Major Wags Dog Training, LLC

04/13/2026

03/06/2026

The most cited document in dog training debates has serious problems. I've read the research. Here's what they don't want you to look at too closely.

02/09/2026

Have you all been voting?? 🤩

Just over a week left to be your daily votes in! Follow the link below and vote Major Wags for Best Of Sumter for the third year in a row! 🐾❤️

Best of Sumter is an annual contest hosted by The Sumter Item.

01/27/2026

We are so relieved that our very own Lisa Caudell was able to grab this sweet boy and get him to safety. Lucky Paws Rescue, Inc. has graciously agreed to cover his medical expenses, and we are so grateful.

Please consider donating to support his rehabilitation and foster journey! Follow the linked post to learn how you can help. ❤️

🐾 UPDATE ON THE BEAGLE ON MCCRAYS RD IN SUMTER🐾

We are so relieved to share that this sweet Beagle is now safe. 💚
Thanks to the determination and compassion of Lisa Caudell, he was successfully caught today after days of concern.

Lisa isn’t just a Good Samaritan, she’s part of the Lucky Paws Rescue family. 💚
Lisa is an LPR alumni, having adopted one of our very first rescue dogs, Autumn, and today she stepped right back up when this Beagle needed help most.

This young Beagle was first reported injured, limping, and very thin in the woods along McCrays Mill Rd. He was terrified and kept retreating deeper into the woods, making earlier attempts to help him unsuccessful. Lisa didn’t give up — and today, she was finally able to get him to safety.

Lucky Paws Rescue, Inc. has officially taken him under our care.
Lisa will be fostering him, and he is being seen by the vet this afternoon so we can assess his condition and determine next steps. He is clearly underweight, sore, and scared — but he is no longer alone.

💚 WAYS TO HELP

🐾 Call the vet directly and place a credit on our account:
Hudson Veterinarian Hospital
📞 803-905-9700

🐾 Donate directly to Lucky Paws Rescue:
👉 www.luckypawsrescueinc.org/donate

Every dollar helps cover exams, diagnostics, and treatment, and allows us to step in when dogs like this need us most.

📣 IMPORTANT OWNER NOTICE
If you believe this dog may be yours, please contact Lucky Paws Rescue directly with proof of ownership and a current rabies certificate so we can verify and discuss next steps.

📣 Please keep this boy in your thoughts as we await updates from the vet. We’ll share more as soon as we know more.

Thank you, Lisa, and thank you to everyone who shared, watched, donated, and cared.
This is what rescue — and community — looks like. 🐶✨

01/22/2026

It's that time of year again! 🤩🤩

Voting for Sumter's Best is officially open, and we would be so honored to be voted Sumter's Best Pet Trainer for the third year in a row! Follow the link below to vote for us! You can vote once per day until Wednesday, February 18th - so set those daily reminders and get your votes in!

We feel so lucky to serve Sumter, working with dogs AND humans to create the best life possible together. With or without this award, we already feel like we win every day! But little awards like this don't hurt. 😉

Thanks so much for your support! ❤️

https://www.theitem.com/bestof2026/ #/gallery/517457113

12/09/2025

I recently read a post from a prominent dog trainer who suggested that if everyone truly understood how positive reinforcement works, there would be no need for tools such as remote collars or prong collars.

In the comments, she added that she regularly achieves the same results using only positive reinforcement as balanced trainers achieve using a wider range of tools.

I have a lot of respect for this trainer. Whether she can achieve those results with the dogs she trains is not for me to say. She’s talented, and I wouldn’t bet against her. It’s not my place to question her accomplishments.

What’s missing from the broader conversation is that we cannot only ask whether reliability can be achieved through positive reinforcement - we also have to ask how *reliably* that reliability can be achieved by the average dog owner. Especially those who are struggling with difficult dogs while managing busy households, kids, and work.

As professional trainers, we have to think in two directions at once. We must consider not only what the dog can learn and perform reliably, but also what the human can learn and perform reliably. A method that produces brilliance in the hands of a professional or the most capable of dog owners may still be too complex or time-consuming for a large percentage of the dog-owning public.

This is the essence of dual reliability: reliability of performance in the dog, and reliability of application in the human. Both matter.

It’s also possible that this trainer truly believes those results are easy and within reach of virtually anyone. If that’s the case, then until I see it, it’s not my place to judge. But regardless, if there is any innovation, clarification, or enhanced understanding of positive reinforcement that improves outcomes by any measure, all of us, regardless of ideology, should be enthusiastic and excited to learn.

Even if you love remote collars, you’ll eventually meet a client who cannot or will not use one. Any deeper understanding of positive reinforcement can only add value to your overall training practice. And if it allows you to reduce your use of tools (in either frequency or intensity), even slightly, that’s still progress worth celebrating.

I deeply value those trainers who push the boundaries of what can be achieved with reward-based methods. Many of them are innovators whose work drives progress across the industry. Balanced trainers often absorb and integrate those innovations. Ideally, we all learn from each other.

But any discussion of reliability needs to include both layers:

Can reliability be achieved?

Can it be achieved reliably by others?

Because if reliability exists only in the hands of a few highly skilled practitioners, it has limited functional value for the average pet owner. As an industry, we must consider both forms of reliability, the kind that’s possible in theory, and the kind that’s reproducible in the real world.

That’s the dual reliability we should all be striving to understand, and the humility that keeps our profession growing.

11/07/2025

If you’re working through reactivity issues, you have to remember you can’t ask your dog to give you something you’re actively sabotaging.

Allowing people and dogs to pressure your reactive dog (regardless of the cause of the reactivity) as your dog is trying to break old patterns and develop new, healthy responses (which is extremely challenging in the best of situations), will ensure that your reactive dog remains reactive.

But, if you do provide the latter — meaning your dog is confidently, calmly, and unapologetically advocated for, and isn’t put into unfair and overwhelming situations — then it’s absolutely fair to demand the former, meaning your dog responds appropriately to non-threatening, non-pressure-filled “interactions”.

If you’ll hold up your end of the deal, then you absolutely should hold your dog to theirs.

11/03/2025

We know the holidays can be a stressful time for the whole family, dogs included! Let us help you and your dog feel confident and carefree going into family gatherings, holiday parties, and special dinners this holiday season!

Don’t wait - our calendar is filling up FAST for the rest of the year! We don’t want you or your pup to miss out! ❤️🐾

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Let’s train together! 🐶

Text: (803) 903-8066
Email: [email protected]
Website: majorwags.com
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10/10/2025

😅😜

10/06/2025

When I soak my dogs food people always ask me why, well here is the exact reason I do it with explanation.

Food on the left is normal dry kibble. Food on the right was vomited 7 hours after feeding time. Can you see how much bigger the food is? That’s because when it hits the stomach and becomes hydrated and digestion starts the food swells up and gets bigger. Also as you can see 7 hours after this food hit the dogs stomach it’s still trying to digest the meal and has still yet to be completed.

If you hydrate the dogs food with warm water you will start the process of it hydrating and becoming bigger making it easier on your dog and their stomach. It takes anywhere from 8-12 hours for your dog to digest dry kibble. If your dog eats raw it takes closer to 6 hours.

Do your dog a favor and soak their food before you feed it to them. And if you have any questions please consult your veterinarian.

Please tag one of your dog friends so they can learn the same thing! (Please don’t tag the picture).

Join me for my LIVE show on the Vermont Dog Trainer YouTube channel