Nurturing Your Dog's Best Self

I Help Dogs Become The Best Versions Of Themselves

I help dog owners who need some relief. They have a dog they love but are overwhelmed by. They feel their dog should be their best buddy, but it’s hard to feel that way when they are causing stress and frustration. They want to help their dog because they care deeply about their well-being. At the same time, they want to enjoy their time with their companion instead of feeling like they are butting heads all the time.

Let me share a quick story with you:

I have a customer who had a crazy Red Heeler named Maggie. He is a doctor with an intense schedule, and his dog was getting into trouble at daycare. So this daycare called me in to walk Maggie in the middle of the day to work on her behavior issues. I was able to help some, but due to the hectic daycare environment she wasn’t able to settle down completely. 

Well… Maggie and other dogs in a similar situation inspired me to open a training center with training focused daycare and boarding services. A place where dogs like Maggie could come and enjoy socializing with a calmer, more polite vibe.

Sadly, Maggie passed a couple of years ago but she was the BEST dog. She went from about to be kicked out of daycare for bad behavior to the most trusted dog in my daycare. I could trust her to be around any dog in the building, and I knew she would help teach the new dogs the ropes. She was a stern old lady that didn’t put up with nonsense, but if you were polite she had your back 100%.

Maggie was being very naughty at daycare so the staff asked me to come walk and train her several times a week. They wanted to see if that would help her behave in social class.

Maggie was jumping over other dogs and gates into areas of the room she wasn’t supposed to be. She was getting snappy with some of the other dogs as well. She was about to get kicked out, and that would have caused a big problem for her owner.

Maggie’s dad was worried we wouldn’t be able to handle her or help her calm down. He couldn’t have a dog walker come to the house because Maggie would get very protective. She would bark and lunge at the dog walker and there was no settling her down.

We put Maggie through one of our boarding school training programs. This helped her overcome her behavioral issues, and I opened my own daycare a few months after that. Maggie quickly came over to us and went from one of the worst dogs in class to one of the best!

I could tell Maggie was frustrated by the chaos of her old daycare. Some dogs do just fine in a typical daycare setting with few rules but not Maggie. Her herding instincts set off alarm bells in her head that said “there is too much damn energy in this room! It must be contained!” I knew if I could get her out of that environment there was a really sweet dog underneath.

Maggie went from the worst dog in social class to one of the best in a few short weeks. Her owner was thrilled as you might imagine. He was able to focus on being a professional without worrying if his dog’s daycare was going to call him with an issue during his shift.

Maggie enjoyed many years of peaceful social classes, countless treats, and soooo many hikes and adventures. She lived a good life, and I’m proud to have played a role. She was the BEST dog and I’ll never forget her. 

She taught me a lot that has served me well in helping other dogs. She also inspired me to get a herding dog of my own. Herding dogs and high energy dogs are not for the faint of heart, but if you put in the work they are some of the best dogs around.

Pretty cool turnaround story, right?

Have you felt like you’ve gotten yourself in over your head with your dog? What quirk does your dog have that pushes your buttons? 

At our dog boarding and training facility in Salt Lake City, we’re here to help. 

Hit reply and tell me yours, and in turn I’ll tell you mine.

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