Make It Click - for Dog Guardians

Make It Click

Make It Click is a podcast for dog guardians about training, enriching, and loving your canine best friend. Tune in to hear pet professionals and dog guardians just like you share stories and info on all things dog! Join professional trainer Lyz Knight for episodes that include facts and info about training techniques and dog behavior, as well as conversations about the human emotions that come along with being a dog guardian. Welcome to Make It Click! Bonus content & events: Patreon.com/MakeItClick Connect with Lyz: Instagram.com/RoverRehabNJ Episode transcripts: Instagram.com/MakeItClick

  1. Crossover Trainer Thoughts with Holly Boyes

    09/02/2022

    Crossover Trainer Thoughts with Holly Boyes

    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

    1h 3m
  2. The Human Side of Loving a Behaviorally Complex Dog, with Mallory Kratimenos

    07/08/2022

    The Human Side of Loving a Behaviorally Complex Dog, with Mallory Kratimenos

    Behavior is nuanced and multilayered for our dogs, and working to accept and get help with that behavior can bring up a lot of feelings in us humans! For this episode, trainer Mallory Kratimenos joined me to talk about the emotional journey she has been on with her own behaviorally complex dogs. We talk about the shame and guilt that can come along with having a dog who needs additional behavior support, especially in a society that has certain views about how a "normal" dog should behave. We also share how accepting our dogs for who they are can help us learn a lot about ourselves, and the importance of finding a support network that will meet you and your dog with compassion and kindness. About Mallory Mallory is the owner and sole trainer at Engineering Optimism Dog Training. She specializes in all things small dogs, but has experience with dogs of all sizes. Mallory works with clients to help mediate the relationship between human and dog with the goal of engineering a little optimism and joy on both sides of the equation. Mallory holds two Bachelor of Science degrees from Purdue University and is a Victoria Stilwell Academy Certified Dog Trainer, Fear Free Certified Professional Trainer, a Certified Trick Dog Instructor, and a licensed Family Dog Mediator. She is also the parent of two small terriers, Gracie - a 12 y/o Russell mix, and Ollie - a 7 y/o Rat Terrier mix. You can follow Mallory and her dogs on Instagram at @the.reactive.dog.blog Download the transcript for this and all of our other episodes here.

    1h 17m
5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

Make It Click is a podcast for dog guardians about training, enriching, and loving your canine best friend. Tune in to hear pet professionals and dog guardians just like you share stories and info on all things dog! Join professional trainer Lyz Knight for episodes that include facts and info about training techniques and dog behavior, as well as conversations about the human emotions that come along with being a dog guardian. Welcome to Make It Click! Bonus content & events: Patreon.com/MakeItClick Connect with Lyz: Instagram.com/RoverRehabNJ Episode transcripts: Instagram.com/MakeItClick