Understanding Your Dog's Mind: Insights and Tips

It was 2007, I was a bankrupt real estate investor trying to find a way to survive and make enough money to buy dog food.

I really wanted to make a living working with dogs so I wouldn’t have to move back in with my dad or go back to doing phone sales from a cubicle .

I wanted to understand how a dog’s mind works, so I could work everyday doing something I love.

The thing is, I was trying to force my dog to want the same things I wanted. That meant I wasn’t able to see life from my dog’s perspective, let alone influence his behavior.

To make things worse, I felt terrible because I’d lose my patience when my dog wasn’t “getting it” after teaching him multiple times. I felt even worse about the situation because I had no idea what to do next.

I could tell my dog wanted to be a good boy, but was so easily distracted by everything that it was impossible for him to focus.

When I got frustrated I could see in his face that it made him feel really bad, but he had no idea what to do either. I felt like a bad dog owner. Like a failure as a dog parent.

The problem was that the only training I had was what I copied from Cesar Milan’s TV show. Which meant I had no advice that was specific to the problems my dog and I were having.

I lacked any tips that were tailored to what my dog needed based on his breed, age, and personality. This meant my dog and I were butting heads a lot. We weren’t enjoying walks around the neighborhood anymore because I was so frustrated by his pulling.

Then, as if by chance, something amazing happened…

I got invited to a dog training workshop by my friend, Heather Beck! It was about dog socialization and leash training techniques

By the end of that 3 day course, it was now crystal clear to me how investing in myself to learn from dog trainers (who were years ahead of me in experience) would fast forward my results. I now knew it was possible to have the relationship I wanted with my dog extremely quickly.

I also learned that I wasn’t going to get the results I hoped for by watching TV, YouTube, or through trial and error, I needed to hire a mentor!

As a result I began hiring the best trainers I could find. I read their books, watched their videos, attended their workshops, and flew to their training centers to absorb everything I could from them.

Thanks to this, I started enjoying walks and training my dog again. I saw much faster results for my customer’s dogs as well.

Finally, I was understanding how my dog’s mind worked. I understood why he did the things he did!

I knew which behavioral problems or quirks I could mold into good behaviors and which were part of his “dogness” (trying to change those was a losing battle I’d never win).

That’s when I realized that the secret to making enough money to buy dog food was to simply copy what worked from other dog trainers!

So that’s what I did! Just like my mentors, I started training each dog less than I had before. I went from training each dog for several hours each day to hyper-focused sessions lasting only 2-15 minutes several times a day. But I didn’t stop there.

I then started kenneling the dogs, including my own, in between sessions which forced them to take naps. I was told this would help them retain each lesson better and force them to be well rested for their next session.

After that, we used the new dog walking tools and techniques I’d learned about. I could now teach dogs to WANT to follow my lead on a loose-leash.

But there was still a problem…

…just because I could get a dog to walk nicely on a leash and be well behaved in my home and yard…

…didn’t mean the dog’s parents were going to be able to do the same when their dog got home from training.

I got so frustrated I decided to include 6 months of follow up sessions for my customers. They needed ongoing support just like I did when I was learning.

I chose to call it the Marvelous Mutt Boarding School Program.

My team and I thought if we could create something that would make it possible to get the same training results in 2-3 weeks that used to take us over 6 months, we’d be really happy.

After countless hours of teaching dog owners in private sessions and years of training dogs to be well-behaved on and off leash, we knew we had the perfect program!

We can now consistently get dog parents and their dogs on the same page about how to behave in their home, yard, neighborhood, and anywhere they want to go together.

We’ve trained well over 2,000 dogs since my journey began.

We’ve sold millions of dollars in dog training and we couldn’t be more proud of the 100+ 5 star reviews from customers who we’ve been able to help.

I’ve even been lucky enough to be invited on local news stations dozens of times to teach what we do.

The training programs and solutions that came out of my own personal struggle with my first puppy have helped impact thousands of Utah dog owners over the years and it’s something I’m really proud of.

Thanks to investing into my education and my dog’s, I was able to understand how my dog’s mind works.

I’ve also been able to stop training my dog and simply enjoy our time together, because we can now basically read each other’s minds. Most days, he knows what I need him to do without me saying a word.

And in the end, all of this means I’m now able to enjoy life with my dog anywhere I want to go with him.

That’s the exact future I want for you and your dog!

Unleash your dog’s potential with expert dog training in South Salt Lake, Utah.