The Better Companion

06/25/2025

Tuesday snoots!

We hope you enjoyed your sunshine as much as the dogs did 🥰

06/24/2025

Our 15% off sale is still going on through July 1st! Use code: Summersavings on Obedience AND sports classes 🥰

We have classes up for July AND August right now!

We’re heading into summer with a full lineup of dog training classes available through August 2025— don't forget, we’re offering a 15% discount on all group classes now through July 1st, 2025! 🐶✨

🌟 Just launched, NEW classes🌟

🧗‍♀️ Barkour Babies: Parkour for puppies! Build confidence, balance, and body awareness with safe, fun obstacle exploration. Ages 9 weeks to 6 months, ONE puppy play session is included in each weekly Barkour Baby class.

🏙️ Parkour 101 – Urban agility for dogs of all ages. Learn how to safely engage with everyday obstacles like benches, logs, and curbs! Ages 6 months to seniors!

🎯 Jumpstart Juniors: Puppy Agility – A fun, low-impact intro to agility skills for growing pups, designed to build teamwork and foundational fitness. Ages 9 weeks to 6 months, ONE puppy play session is included in each weekly Barkour Baby class.

🌟 Re-Launched🌟

🐾Nosework Beginner - K9 Nose Work® is a new detection-style dog sport, and is designed to develop dogs’ natural scenting abilities by using their curiosity, desire to hunt, and their love of toys, food and exercise. Using NACSW approved training methods, your dog will have fun, build confidence, and burn lots of energy. There’re no restrictions, every dog born with a nose can do it! From high-level competition dogs to lap dogs – all are welcome in this sport!
Nose Work doesn’t require any obedience (it’s sometimes easier without), and because the dogs work one-at-a-time, even reactive dogs can be admitted. While other dogs are working, your dog can be safely kenneled or in your vehicle. A puppy at 12-14 wks of age could start this fun activity, as can elderly and even disabled dogs – and every dog in between.

🐾Nosework Intro to Odor -For K9 Nose Work Beginner graduates.

Dogs with a solid foundation in searching for food can now be transitioned into finding our first specific target odor - birch oil essence.

This class is suitable to help a dog in getting ready to take an ORT (Odor Recognition Test).

🐾Nervous Nellies - Shy Dog - A safe space for sensitive souls.
This gentle, supportive 6-week course is designed specifically for dogs who are shy, cautious, or easily overwhelmed in new environments or around unfamiliar people or dogs.

Whether your dog hides behind you, freezes on walks, or startles at the smallest sound, Nervous Nellies helps them gain confidence, build trust, and feel more in control—at their own pace.

🐾 Trick Dog Novice - Teach fun, impressive tricks while building focus, confidence, and communication!

In this 6-week class, you and your dog will learn a variety of beginner-level tricks and work toward earning your AKC Novice Trick Dog Title (if desired). Trick training is a great way to build your dog’s problem-solving skills, improve teamwork, and strengthen your bond—all while having fun!

🐾 Out and About 101 - Out and About 101 is a 6-week class designed to help dogs develop neutrality and self-control in public spaces. Through guided training sessions in dog-friendly community locations, we focus on building real-world skills your dog can rely on—whether you're walking downtown, visiting stores, or navigating crowds.

🐾 Puppy 1

🐾 Puppy 2

🐾 Foundations - A combination class of our Puppy 1 and Puppy 2, this class is for dogs aged 6 months and older.

🐾 Grade School - For Graduates of our Foundations or Puppy 2 class.

💥 Whether you’ve got a bouncy puppy, a shy adolescent, or an eager adult dog ready for adventure—we’ve got the class for you.💥

📅 Classes are filling fast! Reserve your pup’s spot today and save 15% before July 1st!

📍 Located in Wasilla. 1400 Regine Ave | Positive, fear-free training | All breeds welcome

🔗 www.bettercompanion.com
📞907 357 2521

06/24/2025

Monday daycare faces 🫶🏻🥰

06/23/2025

We had our toenail trim clinic with Yukon Tails Mobile Pet Grooming last Thursday - and had a lot of wonderful humans and pets!

Nail health is critical for your pet’s overall health, but with dark toenails or big dogs we see a lot of hesitation to make mistakes.

We load up with braunschweiger, cheese, hot dogs, lickimats and low stress handling techniques to keep people and pets safe.

Some dogs are food motivated enough that we can even trim them with low to no restraint!

We are always excited to see new and familiar faces with the nail trim clinics. We hold them monthly with Yukon Mobile if you missed this one!

06/23/2025

Poppy graduated her Reliable Recall class today 🥳🎉

Karyl and Poppy have been working hard these last four weeks to curb this cavapoos darting desire when she was in a car or at the front door. They have come such a long way with their training, and Poppy was even able to recall away from her feline sibling!

Our Feisty Fido took their education outside this week ahead of our graduation next week. We spent the last four weeks inside learning how to work the human brain and body to get in touch with their canine’s brain and body.

And today we were able to use our quiet little spot to use the background noise as a distractor without the intensity of it face on.

Good job friends! 🥰

06/22/2025

One of our favorite cues lately has been “Paws Up” or “Feet”!

This is a great way for you to work with your shy, or reactive dogs, by teaching them to look up - or down - and by feeling out new textures, surfaces, or even heights! It builds confidence, and is an easy way for your dog to explore their world through calm pressure.

Forest has been a master at “Feet” lately so we challenged his confidence by adding in the wobbly, small, textured surface to this cue!

1. Builds Confidence Through Structured Engagement
For shy dogs, uncertainty and lack of confidence are major challenges. "Paws up" gives them a specific task with a clear beginning and end. Successfully performing this cue helps the dog feel more in control and competent, which gradually builds confidence in uncertain situations.

• Success = Confidence: Achieving the behavior and getting rewarded reinforces positive emotions.
• Predictable Outcome: The structure of the cue makes unfamiliar or mildly uncomfortable environments more manageable.

2. Encourages Forward, Positive Body Language
Shy or reactive dogs often exhibit avoidance behaviors—crouching, backing away, or freezing. The "paws up" behavior encourages:

• Forward motion: The dog is moving toward an object and interacting with it.
• Uplifted posture: Physically raising the front body can shift emotional state toward curiosity or engagement rather than fear.

3. Reduces Reactivity by Refocusing Attention
For reactive dogs (e.g., those who bark or lunge at triggers), "paws up" provides a distraction and redirection. It engages their brain in a non-reactive task, which can:

• Interrupt the reactive cycle before it escalates.
• Create emotional distance from the trigger through a trained, controlled behavior.

4. Promotes Positive Associations with the Environment
If "paws up" is practiced regularly in different environments—especially near low-level triggers—it helps create positive associations with both the place and the presence of triggers.

• For example: Practicing "paws up" on a park bench while a dog sees distant strangers or dogs can turn a potential stressor into a positive training opportunity.

5. Enhances the Human-Animal Bond
Doing this cue together strengthens the dog’s trust in their person. The cue often requires the dog to be close to or physically interact with their handler (e.g., putting paws on their lap or arm), reinforcing connection and cooperative behavior.

6. Easy to Teach and Low Pressure
"Paws up" is relatively simple to train using luring or shaping. For dogs who are fearful of prolonged touch or sustained eye contact, this cue offers a low-pressure alternative to engagement:

• Doesn’t require holding still for long
• Minimal handling needed
• Fun and interactive

The "paws up" cue is an empowering behavior for shy or reactive dogs. It can:

• Builds confidence
• Redirects reactivity
• Encourages positive body language
• Strengthens the bond between dog and handler

Teaching and practicing this cue consistently can help transform a shy or nervous dog into a more confident, responsive companion—one paw at a time!

06/21/2025

It’s Graduation Week next week for our first class of Nervous Nellie’s!!! 🥳😻

(Pause for a moment. Can we give an amazing shout out to Forest’s mom for being super woman for coming to class just a week after having Forest’s human brother!?! 🦸‍♀️)

This week we worked on noise sensitivity, counter conditioning and opened the floor for the dogs to work TOGETHER by working around one another.

We’ve spent five weeks on calm pressure practice to put it to fruition today to trouble shoot any big feelings they may have - and let us tell you that these dogs are SO different than they were even a month ago.

We are SO proud of the work their humans have put in, it shows with the confidence and skills they displayed today! 🥰

Calm Pressure is different than flooding - when working with shy dogs, you have to be very careful to avoid placing them in a situation that can lead to flooding and learned helplessness.

So, what is calm pressure?

“Calm pressure" is a gentle, patient, and intentional way of helping shy or fearful dogs build confidence and trust in stressful situations—without overwhelming them. It’s a crucial concept in behavior work and is very different from ✨flooding✨ which can backfire and worsen fear.

How can you apply calm pressure?

✨ Staying present ✨ in a situation that the dog finds mildly uncomfortable—but not overwhelming.

✨ Encouraging the dog to stay and process the environment rather than immediately escape or avoid.

✨ Applying gentle, consistent guidance (through body language, leash handling, or proximity) while maintaining a calm, regulated emotional state yourself.

What can calm pressure look like?

🐾 Sitting quietly near a shy dog while reading or talking softly, allowing them to approach you at their pace.
🐾 Encouraging a dog to step just slightly closer to a person or object they’re unsure about, but letting them pause and sniff or retreat briefly if needed.
🐾 Light leash tension to guide a hesitant dog forward, but immediately releasing pressure once the dog moves.

What do we mean by “flooding”?

Flooding is forcing a dog into a full-blown fearful situation without an escape, with the hope that they will “get over it.” This often creates learned helplessness, worsens fear, or causes shutdown.

What can flooding look like?

🐾 Forcing a shy dog to be petted or handled by strangers.
🐾 Holding a dog in a loud environment they clearly can’t handle (e.g., busy street, vet office) with no opportunity to retreat.
🐾 Dragging a fearful dog toward something they’re panicking about.

Calm pressure is about gently encouraging growth, not forcing change.

It’s a slow, respectful way to help shy dogs gain confidence by facing small challenges with your calm support. In contrast, flooding skips the learning process and overwhelms the dog, often doing long-term emotional harm.u

06/21/2025

PHEW. It was a scorcher today 🔥

Our open playtime pups had a blast with the puppy pool but preferred the swamp again this week to dip their dirty toes into.

☔️

06/19/2025

Milo was one of our first grooming clients this week 🫶🏻

This Handsomeme boy was a bit unsure about the blow out and bath, but with some counter conditioning work Milo was acting like a pro in no time.

We had a quick game of fetch after his grooming while waiting for his mom to pick him up 🥰

Good boy Milo!

06/19/2025

Wednesday Daycare 🥰

06/19/2025

For our reactive dog friends 🫶🏻

Guess what? 💭
This one's not as obvious as it sounds.

Let’s say you're walking on opposite sides of the road, heading toward each other. The moment the other dog is directly across from you?
That’s often the closest point, and for many reactive dogs, that’s way too close.
It can be too much for many reactive dogs.

Another tricky moment is when your dog is just beginning to head up and over that threshold, their emotions are bubbling,.....and you keep heading in the direction you had planned.
But that’s exactly where the trigger is.

We can’t stick rigidly to a walk such as..... “we’re going north, then turning back.”
If there’s a problem ahead, the plan needs to change.

Even if the trigger is usually at a safe distance, today might be different.
...and now? Maybe you’re stuck. It happens to us all.

Even if the trigger is at a distance your dog can normally handle, today might be different.

Block vision (if at all possible).
If you know your dog is at that tipping point and you can see issues around....

✅ Block vision if you can
➡️ Slip behind a car
✅Scatter some high-value treats to get that nose working
➡️Pop behind a bin

This is not a long term strategy... but in "that" moment, it can help prevent a full blown reaction when the environment surprises you.

Every reaction adds a little more fuel to the next.
So we need to do everything we can to avoid them

These small and simple tricks can make a big difference with reactive dogs.