Your Dog Deserves The Best Education & Socialization
My passion for seeing animals thrive and live their best adventure lives shines in all that I do. As a canine behavioralist, I work with your dog's true nature and help them develop their best personality traits while training for the skills that allow them to live safely and freely in our human world. Bonus- you will love to come home to a tired, happy and well-behaved dog! I've found that dogs learn best when they are exercising and have a balance of "calm brain-state" and "excited brain-state."
Hello, Friends.
I'm currently booked for 2022.
Thank you SO much for all the support, you are all so appreciated.
Life Lessions on the Trail
All ages and breeds of dogs benefit from life-long learning and growth. Working on skills is so much more fun and challenging outdoors, so we do most of our work outside overcoming distracting stimuli to make sure your dog is as solid on commands as can be. Each day can include any/all canine good citizen behaviors as well as proper trail manners. Focus topics include all levels of socialization, off-leash recall, reducing anxiety and fear, "leave it" for ANYTHING, bike/ski/snowshoe/kayak/SUP/mushing/joring skills, balance, physical fitness, teamwork, proprioception, self-control, intuitive decision making, patience, delayed gratification, social structures, bravery and oh so much more. Yes! Your dog is so capable of all of this!
Our focus is always on risk management and positively building confidence, trust and consistency in a fun way.
AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy Class
Earn your acclaimed AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy title with your pup in this super fun and educational 6 week course!
Not currently available.
Once puppies have begun their vaccinations, it's time to catch up on all that canine socialization and introduce a whole new world of distractions. This will be a wildly wiggly weekly group puppy class series meeting regularly in Telluride for you and your puppy to attend together. Capped at 8 participants, it will be an intimate and focused series of GAMES covering key behaviors and experiences to help the rest of your life with your dog to be much easier and happier. The great thing about puppies is we can work on all these skills together and introduce your puppy to all sorts of sights, smells and sounds in a fun, vibrant and extremely beneficial group puppy party!! I mean...class. Learning with your pup can and will be FUN! At the end of the series, you and your pup will complete an obstacle course and series of tests that will show off your confidence and trust in each other, and will result in your dog earning their AKC S.T.A.R. Puppy title when you pass.
Certain milestones we will achieve include: Human and dog socialization, exposure to "weird stuff" and distractions, basic good citizen commands (sit-stays, down-stays, quiet, up/down, drop it, leave it/take it, wait-ok go, COME, focus), bite inhibition, place, 'touch', walking calmly on leash, off-leash recall and much more.
I have developed this class after many years of interaction with puppies to adult dogs in the scope of everything from total spoiled chaos running their human's every move to dedicated workaholic SAR and service dogs; shelter dogs; and dog-parents who wish they knew this all earlier. Curriculum developed with input from my superb positive reinforcement dog-training role model, Dr. Ian Dunbar.
These classes are for Telluride locals who want to invest in their lifetime of enjoyment with their dogs by giving their puppies what they need to succeed. Take them along on all your adventures and feel confident either bringing them along or leaving them at home, knowing that whatever your lifestyle entails, your dog will be a willing, friendly and happy member of your family and community.
Positive Puppy Training
Did you just add a new family member to your life? Congrats! The first few months of a puppy's life are crucial to instilling great habits, creating exposure to a wide variety of animals, people and stimulus and lots of socialization. Having a consistent program both at home and during your puppy's schooling is key to success. Puppies love playing games that are loads of fun but are secretly a training session! Puppy sessions are shorter due to their shorter attention spans and physical fitness needs and focus is always on positive reinforcement and offering a desired behavior in place of an undesirable one. Adventure school is also an excellent foundation of basic training for future Service or Avalanche dogs. Time at school can work towards your dog's AKC CGC (or higher) titles.
AKC Trick Dog Training
Work towards your AKC Trick Dog titles with the guidance and inspiration from a certified evaluator of all levels of Trick Dog (including Novice, Intermediate, Advanced, Performer and Elite Performer) We will get creative and have a blast building your bond, trust and skill level with your pup by using positive reinforcement techniques. Clicker training optional. Call or email for availability.