Make It Click - for Dog Guardians Make It Click

Have you ever found yourself trying to get your dog to come to you and feeling frustrated when they don't? You aren't alone! In this episode, my guest Jill from Jack and Jill Dog Training talks us through some of the myths and truths around teaching our dogs to come when called and common trouble spots we can run into when teaching recall to our dogs. Plus we talk about some of the challenges we trainers have faced with working on recall (hint: we have likely run into the same issues as you!). 

Connecting with Jill

Instagram: @jackandjilldogtraining

Website: https://www.jackandjilldogtraining.com/

Mentioned in this episode

Sniffspot

Being the guardian to a reactive dog can be an amazing and life changing experience, and it can also be really freaking hard!

In this episode, Logan Buie from The Misbehaving Mutt joined me to talk about our own experiences not as trainers, but as guardians to our own reactive dogs. We talk about how our lives changed after realizing our dogs needed more support than we anticipated and how working through reactivity impacted our own stress and anxiety. We also talk through some of the strategies we use to support ourselves while also supporting our dogs (spoiler alert: mental health care is an important facet of that for both of us! Shoutout to therapy!).

If you've found yourself struggling with your own thoughts and feelings while trying to figure out how to support your dog through THEIR feelings, we've been there! And we hope this episode leaves you feeling seen and knowing that support is here for you. Enjoy!

Connecting with Logan: https://www.themisbehavingmutt.com/

IG: @themisbehavingmutt

IG: @confidentmutts

Alone time troubles, panic, and stress about leaving your dog at home - let's talk separation anxiety!

In this episode, Jenna Teti from Think Smart Dog Training shares her story of supporting her dog Reuben through separation anxiety that appeared after some life changes, including the onset of the pandemic. We talk about what behaviors Jenna noticed that led her to getting help for Reuben and bust some myths about separation anxiety causes and treatment (spoiler: letting your dog cry it out won't make it better!). We also talk about how both dogs and humans need support when dealing with separation anxiety, and how making space for the human feelings is an important part of the process. I really enjoyed this conversation and I hope you do too!

Connecting with Jenna: hello@thinksmartdog.com

IG: @thinksmartdogtraining

Mentioned in this episode

Finding a Certified Separation Anxiety Trainer (CSAT) - https://malenademartini.com/

Finding a Separation Anxiety Pro Trainer - https://julienaismith.com/find-a-trainer/

Jackie Johnston, CSAT on Instagram @believeinyourdog

To celebrate one whole year of Make It Click (MIC was started in September of 2021!) we are releasing two of our favorite episodes that were previously only available on Patreon!

When you hear a dog described as "shy", what does that mean for you? On this episode, I am joined by Ali Sutch, KPA CTP and owner of Up to Snuff dog training in California. Ali offers insight about what the label "shy baby" means for dogs, how that descriptor can be either a help or a hindrance, and why it's valuable to bring extra compassion to our discussions about shy dogs. We also discuss what skills might be helpful for shy dogs to help them navigate the world more comfortably, plus knowledge and skills that the human guardians of shy dogs can benefit from. Enjoy!

Find us on Instagram at @MakeItClick.club for episode updates and on Patreon at Patreon.com/MakeItClick for community events and live trainer chats!

Download the transcript for this and all of our other episodes here



Mentioned in this episode

Susan Friedman's LLA course for pet professionals

Doggie Language book

Leslie McDevitt's Control Unleashed series

Find a veterinary behaviorist near you:  DACVB directory

To celebrate one whole year of Make It Click (MIC was started in September of 2021!) we are releasing two of our favorite episodes that were previously only available on Patreon!

For this special re-release episode, I am joined by guest Jenna Teti from Think Smart Dog Training. We sat down to talk about reframing how we live with dogs and how we can adjust our thinking about why we get dogs in order to better serve our dog’s needs. The result was a really interesting conversation about how that “why” can impact welfare and wellness, the ways that our own human stress can change when we reframe our relationship with dogs, and thoughts about what qualities dogs might pick if they had the opportunity to choose their human.

This was such a lovely and honest conversation about how it can be hard to change the ways we think about dogs, how being a dog guardian can be challenging (spoiler: trainer's dogs aren't "perfect" either!), and the journey's both Jenna and I are on to discover how we can best learn and adapt for our dogs. Enjoy!



Find us on Instagram at @MakeItClick.club for episode updates and on Patreon at Patreon.com/MakeItClick for community events and live trainer chats!

Download the transcript for this and all of our other episodes here

Have you heard the phrase "crossover trainer"? This month, my guest is fellow trainer Holly Boyes. Holly and I are both crossover trainers, which means we at one point used aversives, corrections, and punishment as part of training, and then ditched those techniques and shifted to a force-free positive reinforcement methodology. In this episode we share a bit about our journeys from balanced to force-free, what prompted us to switch to a new method, and how being crossover trainers helps us to tap into a specific kind of compassion for pet guardians who are struggling with their dog’s behavior.

Minor trigger warning for this episode: we do talk a bit about our own time as balanced trainers where we reference some of the corrections and tools that we used at that time, so if that discussion will be triggering for you please feel free to skip this episode or listen to one of our other positive reinforcement focused episodes.

Enjoy!

Holly Boyes is a multi species force-free crossover trainer, certified trick dog instructor/triple crown coach and a force-free content creator. She is currently working through her DN – DTC, a force-free dog training distinction with DogNostics. She is also a full time reptile breeder and stays busy looking after her many personal pets on her and her husband’s farm in northern Ontario, Canada. Animals have been an obsession from day one and Holly always knew she was going to make a living surrounded by them. She taught the family dog a few tricks as a kid and was completely hooked on training since then.

After discovering trick titles, Holly quickly worked her way up to grand champion with both her dogs but she didn’t stop there. She went on to earn an expert trick title with her cat, and became the first person in the world to earn a trick title with a hedgehog! Gradually making the crossover from balanced to force free training after rescuing a pitbull named Daisy, it’s become Holly’s mission to show others the amazing things that can be accomplished through R+/FF training.

Find Holly on Instagram at @fivefreedomstraining

Download the complete transcript for this episode here