WEBVTT - Nikki Varva: Dog Training 101 0:00:08.320 --> 0:00:12.760 You're listening to in the Vets Office with doctor Josie Horchak. 0:00:15.880 --> 0:00:18.280 All right, welcome to in the Vets Office. I am 0:00:18.320 --> 0:00:20.680 your host, doctor Josie, and this week we are joined 0:00:20.680 --> 0:00:24.120 by a very special guest, my friend Nicki Varva. She 0:00:24.280 --> 0:00:27.840 is an amazing dog trainer. She's been training for twelve 0:00:27.920 --> 0:00:31.880 years professionally and actually just this past December went out 0:00:32.000 --> 0:00:33.960 on her own and decided to open up her own 0:00:34.560 --> 0:00:38.040 training program here in Nashville. It's called Always Training Canine. 0:00:38.680 --> 0:00:41.880 Her bread and butter is behavior modification, but she really 0:00:41.880 --> 0:00:45.519 does it all. She can do doc diving, search and 0:00:45.600 --> 0:00:48.839 rescue and is really passionate about training service dogs for 0:00:48.920 --> 0:00:50.920 veterans with PTSD. 0:00:51.120 --> 0:00:53.320 So welcome Nicki. I'm so happy to have you. Thank 0:00:53.320 --> 0:00:55.680 you for having me. I'm excited to be here. You're welcome. 0:00:55.720 --> 0:00:58.920 And as always, this podcast is BYOD. So we have 0:00:59.040 --> 0:01:01.920 mister Sailor here, which is Nicky's dog. Tell us a 0:01:01.920 --> 0:01:02.840 little bit about Sailor. 0:01:03.120 --> 0:01:05.240 So, Saylor's about to be He's about to be two. 0:01:05.319 --> 0:01:08.960 He's a German Shorthaired poeinner and he is a dog 0:01:09.000 --> 0:01:11.360 that I got to be able to. He's like a 0:01:11.360 --> 0:01:14.120 demo dog. I can have him around any dogs that 0:01:14.160 --> 0:01:17.120 I bring into training, and he can bring them out 0:01:17.160 --> 0:01:19.480 of their show. He can also be a great distraction 0:01:19.600 --> 0:01:21.160 for them, So he's kind of a what I call 0:01:21.200 --> 0:01:24.320 my co pilot. That's amazing. Does he should be on payroll? 0:01:25.840 --> 0:01:27.319 You know, he gets to live their rent free, so 0:01:27.560 --> 0:01:28.880 I'm pretty sure that's enough for him. 0:01:28.959 --> 0:01:32.119 It's gonna say, Sailor's so handsome. I was just telling 0:01:32.200 --> 0:01:35.280 Nicky we've had dogs take poops in the studio. My 0:01:35.400 --> 0:01:38.920 dog bit Bobby last season, and Sailor's sitting here like 0:01:38.959 --> 0:01:39.760 a perfect angel. 0:01:39.840 --> 0:01:41.920 So we had a long talk on the way. You know, 0:01:41.959 --> 0:01:43.959 it's like, hey, behave you're a trainer's dog, you know, 0:01:44.160 --> 0:01:47.200 don't embarrass me. The bar is very high, very high. Well, 0:01:47.240 --> 0:01:48.800 we'll jump right into our case of the week. 0:01:49.120 --> 0:01:51.920 We always talk about something that I've seen in practice. 0:01:52.160 --> 0:01:54.320 A lot of times owners don't really know what's going 0:01:54.360 --> 0:01:57.000 on behind the scenes and the trenches, as we say, 0:01:57.080 --> 0:02:00.960 and so the case for this week is a sad one, 0:02:01.200 --> 0:02:03.040 but I think it's important to talk about because we 0:02:03.080 --> 0:02:05.400 do see it from time to time. It was one 0:02:05.400 --> 0:02:07.680 of my owners called me and said, hey, you know, 0:02:07.720 --> 0:02:10.040 I left a bag of veggie straws out on the counter, 0:02:11.040 --> 0:02:14.120 and he had three dogs, and one of them got 0:02:14.200 --> 0:02:16.360 up on the counter, got the bag of food, brought 0:02:16.360 --> 0:02:19.000 them down. He came home from whatever errand he was 0:02:19.080 --> 0:02:23.079 running and it was I think pretty gruesome. There was 0:02:23.120 --> 0:02:25.560 blood everywhere. Two of the dogs had ganged up on 0:02:25.680 --> 0:02:30.040 the smaller dog and beat them up pretty bad. 0:02:30.720 --> 0:02:32.240 Which it's a sad story. 0:02:32.240 --> 0:02:33.639 It's not a great case of the week, but I 0:02:33.680 --> 0:02:37.040 think it's an important one to talk about because so 0:02:37.200 --> 0:02:40.280 often we think about dogs fighting each other at the 0:02:40.320 --> 0:02:43.160 dog park or getting into altercations when they're on the leash. 0:02:43.200 --> 0:02:46.680 But I in practice, we'll see dogs that live together 0:02:46.760 --> 0:02:49.400 and that are siblings fight and. 0:02:50.320 --> 0:02:51.560 Hurt each other all the time. 0:02:52.200 --> 0:02:55.040 So I'm a big proponent of when you're leaving the house, 0:02:55.160 --> 0:02:56.080 putting them in a crate. 0:02:56.880 --> 0:02:58.880 What do you think about that? One hundred percent? You 0:02:58.880 --> 0:03:01.080 know that, honestly, right there could just saved that fight. 0:03:01.440 --> 0:03:03.839 You never know. I told you this. Nobody can ever 0:03:03.919 --> 0:03:05.960 guarantee you what your dogs are gonna do when they're 0:03:06.000 --> 0:03:08.960 by themselves, whether it's a single dog or multiple dogs. 0:03:09.080 --> 0:03:11.239 The safest thing that you can do is just put 0:03:11.280 --> 0:03:13.360 them in a crate, right put them in a crate. 0:03:13.440 --> 0:03:15.239 And you know, I'm at that. People say that's a 0:03:15.280 --> 0:03:18.239 band aid, but honestly, that could have saved a big 0:03:18.280 --> 0:03:20.359 fight or losing a dog. Yeah, and to that. 0:03:20.440 --> 0:03:23.480 Extent, yeah, and sadly we do see the big dog 0:03:23.560 --> 0:03:27.000 little dog. Are altercations where we do lose these dogs. 0:03:27.000 --> 0:03:29.000 I mean they can it can be a life or 0:03:29.000 --> 0:03:33.200 death situation. And I find that owners feel guilty about 0:03:33.240 --> 0:03:36.640 the crate, but it is so important. And I have 0:03:36.680 --> 0:03:38.320 found that dogs really like their crate. 0:03:38.640 --> 0:03:40.280 They do. They love it. We put a lot of 0:03:40.480 --> 0:03:42.720 human emotion on it, you know, they they call them 0:03:42.760 --> 0:03:45.160 a cage or I want my dog to just be 0:03:45.240 --> 0:03:46.800 a dog. Well, at the end of the day, they 0:03:46.840 --> 0:03:50.560 are a dog, and we can't expect them to live 0:03:50.720 --> 0:03:53.120 in a human life and be able to do the 0:03:53.160 --> 0:03:54.680 things that we expect them to do when at the 0:03:54.720 --> 0:03:56.440 end of the day, they're a dog. And so the 0:03:56.520 --> 0:03:58.720 crate honestly is a great way to put you know, 0:03:58.800 --> 0:04:01.160 your dog in a safe spot to where they do 0:04:01.160 --> 0:04:03.360 feel comfortable. It is like their own room. It's how 0:04:03.400 --> 0:04:05.120 we escape too. We like to go to our own 0:04:05.200 --> 0:04:07.120 rooms and kind of relax. That's a great place for 0:04:07.200 --> 0:04:09.560 your dog to go as well we Cody and I 0:04:09.600 --> 0:04:12.520 will refer to our dogs Create as their condo. Yes, 0:04:12.960 --> 0:04:16.080 they have their own little condo and they can just relax, 0:04:16.160 --> 0:04:17.640 they can take a breath, like they don't have to 0:04:17.680 --> 0:04:20.919 be on they don't have to be on alert. So 0:04:20.920 --> 0:04:22.320 I think it's important for them to be able to 0:04:22.320 --> 0:04:24.640 take a break, just like you and I absolutely absolutely, 0:04:24.680 --> 0:04:26.159 you know, if you think about it, when dogs are 0:04:26.400 --> 0:04:28.640 they're active twenty four to seven, you know, so they 0:04:28.680 --> 0:04:31.000 honestly really enjoy being able to go into their crate 0:04:31.040 --> 0:04:33.680 and take a nap and turn off, you know. So 0:04:33.760 --> 0:04:36.359 it's great and again it's something that can really I 0:04:36.400 --> 0:04:39.040 tell people all the time to prevent things from happening. 0:04:39.320 --> 0:04:41.640 Your Create is your number one thing that can prevent 0:04:41.640 --> 0:04:42.360 things from happening. 0:04:42.480 --> 0:04:45.520 Yeah, absolutely, all right, Next up, we will dive into 0:04:45.600 --> 0:04:46.840 some of our listener calls. 0:04:47.839 --> 0:04:51.560 Hello, doctor Josie, your nephew, Hank is five months old. 0:04:51.600 --> 0:04:55.359 He's a Portuguese water dog and he started humping. My 0:04:55.520 --> 0:04:58.320 question is is this for sexual reasons or is there 0:04:58.360 --> 0:05:00.760 any other reasons why this would be happening and how 0:05:00.800 --> 0:05:01.720 can we minimize that? 0:05:02.839 --> 0:05:05.680 Okay, that was my brother in law, Tanner, who just 0:05:05.680 --> 0:05:09.400 got a puppy and I get this question all the time. 0:05:09.400 --> 0:05:10.160 I'm sure you do too. 0:05:10.160 --> 0:05:13.960 It as a trainer, oh absolutely, where dogs puppies a 0:05:14.000 --> 0:05:16.920 lot of times as they're maturing a little bit, and 0:05:17.160 --> 0:05:21.000 even adult dogs will hump. And whether they're neutered or 0:05:21.040 --> 0:05:23.440 in spade or not, or even a female dog, even 0:05:23.480 --> 0:05:27.320 a female dog, we will see humping. And it does not, necessarily, 0:05:27.360 --> 0:05:30.080 I would say, the majority of the time, does not 0:05:30.400 --> 0:05:35.080 equate to them being sexually aroused. More than not, I 0:05:35.200 --> 0:05:37.240 find that it is, and I would love to hear 0:05:37.279 --> 0:05:40.720 your opinion too. I find that it's they are excited 0:05:40.839 --> 0:05:44.919 and overstimulated and they're kind of displacing that anxiety and 0:05:44.960 --> 0:05:48.600 excitement and it turns into humping. But it's not hey, 0:05:48.680 --> 0:05:49.960 I'm want to have. 0:05:50.000 --> 0:05:53.360 Sex exactly, it is. It happens a lot when dogs 0:05:53.400 --> 0:05:56.599 are very overstimulated, so it's an outlet. So it's something 0:05:56.600 --> 0:05:58.839 that they can do. Now, some dogs will go into displacement, 0:05:58.839 --> 0:06:00.520 they get excited and maybe go right and pick up 0:06:00.520 --> 0:06:02.760 a ball because they're just trying to put their energy 0:06:02.760 --> 0:06:06.240 into something. And some dogs, of course just start humping. 0:06:07.440 --> 0:06:07.680 You know. 0:06:07.880 --> 0:06:10.040 Yes, at times it can be a dominant kind of thing, 0:06:10.080 --> 0:06:11.920 you know, where two dogs are sizing each other up, 0:06:11.960 --> 0:06:13.880 you know, kind of a little bit. Normally it's it's 0:06:13.920 --> 0:06:19.200 always just overstimulation. Yeah, so, brother Tanner, no worries. Hank 0:06:19.320 --> 0:06:22.719 Is is good to go. He's probably just really happy 0:06:22.760 --> 0:06:26.720 to be alive, exactly. He's not attracted to you. We're good, Yeah, 0:06:26.880 --> 0:06:27.800 all right. Next up. 0:06:28.880 --> 0:06:30.039 Hi, My name is Anne. 0:06:30.040 --> 0:06:30.160 Then. 0:06:30.160 --> 0:06:33.000 I volunteer at a pet shelter in Delaware, and I 0:06:33.120 --> 0:06:36.880 had a question about dogs. We noticed one day all 0:06:36.920 --> 0:06:40.080 the dogs were going wild when one man approached. Now 0:06:40.080 --> 0:06:44.000 he's worked with these dogs before, but they were very, 0:06:44.080 --> 0:06:46.880 very agitated by him this time. And he happened to 0:06:46.920 --> 0:06:51.080 be wearing a bright orange almost a hunter orange shirt. 0:06:52.279 --> 0:06:55.360 Could this have been something that would have triggered the dogs? 0:06:55.440 --> 0:06:58.200 Is that common for them to be triggered by certain colors? 0:06:59.120 --> 0:07:01.640 I have two thoughts when I hear this, The first 0:07:01.680 --> 0:07:05.159 of which is dogs are pack animals. I think if 0:07:05.680 --> 0:07:08.279 maybe the other dogs had interactive with this person before, 0:07:08.320 --> 0:07:10.520 but I think if one starts barking, they can all 0:07:10.560 --> 0:07:13.680 sort of trigger each other and then spiral a bit. 0:07:14.120 --> 0:07:16.600 The other thought, and not to get too scientific, is 0:07:16.600 --> 0:07:20.200 that dogs only have two cones in their retinas. Humans 0:07:20.200 --> 0:07:23.520 have three, and so dogs can't really make out red 0:07:23.600 --> 0:07:26.480 or green colors. They can really only make out blues 0:07:26.480 --> 0:07:29.280 and yellows. And so I feel like orange kind of 0:07:29.280 --> 0:07:32.160 falls into that red category, and it can look like 0:07:32.200 --> 0:07:34.320 a very dark color to them. So it is very 0:07:34.360 --> 0:07:37.680 possible that a big man wearing that color of shirt 0:07:37.960 --> 0:07:40.680 could be causing them to be a little bit more 0:07:40.680 --> 0:07:41.559 fearful than usual. 0:07:41.960 --> 0:07:43.680 Yeah. Absolutely, And also so you got to think in 0:07:43.720 --> 0:07:46.320 a rescue is my thing would be do you have 0:07:46.360 --> 0:07:48.880 a new dog? Has the new dog? Is this the 0:07:48.920 --> 0:07:52.040 one that started the barking? Isn't it causes everybody to bark. 0:07:52.240 --> 0:07:54.040 So a lot of times when somebody says a dog 0:07:54.520 --> 0:07:57.000 or dogs have done something out of the norm, it's 0:07:57.040 --> 0:07:59.280 normally not out of the norm. You gotta think about 0:07:59.720 --> 0:08:02.440 what triggered it prior. You know, did the guy come 0:08:02.440 --> 0:08:05.200 through a different door, did you know? There's all kinds 0:08:05.200 --> 0:08:07.200 of different things you go into it, but definitely, you know, 0:08:07.280 --> 0:08:09.800 dogs again, I've seen dogs act differently when they've actually 0:08:09.840 --> 0:08:12.440 been able to see a color, you know, whether it 0:08:12.480 --> 0:08:14.120 be I'm gonna have a chair in the yard, that's 0:08:14.160 --> 0:08:16.360 it blue and now the dogs are like, oh my god, 0:08:16.440 --> 0:08:18.240 what is that? Yeah, mikes, because I've never been able 0:08:18.280 --> 0:08:20.200 to see it before. Yeah, I mean, so it does. 0:08:20.240 --> 0:08:24.040 You know, dogs definitely can you know, change to routine 0:08:24.320 --> 0:08:26.280 or something that's different in their life and act different 0:08:26.320 --> 0:08:28.800 to it. But definitely in a kennel situation, if one barks, 0:08:28.800 --> 0:08:31.160 they're all going to explode. Absolutely. 0:08:31.200 --> 0:08:33.240 And I think one thing that you just said that 0:08:33.360 --> 0:08:36.520 I think really rings true for me is routine. Dogs 0:08:36.679 --> 0:08:41.720 are such routine, natured creatures, and just like you said, 0:08:41.720 --> 0:08:44.000 of anything as different from the usual. 0:08:43.800 --> 0:08:45.600 I can really throw them off absolutely. 0:08:46.120 --> 0:08:48.040 All right, that was our last question of the day, 0:08:48.080 --> 0:08:50.360 But if you have any questions for me, feel free 0:08:50.400 --> 0:08:53.000 to click that link in the show notes and record 0:08:53.559 --> 0:08:56.120 any questions you have. Nothing is off limits, and we're 0:08:56.160 --> 0:08:57.760 gonna take a quick break and we'll be right back. 0:09:02.960 --> 0:09:05.439 All right, Nikki, I am so excited to learn a 0:09:05.480 --> 0:09:07.880 little bit more about you. You know, you don't hear 0:09:07.960 --> 0:09:11.480 every day about people being dog trainers. How did you 0:09:11.880 --> 0:09:13.120 find yourself on this path? 0:09:13.679 --> 0:09:16.000 This is a million dollar question. I have been asked 0:09:16.000 --> 0:09:18.040 as many times and I always just kind of laugh 0:09:18.120 --> 0:09:21.000 and be like, because I love dogs, But to actually 0:09:21.040 --> 0:09:22.880 know a little bit more about me, it goes deeper 0:09:22.920 --> 0:09:27.400 than that. So I've always struggled with anxiety. I had 0:09:27.480 --> 0:09:30.839 a reading learning disability, and just growing up, I was 0:09:30.880 --> 0:09:32.960 just one of those kids that just didn't know how 0:09:33.000 --> 0:09:35.560 to fit in. But I always grew up with a dog, 0:09:35.920 --> 0:09:37.880 and you know, I would rush on from school and 0:09:37.920 --> 0:09:40.280 be like, where's my dog, just because that's where I felt, 0:09:40.480 --> 0:09:44.200 you know that piece And growing up, you know, you 0:09:44.200 --> 0:09:46.400 always hear that you need to be a doctor, you 0:09:46.400 --> 0:09:48.240 need to be a lawyer. You know, you need to 0:09:48.280 --> 0:09:50.280 go to a four year college. So dog training is 0:09:50.320 --> 0:09:53.000 really not on your radar that you could do this 0:09:53.040 --> 0:09:57.160 as a career. So fast forward twenty fourteen, I moved 0:09:57.200 --> 0:10:00.840 to California to go to dog training school, and that 0:10:01.040 --> 0:10:06.120 is where I found peace. Dog training really saved my life. 0:10:06.679 --> 0:10:08.920 It brought me to where I was like, this is 0:10:09.160 --> 0:10:11.760 my purpose. And I think we all thrive to find 0:10:11.800 --> 0:10:14.400 our purpose in life, and that's where I found it. 0:10:14.520 --> 0:10:18.840 I really just you know, when I talk about anxiety 0:10:18.880 --> 0:10:20.520 and stuff like that, I think it's really hard for 0:10:20.559 --> 0:10:23.240 people to communicate how we are feeling. So growing up 0:10:23.240 --> 0:10:25.200 I never knew like how to communicate with somebody like 0:10:25.240 --> 0:10:28.199 how I was feeling. So look at dogs. They can't 0:10:28.240 --> 0:10:31.400 talk so they cannot express to their owners how I'm 0:10:31.400 --> 0:10:34.199 feeling this situation makes me feel uncomfortable or I'm scared 0:10:34.240 --> 0:10:37.079 of this situation. And so that is where really everything 0:10:37.160 --> 0:10:39.079 opened up to me, and I was like, I can 0:10:39.120 --> 0:10:42.760 be the voice for these dogs. Is I know exactly 0:10:42.800 --> 0:10:45.160 where they are. You know, they're nervous and they can't 0:10:45.160 --> 0:10:48.600 communicate to why. And so I just dove deep into 0:10:48.679 --> 0:10:50.960 it and was like, Okay, I'm going to be your voice. 0:10:50.960 --> 0:10:53.520 Like I get you, I totally get you. So now 0:10:53.600 --> 0:10:56.719 I'm going to be able to educate your owner to 0:10:56.840 --> 0:10:59.959 ways that you guys can actually communicate on a dog level. 0:11:00.400 --> 0:11:02.800 And again, so it's just really dog training, you know, 0:11:02.840 --> 0:11:06.200 saved my life. So I think, you know, we've talked 0:11:06.200 --> 0:11:07.959 about this a little bit. I think that a lot 0:11:08.000 --> 0:11:11.920 of the people in the animal field have a background 0:11:12.000 --> 0:11:13.840 where they felt, whether it was growing up or at 0:11:13.880 --> 0:11:17.640 some point in their life, it was challenging and they 0:11:17.679 --> 0:11:20.720 felt that really the only place of comfort. 0:11:20.320 --> 0:11:23.560 And unconditional love came from their animals. I know for me, 0:11:23.640 --> 0:11:25.600 like I grew up in a very tumultuous household, there 0:11:25.600 --> 0:11:27.920 was addiction and divorce, and my dog was like my 0:11:28.360 --> 0:11:32.280 one true outlet and so I think it's so true 0:11:32.320 --> 0:11:35.360 where it's like it just goes deeper than just loving dogs. 0:11:35.160 --> 0:11:37.640 It's like a it's a vocation. I would say, yeah. 0:11:37.679 --> 0:11:41.080 I mean because dogs are true, they don't judge, they're 0:11:41.120 --> 0:11:42.880 happy to see us all the time, you know. So 0:11:42.960 --> 0:11:46.160 I think it's where people can really feel themselves, is 0:11:46.200 --> 0:11:49.760 around something that is just there to love you so pure. 0:11:50.240 --> 0:11:50.840 It is. 0:12:01.679 --> 0:12:03.280 One thing you said, and I have never heard of this. 0:12:03.320 --> 0:12:04.840 What is dog training school like? 0:12:05.440 --> 0:12:10.480 So there's really not a dog training quote unquote school. 0:12:10.600 --> 0:12:13.760 You know they're in the US. There's not certifications. Anybody 0:12:13.760 --> 0:12:16.319 can literally wake up in the morning and say I'm 0:12:16.360 --> 0:12:19.640 a dog trainer. That's scary, very you know, very scary. 0:12:20.000 --> 0:12:25.280 And so when I went to California, there was a 0:12:25.280 --> 0:12:27.640 a business that actually where you could go and pay 0:12:27.720 --> 0:12:29.920 and start to learn, you know, about dog training. So 0:12:30.000 --> 0:12:33.640 I think anybody, before you are working with clients, you're 0:12:33.640 --> 0:12:36.760 a dog enthusiast. When you become a dog professional is 0:12:36.760 --> 0:12:39.080 when you've actually are working with clients, you know, and 0:12:39.120 --> 0:12:43.400 actually teaching people how to work their dogs. And so 0:12:43.600 --> 0:12:46.360 I went to where I could just have my hands 0:12:46.400 --> 0:12:48.679 on so many dogs because that's where it comes into 0:12:48.960 --> 0:12:52.480 is you can train your own dogs, absolutely, but until 0:12:52.520 --> 0:12:56.560 you've had your hands on so many breeds, so many temperaments, 0:12:56.600 --> 0:12:59.120 so many personalities and all that, then you really have 0:12:59.200 --> 0:13:02.920 cannot like you in your practice. But again it is 0:13:03.080 --> 0:13:05.760 very scary because you can have anybody. You can google 0:13:05.840 --> 0:13:08.880 dog training near me and there's hundreds and hundreds of 0:13:09.120 --> 0:13:14.280 you know, different companies from you know, the franchises or 0:13:14.320 --> 0:13:16.080 to somebody like me that is just you know, hey, 0:13:16.120 --> 0:13:18.120 I've been dog trainings for you know, twelve years. But 0:13:18.160 --> 0:13:20.760 it's all about too is when you're looking for a 0:13:20.800 --> 0:13:25.440 dog trainer, you know, red flags are where where your 0:13:25.440 --> 0:13:28.960 dog stays? If they won't show you where your dog 0:13:29.040 --> 0:13:33.280 is going to be living or proof, you know, show 0:13:33.360 --> 0:13:36.200 me what you've done with dogs, not your personal dog. 0:13:36.280 --> 0:13:38.840 Because anybody that trains dogs your dogs can look fancy. 0:13:38.880 --> 0:13:41.000 I can do all kinds of crazy things with Sailor, 0:13:41.360 --> 0:13:43.200 but that doesn't mean that I'm going to be teaching 0:13:43.200 --> 0:13:46.360 that to somebody else's to somebody else's dogs. So I 0:13:46.400 --> 0:13:48.520 think again, when you are looking for a dog trainer, 0:13:48.559 --> 0:13:52.000 you really need to dive deep into your research. You know, 0:13:52.160 --> 0:13:55.240 talk to many people if you don't feel comfortable with them, 0:13:55.480 --> 0:13:57.600 from the get go, just with a conversation, then that 0:13:57.800 --> 0:14:02.360 trainer's probably not for you. But asking all kinds of questions, 0:14:02.440 --> 0:14:02.760 you know. 0:14:02.880 --> 0:14:05.000 Is it normal for clients to ask for like a 0:14:05.040 --> 0:14:07.280 reference or a testimonial, you know? 0:14:07.280 --> 0:14:09.080 I think sometimes you know, you can go on Google 0:14:09.080 --> 0:14:10.520 and you can find that. But I always tell people 0:14:10.520 --> 0:14:13.040 when I talk to them, is if you want references, 0:14:13.120 --> 0:14:15.199 I can give you. Yeah, I'll give you. I'll give 0:14:15.200 --> 0:14:16.640 you a whole bunch, you know what I mean. I'm 0:14:16.840 --> 0:14:19.400 very with my and if you follow me on Instagram, 0:14:19.480 --> 0:14:21.920 you can see that I'm very transparent with what I do. 0:14:22.320 --> 0:14:25.560 I'm very honest with what I do, so you can 0:14:25.640 --> 0:14:27.880 see that when your dog is with me, all of 0:14:27.920 --> 0:14:31.320 my Instagram stories are dedicated to that owner and that 0:14:31.400 --> 0:14:34.040 dog because I am training the owner in that moment. 0:14:34.160 --> 0:14:37.160 So you get to actually see your dog training through 0:14:37.160 --> 0:14:39.560 the process of the time that they're with me. So 0:14:39.600 --> 0:14:42.160 it's not like, hey, here's your dog, it's done. This 0:14:42.200 --> 0:14:44.280 is what I've done and this is what you have 0:14:44.320 --> 0:14:44.960 to do as well. 0:14:45.360 --> 0:14:48.120 I can speak from personal experience. Nicky and I met 0:14:48.240 --> 0:14:50.560 through Wags and Walks. What I talk about all the 0:14:50.560 --> 0:14:54.440 time on this podcast and one of my dogs. Oakly 0:14:54.480 --> 0:14:57.080 the big German shepherd. He is a wags and walks alum, 0:14:57.280 --> 0:14:59.760 and like so many other rescue dogs, he came to 0:14:59.800 --> 0:15:04.640 me a little bit more timid anxiety, yes, but just 0:15:04.640 --> 0:15:06.840 a little bit more timid. Then as he got more comfortable, 0:15:06.880 --> 0:15:08.760 he was like, Ooh, I'm gonna bark on the leash 0:15:08.800 --> 0:15:12.200 at other dogs and I'm gonna defend our house. And 0:15:12.280 --> 0:15:14.960 I was dealing with leash reactivity and so I was 0:15:14.960 --> 0:15:16.920 referred to you, and I can speak firsthand. It's just 0:15:16.960 --> 0:15:20.320 how amazing you are at what you do. And I 0:15:20.360 --> 0:15:23.040 also love your Instagram. That is so unique. I haven't 0:15:23.080 --> 0:15:25.480 seen many other people. I don't know if anyone's doing that. 0:15:25.520 --> 0:15:27.880 And for my husband and I was so cool to 0:15:27.920 --> 0:15:30.280 follow along because all day long you're posting videos of 0:15:30.320 --> 0:15:33.000 what you're doing. It helps us understand, Okay, this is 0:15:33.040 --> 0:15:35.520 what we need to be doing. And just like you said, 0:15:35.560 --> 0:15:38.640 I think that's a level of transparency that when your 0:15:38.640 --> 0:15:41.280 dog is going to board and live somewhere else, like 0:15:41.440 --> 0:15:42.480 you have to have that. 0:15:42.880 --> 0:15:44.880 Oh absolutely, I mean even for my own dogs. I 0:15:45.520 --> 0:15:48.360 know I can imagine sending my dog somewhere for a 0:15:48.400 --> 0:15:50.880 long period of time and especially not getting updates and 0:15:50.960 --> 0:15:53.840 like are they okay or is that going on? Yeah? 0:15:53.880 --> 0:15:55.680 So it's great for the owners one, you know, because 0:15:55.720 --> 0:15:58.240 you guys can see your dogs thriving, having fun. But 0:15:58.400 --> 0:16:01.560 the reason why I do that is there is never 0:16:01.760 --> 0:16:04.720 enough time that I can have with you to give 0:16:04.760 --> 0:16:06.640 you all of my knowledge you know, on your dog, 0:16:06.640 --> 0:16:09.840 because every dog is different. So while your dog is 0:16:09.880 --> 0:16:12.680 with me, I tell people you are actually learning like 0:16:12.800 --> 0:16:15.960 you are supposed to be watching these Instagram stories because 0:16:16.000 --> 0:16:18.240 not only am I telling you what I'm doing, The 0:16:18.320 --> 0:16:21.200 key with dog training is telling you the why why 0:16:21.240 --> 0:16:24.000 am I doing this? Why is your dog acting that way? 0:16:24.000 --> 0:16:26.120 And what do you need to do? And also to 0:16:26.240 --> 0:16:28.480 you know I'm doing this, but why am I doing this? 0:16:28.920 --> 0:16:31.080 So then when it comes down to whenever the dog 0:16:31.120 --> 0:16:34.680 goes home graduation day, you guys have already been watching 0:16:34.760 --> 0:16:36.520 for the weeks that you know, I have your dog 0:16:36.680 --> 0:16:38.600 what's going on, so you have the knowledge, so then 0:16:38.640 --> 0:16:41.320 we can really jump into the hands on that matters. 0:16:41.760 --> 0:16:43.920 So you guys have that education while it's going. But 0:16:43.960 --> 0:16:46.520 also too, I think it's really cool to see your 0:16:46.560 --> 0:16:49.440 dog from day one, to see oh my god, my 0:16:49.440 --> 0:16:52.040 dog really can do that. I know it's amazing could 0:16:52.040 --> 0:16:54.440 do that. It's amazing. I still follow your stories. 0:16:54.480 --> 0:16:57.000 Oakley is now home and thriving and doing great, but 0:16:57.080 --> 0:16:58.840 I still follow the stories because I just love to 0:16:58.840 --> 0:17:02.440 see the transformation. Yes, it's unbelievable. You do such an 0:17:02.440 --> 0:17:06.080 amazing job. I can't say enough great things. 0:17:07.240 --> 0:17:08.280 What are would you say? 0:17:08.280 --> 0:17:10.680 The most common issues that you see are seeing dogs 0:17:10.760 --> 0:17:12.200 being brought in for training for. 0:17:13.320 --> 0:17:17.600 Separation anxiety, especially after COVID. Is gonna say, true, that 0:17:17.840 --> 0:17:19.920 was everybody, you know, I get it. All the shelters 0:17:19.960 --> 0:17:22.679 were empty, everybody was getting dogs, which is great, and 0:17:22.720 --> 0:17:26.080 then they were spending so much time with their dogs, 0:17:26.119 --> 0:17:28.600 and I think that's just a journal besides COVID that 0:17:29.320 --> 0:17:33.879 separate separation anxiety is probably the biggest, biggest thing. But 0:17:33.920 --> 0:17:38.040 also to separation anxiety leads into leash reactivity, leads into 0:17:38.040 --> 0:17:41.920 destruction behavior. So that is probably my number one thing 0:17:42.000 --> 0:17:44.639 is I can't leave my dog alone. They hate their create, 0:17:44.880 --> 0:17:47.880 They destroy my home, and sometimes even to owners are 0:17:47.960 --> 0:17:49.119 prisoners of their home. 0:17:49.400 --> 0:17:51.720 Yes, I see this all the time and practice people 0:17:51.720 --> 0:17:54.320 will come in and talk to me about it, and 0:17:55.080 --> 0:17:59.160 it's it is rampant, especially after COVID, and I think 0:17:59.160 --> 0:18:01.960 that's yes, the dogs are used to having us home, 0:18:02.000 --> 0:18:03.960 but also we were used to being home with our pets, 0:18:03.960 --> 0:18:07.280 and so I think as owners we are also much 0:18:07.320 --> 0:18:10.280 more hesitant to leave our animals versus before it was like, 0:18:10.359 --> 0:18:11.880 you know, a little bit more commonplace. 0:18:12.160 --> 0:18:13.880 Yeah, you know, it teaches them. You know, a lot 0:18:13.880 --> 0:18:15.960 of dogs can't stand on their own four pause. They 0:18:16.000 --> 0:18:17.760 just can't. So a lot of times I tell people 0:18:17.800 --> 0:18:20.800 that your dog doesn't know how to life without you, 0:18:20.800 --> 0:18:22.560 you know, and even too a lot of times too, 0:18:22.560 --> 0:18:24.719 they don't know how to life with you, meaning that 0:18:24.760 --> 0:18:26.640 you get up to go to the bathroom, here they come, 0:18:26.800 --> 0:18:29.119 you know what I mean, You just stand up and 0:18:29.119 --> 0:18:30.760 they're like, oh my god, where are we going? And 0:18:30.800 --> 0:18:33.679 so they're constantly anxious because they're constantly worried about what 0:18:33.720 --> 0:18:35.760 you're going to do. And so we have to teach 0:18:35.800 --> 0:18:38.200 them actually how to life with us. And that's something 0:18:38.200 --> 0:18:41.399 about my training is it's not about obedience. Obedience is 0:18:41.400 --> 0:18:44.080 the easy part. Sit down, stay, that's honestly the easy part. 0:18:44.080 --> 0:18:47.040 But what I teach is how you live with your dog, 0:18:47.119 --> 0:18:49.000 and I teach your dog how to actually live with 0:18:49.040 --> 0:18:51.879