Our Favorite Dog Training Locations in Virginia Beach Virginia Welcome to a new blog post series on my favorite places to train dogs. I always strive to be as transparent as possible with what the dog training programs will look like. Hopefully this will give you a glimpse into what is possible with our programs.  […] The post Our Favorite Dog Training Locations in Virginia Beach Virginia appeared first on The Freckled Paw Dog Training ..read more

Pain in Dog I am coming out of two full years of injured dogs. Toad needed bilateral TPLO surgery to save his knees in 2022. Cargo was diagnosed with Medial Shoulder Instability in December of last year. My dog cabinet looks like a whole pharmacy. We have been to Physical Therapy, and worked with a […] The post The most over looked symptom in any Behavior Case appeared first on The Freckled Paw Dog Training ..read more

Dog Training in Suffolk Virginia Welcome to a new blog post series on my favorite places to train dogs. I always strive to be as transparent as possible with what the dog training programs will look like. Hopefully this will give you a glimpse into what is possible with our programs. Suffolk, Virginia includes the […] The post Favorite Dog Training Locations in Suffolk Virginia appeared first on The Freckled Paw Dog Training ..read more

Learning and training is fluid. Cargo has been on house arrest for about 6 months now. (She had the dog equivalent of two torn rotator cuffs.) In February she was allowed short walks which we did through the neighborhood. At 1pm in Chesapeake, most of the people are either at work or inside the house with the heat on. Not bundled up walking the dog for 10 minutes. As the weather got nicer, people started doing yard work or walking off the winter weight (“hi, it was me doing that”.) My dog, who has been walking in public since she was 5 weeks old, began to creeper stare at all the people who w ..read more

Gates can be incredibly helpful if you have a “Bolter” Did you know that 4th of July becomes animal services busiest time of the year? The parties, the people, fireworks and general jubilation can be too much for many of our pets. Doors get held open just a little too long, big booms cause otherwise homebody dogs to bolt in panic, gates get left unlatched. Just a recipe for disaster.  What do you do when you realize your pet has become lost?  First, walk your immediate area and knock on doors. More often than not, someone has come across your pet and has them contained to keep them ..read more

We are all about prevention around here! Prevention of injury, prevention of practicing unwanted behavior, and most importantly prevention of behavior issues. Yes, I hope to put myself out of business with all your perfect pups living their best lives. Since I have a ways to go to make that happen, let’s talk about one of the quickest ways to make a difference in your dog’s life.  Tapping into your dogs natural ability Dogs have been specifically bred for certain traits and behaviors for generations. Ingrained in their brain is the need to do the thing they were specifically bred for. Thi ..read more

I took this photo after Cargo spent 45minutes of my hour Zoom session with a client barking at me. All that noise wore her out. Dogs bark. Full Stop. That’s what they do. Often I am called when the barking is getting excessive or happening at inappropriate times. When that happens, my first goal becomes figuring out why the barking is happening in the first place.  Sometimes it’s a breed thing. Some breeds are more vocal than others. Some individuals within a breed are more vocal than others. Hounds find the thing. I see it when hounds are out on walks and suddenly they begin to sing th ..read more

Many of us get dogs to share many aspects of our lives with. We want a dog who is content to hang out in the house when we leave, one who can adapt to people coming into the house, and most importantly one who does not embarrass us when out in public. What are the requirements for  a dog we can take for a walk in the neighborhood without it feeling like another mentally taxing chore. Lets break down some of the big things! No barking The neighborhood does not need to know when we are out on a walk. They also do not care that there is another dog (person, car, squirrel, kid, bicycle…) also ..read more

I have yet to find a magic wand to teach dogs to walk politely on the leash. If anything I have found lots and lots of ways to sabotage your dog’s leash skills. I tell every client that I want them to think of the leash as a “seatbelt not a steering wheel”. That means the leash is only there to keep your dog from doing something dumb, like running into traffic. Leash laws exist for a reason right? The leash also provides you a safety net to prevent your dog practicing skills that you never want to see, like running up to unfamiliar dogs or people. Here are three tips to help you master your do ..read more

Cebastian works on a puzzle near the Christmas tree. Here in Virginia, we are lucky enough to only get a few months of the year when the weather is too horrible to walk the dogs. This is especially true if we have mild winters. That doesn’t mean we want to be out in the cold. So what do we do with our dogs when it’s cold and dark and we just don’t want to go for a walk? Here are a few of my favorite things to do with my dogs instead of walks. Conditioning Avoiding Vet visits is always a priority in my house. Some things are unavoidable like upset tummies and the various lacerations my dogs s ..read more