. She had been with her but with a she learned that was inappropriate. She stopped barking when she saw the neighbors in their yards outside too. So many things can be solved with leadership. So now her owner needed to practice with her for a few weeks until I came back for a follow-up visit. When I came back I found that Tasha had done quite well. There were a few hiccups along the way but overall things had gone very well. Tasha's owner had good over Tasha now, and Tasha was much less . Tasha still did not want strangers to pet her, but that may come with time. She was still only recently adopted and she was a stray so they did not know her background. We worked on on the follow-up visit. Tasha still has some problems with if another dog reacts to her when it walks past her, but she does pretty well if the other dog is calm. Her owner learned what to do in those circumstances. Each dog is unique. What Tasha's owner does with her dog might be different than what another owner does with their own dog, based on their own dog's personality. Marquardt K9 Behavior Training evaluates each dog individually. I was very happy to be able to help Tasha and her owner. Not every dog is a party animal that can be petted by every stranger that comes along. Some dogs can walk by people and be fine with that but only want pets and snuggles by a few people. That's ok. As the owner we have to advocate for our own dog. We have to know his likes and dislikes. Tasha may end up to be a dog that likes everyone, it's just too soon to tell. If she doesn't, that's ok too. Her owner will keep her safe.

06/11/2024

Meet Mishka, a mix and Larissa, a 15 year old resident who was there first. I met the owners at the and they spoke to me about being worried about the interaction between their newly adopted dog and their 15 year old cat. Mishka was a lot of energy and very interested in the cat, maybe a little too interested. They were concerned about the cat's well-being so they were keeping them separated. They didn't want to do that long-term They wondered if I could help. Interestingly, I had just worked with a family recently on the same issue so I told them about that, and we set up a time to meet. Mishka proved to be a very sweet girl and very agreeable to . She liked her new owners and wanted to please them. They'd had her for just shy of 4 weeks at that point. She was doing a bit of and she needed a bit of settling down, but generally she was a good dog. They'd had dogs before but we talked about , and how communicate, and how we would use that in order to train Mishka. Using her own communication methods, mainly and meant she would learn more quickly than trying to teach her human words. This proved correct and Mishka was a great student. At the end of the session we brought Larissa out and with a vocal correction Mishka knew to leave Larissa alone. Larissa was happy to be able to be out of the bedroom again. I cautioned them to watch Mishka carefully with Larissa over the next few weeks and they said they would. When I came back two weeks later, I saw Larissa was out with Mishka, and they said they were now having to correct Larissa because she was picking on Mishka! We worked on some work, some in the yard, and discussed how to get Mishka to instead of on the walk. Mishka by this time had really settled into her new home and was feeling very comfortable for the most part. Her owners even looked forward to possibly bringing her to the pet expo next year, which they couldn't have done this year! I really enjoyed working with this family and Mishka. I hope I see them at the Expo next year!