Better Together K9

05/21/2026

Decompression walk, Sniffari, dog led walks.. all say the same thing.

what's important is location, if you have a reactive dog- walking in quiet areas where your dog can "let their hair down" is important. Country roads, business parks, empty parking lots, industrial areas are all great options to check out for your dog. put them on a long leash and check out your own yard, but do it together ❤️

*some walks should absolutely be training walks, but some should definitely be relaxing walks*

Where is your dog's favorite decompression space?

05/09/2026

I hope everyone finds as much joy as Garvan does ♥️

Garvan loves being told he is the smartest boy and physical touch.

What brings your dog joy?

05/06/2026

Take your turn training is one of my favorite things to work on with our new fosters. For lots of reasons but most importantly impulse control.

My resident dogs can model good behavior, my fosters learn to wait your turn.

Does your dog have impulse control?

05/01/2026

"Dogs are not volunteers, they are drafted." -suzanne clothier

Whether that is a dog sport, or a lifestyle. They have very little say. I don't do dog sports, but I do lean on my dogs to help me raise great fosters.

In exchange for their service, I make sure they are fairly compensated for their time and effort. Taking note of favorite treats, activities and outings they enjoy.

What have you drafted your dogs for?

Mine are helper dogs for reactive dogs, they're foster helpers and guinea pigs for new training games.

Their compensation is pack walks with dogs who dont bark at them, field trips to new parks for new smells and dedicated one on one engagement from me.

04/15/2026

I just finished reading a book on creating success for your adopted dog.

If you're thinking of adopting, or have already adopted and your dog is having a hard time. If you foster. Read this book. It's short, it's clear and it has great suggestions to support your new friend.

RESCUE LOGIC: Stop Guessing Their Past. Start Building Their Present.

03/18/2026

Mini's hobbies include doing things with mom

Betty's hobbies include staring at mom like shes stupid.

Both are correct, both are celebrated (most of the time)

02/06/2026

What if you reframed "my dog is distracted" to "my dog focuses on what's important to her"?

Was Mini distracted from paying attention to me? Absolutely, you can see in real time where the game we were playing fell off her radar.

Was Mini focused on what was important to her? Absolutely, there was an ice fisherman existing 200 feet away from us. She's a guardian breed dog, genetically it is appropriate for her to clock the weird dude sitting on a bucket on HER lake. That was immediately more important than my games. Focus off me, focus on weird guy.

Spinning and frolicking takes a backseat to safety for Mini and that's ok. I will continue to celebrate when she offers engagement after losing focus on me and I'll keep showing her focus on me is valuable. Watch her slowly shift her focus back to me and less on the guy.

Remember the things you want your dog to focus on and the things your dog wants to focus on aren't always the same thing. A little grace and a little space goes a long way to building and maintaining a relationship with your pup.

What pulls your dog's focus from you? How do you convince them to come back to you?

01/30/2026

What are your dog's preferences? What do they love? What makes them nervous? What are their hobbies? What do you do with that information?

Betty (the husky) gets nothing out of heeling, she'll do it if I ask, but if her whole walk was heeling, she'd probably burn the house down. Independence is her thing, she really only needs me for my thumbs and access to the outside. Betty prefers a treat tossed for her to chase down. Her hobbies include hiking and sunbathing. She doesnt love over the top playing and dogs that run into her. If she had a job, she'd be a travel blogger, keep up.

Mini (the corso) is always heeling, even without a leash. New people make her nervous and she has no problem using me as a human shield. She prefers doing things together, loves training and brings a level of spirit fingers to every thing we do. Mini prefers a treat delivered to her mouth. Her hobbies include, watching the world go by and carrying shoes. She doesn't love unpredictable people and dogs who stare. If she had a job, she'd be a security guard, like the guy who watches the video screens but doesnt actually have to *do* the security stuff.

Dogs natural skills and talents play into what makes training successful! What are your dogs hobbies?

01/26/2026

01/24/2026

When Amazon sends an obnoxiously large box, we use it for busy time during a deep freeze!