Force-Free Dog Training In Waco, Texas and McLennan County!
Check Out Some Of Our Confident Hounds!
🧘🏻♀️Everyone wants their dog to settle down and relax, but have you actually taken a moment to TEACH your dog how? Relaxation is truly a skill, so there's a reason this is one of our most commonly taught behaviors.
🐶 If you want your dog to have this skill, pick a mat or bed to practice with. Reward your dog with a treat for any interaction with the "place" to start. Once they're reliably getting on the mat, cue them to lay down and reward again.
🗣️ Keep practicing until they do the whole process seamlessly, then give it a name! Ella's cue is "Go To Your Place", but our dog Ace knows this game as "Chill Out". You can really get creative with this cue!
✨ TRAINING MINDSET TIP ✨
because your #mindsetmatters
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Don't take your dog's behavior personally.
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This was probably the biggest mindset shift that I've undergone. I went from being frustrated, offended, and embarrassed by my dog's behavior to feeling more in control of our future and having more clarity in our training.
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Easier said than done, right? Well here are some facts that helped me think differently:
1️⃣ Dogs lack morality, which means they actually NEVER 'know what they did was wrong'.
2️⃣ Dogs do what works. They don't waste their time on behaviors that aren't useful in achieving their goal.
3️⃣ I'm the one with the bigger brain and who took on the responsibility of caring for this dog. It's up to me to figure out how I can help my dog succeed.
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Take this mindset challenge one day at a time. The next time your dog pees on your bed, chews on your shoe, or doesn't come when called, try asking these two questions:
❓What's an explanation for this behavior that isn't personal?
❓What change can I make so it doesn't happen again?
👍 Dogs Do What Works.
🗣️ We say this phrase to every client. Every behavior your dog chooses, they choose it because it works. It gets them something they want. Yes, that means the things you see as behavior "problems" are actually behavior SOLUTIONS to your dog.
🐶 A few months ago we started rewarding Ace for resting his chin. I maybe did two training sessions on this and then another couple times we caught him doing it and rewarded it. Though he's only been rewarded for this behavior maybe 30 times in 3 months, he has decided it WORKS and offers it without being cued or promise of a reward.
🔥 Ready for a hot take? We dislike the idea of quick fixes, but positive reinforcement is often painted as taking a lot of time. I disagree. While certain cases may progress at a slower rate, I have observed over years that R+ is actually incredibly fast and efficient. Not only did Ace realize this behavior works with relatively little effort, but it's damn adorable to boot!
💕 Ace hopes you all had a Happy Valentine's Day weekend! Here's a big smile and some festive bowties to warm your heart - especially if you're shivering like we are here in Waco!
⭐ DOG TRAINING TIP: Use the S.M.A.R.T method 25-50 times per day.
🐶 What did your dog learn from you yesterday? Did they learn that jumping gets your attention? That barking gets you to feed them?
⚠️ Our dogs are VERY observant, so be careful! You may unintentionally teach your dog that behaviors you don't like are effective at getting the dog what it needs.
🤝 But there's good news! It also means that you have endless opportunities each day to build patterns you are both happy with.
🧠 The most efficient way to train your dog is to keep your 👀 open and capture any moment of behavior that you like. That's why it's called S.M.A.R.T. method...
1️⃣See
2️⃣Mark
3️⃣And
4️⃣Reward
5️⃣Training
👏 It's that simple! See your dog standing to greet a guest? Mark it with a "Good Girl!" and feed her a piece of food. See your dog sitting by their bowl quietly? Mark it with a "Good Boy!" and give your dog a few pieces of food in his bowl.
🍪 Set aside little jars of treats around the house so you always have rewards in reach for this method.
🗝️ Our key to a successful "Come!" when called 🗝️
🎉 ENTHUSIASM!!! 🎉
I know a dog is more likely to come when called when they do it enthusiastically, like Gilligan here! BUT, in order to get enthusiasm from your dog, YOU have to be enthusiastic first!
Here's how you can do that:
👏 Use YOUR BODY to entice your dog over by clapping your hands, slapping your thighs, or tapping your feet.
🗣️ Use YOUR VOICE by making pleasant sounds like kissy noises, clicking your tongue, and cheering your dog toward you.
🏃 Use MOVEMENT by going halfway towards your dog then running backwards to encourage them to chase you.
🥩 Use HIGH-VALUE FOOD to give your dog a big payday for a behavior that you value highly.
👉 REMEMBER: If you want your dog to come when called, YOU have to be WORTH coming to!
🐾 Introducing Reggie 🐾
🦋 Reggie is a busy guy and a social butterfly. He gets very excited when guests come over, which has previously resulted in frantic running, jumping and mouthing of his potential new friends. His owner asked us to help him learn to settle when guests come over.
🧰 Reggie has added a bunch of new behaviors to his "Good Boy Toolkit". Now when friends come over, he can try sitting, standing, making eye contact, gently licking or nudging human hands, and laying down on a place.
🐶 He asked we show everyone how handsome he looks laying on his place. Give us some ❤️❤️❤️ in the comments for this sweet and smart boy!
☀️ 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)!
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.
