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The Everyday Trainer Podcast
The Everyday Trainer Podcast
When Loving Your Dog Too Much Is Keeping Them Stuck
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Too much tenderness can look like love and still leave an anxious dog feeling unsafe. We sit down for a real virtual coaching session with a caring owner and her five-year-old Aussie doodle, Coco, and we get honest about the empathy trap: when we absorb every feeling, avoid every discomfort, and accidentally teach our dogs that the world is unmanageable. The goal isn’t to become cold. The goal is to become clear, steady, and predictable so your dog can stop making anxious decisions all day long.
We walk through what’s normal dog behavior versus what’s actually a training gap, including the difference between true separation anxiety and “big feelings” when you come and go. Then we get practical: how to add structure with place training, how to use leash pressure fairly, how to pick a release word that removes confusion, and why accountability is often the missing ingredient for nervous dogs. If you’ve ever felt like your dog “doesn’t care” about cues, we explain how optional rules get created and how to rebuild follow-through without becoming harsh.
Food motivation and sensitive stomachs come up too, so we show how to train with play instead of treats. You’ll learn how to turn “yes” into a tug reward, how to build a confident training mindset with simple markers, and how to carry that game into scary environments to build real confidence. We also touch on feeding routines, bedtime boundaries, and containment options like tethering or an X-pen as stepping-stones toward calmer nights.
If you want a dog training plan that reduces anxiety through structure, routine, and confidence building, hit play, then subscribe, share with a friend who needs it, and leave a review so more overwhelmed owners can find this approach.
Visit us on the website here to see what we've got going on and how you can join our pack of good dogs and owners.
Why Love Can Backfire
SPEAKER_01Hello, hello.
SPEAKER_02Welcome back to the Everyday Trainer podcast. My name is Meg, and I am a dog trainer. Today's episode is a virtual session, and we're talking about how empathy with our dogs can sometimes get in the way of their progress. You guys know the drill, grab yourself a tasty drink, and maybe better. Alright, guys, welcome back. Today I want to talk about something that I see all the time, and it's one of those situations that I really love working through because there's so much hope in it. So I had a virtual session recently with a client. She has a five-year-old Aussie doodle, Coco. The dog has stomach issues, anxious, touch sensitive, not super food motivated, rough history with great training. And her owner has genuinely been through it. She's seen multiple vets, multiple trainers, and is genuinely trying everything she could think of. And she's a little bit exhausted. But what got me about this session is how much this owner loves her dog. Like really truly loves her dog. And I think when we love our dogs that much, it is so natural to want to coddle them and like absorb all of their stress and to make everything easier for them because that's what we would like for us. And I truly believe that that instinct comes from a good place. But after eight years of working with anxious dogs and their people, that kind of love, as well-intentioned as it is, can actually keep our dogs stuck because these anxious dogs aren't looking for someone to feel bad with them. They're looking for somebody to show them that everything is okay, that someone has it handled, and that's actually what creates safety for dogs like this. So we hopefully shifted her focus not to what was wrong, but what we can build. So I think you guys
Meet Coco And The Worry Cycle
SPEAKER_02are really going to enjoy this episode. We talk about structure, play, and building confidence from the ground up. Enjoy. Hello.
SPEAKER_01Hi.
SPEAKER_02Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you too. Well, tell me about your dog. What we got going on.
SPEAKER_04Okay, yeah. I was so excited to meet with you. I have a lot, I feel like. So how detailed do you want me to be? Tell me all the things. Okay. Um, I think the main thing I realized this year that I really need to solve is that I'm like I'm like worrying all the time. Like I read your um your your story. I joined your club and then like binged a bunch of your stuff. I related a lot to that because that's how it was the first year with her. Sorry, I'm a crier, so you'll just have to bear with me. And I still do, like, I still am just like always worried and crying, and it's just really bad for both of us. Like it's not helping. Um, she I feel like well, she's always been a little bit sick since she was younger. She was the runt. I think I got her from a lady down the road who really wanted to have puppies from her dog. And I thought she was like a good lady that tried to do it all right, but also this is her first time breeding, and I I don't know for sure, but I just think that maybe there are some genetic issues going on with her because when I got her, I had dogs all growing up, and I always thought it was amazing with dogs, and not with this one. I also am not used to like working dogs, but she came like with a ton of anxiety, she wouldn't sleep, like as a puppy, as an eight-mere-old puppy, she would never sleep, she didn't like to be touched, like she just seemed over-estimulated all the time. What kind of dog is she? She's an Aussie doodle.
SPEAKER_02Okay, and how old is she now? She's five years old.
SPEAKER_04Okay, her mom was like a regular size Australian shepherd. She could she might have been a rescue or even a mutt, I don't remember for sure. And then her dad was like a little toy poodle. Supposedly, I think I know the dad was like all papered and everything, but still poodles, I guess. I've learned since then. I don't know. Every vet and trainer I talked to is always like, oh yeah, poodles. So but um, yeah, so there's like a combination of behavior and um also like she was sick a lot when she was little, and even now, like she's sick today. Like we had a rough night. Um, I'm trying to get all the physical stuff rolled out so that I know there's not a problem. I've been to like four or five different vets. All of them are like she's fine, but then she would get these terrible stomach aches, and um, I had one that think it was just because her anxiety was so high, but also I just feel I feel like I'm I don't know what I'm doing. Like I'm pretty good with dogs that are pushy that are more normal. Like, I'm really good with those kinds, she's so anxious, and so I think we've gotten into this habit of like me catering to her anxiousness because I like really want her to be happy, but then I think it's also maybe she'll be more anxious. Like, I had a dog trainer, which I've had a couple dog trainers, but I know when I was reading through your stuff, I was like, okay, she has full permission everywhere in her life, so I don't really do anything because she's also besides her anxiety, is she's she's really great, she's reactive with other dogs and airplanes and you know anything she can chase. But at home, she never has accidents, she never um like chews on anything, she never does anything bad. Like I can leave a plate of chicken on the couch, and if I like tell her not to touch it, she won't go near it. Like the only food scrap she's ever eaten is she ate one of my cannabis muffins
Stomach Issues And Vet Frustration
SPEAKER_04once.
SPEAKER_02Oh no, did it mellow her out at all?
SPEAKER_04I took her to the vet and freaked out, and they um gave her charcoal and made her throw up, so I don't know. Okay, what do her health issues look like? So when she was really little, she wouldn't eat really. And um, and then as she got older, she would get these terrible stomach aches. We had maybe two years where she would get these terrible stomach aches after she ate and do like the downward dog all night and like stare at me. You know the ones that you say when you look when you look online and they're like, This is an emergency, call your vet immediately. She would get those consistently for a couple years, and um, but every vet said she was fine, so I know that they tried to run some blood panels too to see if she had pancreatitis, nothing came back.
SPEAKER_02Um would she have um diarrhea? But she never has diarrhea. How do you know that she was having stomach aches?
SPEAKER_04That's just what the vet said that when they do that position for like long periods of time and like she would throw everything up, that usually it's like a stomach issue.
SPEAKER_02So she was throwing up, yeah. Okay, was it how long after she ate?
SPEAKER_04It depends. Sometimes like 10 minutes after, but sometimes like a half an hour after.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_04Have you ever met with like a nutritionist? I did once, just online. He recommended to change up her diet. Um, he thought it was mainly because of her anxiety. So that's where we started. He was okay, but um, I don't know. I've been questioning lately on whether I should see him again, or I just saw a new vet here, and also I'm pretty holistic. And she did the same thing a lot of vets do. She wants to put her on medication, and I was just like, okay, like let's start here, but there's no way in putting her on medication. I'm just gonna say that because I don't want to fight with her. So vets are a whole other I mean, I don't know.
SPEAKER_02Okay, how long did she have these stomach aches for?
SPEAKER_04Like a couple years. Every day, like every other day at least. Was she showing any other signs that she was in pain? No, just the throwing up, and the she would do the position for like hours until her little legs would start shaking. So she kind of do it and look at me like help me. And then, like after like 40 minutes, you know, her little legs would start shaking.
SPEAKER_02And yeah. And you mentioned you got her from a breeder. Did you ever contact her about this? No, I I don't know. Sometimes it's helpful to contact them because other puppies in the litter might also be having the same issues, and somebody else might have like found the solution to it, you know. Okay, I don't want to like I don't know, I don't like conflict, and I don't think it's conflict, it's just you know, reaching out and basically saying, like, hey, my dog has had issues since puppyhood with this. Um, have you noticed any of the other puppies, you know, have the same issues, or has anybody else kind of like experienced this or figured it out? Um I think that is kind of like step one is definitely contact them. Unfortunately, like they're definitely a backyard breeder, you know, like yeah, they were yeah, it's it's I mean, they were super nice, yeah. And that that doesn't mean that they're not nice or not trying to do the right thing. Um but at the end of the day, doodles are a mixed breed, and it's like that's just
Structure Over Comfort For Safety
SPEAKER_02kind of how it goes. Like they're not really being bred for a specific temperament, it's just kind of like I want these types of dogs, I want them to look this way, I want them to be this size, we're gonna breed these dogs. Um okay, and then you mentioned that she doesn't get into anything, she doesn't do anything. I'm assuming that means she's not crate trained.
SPEAKER_04No, I know you know what I'm gonna say. Well, she we did try. Yeah, we did both so I look back now and realize I did a ton of things wrong, especially with her temperament. And we tried it for about a year, like when she was about eight months old, to like a year old. It was a disaster. She hates it. She hates, I don't know if it if it would work now because she doesn't even like she hates clinging noises, she doesn't even like going under the table, like anything over her head. She's so anxious about everything, right? And and also we have all this history, the both of us, with such bad training, like feelings. I myself have anxiety, which probably doesn't help. I have a panic disorder, which has been its its own thing that like I'm working on and I'm much better than I was, but I know that that contributes to certain things, like with her food. Lately, I've been trying to just like go into a different room so that like she doesn't feel my weirdness about her eating, you know, like little things like that seem to help. Like, I'm trying to like help control myself, but I also have a lot of issues. So, anyways, I'm open to it, but I I like the tethering idea better. If you thought maybe we could start there, yeah, for sure.
SPEAKER_02Um, I think I think that it's very important to recognize like as you move forward, you are probably putting a lot of your own emotions onto her. And I do think that there is definitely a genetic component of like nerviness from her for sure. But I think it's probably being exaggerated because you empathize with that so much, and so you're like, okay, I want to avoid all of the things that make you anxious because I know how horrible it is to feel anxious, and in turn, we've created a dog that can't handle very much.
SPEAKER_04Yes, like exactly, that's exactly it. It's like she was predisponed, predisposed, but then I like I feel like I am the problem.
SPEAKER_03But sorry, no, it's okay. I don't think I can re-home her. So like I've thought about it, but she's super attached to me, and I don't know if I would ever forgive myself.
SPEAKER_02So I just I don't think that re-homing is the solution. Um I think yeah, I I think you are very much capable of working through this. It is not rocket science, it's just gonna be uncomfy for a little bit, right? Because we're gonna have to teach her that, like, hey, I am going to tether you and you're going to be okay. I'm never gonna put you in a situation that I know that you are not capable of working through. And that is why I'm so big on the crate, is because it's it's a very easy skill. It's not even necessarily about the crate, it's just like a random thing that I teach the dog a bit of restraint, and it teaches them a bit of impulse control, right? They're used to following us around the house 24-7, acting on every little impulse. We put them in the crate, they can't do that, right? There's automatically going to be a bit of anxiety if the expectation is that, like, okay, well, I do follow mom everywhere. I, you know, I'm not used to being restrained. And I think it's valuable to work the dogs through that, to work them through, like, hey, this thing that's like a little bit uncomfy for you, like you can work through it. It's like, you know, doing a difficult workout or you know, taking a difficult class. When you come out at the end of it, you're like, wow, I didn't really think that I was gonna be able to do it, but I did it. And in turn, that builds up your confidence. So that's my approach with anxious dogs, nervous dogs. They don't need more freedom. I think in your case, she doesn't need more empathy. Like, you have plenty of that. If you were telling me, like, oh, I don't care about her, I would be like, Well, maybe we should, you know. But that's typically not the problem that I have with most people. It's a little bit too much. We're putting our very human emotions and complex thinking on our dogs, and our dogs just don't have the same type of brain that we do. And so anxious dogs really thrive off of structure and routine and clear boundaries and leadership from us, you know, and so part of that is doing having her do some things that she's probably not gonna love at first, but teaching her that, like, hey, you are going to survive this and you're gonna be okay. And like, I need you to trust in me as like your person that I'm never gonna put you in an unsafe situation that is gonna put your life at risk, you know, because for anxious dogs, that's kind of how they feel, but it's because they're so used to making all the decisions from themselves for themselves. And so they're making these decisions from an anxious state of mind of like, oh my gosh, I'm gonna die. The world's out to get me, right? As as complex as dogs can think about those things. Um, and so when we come in and we're like, hey, you don't really have to think too much. I just need you to follow my lead. Then it gives them the opportunity to just kind of relax and follow our lead. In the beginning, there's definitely gonna be some pushback with it, you know, and especially because you've gotten so many reps of like, yeah, it's five years. Yeah, yeah. So you're gonna need a lot more reps to work through it, basically.
SPEAKER_04And I do feel
When Past Experiences Shape Fear
SPEAKER_04like I don't fully honestly trust myself. I look back and I did some things where I was like, oh my gosh, like why did I do that? That probably ruined our trust. Like what? Like that that I could lead. Like, so I grew up in Wyoming where it's in dogs. We're a little bit behind the times when it comes to dogs. A lot of people are great if they have actual working dogs and they run a lot of cattle, but like we used to just like throw our dogs in the water, and like that's how we taught them to swim, and we were just like, you're fine, and like we just would do it over and over, and I really wanted cocoodle up the water, so like that was my approach. And I remember taking her one day, and she fell in these like giant waves, and like I did get her out, but like we were both like you know, struggling a bit. Um, it was just a lake, and I know that you but still you surf, so I know that you know when you're like trying to get someone out of like a crazy wave situation, anyway. She hates the water now, like little things like that, like that. I'm just like, what was I thinking? Yeah, I used to be really active and adventurous, and and I look at my whole life like that, like I did a lot of dumb things. It's like my brain took a lot longer than most to like develop fully or something.
SPEAKER_02I feel like your frontal lobe for development, yeah.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, because I just tick a lot of wrists, and like so. I don't know, her experience with water, her experience with other dogs. Like, I had friends with dogs that were like, Yeah, my dogs are great, and then seeing what I like forced her to interact alone with these giant dogs as like an eight-week-old puppy. Um, I could go on, but do you need me to?
SPEAKER_02No, I mean, I think if you have a confident, stable dog, those things are not a big deal, right? But the problem is like when we mix those types of situations with a more genetically nervy dog, that's when we're gonna have issues. But the good thing now is you know better, right? So you can use those things as opportunities to work through it, right? Like you can work her through her fear of water, and that is something that you guys can overcome together. You can, you know, work her through her reactivity around other dogs, you don't have to just live with the okay, well, they you know, she had this bad experience as a younger dog, and now this is just how she is forever, you know. Okay, both dogs and humans are very, very capable of change. Like we can literally rewire our brains. Um, it's just about getting more reps in, you know.
SPEAKER_04So yeah, I I know I can do it if I do.
What Previous Training Got Wrong
SPEAKER_04Know uh how what to do. Yeah, I can keep practicing. Yeah, I feel pretty lost at the moment.
SPEAKER_02Talk to me a bit about the other trainers that you worked with and the advice that they gave you.
SPEAKER_04So I worked with a puppy trainer when I first got her, and it was your basic trainer. So I do feel like I did some things right when I've been watching your videos. I was like, huh, I did some things right. Nice. She did um training with leash pressure, and then eat and then we started the e-collar, which I'm not sure how I feel about how they how she taught. She was fine, she had two golden retriever show dogs that were perfect, and I was crying every time I talked to her. She didn't handle emotions very well, so I don't know if we were the great match, the best match, but we she taught me all the basics we would go over every week and like explore new things. Um she didn't have experience with anxious dogs, so like we did a lot of work like at Home Depot in the parking lots and like out. But when I look back, like we did so much work because I'm kind of an intense person. If you didn't catch that already, so I was like, I'm gonna do socializing perfectly, like as much as we can, like the more the better, right? And I just think with her temperament, it wasn't right. I think she was Coco was just like overstimulated by it all, never really relaxed into it. And this lady didn't quite understand that like that, maybe an anxious dog, you shouldn't do that, and like same with like the crate. She was just like, just leave her in there, and like she would never settle in the crate. It was really bad for both of us. Like every time she was bad, the lady was like, just put her in the crate, but then it was like it always started bad and ended bad because I was frustrated, and Coco was at the height of her what was going on in her brain, you know, and now she was trapped, and I just like needed some space from her craziness. But I felt like I just kind of would lock her off in the other room and like abandon her. And anyway, so there was some really good basic training there with the leash, with the e-collar. Um, they did teach you to like beep them every time they're in the crate and they yelled. So there were some things with the e-collar that I don't necessarily agree with that I stopped doing. But we live on 100 acres in Wyoming, so I love the e-collar for like hikes and stuff because that's when things got a little less stressful for us. We moved to Wyoming, and then I could just let her outside. And I do think she needs some structure now, but like she just that's the only time that seems like she's having any joy is when she's outside, like siffing around, and like um I can she knows what here means when I beat use the buzzer. She 80% comes, but um, there's always that time when she's like chasing a deer or you know, like into something really exciting that she won't listen. So I do think we have some work there to do. I'll stop with that trainer, but then I got another dog coach because I was like, I think maybe a year and a half into it, I was still just concerning if I should re-home or like you know, feeling pretty lost. Um, I found a lady that does dog listening. Do you know what that is? It's like the lady that the do you know who the horse whisperer is?
SPEAKER_02No.
SPEAKER_04Okay, he's some guy that's just amazing with horses, and their friends did the same thing with dogs. So basically studied wild dogs and then brought it into like a training. That was super helpful. I just feel like I need a little bit more, but it I feel like it relates a lot to things that you say, like um like going, like walking first, like going through the door, like thresholds first, um, like elevation and what that means to a dog. Um, there's a lot of ignoring your dog and kind of teaching the the idea is to teach the dog that you're like the leader of the pack with certain little like gentle things. She's like the gentlest person I know, the lady that teaches this. So that was super helpful because I feel like she taught me how to be gentle and not like freak out, like when I was correcting Coco, you know. Um Wyoming's very much like yelling to stop doing things, you know. So yeah, and what are your goals with her? So I just want us both to be able to relax. Like when I first got her, I had big goals to have her do some like calming techniques and take her out powder boarding and you know have the dog that's like your best friend. I've let all that stuff go, it's okay. I'm willing to um do whatever is best for her, but um, I just need us both to be able to stay at home and be able to like relax and have her be more confident and and less anxious,
Separation Anxiety Or Normal Dog Feelings
SPEAKER_04and then separation anxiety is another one. I still feel like I can't leave the house really. She's you know, I work from home, so okay. Yeah. What does the separation anxiety look like? It's gotten better on a good day. I this is something that I got taught from Julie, my other trainer, the one that I really liked. I just leave calmly, and she she this doesn't have often happen often, but she doesn't even bark, she just goes, lays down. I'm gone. But then when I come home, she's like, You're home, you know. And I try to like wait until she calms down before I give her any attention. And then she usually like pouts for a long time. Like I just know she doesn't like it, right? And she never like makes she never had an accident, she never like cheeses on anything. Like when I'm gone, she never like causes trouble at all. She just lays there.
SPEAKER_01My mom was I don't think that that sounds like separation anxiety. What makes you think that she's anxious?
SPEAKER_04Well, because that's like a good day, so that does happen sometimes. I think just her behavior when I get back, she's like very anxious when I come back. She's anxious, it takes her a while to calm down. And on a lot of days when I leave, she'll bark, you know, she'll bark or howl for five to ten minutes. On a I know it this used to happen, it very rarely happens anymore. But I left the other day when she was in a moon and she um barked for about an hour. So my mom finally went down to see if make sure she was okay. And that seems like separation anxiety, right?
SPEAKER_02Girl, I think you just got a dog. I I think you're I think you're reading into the things that dogs just do and like analyzing everything because I'm I'm sure that I'm a hundred percent sure that she's probably like genetically a little anxious, you know. Um, one of our trainers has a Aussie Doodle and she's working through her activity and all the same things, but I think at the end of the day, like she's literally just a dog and has feelings, and I wouldn't I wouldn't put all of these labels on her if I came back anytime I come back and my dogs are out, like they're they've got big feelings that I'm back home, but it's not necessarily that anything is wrong with them or that they have anxiety, or you know, they're just excited, like they're just dogs, they they vocalize their big feelings, and you know, I have a lab that's here with me right now, and she's a little drivier than most labs. I put her on place and she's like, you know, kind of like a teapot dog, but it's not necessarily anxiety. I wouldn't label her as an anxious dog, she's just a bit drivier, she just has a bit more intensity to her, you know, and different dogs are gonna be like that. Um she is very intense, yeah, yeah. I think she's probably just a bit drivey, she's got some big feelings, and I wouldn't necessarily get too worked up or like try to label it or try to like you know fix these things or think that something is wrong with her just because she's vocalizing or just because she's barking and getting excited when you come home, you know. Like I would almost be more concerned if I came home and my dogs didn't do anything. I would be like, Are you dying? Like, are you okay? You know, and I think that's kind of part of it is like we have these animals and they're like they're literally these little predators that we put in our house and live with, and like they do have emotions, they do have big feelings, they do have like you know, drive, and we're going to see that, you know. And sometimes we have the expectation that our dogs should be like not robots, but that they shouldn't have these big feelings. Um, but I'm definitely not in that camp, you know. I think that it's all about balance. Yeah, I think it's all about balance. Like I let my dogs jump up on me when I come home, and I'm not necessarily like gonna ignore them. If we're struggling with like true anxiety, then yeah, like getting them super pumped when you leave and when you come home, like not the best approach, you know. But like I don't think that it's the end of the world that she howls a little bit when you leave, or you know, is working herself up when you get back. Um I mean that's good to hear.
SPEAKER_04Like, I'm her personal. I don't even really know what I should be expecting, and I think that's half of it. Like, even just to have someone be like, that's normal.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, like yeah, I think it's literally just dog behavior. Um, I do think that you should implement some structure in the house with each other, you know, and I think well, I think that'd be helpful.
SPEAKER_04She does like follow me from room to room, and she won't, yeah. She's like, that's her job, like her job, right? It seems like is to keep me safe and watch where I am all the time. But I don't like that. I'm like a avoidant attachment person, yeah.
SPEAKER_02Well, it's like the two of you are just like being anxious, feeding off of each other, and you're like, Why are you anxious? and she's like, Why are you anxious?
SPEAKER_03It's my job to take care of you. She's like, Well, why are you staring at me? Yeah, exactly. It's like this whole crazy thing that we've created.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah. So I think like the biggest change for you is gonna come from a bit of detachment from the emotions that you're putting on her, and that's obviously easier said than done. Um but I don't know. Dogs are dogs are kind of like simple little creatures, and they're it sounds like you have a very external dog, like she has big feelings, and you're gonna see it. You know, she's gonna howl, she's gonna, you know, jump up and whenever you come back. I don't necessarily think that that is like the end of the world. I think it's literally just dog things. So
Accountability With Place And Leash Pressure
SPEAKER_02like what I would do is that I can handle it's her fear, it's her fear.
SPEAKER_04It's like if I was put her into a kennel, she will literally look like I'm gonna kill her.
SPEAKER_02Does she know any skills? Does she know sit, down, place, anything like that? Does she know place? She knows it.
SPEAKER_04Okay, perfect. She's your typical what you've talked about, not food motivated, anxious, um lazy training dog. Like she knows a lot of commands, but she doesn't care about a lot of them.
SPEAKER_02Yes, it's not necessarily that she doesn't care, it's that it's optional, right? Because you're not holding her accountable to it.
SPEAKER_04So accountability looks like like the other day. So I've been trying to do more stuff this week, and so I had her do place. She like circled the mat three times, she's very cautious, looked at it, stepped on to it, stepped off, and looked at me like, are you like what I was asking her to do was like scary, like, really, really, really scary.
SPEAKER_02Because you never ask her to do anything, and that's why she's so scared of doing little things.
SPEAKER_04Matt, like, what's happening? Like, should I like should I? Yeah, so I I think that's the struggle is I start to get in my head of like, am I hurting her by asking her to do these things? Because that's what it looks like.
SPEAKER_02It looks like you guys are feeding off of each other, so you tell her to go to place, and she's like, Well, I don't really want to do this thing, this is weird. You never tell me to do anything, and then you get weird, and then she's like, Okay, my fear is valid, right? This is totally valid. Like, you have to act how you want her to act. If you want her to be nonchalant and walk on the place cot, you literally have to be place, leash pressure her onto place down, good. Okay, that's it, right? It's not there's no like discussion about this. I'm not asking you to do anything crazy, I'm not putting my own emotions on this thing. Like, I'm literally just asking you to go and lay on this bed. Like, it's not a complicated ask, it is not a scary thing. Okay, but it's little things like that that really add up, right? Is like, yeah, you don't need her, you don't hold her accountable to like anything that you tell her to do. So her anxious mind is like, okay, well, if I have any bit of doubt of like doing this thing, then I don't really have to do it. And her fear is validated through mom, who's like getting anxious, seeing that I'm slightly anxious, you know. So that's kind of what I mean when I say like anxious dogs need somebody who's very confident in what we're asking them. So that is gonna be step one for you is let's work on holding her accountable to little things so that she's like, okay, when mom tells me to go to place, like I'm gonna have to go to place. Like she means it, she's gonna hold me accountable to it. Um, so Lee should be on in the house. You can let it drag. Um it's you know, it's just there to hold her accountable when you need it.
SPEAKER_04I did that when she was a puppy, so she's she doesn't like it, but she's used to it.
SPEAKER_02And that's another great thing to get her used to, right? Like, you don't like this, but like you're literally gonna be fine. It's just a leash dragging, you know. Okay, put her on the okay, she will be okay.
SPEAKER_04I'll be like, I this dog has me trained so well. I basically don't do anything she doesn't like, but I'm worried, like she doesn't wear a collar at all.
SPEAKER_02She doesn't like him, but like I'm worried that it's like you just have like a roommate, yeah, you know, you guys just like coexist together, there's no real like leadership there, yeah. And think like they have a child brain, obviously it's a little bit different because they're a different species, but you know, children need somebody to help them and guide them and tell them what to do.
SPEAKER_04And when do I know if her fear is like valid or am actually doing something that's like too much?
SPEAKER_02Because you are going to start with things that there's no reason that there should be a fear with, right? Like I'm asking you to go on place, like you can go on place. I'm not asking you to walk through a crowd of people, I'm not asking you to jump up onto like a post, you know. I'm not asking you crazy things to do. It we're gonna start with little successes, okay.
SPEAKER_04So and she's really bony, so you don't think that she's like in pain like sitting on the floor.
SPEAKER_02Put her on the place.
SPEAKER_04I just decided I was gonna ask you all of my crazy questions.
SPEAKER_02So no, put her on the placecot. Okay, she's caught where I see this a lot with people is like we'll be training outside and we'll do class with like a bunch of placecots. I'll say, okay, go put your dog on place. And the dog's in the sun, it's not even hot out, it's like 72 degrees. We're literally in California, and the dog gets up from place. Oh, well, they're hot. Yeah, that's hot, that's me. Put them back on place. Okay, like you have to be the one holding her accountable. So, what that looks like is literally start with 10 minutes a day. She knows place, have her leash on, walk over, tell her place. You're gonna walk her on to place. You can give her like a second to sniff it and kind of investigate it, but you know, much longer than that, I'm gonna leash pressure you onto place. Good. Down. I want you to be very clear and confident in the way that you speak as well. It's not gonna be like cocoa, come on, come on, place, place, place, place, you gone place, good. Down, leash pressure down if you need to, good. Okay, drop the leash. If she stays, amazing, walk away, go sit at your desk, do whatever work you need to do at home. If she gets up, no, walk over, grab the leash, leash pressure back onto place. Okay. The first time you do this, you're gonna have to get up all the time, right? Because she's not used to it. And then yeah, she's gonna probably give you some intentional pushback of like, okay, well, I don't want to do this thing because you're making me do this thing. And I see this all the time with the dogs that I work with. I have literally three dogs here for board and train right now who are the same way. They're so used to not having to do anything that they don't want to do. And so the second I ask them to do something, they're like, Well, I don't want to do this. And I'm like, I'm gonna make you do this. Like, you have to do it. And they're like, Well, now I really don't want to do this. Yes, that's dope. We're gonna work through that, and you're gonna have to learn that if I tell you to do something, I am a hundred percent of the time going to hold you accountable to that, which means if you break, I'm always gonna walk back over. And you don't have to be mean, you don't have to, you know, pop her on the leash or punish her or anything like that. I'm not asking you to do anything crazy, I'm just asking for consistency. Yeah, she has to learn that, like, okay, when mom tells me to do something, one, it's not gonna be something that I am incapable of, and two, she's gonna make me do it. I'm gonna have to stay here until I'm released. So start with like a 10-minute session.
SPEAKER_04Um, yeah, and we've been doing like 20-minute sessions this week, so okay, yeah.
SPEAKER_02Should I lower it or um with place? Yeah, does she stay on?
SPEAKER_04No, it's been like you said, okay, do 10 minutes. She's been freaking out all week, so yeah, do 10 minutes.
SPEAKER_02Um, and the problem is like when we have a dog like that who's not super motivated with like food or toys or play or anything, literally every single doodle I've ever trained, we have to just use leash pressure. Like that's pretty much what we're left with is okay, I have to motivate
Tethering Done Right With Chews
SPEAKER_02you through turning the pressure off the leash. So when she gets off of place, grab her leash, bring her back over to place, leash pressure her back into a down. Okay. Can I just use like a slip lead or yeah, use a slip.
SPEAKER_04And then should I tether just tether her or do the place?
SPEAKER_02Um, let's start with place. Place. Okay. For sure. And then tethering. Um, I mean, you can give it a go. Does she like like a bully stick or chew or anything like that?
SPEAKER_04When she's in the mood, she's very moody. Yeah. So I actually just ordered some new chews. She does tend to really like soft chews more. Yeah. With a hard chew. And I actually was gonna see if maybe I wanted to get some dental x-rays this year. I just need to rule out any physical things because she's so that I don't can stop worrying about it. But she used to love bully sticks, but now she doesn't. It's like they're too hard to chew on. She'll carry it around for an hour whining and then finally just give up and drop it somewhere. I don't know.
SPEAKER_02I don't necessarily think that it's too hard. Sometimes dogs, when we give them high value things, they just like my golden, my red golden does that. Like she won't chew the bully stick sometimes. She'll just like possess it, you know. She's like, oh my god, I have this thing. Like I have to go like bury it in a couch cushion. Yeah. Yeah. And that's just like that's just like a bit of like feral, like, I'm giving you a high value thing and they're going to like save it for later kind of thing. Um so I would give her softer things that she's able to consume quicker or like, you know, in one session, whereas a bully stick lasts a little bit longer. So the dogs are typically a bit more possessive over it, you know, because they're like, Oh, I'm gonna savor this thing. I'm gonna go like hide it somewhere. Um, but like something that is more like a treat, that sort of thing. Um so they relate the tether to something positive, yeah. And it's just, I'm trying to think. I ordered some like rabbit ears, yeah. Things like that. Yeah. Things that are like a little bit smaller, that it's more so just kind of like a treat. But I always like to start tethering where, like, I'm just gonna give you this thing. We just get into the habit of like, okay, tether time is when you get your high value treats and your fun things and the things that you like. I'm gonna tether you, put you, you know, in the same room as me. You're just gonna hang out there and give the rabbit ear or whatever it is, and then let her settle for a little bit afterwards. And if she hits the end of the leash and is pacing, you're gonna have to wait it out, you know. So I don't want you to take her off when she is in that. You have to work through it, and then every time that you do it, it will get quicker and quicker.
SPEAKER_04Okay, well, and I just sometimes I just need to sit down and work and like not think about her, right? Like, yeah, she's always pacing, always staring at me, and yeah, I just want her to be able to shut off, like know that when I'm working, she can just relax, you know.
SPEAKER_02And that would be the value of the crate, but we don't have that yet. Yeah, do you think I should try or I think start with literally the tiny things place and tether.
SPEAKER_04Okay, because I'm not opposed to it, I just know I need to approach a crate very carefully for it to be successful, you know, now that we're at where we're at.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, well, you just have to teach her like the crate is the crate, it's not like this big traumatic thing. You the problem with the crate is like it's just like the tether, you have to teach them that like fighting it is not going to get you off of the tether, you know. So, like if we can do that in small, manageable moments, like with place, right? You do not decide when you get off of place. I will tell you when you get off of place. So, with that, we need a very clear release word. Do you have a release word?
SPEAKER_04Um yes, but I don't think it's a good one because I mix it up. Um, I use good to like like while she's on it to like encourage her to stay. And then um if I say here, she knows that she can come off, but the release that we kind of fell into is okay. That's fine. Stick with okay. Um, I use it a lot when I'm talking, so sometimes she gets confused.
SPEAKER_02I wouldn't mix it up too much. Um, okay. If you've been using okay, just do that. It's very contextual for the dogs, even if you're using it in a sentence. If I'm not releasing you, I'm gonna bring you back. With my release, I like to add some sort of like tactical touch. So I do a nose boop. So my word is break. So I'll walk up, I'll say break. So the dogs know that you're never allowed to break the position until I come up and physically touch you. It doesn't matter if I'm standing next to you, it doesn't matter if I'm across the room or what is happening. You cannot get off of place or you're down or whatever position until I come over and release you from that position with that touch. So I would add that onto it. It adds a bit of clarity.
SPEAKER_04Um, because I also good practice for you and like waving my arm, but like I wave my arms a lot. Yeah, yeah, exactly. Um sometimes she like it's my fault that she's like, okay, I'm free now. And I'm like, wait, no, that's not what I meant.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. So start teaching it on the place. Um for your first session with place. What I want you to do is at first, I'm just gonna reward you for going on to place. So you're gonna say, place, walk her over onto place, good, down. I like to have a down, especially for like my more anxious dogs. I want you to kind of like default settle when you get onto place. So down, you're gonna wait a second. Yeah, plus she's smart.
SPEAKER_04Sometimes she just like puts a paw on it. Yeah, yeah. And then she's on the floor and then puts like a paw, like, and then I'm like, no, and then she puts another paw, and then she'll like scoo slowly onto it.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, so just put her on there for literally like a second or two, and then nose boop. Okay, you'll walk her back over, place she steps on it, good down, good, okay, and rep that out. Just rep out walking on the place, going into a down on place, and then our release word, you know. Like how many times do you think? Until she is smoothly doing it. Okay, yeah. And if she likes you and like gets excited with you, like that's what I like to call like our active session, and that's kind of the time where, like, yeah, you can have these big feelings, and like I'll be like, Well, good job. Oh my gosh, you know, and they're like, Yeah, it was a good job. Like, you can hype her up, like when she's doing the thing correctly, especially if she's not food motivated, you know, it's hard with her because she's very attention motivated.
SPEAKER_04But I almost think I've trained her to do it when she wants attention.
SPEAKER_02Use that if it's something that she wants, we can use it as a motivator in our training session. Okay, because then when I want her attention, she'll look at me and like walk away. But if we practice starting the session with like, okay, we're gonna do this thing, and she's like, I don't really want to do this thing, but then she does the thing, awesome, you get your reward, you get my attention. You can howl and you know, jump around all you want. Yeah, good job, good job. Throw a little party, okay, place, she goes on to place. Good, okay, good job. Wow, you know, hype her up in between those reps and be like, Hey, when you do the thing that I tell you to do,
Using Tug As A Real Reward
SPEAKER_02good things happen, right? That's dog training in itself, and we just have to change what that reward is because the typical food reward is not gonna work with her, you know.
SPEAKER_04Okay, so she does love toys or playing with me. Then you hell yeah, use that. Okay. Are you in my community?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, so I just joined. Okay, you should come on the calls.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, I was a little bit confused if you were still doing those. Okay. Yep.
SPEAKER_02So I do calendars blank. I do those every Tuesday. Um it will, I believe it's like in events. I'll post it each week, and then you'll just RSVP to it, and then it will send you a video link very similar to this. Okay. And so it's a really awesome group of people, and we do training sessions like that literally every week. Okay. You know, and so I can show you how you can use play as a reward in your training sessions.
SPEAKER_04Okay, yeah, because that's the other thing is I I've never found a trainer that made it fully clear on how to use a toy to train.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. So what kind of toy is it?
SPEAKER_04She loves just tug a war with any kind of she used to just tear up her stuffed toys, like a true Aussie. Yeah. She go through the seam and tug.
SPEAKER_02Does she like like a rope toy?
SPEAKER_04She still likes to like tug on like a rope or uh um she or like a like a stuffed animal or chasing a flirt pole.
SPEAKER_02Amazing, amazing. There's a lot that we we can do with that. Okay, yeah.
SPEAKER_04She's not like a fetch girl, you know.
SPEAKER_02So that's fine. We can totally work with playing tug. So we basically just have to integrate that into our training sessions, and that is how I train all of my malinois, is with a ball on a rope, and we play tug. Okay. So YES is our reward, right? So yes means you get a reward. Typically, we see this with food, but it can also mean play. So yeah, I she knows the yes command. Will she like bite the tug after you say yes?
SPEAKER_04I've never tried it with toys because I've been yeah confused. So we do it with treats.
SPEAKER_02Let's let's try it with a toy. So, what that will look like integrated into your place session is I want you to have your tug like tucked into the back of your pants so that she can't see it. Okay. So you're gonna have your leash on her, have your place cot set up, ready to go. You'll tell her place, leash pressure her onto place, good, down. Then we'll do okay, nose boop. And I want you to take out your tug, and she's gonna be like, Oh my gosh, where did that come from, mom? And I want you to say, You're gonna hold it out, you're gonna say yes, and you're gonna shuffle back until she bites it. And then I want you to tug, tug, tug. Okay, so we're gonna teach her that yes means you get to bite the tug and play with me. Tug, tug, tug.
SPEAKER_04Okay, that will be a high reward for her.
SPEAKER_02So yeah, yeah. So we can use that to mark all the behaviors that we want, and eventually we can build up this really clear game of tug with her, and then we can take it around things that normally scare her, right? So let's say she's a little scared of the lake, right? Let's go to the lake and play tug. Okay, you know, so like that is how I build dogs' confidence. I teach them a clear game of markers and commands and rewards, and then I take that game in as many different places as possible.
SPEAKER_04Okay, because yeah, we used to use treats, but like because of her, I honestly think she has stomach issues, and so it's like it's almost like the opposite, yeah. It's almost like, yeah, okay, I hate this place, and I have a stomach, and I hate food, and this is the worst.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, exactly. So if she likes to play, hell yeah, I would say that is even better. Um, take her like out to the lake and take out your flirt pole. If she likes the flirt pole, get her chasing, play flirt pole with her, play tug with her, you know, like her there, yeah.
Markers That Create A Training Mindset
SPEAKER_02And when there's another dog, it's like yeah, and we can build that up, but it starts in the home, you know.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, um, something else, yeah, start at home right now.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, something else I want you to add on to these training sessions is we're gonna be very intentional about when we're doing a training session. So you're gonna have your place caught. You have like, let's say, a 10-minute break in the day, and you're like, all right, I'm gonna do a training session. I'm gonna grab my tug that I only have for these training sessions. I'm not gonna leave it out during the day. Okay, okay, tuck it into the back of your pants, have your place caught out, you put the leash on her. You're gonna open the training window by saying, Are you ready? And at first she's gonna be like, I don't know what that means. But over time, every single time I start my training session and I say, Are you ready? She's gonna get excited and she's gonna be like, Oh my gosh, we're about to do this fun thing. Okay. So we're gonna open our training session with that, are you ready? We're gonna go into our behaviors place. Maybe we just play tug with her. Maybe we don't ask anything of her. So maybe I say, Are you ready? And then I take out my tug. Yes, play, play, play. Do you have an out with her? Um, no, but I think she would really like that. I don't like teaching her to let go of it.
SPEAKER_04Oh, oh yeah. Just drop it.
SPEAKER_02Okay. So at first, I don't want to out her too many times in a training session. Like, I want her to win a lot, especially if she's not super confident. Um, something that people mess up on is they'll like get their dog super amped. The dog is playing, playing, playing, and then they're like, leave it, drop, drop, drop, and then okay, we've taken the fun out of the game.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, I could see that that would happen with her, or just make her be unsure that she did the wrong thing, right? Exactly.
SPEAKER_02So tug, tug, tug, let go of it. Let her run away with it, let her do circles in your living room, and then shuffle backwards. Come on, come on, come on. Try to get her to bring it back over to you. And when she does, play, play, play, let go of it. She runs laps, she possesses it, she has fun. Come on, come on, bring it back over, play, play, play. So you bringing it back over does not mean that I'm gonna take it away from you. Okay, it means that you can play with me, and that eventually is gonna be the reward is the playing with you.
SPEAKER_04Okay, I think we can do that because a lot of times, like with stuffies, we'll do that, yeah. Same thing, and then she'll come back and sit in my lap and like chew on it. Yeah, so yeah, I think she doesn't attach me with taking stuff away from her, so that's perfect.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, yeah, I did something right. Yeah, keep keep building up that game with her, and like that is the time when you can bark and you can jump and like you can get all of your big dog feelings out. And I think that that also is really important, you know, of like, hey, let's put this energy into something productive, let's put it into our play so that I can use that as a reward in our training. Okay. So then when we're done, you let's say you get the tug, she lets go of it, she's tired. We're gonna end it with all done. And then I want you to take your tug, go and put it up on a top shelf or something, somewhere where she can't get it. So yeah, that tug is associated with mom. That tug is associated with okay, we're about to do a fun training session.
SPEAKER_04So all of these little during that training session, though, I'm doing the place command as well, right?
SPEAKER_02You don't always have to. Um, so I would say maybe start like building up this game first and see how she does, you know. If she's like super engaged and she's doing great, amazing, then I can start asking for behaviors paired with that play. Okay. You know, and like you might get her shooting over to the place cot because she wants to like play tug with you again, you know. So you say place, she runs over to place, yes, she shoots off the place cot, comes over, grabs the tug, play, play, play, play, play. Okay. So all of these little cues are teaching our dogs that something good is about to happen. We're about to do a fun training session. I have created the state of mind that I want with the dog. With insecure dogs, I want to get them jacked up. I want to get them excited to work for me because then I can take that same state of mind into fearful situations, you know. So, like, for example, um, I do sport with my malinois, and part of that is we have to walk on like squeaky toys and like balls and all of this stuff. And the first time I did it, she's like weird. She's like, Oh, whoa, what was that? Right. But I built up a game of play with her, built that up inside where there's not things on the ground, and then I take that game and I say, Are you ready? And there's squeaky toys and balls and a bunch of you know things on the ground, and she doesn't even pay attention because she knows the game with me so well. And I cue it with the are you ready? So she's like, Oh yeah, we're about to do that thing, you know. So a dog who is scared of water, exact same thing. I can take her to the you know, beach of the lake, and she's gonna be like, Oh my god, weird. And then you look at her and you go, Are you ready? And she's gonna be like, Wait, are you trying to do a training session right now? You go, Are you ready? She'll be like, Oh my gosh, yeah, I am ready. Play, play, play, play. Okay, that's how we change how she feels about these things that would typically make her nervous, you know. And the same thing with place, right? Do place so that you can get the thing that you really want, which is playing with me.
SPEAKER_04Okay, so the markers we talked about are are you ready? And then just playing while you're playing, and then all done at the end, right? Yeah, I missed one, okay. Okay, yeah, okay, and so I like read through a lot of your stuff in the monthly. Should I like try to implement all the things on that?
SPEAKER_02Like, do one thing at a time. So, right now, let's focus on building up her motivation on this play thing with play and then the place maybe. Yep, okay, yep, let's start there. Um, definitely go and I upload all of the live sessions that I record every week. Go and watch those because you'll get to see exactly how I structure these training sessions, and it'll be very similar to how you'll do it.
SPEAKER_04Okay, and do you do you think that me, like with all of my issues, like that I can do this for sure.
SPEAKER_02I think that doing this is gonna help you as well, yeah. And you're her best shot.
SPEAKER_04Yeah, I just that's what I think.
SPEAKER_02If I gave her to someone else, like she's super attached to me, so I feel like it would I think that this will really help both of you and your confidence.
SPEAKER_04Okay, and have you seen other humans like that are super anxious improve? I just feel like humans are difficult, more difficult than dogs.
SPEAKER_02Humans are more difficult than dogs for sure, but yes, there I have done this for eight years now, and you are not my you are not my first anxious person with an anxious dog. Okay, not at all, you know, and I think you know, that's why I have the community too, is like I think you should really get on those calls during the week because the people that are in there are in the exact same boat that you are in, and it's gonna be really helpful for you to see like, oh my god, I'm actually not doing this alone.
SPEAKER_04That also is really helpful that other people don't have you know, you've been to Instagram, and it looks like first of all, they spend five hours grooming and you know, training, and I'm like, I don't have that kind of time, five hours a day. Or
Feeding Routine And Nighttime Boundaries
SPEAKER_04and their dog's perfect.
SPEAKER_02So you can definitely do this.
SPEAKER_04Okay, I wanted to ask you about like bedtime stuff, but I know we're out of time. Yeah, real quick, what you got? I just it's been another issue with us. She doesn't like to sleep alone, obviously. She is so good at making me do what she wants by acting, you know, like giving me the eyes and seem super worried that like something bad's gonna happen. But I like don't sleep very well at all. So having her in the bed with me, she like twitches, she like wakes me up all night. I need somehow to like know that she's okay and like also get some space. Um, I've just been putting her like because the crates haven't working work, she doesn't like any of her beds. I've just been putting her on this like really fancy blanket in the on the couch in the living room. But then sometimes she still like comes to my door and whines. So I have to put my headphones on so that I can go to bed. But um, yeah, if you have any advice about what to do there, I I don't know. She's gets sick a lot at night, so then I feel bad because she's you know, I'll go out into the living room and she's like thrown up twice. And I don't know if she's been pacing around all night all by herself.
SPEAKER_02How many times a day are you feeding her?
SPEAKER_04Um we've switched through a lot of things right now. We're trying, we are trying a little bit of like training treats, like this really great the kiwi, the kiwi New Zealand ground um dehydrated beef. And then raw food at night, so it's like 8020. She won't eat in the morning. She eats more at night. I've tried feeding her like little amounts, and it doesn't really seem to matter how much I feed her, but also I've been bribing her for a long time. If I put like cheese, so I've been reading a bunch this week. Because last week I was like, I gotta tackle this dog thing. I was reading a bunch about how like I basically have trained her also to be picky because I put her favorite stuff on hot dogs, like whatever I can do to get her to eat.
SPEAKER_02Um, yeah, I would maybe try to feed her midday. Um, she's not gonna let herself starve. I I have issues if I feed the dogs too late at night. Sometimes they do, like, I don't know. I have some dogs that do well, and then some that I'm having to wake up in the middle of the night to go and let them out to potty. So I've been feeding the dogs once a day in the morning, and then obviously I do training sessions with them so they get you know rewards during that. Be mindful of the single ingredient treats like the liver, things like that, that you're not giving her too much of that. Um, they just need a very small amount of organ meats. Yeah. Um, try to feed her at lunch. If she doesn't eat, pick it up, put it in the fridge, try it again later. If she doesn't eat, pick it up, we'll put it in the fridge, we'll try again the next day. Um, doodles are just notorious of that. They are just notoriously bad eaters. Um, but they will I have never had a dog starve itself. Yeah. You know, so just get on some sort of routine where it's like, okay, this is when I feed you. If you don't eat 20 minutes later, I'm picking it up. You know, that's kind of like your opportunity to eat.
SPEAKER_04And that's what we started doing this week. So she hasn't been eating, and also she's been sick this week as well.
SPEAKER_02So um but um, and then as far as like where she sleeps, I'm fine with her being in a separate room, but if she's just like up all night pacing, working herself up into an anxious fit, like you have to restrain her in some way. Either you can get like an X pen if you don't want to do the crate and just kind of like have a little pen for her, and like this is where you go and sleep. Um, and then at some point we can correct the the barking and the whining.
SPEAKER_04We have an e-collar and we can use it, you know, yeah, and she does know e-collar commands, like she like at least a few of them, so she's not unfamiliar with it.
SPEAKER_02But let's tackle one thing at a time. Um let's build up some motivation with her first.
SPEAKER_04Have her sleep in the room with me, but on the on her mat, or I mean, you know that that's not gonna work, right?
SPEAKER_02She's probably gonna jump up in bed with you. So if you're not prepared to wake up every single time she jumps in bed with you and put her back on the floor, then I wouldn't do that. Okay.
SPEAKER_04Okay, probably something for a later time to address.
SPEAKER_02Let's tackle one thing at a time. Um, right now, let's build up that game and motivation and start pairing that with little things that you don't want to do, but I'm gonna make you do anyways. Place, you know, start your tether, see how she does with that. You might tether her, and she might have one, you know, big fit, and then I think she might do that, and then she settles, and then like you could tether her at night in the room with you, you know, like they we don't know, we don't know until we try it. So give it a go, and then eventually we'll address the the pacing, the whining, the barking. Yeah, okay you know, but I typically won't do that first until I have some sort of motivation for the dog because I don't want your whole life to be like, okay, I'm just gonna go correct everything right now, and like your life sucks. Like let's build up that game first, and that's how it was, you know.
SPEAKER_04It was like my other trainer before I was like, just use the e-collar, but then it was just like me, no, no, buzz, buzz, buzz, and just you know, and then the shock, and then she hates that, so seemed really negative for both of us. Yeah, so I like that. I love I like that approach, starting small and in the house, and kind of rebuilding our trust as well before we take it out, like with other dangers. So thank you so much, Megan. Thanks for being so patient with me.
SPEAKER_02I of course, I would love for you to join the calls. I think it would be really, really helpful for you. So those are gonna be Thursdays afternoon. I think I'll do them at two or three. Um, but you'll get a notification in the community where you can sign up for those in RSVP, and then it will send you a link to join in video. Um, I try to record them as much as I can so that we can you know go back and post them to the group. So if you're not able to be there, I'll always like upload them there. Okay. Well, okay, you got this. If you need any help, record your sessions, record your play sessions, um, and then you can send it to me in the
Community Support And Next Steps
SPEAKER_02Mighty Network app and I can help you out.
SPEAKER_04Oh, okay. I I didn't realize that. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. All right.
SPEAKER_02Good luck. You got this. Okay. Bye. All right, guys. Thank you so much for being here and listening to this episode. If you would like to join the online community, I'll have the link in the show notes for that. And we'll see you next week. Bye.