Yooper Paws of Love is dedicated to providing training with love to you and your 4-legged friend!
My mission as a trainer is to EDUCATE owners to ENGAGE better with their dogs to EMPOWER them to function as an effective team together. As a trainer, I help families & their dogs learn to enjoy each other’s company by developing a teamwork and games based approach to dog training that is as individualized as the family I’m helping!
December Theme of the Month Things to Do With Your Dog in December
We all tend to get busy during the holidays and sometimes that means we leave our dogs out. I want to encourage all our Yooper Paws friends to think about ways to include their dog in the holiday season.
Here is a list of ideas to get you started!
Review Holiday Things that Safe/Harmful for Dogs
Letter to Santa Paws
Tree Lighting Ceremony
Create a Homemade Gift for your Dog
Puppy Playdate with a Friend
String Dog Bone Treats for a Christmas Countdown
Make a Puppy Christmas Card
Sing Christmas Carols to Your Dog
Make Holiday Dog Treats
Christmas Lights Drive/Sniff-a-bout
Start a New Holiday Tradition
Make a Puppy Ornament
Share a Treat By the Fire
Donate a Dog Toy
Walk with a Friend
Watch a Holiday Movie
Hang a Paw Print Decoration on Your Door
Hang a Stocking for your Dog
Pause and Reflect About the Past Year With Your Dog
Dance with Your Dog
Read a Book to Your Dog
Play in the Snow
Dress Up Together
Have a Gift Exchange with Another Dog Owner
Donate Dog Food
Wrap a Present For Your Dog
Make Cookies for Santa Paws
Take Photo in Front of the Christmas Tree
Make a Training List/Plan
Prepare Treat Bags for Puppy Friends
Throughout the month, there were will be additional posts on as many of these items as we can get to with directions on how to do these things with your dog. BOLD means we've done it and pictures will be posted if we were able to take some. You can also check out the posts from Decembers 2023 & 2022 to see what we accomplished on this list in previous years.
Please be smart and do all the things you and your dog can have fun doing together as a team!
It's important that you consider your dog's individual needs when you look at this list! If your dog doesn't like to dress up, skip list items that suggest that or keep it really simple like a new holiday collar. If your dog doesn't like crowds, you wouldn't take them to a Christmas tree lighting or parade.
If you want to share pictures of your activities with your dogs, email them to yooperpaws@gmail.com or send them to via messenger and I will post them on the Yooper Paws Facebook page and possibly even include them in a blog on that list item.
Christmas time can be crazy for us humans and our pets!
We fill our homes with decorations that might seem unsettling to our dogs, especially the Christmas tree.
Our schedule or routine often changes with some extra time off work/school plus extra time home with family.
We are more likely to travel to see family we haven't been able to see since last Christmas.
We often have people come to stay with us.
There is extra time spent in stores which adds stress to us all! Christmas shopping, longer than normal lines, bigger crowds, etc. Often our dogs feel this stress in us when we get home!
Fearful, sensitive, and overly-excited and real young dogs tend to struggle with the changes that happen at Christmas more then confident, social dogs that are used to changing routines. Often I take emergency calls from people that have been going to Grandma's (insert any name here) house every year, but now they have a new puppy and either A- Owners don't know where to find a good puppy sitter OR B- Owners think taking their puppy with them will be real easy, then get a rude awakening when it's hard.
We will have 3 Christmas promotions this year! The first 2 are totally FREE!
Here ion my blog we have the "December List of Holidays Activities!" This is a list of 30+ activities to do with dog during the holidays. The list gets posted Dec 1st, then it gets updated with links to photos, videos, or blogs as I work through the list with my dogs. You're encouraged to copy the list and do as many activities as you can!
The last one is super low cost virtual session to help your pup have a peaceful holiday despite all the chaos we often add to our daily routines. I'll be offering 30 minutes for $30 and 60 minutes for $50 available for Zoom sessions and video calls only.
Day 1: Plan for Success Day 2: Create a Safe Space Day 3: A Present for Your Dog Day 4: Creating Calm Introductions with People Day 5: Creating Safety Around Other Animals Day 6: Taking a Sniff-a-bout Day 7: Packing for Calm Day 8: Set Up for Successful Traveling Day 9: Special Holiday Treats Day 10: Set Up for Success Day 11: The Big Day Day 12: Safe Holiday Exits
One of the problems with lists of this nature is that they often cater to the most common needs that dog trainers experience with their clients. You may find that all 12 tips can easily be implemented into your holiday routine or you might find that only 2 really apply to your dog. Each dog if a unique individual, just like each family is different, each holiday gathering is different. So if you like the Top 12 Tips, but feel like you need a bit more, check out the next discount on Virtual Planning!
Creating a Calm Christmas Virtual Planning Sessions
From December 1st to 20th, I'll be offering a discounted rate on individual sessions based on reviewing the changes that your dog will face during the holidays and creating a plan for success. This might include some training you can do before the craziness happens, some enrichment you can add or other ways to help meet your dog's needs, and tips for making sure all the pets in the house and visiting pets can share space successfully. You can schedule your 30 min Virtual Session for just $30 or your 60 min Virtual Session for $50. (My normal rate with be $75 for any session up to 60 min long.)
This is one-on-one time to look at your holiday plans and your dog's individual needs and brainstorm ways to meet your dog's needs in an attempt to prevent or reduce the challenging behaviors that happen when your dog becomes stressed.
I look forward to hearing about you and your dog plan to spend the holidays with as much peaceful feelings as possible and reducing stress as much as we can for everyone!
This year I have 3 big promotions for local & virtual clients!
All specials must be purchased by December 6th and may take place in December or January. Gift Certificates are available if you are wanting to give the gift of dog training to a loved one!
The Challenging Behaviors Support Package
The Challenging Behaviors Support Package is a mix of our most popular packages!
This starts with a 6 Session Package that can be in-person or virtual sessions for $300.
You will automatically receive a free Challenging Behaviors Plan as follow up to your first session and 2 free workshops from our Challenging Behaviors Series
Plus you will receive additional resources based on the top 3 behaviors that are driving you the craziest. That's $600 Value for the one time fee of $300.
Send an email to yooperpaws@gmail.com to confirm your desire to participate in this special and you'll receive a link to schedule your first Private Session and you'll be able to pick the 2 workshops you would like to have.
The Give Back Special for Online Clients & Referrals
If you don't live in the Yooper Paws local area and need virtual training support, you can try out Yooper Paws with the Buy One Get One Free Gift Certificates. These are available to current clients and those referred by current clients.
Common gift certificates include:
Buy 1 Session for $75 and receive a 2nd gift certificate free.
Buy a Challenging Behaviors Package including one 60 min session & 2 follow up 30 min sessions for $150 & receive a 2nd gift certificate free.
Buy a 6 Session Package for $300 and receive a 2nd gift certificate free.
You can keep the 2nd gift certificate and use it yourself or you can gift it to another person needing help. Gift certificates must be purchased by December 6th to receive the 2nd gift certificate of equal value for free.
Reach out to yooperpaws@gmail.com and I'll help you find the perfect Buy One Get One Free Gift Certificate that fits your spending budget!
New Client Private Session Package
Purchase the first session Behavior Evaluation for $150 and then you are eligible to purchase the 6 Session Package for $150 instead of $300. This package allows you to split your payment in half, paying for the Behavior Evaluation ($150) before December 6th to take place any time in December then paying for your 6 Session package ($150) in January when you schedule your first session.
You are more then welcome to pay for the whole package when you schedule your Behavior Evaluation! This is especially helpful if you are giving this to a friend or family member as a gift!
This package is great for new in-person and virtual clients!
Please email yooperpaws@gmail.com to request this package. I will then send you a scheduling link for your first session and a gift certificate for your 6 Session Package.
Totally FREE Special on Creating a Calm Christmas!
The Creating a Calm Christmas Collection is a FREE resource to our Yooper Paws Friends & Family! All you have to do is sign up for a FREE Patreon Membership.
I have 12 Tips to Creating a Calm Christmas that will be released December 1st thru 12th! These posts will go out to free and paid members on patreon. These are the best of the best tips I have from years of taking dogs with me to family gatherings and holiday activities.
New this year I've added an E-Book that with these tips in an easy to download PDF E-Book. You can support Yooper Paws Holiday Activities by purchasing the Creating a Calm Christmas E-Book in the Patreon Store.
If something in one of these tips sparks an interest and you want additional help with planning or setting your dog up for success at holiday events, I do have a special rate available for online sessions dedicated to planning and preparing for the holidays. You can purchase a 30 min Coaching Session for $30 or a 60 min Coaching Session for $60. I'd love to help you create the perfect plan or set up for your pup during this crazy holiday season. Just email me at yooperpaws@gmail.com to set up your Creating Calm Session.
Also be sure to check out my Canine Christmas List for some ideas of activities you can do with your dog this holiday season!
It's that time of year and Halloween is rapidly approaching!
Whether you are training a service dog or a pet dog, you don't want them to be scared on Halloween night by all the spooky decorations. You can do some training now to help you have a more successful Halloween. The first thing you need to determine is what are plans for Halloween as that will change your approach to training before the activities start.
Trick-or-Treating or Walking the Neighborhood
If you plan to take your dog out on the town on Halloween night doing some trick-or-treating with friends and family, be sure to some training sessions around decorations before the day of fun. Training before the need allows you to slow down and let the dog explore the decorations at their pace and comfort level. If you are going out with kids or attending a costume contest, you will want to desensitize the dog to costumes before the big event too.
Azul has been around these types of decorations since he was a pup so he's pretty comfortable but in this video he is mildly stressed. Can you see it in this video?
The whole idea of desensitizing & counterconditioning (DS/CC) is to start at a distance where your dog can be comfortable and follow your directions. You will slowly move closer based on how your dog acts. If they are calm you move more quickly. If they start showing mild signs of stress you might be able to stay at that distance a bit, then if they relax you move forward more and if not you move back and the end the session there for the day. You want to use a high value reinforcement, most often high value food, for these types of sessions as this conditioning will help to change your dog's emotions from one of fear to one of happy. The dog thinks "This ghost decoration shows up and out comes the chicken. Hey, I like this ghost decoration!"
You also want to make sure your dog has the choice to move closer or move farther away. If you're visiting neighborhood decorations you may not want your dog to actually touch the decorations or let them get close enough to nip or pee on the decorations. Your neighbors will thank you for staying back far enough to not allow for damage.
During the training you have to be careful not to push your dog too far too fast! If your dog barks, lunges or otherwise reacts to the decoration you moved too close too fast and you hinder the efforts of counterconditioning because now that decoration is even more scary. Some dogs will curiously go up and sniff or touch a decoration(when appropriate), then be totally fine with it. If your dog is willing to do so, they shouldn't have a problem ignoring them on Halloween.
Outside I suggest doing these sessions in your neighborhood during the day when there are few people around. Often these decorations are less scary in the day time. Then do a few evening walks after dark before Halloween so that your dog is used to walking past the decorations in the dark as well.
Staying Home, Passing Out Candy, Avoiding People
If you're staying home on Halloween you may not focus as much on training sessions around outdoor decorations. Instead you may need to desensitize to common sights, sounds, and smells.
Door Safety
If you will pass out candy to trick-or-treaters you need to consider safety first. Is your dog friendly with strangers? What happens when someone knocks on the door? Does your dog run out the door the moment it's opened? First think of your dog's safety first!
If they are not friendly or like to bolt out the door you will want to either use a crate or baby gate to prevent your dog from getting too close to the door. If your dog is friendly and will participate in activities, you should consider having the dog drag a leash attached to a collar just incase you need some management to assist with overexcitement behaviors.
From this safe place you can work on creating calm behaviors before the big night. Will you leave your front door open, using only a screen door that night? If so, practice this by putting the dog in their safe space with a long lasting food reward such as a chew, stuffed kong, or lickmat. Then open the door and relax nearby. This will help your dog get used to the night sights, sounds, and smells in the neighborhood.
Then add in someone walking up to the door. You will probably want to practice having someone approach and knock plus approach and say Trick or Treat. When this happens drop and extra high value reward into your dog's safe space before you approach the door. If you have a family of kids nearby, invite them over to practice a few times during the day. Set up your house and safe space before they come. Ask them to approach slowly stopping if they hear barking and just stay there a moment, Once the barking stops they can approach more, knock, or say trick-or-treat. Once all is calm in the house, move out and give them a treat. Have them walk back away from the door a few feet while you remain at the door and have them approach again. If you have a neighborhood parent with a toddler, they will probably love the opportunity to practice!
By having a few dry runs or practice sessions during the day leading up to the big event, your dog can get used to the activity and you can look at your management resources to determine if you need to add another layer of safety or if your current set up will work for the big night.
If you are avoiding people that night, you may experience knocks on the door and shouts of trick-or-treat coming from the neighborhood so you may want to desensitize to those sounds before the event. If you don't want to set up a practice session as described above, watch some Halloween movies on TV while cuddled with your dog and reward your dog every time you hear someone knock or shout in the movie. It may seem like you are not even training but you are pairing good things with the sounds heard. Use movies or sound effects apps you can control the volume starting slow and gradually turning the volume up to replicate what it would be at your front door. With today's video tech, you can easily reply the same scene of someone knocking over and over again until your dog starts to realize that the sound will predict something awesome is coming.
Attending Trunk & Treats
It seems that there is less safety in going door to door so many people take their children (and dogs) to truck & treat outings at trusted locations; businesses, churches, police/fire depts, etc. These can be very challenging outings for dogs! With all the kids in costumes running & yelling, sometimes games, lots of adults laughing and moving around, our dogs can quickly be overcome. The amount of stressed out dogs that I see in this environment is outrageous!
PLEASE! Only take your dog to these events if they are social and confident around distractions!
PLEASE Listen to your dog! If they are scared, take them out of the environment. And if you can't because you are there with your kids, leave your dog at home.
Last year Azul attended a few of these with me; some big and some small, some pet friendly & some not. One was much bigger than we expected with well over 1000+ people and lots of stressed dogs. I was hoping to walk with my grandkids, but my daughter was supervising them so Azul was my only responsibility. We got in the first very long line for an activity and Azul started to show signs of stress, not wanting to move closer to the event. Instead of staying with my grandkids, Azul and I took a walk in the neighborhood surrounding the event and walked the edge of the event before eventually just getting back in the car. When my grandkids were doing an activity close to the car, I was able to jump out leaving Azul in the car for a short time.
I've heavily conditioned my vehicle to be a safe place for my dogs to hangout, with or without me!
This year will be Belle's first year going to a Trunk & Treat! Here are the steps I'm taking to provide a safe space for both Azul and Belle.
We are setting up a trunk so that my dogs can hang out in their safe space of the car. This way they get to see all the kids, but only interact with those that the dogs choose to.
My SUV allows for me to set up multiple sections. If a dog does not want to interact with kids, they can hang out in the backseat.
My dogs will allows be attacked to either the car or me if I take one out of the car for a bit. This prevents them from jumping out of the car when I'm busy with passing out candy. I use a seatbelt leash to secure both dogs.
My dogs have a new bone that they can chew on during the event. Licking, chewing & sniffing help to reduce stress.
I also have a treat container with both high and low value treats that will be passed out liberally.to reinforce calm.
The dogs will be set up in this same fashion for Bark & Treat, the event at the Yooper Paws Training Center. The big difference is Azul may spend more time out of the car at the children's event because he loves kids & might spend more time in the car at the dog event because he doesn't love new dogs in his face. Belle on the other hand, might spend more time in the car at the kids event because sometimes kids can be overwhelming, and more time out of the car at the dog event because she loves to greet new dogs.
It's important that you listen to your dogs! You can help them overcome a fear or two, but of they are just totally overwhelmed and afraid of lots of things, please be kind and take them to a safe space; the car, home, anywhere away from the event. Our goal is to set up for success, but if our pre-planning doesn't work we should always have an exit plan.
And please, don't dress your dog up if they don't like wearing clothing!
Azul is shy when it comes to new gear. His Halloween costume involves his Service Dog Harness that he knows and is comfortable in with a hi-vis cape that he is also comfortable with. He is my Service Worker!
Belle hasn't had much exposure to costumes, so her she-devil costume also involves her Service Dog harness and cape with a set of devil horns that she can wear for cute pictures then take off for calm settle time.
If your dog loves getting dressed, then by all means have fun with a big costume. But if your dog doesn't love it, they shouldn't have to wear it.
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