Ellen The Dog Trainer

13/05/2025

I hope all the Dog Moms reading this had a wonderful Mother's Day. I celebrated with my beloved Skittles and it was a precious weekend.

If you catch my FB posts, you know this coming Sunday May, 18 in San Luis Obispo, Farm Supply and I are hosting another FREE dog training clinic! I love to share with our community what I have spent years learning through educational opportunities, through some amazing mentors and most of all, through the experiences of working with my clients: human and canine.

I can’t tell you how many times I think about my early days as a trainer - of what I thought I knew then and what I am very sure I know now - and all of the experiences and classes, people and dogs, workshops and conferences in between. The biggest lesson I’ve learned: there is always more to learn! Always.

You know we’ve all come a long way since the early days of “owning a dog.” We can now learn from MRI imaging, and heart rate monitoring, genetic testing, and a plethora of humane research studies specific to the life of a domesticated canine: our pet dogs.

And our dogs have come a long way, too. They have learned to fit into urban apartments, or HOA neighborhoods, to hear daily UPS trucks and surprise doorbells; they have learned to walk on slippery laminated floors and to ride with seatbelts.

They have learned our behavior, too! For example, Skittles has learned when I pick up my phone or laptop and stare at it, my attention is no longer available. Perhaps, my lesson should be to stop staring at those devices so much.

We are all constantly learning: changing our behaviors based on experiences; conditioning our behaviors, adapting to conditions operantly and reflexively, too. it's how we've evolved and survived, both human and canine.

The Reduce Reactivity clinic is one of my favorites as it almost always serves to be an eye opener and an opportunity for normal everyday dog guardians to learn more. Past attendees tell me they come home to not only see their dog’s behavior differently, but their own, too. They see the environment differently and how they use the leash. In general, they learn more about their dog, and their relationship with them.

If you live on the Central Coast, I hope you can join us. I’ll be covering a lot of info, but here are some specifics on what you can learn at the clinic.

* Micro-signals before barking or lunging.
* Specific techniques for tight spaces.
* How equipment can make a huge difference.
* Identifying your own behavior that may cause a reaction.
* Never having to ask "is your dog friendly?"
* Looking for pain as the root cause.

Dogs are great teachers in this life. Come join me to learn more about what your dog could be teaching you.
https://ellenthedogtrainer.com/reduce-reactivity-clinic/

03/05/2025

Woo hoo! Farm Supply and I are back with another FREE dog training event!

Register now for Reduce Reactivity, a FREE clinic in SLO on Sunday, May 18.

24/04/2025

Walking Your Dog...

It’s Spring! Although where we live on the Central Coast, the weather doesn’t have to determine if or when we walk our dogs; it's beautiful almost year round! But springtime is an ideal time to get out there and bask in the glory of all the green against our blue skies.

Now, I’ll admit that I'd rather write a headline that reads: "Going with Your Dog for a Walk" or "Walking With Your Dog" or "It’s Your Dog’s Walk." But "Walking The Dog" is how many of us approach this experience: we go out the door to walk our dog, as if they can’t walk without us.

Now it is true that most can’t go for a walk without us. City laws require our dogs to be on a 6-foot leash. Many of our dogs would take off running, or get hit by a car, or get lost in the neighborhood, or maybe bite another dog, person, or animal if they were not attached to us. So there is an unequivocal logic to walking the dog for all of those reasons, and a few more, I’m sure.

A Different Perspective

But what is it about the perspective “Walking Your Dog” that gets in the way of a walk being a beneficial and enjoyable experience for both us and the dog? Could taking the approach of "we’re doing our dog a favor by walking them" actually prevent us from seeing opportunities to bond, to support, to increase trust, maybe in ways other than a traditional walk?

I know this might sound like I am way overthinking the simple act of taking our dog for a walk, but after many years of working with dogs and their families who struggle with this great American pastime, I honestly don’t think I’m digging too deep. The walk for so many of us is as emotionally and mentally challenging as it is physically. If there is any pulling, discomfort, or reactivity, it can build resentment, disappointment, fear, and even anger. The walk then becomes a dreaded obligation! And yet, so many of us repeat this uncomfortable act every single day.

Make Walking Enjoyable - This Sunday's FREE Clinic

If this sounds like your experience, or if you’d like to make sure your walks don’t become a daily challenge, please join me and Farm Supply Company in Arroyo Grande this Sunday from 10 - 11:30 AM for our first FREE clinic of 2025.

Our clinic will help you learn how to walk with your dog and how to teach your dog to walk with you. Plus, we’ll cover these three cornerstones to understanding more about The Walk.

* Top 3 reasons why most dogs pull on a leash, plus a few more after that!

* How to properly use a leash and other walking equipment. (There's more to it than you would expect!)

* Learn how to spot what is important to your dog on his or her walk.

If you can, join us THIS SUNDAY, April 27, from 10 - 11:30 AM at Farm Supply in Arroyo Grande (1079 El Camino Real, Arroyo Grande) for our FREE walking clinic.

One Easy Walking Tip

If you are unable to attend, I’ll leave you with this very simple tip to practice while walking your dog: breathe! I know, you might be laughing because writing that word made me laugh. But it’s true!

In fact, one of my all-time favorite videos is instructing a client to take a breath while watching his dog, who had stopped on their walk. In the video, you can hear me say, “take a breath,” to which he replies, “What?” (He was nervous, worried his dog was going to react, and was holding his breath.) I repeated, “take a good breath,” and guess what happened… his dog Luna, a beautiful, young black Lab, took in a big deep breath, exhaled, turned her head, and moved on (choosing not to over-react)!

Of course we’ll cover more than being conscience of breathing, but if a good exhale and moving on works for the Luna’s of the world, it can certainly help us humans, too.

https://ellenthedogtrainer.com/walking-your-dog/

19/04/2025

I love dogs.

17/03/2025

It’s tick season again! This is absolutely my favorite tool to remove 100% of a tick from your dog’s body (or yours, too). But it from your local pet store, where possible.

16/01/2025

Thanks Tashi for this update from Woods.

🚨SUPPORTER UPDATE🚨 Today, Woods Humane Society’s intake team traveled to Los Angeles County to transport 17 animals from one of the dedicated emergency animal shelters serving those affected by the ongoing fires.

Since this disaster began, County of Los Angeles Department of Animal Care and Control has taken in hundreds of pets displaced by the devastating blazes. For our role in the relief effort, Woods was able to provide basic pet supplies to the emergency shelter and transfer out dogs and cats who had been in the animal shelter prior to the emergency. This makes room in the LA shelters for pets temporarily separated from their owners and unhoused by the ongoing destruction.

We are in communication with other animal shelters serving impacted areas in LA and, thanks to your generosity and support, are ready to deploy our transport team again as needed.

If you are not already a supporter, please consider joining our Circle of Compassion monthly sustainer program, which enables us to act without hesitation when disasters like these strike and pets are in desperate need. Join at https://gcld.co/8ZjMrGP (link in stories).