Training Blog & Videos

In this video, professional dog trainer Arie Ebaugh (MS, CPDT-KA) breaks down dog body language in real time. This video features Fenton the Corgi, showing off many important body language clues. A dog’s body language expresses their mood, feelings, and stimulation level. When a human is able to properly “read” a dog, it is much easier to determine what they need or how they feel. Even more important, a solid understanding of canine body language can keep humans safe in stressful or dynamic environments. Many parts of a dog’s body cue the human to their mood/feelings: ears, eyes, tail, mouth, body stiffness/looseness, and weight distribution being the most obvious aspects to check. It is important to consider EACH of these parts of the dog before making a decision about a dog’s mood or feelings. No SINGLE part of a dog’s body will tell the whole story. We must look at ALL the clues AND the context/scenario in which the dog is being observed before coming to ANY conclusions. For example, a wagging tail for a dog can be a sign of sociability and wanting petting, OR it can be a warning sign that a dog is high arousal and may be ready to react/bite. Looking at the REST of the dog, besides just the tail, will tell us which it is! Why do we care how a dog feels? A dog’s body language tells us if it is safe to approach, if a dog wants to be petted, or if a dog is warning us to stay away. Moreover, dogs are more receptive and consistent when they have a relationship with a human that can effectively read and communicate with them. Put simply, dogs are happier, healthier, and safer with humans that can read them. Dive in and see what you can learn about YOUR pup’s feelings. Need personalized training help? Visit Arie's website to schedule a training session today: www.PupsUnleashed.com

In this video, professional dog trainer Arie Ebaugh (MS, CPDT-KA) breaks down dog body language in real time. This video features Corvus the Goldendoodle, showing off many important body language clues. A dog’s body language expresses their mood, feelings, and stimulation level. When a human is able to properly “read” a dog, it is much easier to determine what they need or how they feel. Even more important, a solid understanding of canine body language can keep humans safe in stressful or dynamic environments. Many parts of a dog’s body cue the human to their mood/feelings: ears, eyes, tail, mouth, body stiffness/looseness, and weight distribution being the most obvious aspects to check. It is important to consider EACH of these parts of the dog before making a decision about a dog’s mood or feelings. No SINGLE part of a dog’s body will tell the whole story. We must look at ALL the clues AND the context/scenario in which the dog is being observed before coming to ANY conclusions. For example, a wagging tail for a dog can be a sign of sociability and wanting petting, OR it can be a warning sign that a dog is high arousal and may be ready to react/bite. Looking at the REST of the dog, besides just the tail, will tell us which it is! Why do we care how a dog feels? A dog’s body language tells us if it is safe to approach, if a dog wants to be petted, or if a dog is warning us to stay away. Moreover, dogs are more receptive and consistent when they have a relationship with a human that can effectively read and communicate with them. Put simply, dogs are happier, healthier, and safer with humans that can read them. Dive in and see what you can learn about YOUR pup’s feelings. Need personalized training help? Visit Arie's website to schedule a training session today: www.PupsUnleashed.com

In this video, professional dog trainer Arie Ebaugh (MS, CPDT-KA) breaks down dog body language in real time. This video features Cooper the Frenchie (French bulldog), showing off many important body language clues. A dog’s body language expresses their mood, feelings, and stimulation level. When a human is able to properly “read” a dog, it is much easier to determine what they need or how they feel. Even more important, a solid understanding of canine body language can keep humans safe in stressful or dynamic environments. Many parts of a dog’s body cue the human to their mood/feelings: ears, eyes, tail, mouth, body stiffness/looseness, and weight distribution being the most obvious aspects to check. It is important to consider EACH of these parts of the dog before making a decision about a dog’s mood or feelings. No SINGLE part of a dog’s body will tell the whole story. We must look at ALL the clues AND the context/scenario in which the dog is being observed before coming to ANY conclusions. For example, a wagging tail for a dog can be a sign of sociability and wanting petting, OR it can be a warning sign that a dog is high arousal and may be ready to react/bite. Looking at the REST of the dog, besides just the tail, will tell us which it is! Why do we care how a dog feels? A dog’s body language tells us if it is safe to approach, if a dog wants to be petted, or if a dog is warning us to stay away. Moreover, dogs are more receptive and consistent when they have a relationship with a human that can effectively read and communicate with them. Put simply, dogs are happier, healthier, and safer with humans that can read them. Dive in and see what you can learn about YOUR pup’s feelings. Need personalized training help? Visit Arie's website to schedule a training session today: www.PupsUnleashed.com

In this video, professional dog trainer Arie Ebaugh (MS, CPDT-KA) breaks down dog body language in real time. This video features Atlas the Frenchie (French Bulldog), showing off many important body language clues. A dog’s body language expresses their mood, feelings, and stimulation level. When a human is able to properly “read” a dog, it is much easier to determine what they need or how they feel. Even more important, a solid understanding of canine body language can keep humans safe in stressful or dynamic environments. Many parts of a dog’s body cue the human to their mood/feelings: ears, eyes, tail, mouth, body stiffness/looseness, and weight distribution being the most obvious aspects to check. It is important to consider EACH of these parts of the dog before making a decision about a dog’s mood or feelings. No SINGLE part of a dog’s body will tell the whole story. We must look at ALL the clues AND the context/scenario in which the dog is being observed before coming to ANY conclusions. For example, a wagging tail for a dog can be a sign of sociability and wanting petting, OR it can be a warning sign that a dog is high arousal and may be ready to react/bite. Looking at the REST of the dog, besides just the tail, will tell us which it is! Why do we care how a dog feels? A dog’s body language tells us if it is safe to approach, if a dog wants to be petted, or if a dog is warning us to stay away. Moreover, dogs are more receptive and consistent when they have a relationship with a human that can effectively read and communicate with them. Put simply, dogs are happier, healthier, and safer with humans that can read them. Dive in and see what you can learn about YOUR pup’s feelings. Need personalized training help? Visit Arie's website to schedule a training session today: www.PupsUnleashed.com

Door opening/closing training updates with professional dog trainer Arie Ebaugh (MS, CPDT-KA) and Fenton the Corgi! This advanced skill has practical applications (e.g. close the door for a human with full hands or after one of the other dogs pushes open the door) AND gives a task-oriented herding dog a “job” to keep him busy. Fenton started working on this skill in July. This video shows his progress and ability to complete his Task with more complex scenarios and difficult distractions. Fenton also now has a much more complex understanding of what he is doing and why. He no longer needs a food lure on the door (e.g. peanut butter) to encourage him to do the task. The more that Fenton continues to generalize this task, the greater his ability to problem solve in novel, door-related scenarios (e.g. door opens all the way without a gap to go behind, door gets stuck on an object). This higher-order thinking allows for a healthy mental outlet for a VERY intelligent and work-motivated dog, as Corgis and other herding breeds tend to be. This video shows the warm-trials for the day’s training session. Two other update videos with different door exercises are available here: First Trials with Frenchies: https://youtu.be/PLv-F9oXicA Advanced Trials with Frenchies and Food Distractions: https://youtu.be/kzq4ma4HkyM For ideas on how to START training this advanced skill set, check out Arie and Fenton’s first video on the topic here: https://youtu.be/Zw1JKfkprA4 Keep following this talented pup for more updates! His next step will be learning to pull the door handle using a strap to open a completely latched door. If YOU have a highly motivated dog that needs a mental outlet, give this advanced skill a try! Need personalized training help? Visit Arie's website to schedule a training session today: www.PupsUnleashed.com

Door opening/closing training updates with professional dog trainer Arie Ebaugh (MS, CPDT-KA) and Fenton the Corgi! This advanced skill has practical applications (e.g. close the door for a human with full hands or after one of the other dogs pushes open the door) AND gives a task-oriented herding dog a “job” to keep him busy. Fenton started working on this skill in July. This video shows his progress and ability to complete his Task with more complex scenarios and difficult distractions. Fenton also now has a much more complex understanding of what he is doing and why. He no longer needs a food lure on the door (e.g. peanut butter) to encourage him to do the task. The more that Fenton continues to generalize this task, the greater his ability to problem solve in novel, door-related scenarios (e.g. door opens all the way without a gap to go behind, door gets stuck on an object). This higher-order thinking allows for a healthy mental outlet for a VERY intelligent and work-motivated dog, as Corgis and other herding breeds tend to be. This video shows Fenton’s first trials that include the Frenchies in the mix too! Two other update videos with different door exercises are available here: Warm-up Exercise: https://youtu.be/h2FU2QGO-78 Advanced Trials with Frenchies and Food Distractions: https://youtu.be/kzq4ma4HkyM For ideas on how to START training this advanced skill set, check out Arie and Fenton’s first video on the topic here: https://youtu.be/Zw1JKfkprA4 Keep following this talented pup for more updates! His next step will be learning to pull the door handle using a strap to open a completely latched door. If YOU have a highly motivated dog that needs a mental outlet, give this advanced skill a try! Need personalized training help? Visit Arie's website to schedule a training session today: www.PupsUnleashed.com

Door opening/closing training updates with professional dog trainer Arie Ebaugh (MS, CPDT-KA) and Fenton the Corgi! This advanced skill has practical applications (e.g. close the door for a human with full hands or after one of the other dogs pushes open the door) AND gives a task-oriented herding dog a “job” to keep him busy. Fenton started working on this skill in July. This video shows his progress and ability to complete his Task with more complex scenarios and difficult distractions. Fenton also now has a much more complex understanding of what he is doing and why. He no longer needs a food lure on the door (e.g. peanut butter) to encourage him to do the task. The more that Fenton continues to generalize this task, the greater his ability to problem solve in novel, door-related scenarios (e.g. door opens all the way without a gap to go behind, door gets stuck on an object). This higher-order thinking allows for a healthy mental outlet for a VERY intelligent and work-motivated dog, as Corgis and other herding breeds tend to be. This video shows Fenton’s first advanced trials with all four dogs present, including the Frenchies and scattered food as major distractors! Two other update videos with different door exercises are available here: Warm-up Exercise: https://youtu.be/h2FU2QGO-78 First Trials with Frenchies: https://youtu.be/PLv-F9oXicA For ideas on how to START training this advanced skill set, check out Arie and Fenton’s first video on the topic here: https://youtu.be/Zw1JKfkprA4 Keep following this talented pup for more updates! His next step will be learning to pull the door handle using a strap to open a completely latched door. If YOU have a highly motivated dog that needs a mental outlet, give this advanced skill a try! Need personalized training help? Visit Arie's website to schedule a training session today: www.PupsUnleashed.com

Professional dog trainer Arie Ebaugh (MS, CPDT-KA) and four AMAZING pups practice their emergency recall as a group. Within the group of dogs shown here, there are differing levels of understanding as to how to perform the Emergency Recall skill, ranging from extremely fluent to barely having an understanding at all. Check out the clip to see how these differences are taken into account in the training process! In this video, our reward is extremely high value–hot dogs–to build a VERY strong connection between the cue word and the recall. The cue word used to trigger the Emergency Recall is “BONSAI,” yelled confidently ONE TIME. All these factors are important: volume to carry over distance, no repeating the cue so as to protect it, and an unwavering tone of voice so that your dog knows that YOU are calm, even in emergency situations. Dogs are unlikely to recall towards a scared or angry person. A clear, calm, and loud voice is key. Dogs are also MUCH more likely to run to someone that is running AWAY from them or toward a conditioned location (e.g. the porch). It can even be helpful for the person to get low to the ground to elicit a recall response. The WAY humans move their body during a recall can make ALL THE DIFFERENCE between a dog listening in an emergency vs. running away towards danger. If you only train one skill, PLEASE make it an Emergency Recall for your pup’s safety! If your pup doesn’t know the Emergency Recall skill yet, check out Arie’s instructional video on HOW to train the Emergency Recall skill: https://youtu.be/9cJaPgxeFao Need personalized help? Visit Arie's website to schedule a training session today: www.PupsUnleashed.com

Professional dog trainer Arie Ebaugh (MS, CPDT-KA) and Dara the rescue Corgi tackle his fear of the rain during potty breaks. This video discusses the importance of meeting a dog WHERE THEY ARE when addressing fear and anxiety. Communication and compromise, alongside knowing each dog as an INDIVIDUAL, help to maximize a dog’s autonomy in the learning process. A dog that feels IN CONTROL of their own actions can build confidence and curiosity in situations that have historically caused anxiety or fear. Watch the video to learn how Arie & Dara are working together so that he can be more comfortable on potty breaks when it is raining (or threatening to rain). This goal has important health implications so that he does not withhold bathroom eliminations for long periods due to anxiety about the rain. In addition, these exercises help to interrupt the anxiety cycle that is associated with the rain (environmental conditions) in general, making him more willing to engage. Dara is learning that the raindrops are no big deal by giving him choice in WHERE he goes outside (novelty) and offering exploratory SNIFFING (scentwork) when he is brave enough to step outside. There is no forcing, luring, or coaxing; everything proceeds at HIS pace. Like all emotional goals, we celebrate ALL the small successes and use challenging situations as learning experiences from which to grow. There is NO TIMELINE on emotional learning and healing for us, because we know that radical acceptance + support will grow the MOST confident dog in the long-run. Enjoy the process with us! For a cute finisher to this exercise, check out this silly clip here (Corgi floof-butt included): https://youtu.be/9ZbENetPJkc Need personalized help? Visit Arie's website to schedule a training session today: www.PupsUnleashed.com