Barktastic Behavior

12/10/2025

😂😂

12/10/2025

🐾 Why “Place” Training is a Game-Changer for Puppies (and Their Humans!) 🐾

Meet Ruben, a 4-month-old Border Collie puppy who’s already mastering two of my favorite foundation skills: Place and Stay. This simple behavior brings so much peace and structure into a dog’s world — and into yours!

✨ Benefits of Place Training:

• Helps puppies settle when visitors arrive
Instead of jumping, barking, or getting overly excited, your dog learns exactly what to do when the doorbell rings. “Place” gives them a clear, confidence-building job.

• Creates a portable relaxation zone
Going to a new environment? Bring your pup’s Place mat with you! It instantly gives them something familiar, predictable, and calming no matter where you are.

• Encourages calm behavior during downtime
Whether you’re watching TV, working from home, or eating dinner, Place becomes your dog’s cue to relax and self-regulate — a huge life skill for young pups.

• Builds duration, impulse control, and focus
Every successful Stay teaches your dog how to settle, ignore distractions, and make good choices. And yes… even energetic Border Collie puppies can learn this!

• Makes real-life situations easier
From vet visits, to outdoor patios, to holiday gatherings — having a solid Place behavior makes outings smoother and reduces stress for both ends of the leash.

Ruben is off to an incredible start, and I’m so proud of the confidence and calm he’s building at such a young age. ❤️🐾
Positive reinforcement + clear communication = truly happy pups.

12/07/2025

Certified. Compassionate. Science-Based.

Feeling grateful to do what I love — helping dogs and their humans build trust, confidence, and communication through positive reinforcement. 🐾💛

I’m proud to hold the following professional certifications:

✨ KPA-CTP — Karen Pryor Academy Certified Training Partner
✨ CPDT-KA — Certified Professional Dog Trainer–Knowledge Assessed
✨ AKC CGC Evaluator — Canine Good Citizen

These credentials represent hundreds of hours of education, hands-on practice, and continuing professional development, all grounded in humane, evidence-based training methods.

If you’re looking for training that feels good for your dog — and actually works — I’d love to help.
💛 Compassionate.
🐶 Science-backed.
✨ Force-free.

12/05/2025

Pip loves her people, all you need to do is say her name and her tail is a wagging! ❤️🐾

12/04/2025

Great read for owners with dogs between 6 months - 3 years 🐾

PSA: Your puppy is not an ADULT DOG until they are 2 or 3 years old! Some breeds mature slower, some faster, but your dog still has a LOT of maturing to do after puppyhood has past.

I often meet people who expect A LOT of their young dog as soon as they’re done teething, or they’re fully potty trained, or they reach 6, 9, or 12 months. They think “Okay, puppyhood is past. My dog is now an adult” and start to ask the dog for a TON of obedience, or they expect their young dog to be less playful or to rest more quickly.

And while I understand where this is coming from, I urge you to think twice and give your dog some grace!

After puppyhood comes ADOLESCENCE. Adolescence in dogs, just like in human kids, is a tumultuous time where the brain lends itself more towards impulsivity and “act first, think later” behavior. This stage may last up to 2 or 3 years for some dogs, and when they are in the thick of it during adolescence they literally DON’T have the emotional regulation in place to make good choices as much as we’d like them to.

Dogs at this age benefit greatly from even MORE patience, and the opportunity to continue regular socialization time with their peers (just like it’s NORMAL for human teens to be around their friends a lot!). Dogs this age need to be set up for success just as much as young puppies, even though they may start to LOOK like adults.

Please, your dogs are only young once. One day you’re going to be looking into the soulful eyes of your 13 year old senior dog and wishing you could have their puppyhood and adolescence back. Don’t rush your dog’s growing up.

Featuring the lovely Twinkle whose owners have been hard at work with her throughout puppyhood and adolescence!

12/04/2025

The puppies 🦮 sure brought the cuteness tonight to session 4 of Barktastic’s AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy Class! Tonight we learned all about:

🐾Loose-leash Walking
🐾5 Rules of Recall
🐾Jumping Prevention
🐾Touch
🐾Giving Attention to Handler

Watching these pups excel in their weekly training has been very reinforcing, to say the least.

Adorable Thumper is a available for adoption through Waupaca Humane- Humane Society of Waupaca County 🐾

🐕 Now enrolling classes for January 2026, contact Barktastic today for more info
Barktasticbehavior.com

11/27/2025

🙏THANKSGIVING EDITION 🙏

Meet The Barktastic 4:
🐾Ella Bean

Ella Bean came into our lives during the height of COVID summer of 2020. An old coworker turned friend got very ill and could no longer care for Ella as she’s a high energy vizsla mix. His dying wish was I find a good home for her; my husband and I decided that loving Ella was the least we could do to honor my friend ❤️

Ella Bean has taught us SO many lessons, the most important being the role of fairness and respect. 👑 Queen Bean has enriched our lives just by being her determined, fearless self. Thank you and love you Ella Bean Burrito ❤️

11/27/2025

❤️Thankful for my family, friends and clients❤️

Everyone have a happy and safe Thanksgiving

11/25/2025

Proud to be KPA ❤️

We are part of the steering committee for the Joint Standards of Practice (JSOP) coalition. We are pleased to share that the coalition has recently updated the Standards of Practice, and they now align more closely with the professional standards we uphold at Karen Pryor Academy. While KPA will continue to maintain our own comprehensive standards for Certified Training Partners, the revised JSOP Standards are now close to the benchmarks we have always promoted. This update is a positive step for the broader training community, bringing industry-wide standards even closer to the principles of skillful, positive-reinforcement training.

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The Joint Standards of Practice: Strengthening Standards Through Collaboration

We’re proud to share new updates to the Joint Standards of Practice (JSOP), a collaborative effort uniting leading organizations in the animal training and behavior field. Since 2018, the JSOP has promoted science-based, humane, and ethical practices across the profession. Endorsed by IAABC, APDT, Karen Pryor Academy, ADI, Grisha Stewart Academy, Science Matters, Understand Horses, Victoria Stilwell Academy, and the IAABC Foundation, this shared framework supports professional integrity and animal well-being. The latest updates reflect our evolving understanding of learning and behavior and reaffirm our commitment to a unified, compassionate approach. More updates and opportunities for feedback are coming in the new year. We look forward to continuing this journey—together: https://bit.ly/4nYnmE7

11/23/2025

🐾Everybody meet my adorable 🐶 friend Daisy, she’s a spunky 6 month Golden Retriever pup. Daisy has LOTS of energy 🔥, we’re working to implement calming behaviors to help offset her on-the-go mindset.

🐾We’ve been very careful to not give Daisy affection when she’s unable to handle it- she gets SO excited around people that affection can make her go from relatively calm to crazy instantly. To help Daisy, we practice:

🐾Deliberate, slow movements to help prevent jumping and nipping, especially when Daisy’s excited

🐾Scent games and other enrichment options to keep her mind and nose busy

🐾Training sessions focusing on calm including, down, place and stay

Are you welcoming a 4 legged friend into your home this holiday season? 🎄 Contact Barktastic today to ensure a smooth transition for you AND your dog 🐶

11/13/2025

Watch Fillmore and Brooke Vanden Boomen nail a 20 ft Sit/Stay combined with a 10ft Recall! Awesome job Team Fillmore! 🐾

Barktasticbehavior.com