Smartypaws LLC

31/10/2025

31/10/2025

🎃Halloween Tip: Keep your pets confined and away from doors that will be open and closed frequently.🎃

14/10/2025

100%! It can actually create reactivity and be pretty stressful for your dog to obsess, fixate and go crazy while staring out the window. A simple or pretty window cling can stop the stressful behavior loop.

🚨HELP !!! My dog barks at everything moving past the window !!!!🚨

🔔 Common problem, especially when dogs seem to “like” to spend time by the windows (or glass doors) looking out.

🤔People often think their dogs enjoy watching the world that way (they can do), so quite commonly a designated dog chair gets placed right by the window (door).

🤨But what IF this type of exposure to things outside is stressing your dog out ???

🤨What IF your dog reacts to everything moving and it adds to their anxiety?

🤨What if this visual stimuli (trigger) fuels the barking, which is rooted in anxiety/ stress / frustration ?

🤨And what IF this goes on for hours, day it a day out??? Can you see how this could easily cause chronic stress to your dog?

Before you seek help of a professional (which is always recommended) to remedy this behaviour (which at this point may be deeply rooted and needs to be modified, not “trained out”), try applying a window film to the window (door) to block the virtual triggers, and see if that helps your dog a bit. There is a wide variety of semi transparent and colourful window films available online, and not only they work, they can also give you a stylish vibe to your home.

😇My dogs can be triggered by people walking past the window, which is extremely rare but does happen, so this solution absolutely works for them 😎

➡️Management of your environment is the first key step to success in dog training/ behaviour modification.

13/10/2025

8 month old “puppy”!
Guess what behaviors or skills these pawrents called Smartypaws to solve with their adolescent dog?
Tell us in the comments:

12/10/2025

It's movement, emotion, and escalation.
All in a split second.
Or it can take much longer.

Think of it as pressure rising. They are simmering and about to boil over.
That absolute focus on that trigger.

What did they do just before?
Ears move from forward to slicked back?
Maybe they were sticking right up?
Were they already showing signs they were starting to escalate?

What did you do just before?
Did you inadvertently walk directly at a trigger?
Push them just a little further because they were doing well (we have all been there).

Maybe you were both taken by surprise?
That happens to us all. Yep even trainers.
We can set up everything for a positive and "controlled" exposure session but the unexpected can always happen.
Always.

Being aware of loading can give you some power.
It also can give you options, but the time to put those options into play is rapidly closing, which is why it is so important to see the signs before this happens.

There's a lot of stages and changes before loading.

We just need to spot them

07/10/2025

When you bring home a puppy, it’s tempting to think your new pup is a blank slate. In reality, nothing could be further from the truth. Your puppy’s brain has already been shaped by genetics, their mother’s experiences, pregnancy conditions, and the care they received in their earliest weeks. These early influences wire the brain for learning, calmness, and resilience or, in some cases, for reactivity and anxiety.

At birth, puppies have lots of neurons but messy connections. As they grow, unused links are trimmed away while important ones are strengthened and insulated, making signals travel faster.

The more flexible the brain, the better a dog can adapt, recover from stress, and make safe choices.

That means a mum who was stressed, poorly nourished, or unwell can pass those effects on to her litter. Stress during pregnancy can prime puppies to be more noise-sensitive, anxious, or reactive before you ever meet them.

First Puppy Milestones:

0–2 weeks: new-born reflexes only.
2–3 weeks: eyes and ears open; startle reflex begins.
3–8 weeks: play, mobility, first interactions with people and dogs.

“Socialisation” isn’t about meeting every dog or every person. It means:

🐾The right experience, at the right intensity, at the right time.
🐾Staying below the puppy’s fear threshold.
🐾Including everyday life surfaces, sounds, grooming, car rides, alone-time.

Too little exposure leads to fear. Too much, too soon creates panic. Just right builds curiosity and confidence.

Puppies raised in high-stress, crowded environments (such as large commercial breeders) often show house-soiling, noise sensitivity, and even aggression later. Puppy raised in isolation such as a shed or a barn are just as likely to develop behavioural problems.

Good breeders:
Keep mum healthy, low-stress, and well-fed (omega-3s).
Provide regular gentle handling.
Plan gradual, positive exposures to everything between weeks 3–14.

The breeder role is everything: they are in charge of setting the foundation for resilience.

06/10/2025

More sweet sugar faces! 💞
Why do these dogs over 5+ years old need training?

We’ve been working with quite a few adult dogs whose older housemates/siblings have crossed the 🌈rainbow bridge. In the absence of their siblings, the parents have discovered the surviving dog lacks confidence and doesn’t really know some important cues like “come”! They just followed their friend’s lead.

Smartypaws training will build your dogs confidence, consistency and most importantly - comfort in their new role and family relationships.

Contact us today to learn more! 816-743-4077 [email protected]

03/10/2025

Phoebe’s story: 🐶
🐾Before Smartypaws: Help! 😫 “We are cleaning potty accidents almost daily and when we call her to come, she runs away!”😖

🐾2 weeks later after one session with Smartypaws: “We’ve only had one accident in 2 weeks 🥳, and she came to us when we called her away from the person at the door!” 🥳🤩🤗

Our second session we continued training for more challenging recalls, introduced walking nicely on leash, not picking up everything on the ground (rocks, grubs, acorns, cicadas, etc.), and dropping items that do get picked up. Also, built some duration into her down so we could take this picture AND start working on settling/relaxing.

🛑STOP struggling! Get started training with Smartypaws today. 816-743-4077 Smartypaws.net

18/09/2025

09/09/2025

❓Have questions training your deaf and/or blind dog?
‼️Smartypaws has the answers! We’ve been training dogs with various impairments and disabilities for decades!

Winston here is a big, blind boy who was recently adopted. Thankfully, his moms realized from the start that along with extra patience, they’d need Smartypaws expert guidance and support. From preparing to bring him home, help him acclimate to his new environment, and start training and building trust, we’ve given him the most comfortable transition possible.

He is currently learning how to safely navigate his new home freely, gently take treats, stop and listen for directions when he hears his name, turn right or left on cue, come when called, back up, wait, and loose leash walk confidently with his partner guiding him.

From clumsy and excessively kenneled to confident canine companion, Winston is living his best life now!
Contact us now to build the best life for your pup! 816-743-4077 Smartypaws.net

08/09/2025

Here’s some discussion that people don't want to hear. Not all dogs like young children. And that’s OK.

We need to normalize this.

Small children are weird from a dog’s perspective. They do things such as make loud sounds, unpredictable movements, chasing, grabbing, and have no concept personal space.

As a professional dog trainer, one of my own dogs is not comfortable with young kids.

And that is okay.

Heck, many adult humans don't like small children. And you don't see anyone trying to force them to hang out at the playground 😂😂

Our job shouldn't be to force dogs to love children. It’s to respect their personal boundaries and keep everyone safe and happy.

And if that means keeping our dog away from young children and saying "no thank you" when someone asks to pet them, then that's what we need to do to be our dog's best advocate.

06/09/2025

Did you have a cup of coffee or tea this morning?
Did you call a friend to catch up?
Watch your favorite show on Netflix?
Take a painkiller when you had a headache?
Go to the gym?
Treat yourself after dinner?
You probably did multiple of these. You can take care of your own needs whenever you choose.
Your dog cannot.
Your dog cannot decide to meet their social needs. They cannot go outside and walk off their energy. They cannot grab a snack or a chew when they’re bored.
They cannot call a doctor when they don’t feel well. They cannot choose to go for a run, see their friends or go swim on their own.
Dogs are captive animals. They depend on us to meet EVERY need in their lives.
And what amazes me is how patient and hopeful they are about it.
They wait for us to take them on a walk. They wait for us to fill their bowl. They wait for us to give them play, comfort, and care.
Sometimes, we forget how extraordinary this relationship is. We forget the sheer weight and privilege of being someone’s entire world.
It's a huge, precious responsibility.
Their lives are so short. And in that short time, they rely on us for everything. And yet they do it SO joyfully, meeting us each day with hope, love, and excitement.
In return, they give us friendship, fun and endless happiness.
Take a moment to just appreciate how extraordinary that is.
So here’s my challenge to you: stop scrolling.
Close Facebook. Put your phone down.
And just take your dog for another walk (today, and every other single day.)
Don’t leave them crated for hours on end. Give them chances to run, sniff, chew, play, and just be your friend.
Because remember: they cannot do ANY of this on their own. Not one single thing. Every need they have depends on you.
Their whole precious life is in your hands.
It's your amazing privilege to make it the very best one.
With the most walks, games, adventures, playtimes and memories.
Don’t ever waste that chance to make it the most amazing life.