Is Your Dog Giving You A Hard Time? Or Is Your New Puppy More Than You Bargained For?
Whether your current pup has developed into a difficult roommate or your new one is more of a handful than you expected, training can feel daunting if you don’t know where to start. That’s where we come in – we offer expert at-home training for dogs and puppies in the Waco area.
Our focus is on building confidence in your dog and giving you the tools for success. We want to help you create a happy, healthy, and well-mannered companion that will make your family proud. Training your dog doesn’t have to be hard or frustrating – let us show you how easy and fun it can be!
Read on to find the perfect at-home training program for you!
What Our Confident Clients Are Saying
My shelter dog, Maggie, and I have learned so much thanks to Mike and Lisa. They taught me how to deal with behaviors like fence aggression which is no longer an issue!
~ Marilyn M.
My experience with The Confident Hound gave me the confidence and skills needed to become the best dog owner I could be.
~ Claire O.
The Confident Hound has done so much for our dog! He has come a long way from the over-the-top barking pup to a friend-to-everyone goofy Golden.
~ Anne L.
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Having a dog who struggles meeting new people can be embarrassing and isolating.
I`ve been there with both Artemis & Ace, so I understand first-hand how it can make a lot of things difficult: Having repairs or construction done at home, going to vet visits, hiring a dog walker or sitter so we can travel, or even hosting friends and family. Even for homebodies like us, it was often a source of stress.
Through formal education and personal experience, I`ve learned that meeting more people is not actually the answer. The reality is that your dog doesn`t need to become friendly with the majority of people that enter your home. It`s way more important that your dog become *unbothered* by the presence of visitors.
For this reason, I have my Stranger Danger Rehab clients fill out my Visitor Protocol. It outlines three main types of visitors and what strategies to use for each type. Ace is never going to see this A/C technician again and he was gone within 30 minutes, so it`s just not worth my training energy to have them meet. I simply use physical barriers and enrichment in those situations to help the dog feel comfortable enough to behave normally, like taking a nap.
As a result, I have more bandwidth to do training games with visitors who are more likely to become Ace`s future best friend. In the past couple years, Ace has added 4 of our family members into his social circle. Now I look forward to their visits instead of being filled with anxiety!
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🗳️ POLL: How does your dog respond to new visitors in your home?
👇🏻 Please let me know! I`m curious to see how your answers compare to the data I`ve collected from clients.
💤 Struggling with sleepless nights because of your new puppy? Raising a puppy is tiring and you`ll need restful nights to be the best version of yourself.
✨ Swipe through to learn my top strategies for creating a soothing bedtime routine for my puppy clients.
Hang in there—your dedication will soon bring peaceful nights and a happy, well-rested pup! 💤🐾 If you’re a new or soon-to-be puppy parent, don’t miss out on my Puppy Primer Guide. It’s designed to make the early days of puppy ownership easier and provide the support you need. 🌟
Comment “puppy primer” to get your hands on this digital guide and start enjoying the journey with your new puppy.
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Ace works hard daily to keep his position as Chief Floof Officer (CFO)
Why "No" Isn`t In My Dog Training Vocabulary 🚫
Of all the training cues that I teach to dogs, "No" has never been one of them. Dogs can only learn the meaning of words that are tied to a specific experience. If you teach your dog to "sit", they learn that this word is a request for the seated position. That behavior is something they can actually DO. Whereas the word "No" simply indicates the absence of something they`re doing. It gives no information about what is the correct choice to make in that moment.
We might know what we mean by "No" in a given moment (e.g., Stop jumping on me, Don`t steal that shoe, I don`t want to play right now), but dogs can`t understand this vague request. Even if they could, the dog would still have to guess which behavior in that moment to stop doing. Moreover, that answer seems to change every time the word "No" is used!
However, an affirmative cue can shift the dog from having to answer a multiple choice question to knowing exactly what you want. Here`s the replacement for the examples used above:
*** When NO means "Stop jumping on me" --> Teach the OFF cue to mean "move your paws down from the surface you are currently on".
*** When NO means "Don`t take that shoe" --> Teach the DROP cue to mean "release that object from your mouth".
*** When NO means "I don`t want to play right now" --> Teach the ALL DONE phrase to signal "this activity is ending now". 🚫 "No" simply doesn`t reliably work to accomplish your training goals. Both dogs and humans are the most successful when given specific information that guides us to the correct answer, then rewarded for making that choice.
Ready to ditch "No" and see real results? Waco Dog Parents can comment "dog training" to get started on their training journey! 🐶💡
#theconfidenthound #wacotexas #wacotx #wacotown #dogsofwaco #dogsoftexas #dogbehavior #dogbehaviour
#dogtraining101 #puppytraining101 #dogtrainingadvice #dogtrainingtips #puppytrainingtips #puppysocialization #forcefreedogtraining
Did you know that we offer a variety of FREE resources to help you find solutions to your dog’s undesirable behaviors or reach your training goals? Comment "free resources" to help you get started off on the right paw.
#theconfidenthound #wacotexas #wacotx #wacotown #dogsofwaco #dogsoftexas #dogbehavior #dogbehaviour
#dogtraining101 #puppytraining101 #dogtrainingadvice #dogtrainingtips #puppytrainingtips #puppysocialization #forcefreedogtraining
🐾 How I Fit Training Into Daily Life 🐾
I was talking to my husband in his office, when our dog Ace started barking at landscapers he could see through this window. I acknowledged what he saw and thanked him for doing such a good job of protecting us from the threat of leaf blowers.
Ace didn`t move on as easily as he normally does, so I decided to take advantage of this training opportunity. I found the nearest treat jar and skipped looking for a clicker - my verbal marker of "Yes" will do fine. I opened the shudders for a better view and started playing one of my favorite training games - Look At That! This game is my go-to for improving a dog`s feelings about sights and sounds that bother them.
We probably only did 3-5 repetitions of the game before my husband had to take a work call, and that`s totally fine! A few small moments each day is better than nothing. By simply adopting this mindset, it`ll feel so much easier to get started. As someone with ADHD, I truly understand that struggle.
Once I ended the mini-session, I closed the shudders to prevent additional barking and led Ace away for some pets and scritches. Then he took a nap!
Setting aside a few minutes each day to proactively work on your training goals is still the best course of action. But little moments like this are also great for bringing you closer to your goals!
#theconfidenthound #dogtrainingadvice #dogtraining101 #dogmoms #puppytrainingtips #dogbehavior #atomichabits #wacotexas #wacotx #wacotown #dogsofwaco