April Saulnier's Dog Training

One year later, Deedee is still working hard. From a dog dealing with serious aggression to being a dedicated little gal!

Don’t be upset by the results you didn’t get with the work you didn’t do. #trainyourdog #trainyourmind #dogsquad

Leash Your Fitness Recall class! Great job to all my clients for their hard work!

A sweet friendship refreshes the soul. Hard to believe Breeze (Schnauzer used to scream if he even walked by her. Now they play, cuddle and eat together!

Shout out to this boy! He was my foster when he came into our rescue. He was everything aggressive. After I brought him home I almost had a moment thinking what have I done.. Slowly we integrated him into our household, always with a muzzle for safety and with training he never minded wearing it. We started to fall in love with his quirks and personality (his good side).... Then I sent him to live with a family member to continue working with him. ( So I wouldn’t keep him myself). And the journey to rehabilitate him continued. Some of his quirks are still there. Like trying to tell his vet she’s not allowed to touch him. Thank you Adele Doucet for all your patience. Last visit I accompanied him and it went a little smoother! He also hates when dogs rudely approach him. We of course always have him muzzled in places where people tend to be irresponsible with their own dogs to protect his life. Today I was able to fully groom him and cut his nails without a muzzle. This is a HUGE accomplishment. I’m very proud of his mom for all her hard work. Klaus is a very well trained dog these days. He’s also lucky to be alive because without his entire team to assist him I’m not sure he would have made it through. Thank you so much to his parents for ALWAYS doing what I ask of you. Thank you for truly seeing him for what he is and making sure he becomes his best self!

This behaviour is FEAR. This can very emotional for people to watch and the environment MUST be controlled to prevent additional unwanted behaviour. When Cash approaches Breeze screams. As noticed, I don’t talk to her, pet her or pick her up. If I did this would be reinforcement of fear. With the likelihood of increasing these behaviours. ... However it would not be ok for Cash to get into her space anymore than he is or she could choose fight which can also increase behaviour. This is a happy medium of she needs to adjust as this isn’t a dangerous scenario and controlled by me. This is why working with trainers is beneficial so we do things correctly and I’m forever grateful to her mom for starting early and being committed to her! As you can see in my post from last night by the end of the evening things were very smooth and she wanted to play!

Tell me. Is this dog being aggressive? **Thanks Tippy Tails Pet Care for letting me use this photo!... *Submissive Grin is a happy smile. This isn’t aggressive!

Tonight we spent the night introducing Breeze to our training crew. Stella and Oreo our foster fail kittens who rarely get a non blurry photograph. They are quite dog savvy and know their boundaries quite well. Cash is our first dog we introduced to Breeze because of his calm nature and littleinterest in conflict. ... At first Breeze was very nervous, screamed and cried whenever Cash walked by. We respected her space and left her to deal with her emotions. By the end of the evening she was trying to play quite well.

Welcome my new sidekick for the week! We are working on confidence building. Stay tuned for more.

Differences in breeds do exist. Here are two people pleasing breeds and a problem solving breed. This doesn’t mean the beagle isn’t intelligent or unable to learn. It simply takes more consistency and practice. ... Notice my lack of words. I’m not using words in case anyone messes up I’m not confusing my actual commands as this is an exercise that’s more difficult and not something these dogs have practiced together consistently. *Hang tight clients as we get in contact with all of you for changes during Red Phase.

The hound dog way: I’m not going to give up, shut up or let up till I’m taken up, as a matter of fact I’m just getting warmed up! I’m so very proud of Pablo. He’s had his first off leash experience. To be clear beagles tend to be horrid off leash so he still wears one for safety but he was very happy to recall back when asked for most of his adventure. Hounds are a problem solver not a people pleaser. It takes patience and consistency to create these behaviours and no matter how hard you train you can’t ever trust your work 110%.

Dog and cat introductions should always be done with patience. Safety features can include leashes, baby gates and crates. Dogs can act very different pending on for context of a situation. A cat laying down is not the same as a cat running. Fast movements can cause dogs to chase and potentially injure cats. It’s best not to yell, or use force as it can create a negative environment for everyone.

Leash Your Fitness.

Price and his mom drive a couple hours to come see me. I was so impressed today. Our last meet was a lot of barking and lunging at me. Visible insecurities and reactivity with other dogs. Today I was giving him treats him his muzzle (for safety). He was a ROCKSTAR. He was able to ignore dogs quiet quickly after they entered versus lengthy amounts of time his mom would spend curbing his aggression. ... Dogs like Price are special and his mom even more so. She’s really committed to his success and that makes this team reach their goals. I cannot wait to see them again!

Covid and Dog hair.. Both good reasons to wear your mask!

Important Recall Notes!

Her first time trying hoops! Guess her breed?

The dogs in this class are starting some heel work! Teaching heel is a big process and takes a lot of consistency. I often hear I don’t want to use food to teach.... In turn do you like to work for free? Food isn’t a bribery it’s a pay check which we can slowly diminish the amount over time. See more

We have a 2:40PM cancellation for tomorrow. Send us a message if you’d like to squeeze in!

Lots of fun today!

Leash Your Fitness! Sign up now https://aprilsdogtraining.as.me/?appointmentType=4672005

If this is you- perhaps you should come and visit for some recall exercises!

Respect is a two way street- if you want it, you must give it.

So much fun today

I’m incredibly proud of this family. The dog on the left had been dealing with severe reactivity, aggression to dogs for a period of time. A new puppy was added 10 months ago. ... To be honest I wasn’t sure if they were going to ever be able to do this but they kept up the commitment needed and this is the result. This is incredible and such a wonderful Holiday surprise.

Pablo our foster dog is learning some boundaries. Training is short and sweet so he can be successful!