Force-Free Dog Training In Waco, Texas and McLennan County!
Check Out Some Of Our Confident Hounds!
☀️ On Saturdays mornings, we prep for a big day of training sessions by prepping our food rewards.
🍗 Ace is certainly tall enough that he could jump on the counter and surf for some chicken easily. But instead he chooses to lay down nearby.
🚫 This is a reminder that training is NOT about punishing "bad" behavior - anyone can do that!
🧰 Training is about building *new* behaviors that you and your dog both love. Only rewards can BUILD behavior and Ace knows laying down will always pay!💲
Please enjoy some Texas snow zoomies courtesy of Ace ❤️
🐶 Meet Gilligan 😍
🎅 This labradoodle was already on Santa's nice list, but he's really impressed us with what a good boy he can be. His awesome family has worked hard with him these past couple months and it shows!
🎄This particular session we had just introduced "stay". He's so smart that he stayed really well so I could take this adorable picture.
🐕You can see more of him on his IG profile @fluffballgilly
🐕🦺 It's 41° at 8 AM in Central Texas and we honestly wouldn't rather be anywhere but on a walk with our dog.
🧠 Since there isn't much going on at this time of day, that makes this an optimal time for both training and decompression.
🚫 One of the biggest mistakes we see is trying to train your dog in the real-life situations where the unwanted behavior is occurring. We've been there: Trying to train the dog on GAME DAY instead of building those skills during an intentional SCRIMMAGE. If your dog is not responding to the training, that means it's too hard. Always make it as easy and boring as you can to start and then slowly work up to the big game.
🧥 Thanks to @woofcultr for this great sweatshirt. Ace has come a long way with his stranger-danger training. He happily notices people around him, but would still prefer they keep their distance. This sweatshirt helps us focus on training and keep the strangers at bay.
👆Dogs don't worry about how goofy they look when they're having a great time. Let's take a page out of our dog's book.
🥰 Hope your Sunday is as joyful as Cooper rolling in the grass after training!
Happy Thanksgiving from our turkey to yours 😍
🐾 Mia the Mini Aussie
❤️ We got to see this precious girl today. Mia was fearful the first time she met us, but after just an hour of building positive associations we became her best friends. Since then, we've been greeted by big smiles, high fives, and kisses.
🐶 It has been a month since our last visit, so we were expecting she would need a reminder of who we are. Instead, she was SO excited to see us! She couldn't get to us fast enough when she saw our car pull up.
💪 These are the moments I am reminded how powerful positive reinforcement is. It creates lasting change that makes everyone feel happier, safer, and more confident.
👅 The stuffed dog food toy people typically recommend the most is a Kong, but have you heard much about or tried Lickimats? They're wonderful! Lickimats are flat silicone molds.
🧠 Licking some treats and mushy human food like pumpkin puree, peanut butter, or unsweetened applesauce off of a Lickimat can stimulate your dog and fill that emotional cup.
❄️ You can also freeze them just like a Kong! I recommend using cling wrap you can stack them in the freezer to take up less room. Lickimats also come in a "tuff" line with hard bottoms for dogs who might want to nibble a piece of the silicone off.
🚘 We made this one today for a training session with Ralphie who likes to bark at lots of things from inside the car. This can give your dog an activity to enjoy in the back seat that makes it less likely they'll be concerned about what's going on outside the window.
This is a training motto we say to nearly every client. Dogs and humans alike can neither learn nor perform their best under a negative emotional state. In our philosophy, we always prioritize helping dogs feel better first, then work on changing behavior. Here are some common mistakes we see:
🚫 Asking a dog that is nervous to sit or lay down in public only makes them feel more vulnerable and gives you a false sense of security.
👎 Asking a dog that hasn't been exercised or enriched to relax around guests is an unrealistic expectation on your part.
🙅🏻♀️ Asking your dog to heel when they are barking and lunging at another dog is like pissing into the wind.
➡️ Swipe to see ways you can help your dog feel their best so training can focus more on learning fun new things.
Friendly reminder: Reinforcement Drives Behavior.
Want your dog to sit more often?
🥩 Reward them.
Want your dog to walk with a loose leash?
🍪 Reward them.
Want your dog to lay on a mat while you're cooking?
🍓Reward them.
Only rewards can BUILD behavior.
Punishment just suppresses it, meanwhile chipping away at your dog's confidence, enthusiasm for training, and bond with humans.
👕: @woofcultr
🐶 Meet Remington
😍 Remy is a 6 month old Doberman puppy and we're in love. He's working on basic manners and all the typical puppy problems like mouthing, jumping, and dashing out of doors.
🧠 He's as smart as he is handsome and has awesome owners who practice daily, so he will be a star in no time!
👂We're also so glad he'll be keeping his floppy ears. They fit his goofy, cartoon character personality!
🎖️Happy Veterans Day! We are grateful to all veterans for their service and proud to be a veteran-owned business.
🇺🇸 If you didn't know, Mike is not only a co-founder and trainer at The Confident Hound, but also a veteran of the United States Marine Corps. Mike served from 1999-2005 as a Rifleman (0311) in the 4th Light Armored Reconnaissance (LAR). He was deployed to Iraq in April 2003 for 7 months.
❤️ Here is Mike at the Iwo Jima Memorial in Arlington VA with our first dog Artemis. Swipe to see a less salty and younger Mike fresh out of boot camp.
💩 Mike has many USMC/Veteran t-shirts, but his favorite is the one that honors his service at the burn pits. He says this experience prepared him to be a dog trainer, as no dog could ever make a poop that smelled worse than burning feces.
🤝 His time in the Marine Corps also taught him that true leadership doesn’t rely on using fear, punishment, or exerting dominance. The leaders he respected showed respect in return. They gave their subordinates choice and freedom when possible rather than micromanaging their every move. Good leaders rewarded their subordinates efforts and hard work.
🐶 Mike chooses to be this kind of leader by using force-free methods. In this industry, it's rare to find dog trainers with a military background who choose force-free methods. Today we'd like to spotlight other veteran-owned businesses that use force-free methods: @thedomesticateddog and @atattentiondogs. Please check out their socials and show them some support!
🥰 Politely Requesting Interaction
😂 Jedi is a recently adopted Fuzzy Friends dog who has an adorable way of letting you know he would like you to continue petting him. He nudges his nose under your arm to flip your hand back onto him for more scritches! He even taught it to his sister Maggie!
🐶 Dogs often try to engage us in affection/play in ways that is unpleasant, like barking at you, mouthing, or doing anything to get us off the couch.
🔨 Our dogs are using whatever tools they have in their tool belt to communicate. It's a hammer in search of a nail problem, and the solution is to give them more tools!
🤝 Think about what you would consider a "polite" way for your dog to communicate that they need something. It could be things like sitting in front of you, making eye contact, offering a paw to shake, or nudging your hand. If your dog already does something like Jedi, you simply reward that behavior with your interaction (affection, play, walk, brain game, etc)!
🐕 Lovely Luna holds the current client record for Waggiest Tail.
🥰 We love seeing her tail go because it lets us know she's becoming more comfortable about her harness. Plus, she enjoys sitting on her "spot"!
🐾 Luna is a rescue dog who we fell in love with when she was at Fuzzy Friends and now we get the pleasure of training with her, her doggy brothers, and awesome family.
🔹
#theconfidenthound #forcefreetraining #forcefree #fearfreetraining #fearfree #trainwithoutpain #youdonthaveto #ditchthedominance #positivereinforcement #dogtraining #positivedogtraining
#positivedogtrainingmethods #clickertraining #giveyourdogajob #canineenrichment #havefunwithyourdog #sciencebaseddogtraining #snackleadernotpackleader #dogsofinstagram #pupsofinstagram #rescuedogsofinstagram #wacotexas #waco #wacotx
🎃 Halloween time can be fun for humans, but also confusing and even scary for your dog!
🗣️ Join us LIVE on Wednesday (10/21) at 7PM CT (8PM ET) to learn about how you can make this spooky holiday more enjoyable for your dog.
🐕 Whether your dog barks at every doorbell ring or wants to befriend every trick-or-treater, we've got you covered with some helpful tips.
🍬 What plan does your neighborhood have for trick-or-treating this year? Let us know in the comments!
🎉 Doggie Language Book has finally arrived!!!
🐾 We can't wait to use this cute book to teach our clients how to better understand their dog! If you are a dog trainer, dog owner, have kids & dogs, work at a doggy daycare, shelter/rescue, vet or groomer, I highly recommend picking up this book.
👏 Thank you so much to @lilita_yaya for continuing to provide wonderful canine education resources.
🐕🦺 Oct 1st-7th is National Walk Your Dog Week!
🎉 To celebrate, we'll be going LIVE on Instagram Wednesday at 7 PM (CT) / 8 PM (ET) to talk about walks. We'll cover what equipment to use, our favorite products, what to bring with you, how to maximize your walks, and more. So mark your calendars and we will see you then!
🤓 This weekend we are attending (virtually) The Aggression in Dogs Conference to continue our education by learning from experts in the field. About half of our cases involve dog aggression, so we know we'll learn something new to help us continue serving our community.
🥰 Thank you to all our current clients for understanding why we needed to take this weekend off! We are ethically committed to ensuring we provide high quality training and these types of learning experiences help us achieve that standard.
👉 TIP: Whether you work with us or not, we always recommend seeking a certified trainer who prioritizes professional development opportunities like this. A trainer who believes they know everything and doesn't think they have room to grow should be avoided.
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#Repost @thelooseleashacademy
😂 We had a good laugh last night with Nala. Mike has been training her how to use the ArfPets Food Dispenser. Nala's job is to press a button which makes a BOING! sound, which makes the dispenser release food. (To start, Mike is just throwing the food into the tray).
🐶 Well it seems like Nala was enjoying the sound the button makes SO much that she just kept pressing it over and over before going to get her reward! Working with this 8 month old puppy has been awesome and she has come a long way.
🔹
#theconfidenthound #forcefreetraining #forcefree #fearfreetraining #fearfree #trainwithoutpain #youdonthaveto #ditchthedominance #positivereinforcement #dogtraining #positivedogtraining
#positivedogtrainingmethods #choicebasedtraining #powerofchoice
#clickertraining #giveyourdogajob #canineenrichment #havefunwithyourdog #sciencebaseddogtraining #snackleadernotpackleader #dogsofinstagram #pupsofinstagram #goldendoodle #wacotexas #waco #wacotx
Anyone else feel like their dog is an expert at NOT swallowing pills? We've gotten a lot of practice giving pills between going through canine cancer and now having an aging dog with mental health issues. Do you want to hear our tips for successful pill administration? We're going to be doing short Facebook/Instagram Lives more regularly and can add it to our list of quick topics. Let us know in the comments what topics you want us to cover!
About The Confident Hound
Our mission is to build confidence in dogs and their humans so they can make the most of their precious time together.
We have approximately 8 to 15 short years with our dogs. Things like stress, anxiety, fear, frustration and insecurity can take a toll on health and happiness, shortening that time and diminishing your memories together. We want you both to worry less, so you can spend that time enjoying life instead. You both deserve peace of mind, to feel in control, and to have predictability and harmony in your home. We can help make this a reality. We are passionate about helping dogs feel confident in their environment, which in turn helps owners feel confident in their dog and strengthens the human-animal bond. We achieve this through force-free, positive reinforcement-based training methods.
Your Trainers
Lisa Corcoran, VSA-CDT
Lisa is a lifelong lover of dogs, learning new things, and solving puzzles. Her background is in Psychology (B.S., Virginia Tech; M.A., Catholic University of America) and she currently works in the veteran mental health research field. Lisa is a graduate with distinction of the prestigious Victoria Stilwell Academy for Dog Training & Behavior and has been granted official status as a VSA-Certified Dog Trainer (VSA-CDT). Since 2017, Lisa has volunteered weekly at shelters and rescues to rehabilitate dogs looking for good homes.
These experiences help Lisa understand why both her canine and human clients do what they do. Lisa’s detail-oriented nature helps her to identify the cause of your dog’s behavior problems, and her creativity leads to a solution that works for both you and your dog. If you’re looking for a total dog nerd, Lisa is the trainer for you.
Mike Corcoran, CSB-D
Having grown up with dogs that displayed fearful and aggressive behaviors, Mike made it his mission to specialize in helping dogs like these be more confident and content in their surroundings.
Mike’s educational background is in Computer Science (B.S., Mary Washington College; M.S., George Mason University), which gives him a unique perspective of dog behavior problems as being similar to bugs in computer software. Combined with his experience as a rifleman in the United States Marine Corps, where he learned that true leadership doesn’t rely on using fear or punishment, Mike brings a systems-based approach to dog training.
Mike is a Certified Shelter Dog Behavior Consultant (CSB-D) through the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants (IAABC) and recently completed Michael Shikashio’s Aggression in Dogs course.
Get In Touch
Use the social media links above or the form below to contact us!