First Session Info

 What to expect during your first session with Yooper Paws of Love

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 TEACH owners to ENGAGE better with their dogs to empowering them to ACHIEVE their goals using MOTIVATION to create the perfect team of handler and dog.

In order to accomplish this, I must first get to know you and your dog.  Therefore the first session will likely involve lots of observation and listening to both you and your dog.  This will look different for my in-person and virtual clients, so for the purpose of this blog I'm going to focus on my in-person clients.

Before your first 1-on-1 session we will have a discussion via phone, email or messenger in which we discuss the main reason you are seeking help with your dog, the type of approach I use for training, and the tools you will use on your dog in our session.  I often am asked to help owners who are training a dog for Service Dog work and owners who are struggling with fearful or reactive dogs.  No matter what the reason for our working together, I will use positive based methods to encourage better teamwork between owner and handler.  This will include using treats, toys, and other types of reinforcement to teach the dog the behaviors you want them to repeat.  This will not include punishment and/or correcting the dog for behaviors you don't want to be repeated such as pulling on the leash.  The tools I will ask you to use will be something that is safe and comfortable for your dog, most generally a harness with a front and back clip with a flat collar and a 6 ft leash but may also occasionally include a head halter or martingale type collar for dogs who like to slip their collar.   I will not meet with dogs wearing tools designed to issue corrections such as choke, prong, or shock collars.  This is non-debatable as it will not work with the teamwork training style that I will be teaching you.  If your dog is currently wearing a corrective collar, I will allow you to try on one of my harnesses for the first session to see if that will work for you before you purchase one.

The first session will take place at the Yooper Paws Training Center

Yooper Paws Training Center

611 N Hooper St.

Kingsford, MI  49802

We share the building with multiple businesses, but the Training Center is easy to find. We are located in the part of the building that sits closest to the road. You will enter through the door to the far right, walking up the ramp. You may choose to come in and chat with me before bringing your dog in or bring them in with you. There is a grass to the right of the building if your dog needs a potty stop before coming in. 

I will have some treats, toys and games set up in the main classroom for your dog to explore. This will allow your dog a chance to sniff and settle down in the new environment while I observe your dog's reactions to the distractions in that environment including me. I will also be watching how you interact with your dog during this team. If your dog is nervous around people or in new places, I will start behind a gate allowing them some time to check me out safely. If you consider your dog to be a bite risk, please let me know so I can add an extra layer of safety.

I do this observation time, not to judge you or your dog but to see where I feel that I can best be of help to you.  If your dog already knows how to sit, heel, and focus on you, there is no need for me to teach you these things.  By observing I can see what your dog currently knows and what you may need additional assistance with.

The whole time I'm observing your dog's emotional state to determine if there are things in the environment that are scary and/or over-exciting to your dog.  I will slowly work my way closer to you and your dog to see their reaction to my approach.  And assuming your dog does not have food allergies I will either feed your dog a few treats from my hand or toss them on the ground near your dog if I can't quite get close enough due to fear.  It's important that your dog learn that I am not a threat.  Some dogs learn this at the first session, while others take more time.  

After the observational period we will discuss issues you are having in more detail and work together to create a plan for future training sessions.  You can request this plan in writing any time you want one.  The cost of this session is $150 for a 90 min evaluation and planning session.

Follow Up Sessions

After the first session, we will likely get you signed up for one of our upcoming classes or a private session package. You can sign up for individual sessions at $75 per session or a 6-Session Package for $300. We can schedule future sessions at every week or every two weeks depending on availability and your needs.  

Common behavioral issues that I deal with include working with fearful dogs who lash out with lunging, barking, nipping at things that scare them (people, dog, etc.), easily distracted dogs who have over-excited greeting styles (leash reactivity, jumping, barking, etc.) and working dogs with owners that are wishing to train their dog to Service Dog level manners, Therapy Dogs, or other advanced level of training. While working on one or more of these issues we can also address common issues such as counter surfing, pulling on the leash, resource guarding, etc. 

If you have multiple issues to work on, we may highlight the most important issues to start with and wait a bit to work on some of the other issues. We may also pair your sessions with some additional training in the form of Nosework Club, Group Walks, or Mini-Sessions with other teams working on the same types of challenges. 

https://calendly.com/yooperpaws/first_session

If you have any questions feel free to reach out to us at yooperpaws@gmail.com

Why Plan Training Sessions

I'll be the first to admit that I don't always create a written plan for everything I train, but I do think it's important to have a plan. 

• Plans can be as simple as you want or as complex as you need to meet your goals.
• Plans might cover a specific behavior that you want to work on for this training session or may cover a 3 month or longer plan for something you will be developing over time.
• Plans may be in your head, on a simple note card, in a notebook or journal, or in a digital format.

The best thing about plans is that they should help you to meet your training goals by tracking the skill level you are currently at, documenting the progress you are making, and outlines any mistakes so you can figure out how to make it better next time.

Setting Goals

I think it's important to set some short term goals and long term goals for training. This helps you to keep your focus on what you are training today or this week and how it's going to build up to the advanced behavior you want your dog to do.

Check out this blog on SMART Goals to learn how to set goals that will help you!

Training Levels

Most behaviors have to start small and build up! For example if we are teaching a dog to stay on a station, bed, or mat we need to start small asking them to stay for just 1-3 seconds as we back up a half step in an environment with no distractions. These are all small measurable steps to track duration, distance, and distractions. Then when we build up, we focus on only changing one of the criteria (measurable steps) increasing the time, distance or distractions slowly. While I may build all 3 criteria in one training session, I'm only going to focus on one at a time. 

When I teach stay on station I'll start by standing right next to the station and feeding them multiple times for being calm on the station. At first I'm feeding every second or two, but then I'm slowly adding time between delivering the treat building up to about 20 seconds without the dog trying to get off the station. When I hit the desired time, I may rock back or take a half a step backwards and return quickly to reinforce again slowly moving back a bit more after 3-4 rewards at one distance. I'll do this until I make it 2-3 steps back. Then I might start working on distractions by starting really small with turning a radio or tv on for sound distractions or I may drop something small and non-dog related such as a piece of paper or note card. (I'm not going to drop an item if my dog is trained to pick up dropped items as a Service Dog task!) My goal with distractions is to build up to something that my dog really loves such as having a friend working on the other side of the room. 

Check out this video for teaching stay in puppy class.

Progress Levels

When we track our progress, we know if we are hitting our goals as our puppy grows up or our adult dog learns a new behavior. While all dogs, being individual, will hit goals at there own pace most trainers have some general guidelines or expectations of what they want their clients to accompish. If we look at the stay behavior, general rule of thumb is puppies under 6 months should be able to stay as the owner backs up about 5 steps, adolescents should be able to stay as the owner backs up 20 steps, and adults should be able to stay with distractions present. Of course all of this is dependent on continued training through levels set up by the person who is training or the trainer assisting them. You can't expect an adult dog without any training of the stay behavior to suddenly be able to stay with the owner at 20+ feet away in a distracting environment without building up to that behavior. It's important to keep realistic expectations when setting your training levels. You may have 5 levels that you hope to accomplish or 30 levels just depending on how detailed your plans are and how many baby steps you want to outline in your plan. For a simple plan, I might outline in puppy stage, adolescent stage, and adult. For more advanced plan I might outline it as 5 steps, 5 seconds, no distractions and build up the steps first going step by step further away, then building the time adding seconds to becoming a minute, then slowing building up distractions. Writing out the baby steps can help you see that your training is working or help you see when your training is not working. If you seem to stall, get frustrated or are not making the progress you want, it's time to re-evaluate your plan and possibly get help from a trainer.

 Training Mistakes

We all know mistakes will happen because we are all human. No matter how much we try our communication, our mechanics, our reinforcement, or some other part of training will be done incorrectly. This is why it's important to work with a trainer who can help you through those mistakes teaching you how to adjust and make training easier for you and your dog.  This can be done in person or via video review. As a trainer, I have tons of videos on my YouTube channel and every single one of them could very possibly have a mistake or something unexpected that happens, changing the training session. That's why I work with other trainers around the U.S. so that we can help each other through struggles and frustration. 

In the example of the stay behavior and I can often see something the small that the owner doesn't even realize they were doing that can make a huge difference. Recently a client was saying her dog's name when the dog was about to leave the station, meaning the name to be a correction or reminder to stay. However the dog heard the name and thought the owner was recalling them so the dog would race to the owner. When I pointed it out, the owner stopped saying the dog's name and started using a hand signal to remind the dog to stay on the station. The clear communication made all the difference for the dog who was then able to hold the stay position much easier.

Pointing out mistakes can often be taken as finding fault. As a trainer I work to help my clients realize that my goal is to help, not judge. My goal is to do all training with compassion, awareness, knowledge, empathy, & support. But remember, even I make mistakes sometimes. 

If you're interested in more planning help, check out my last blog on the January Planning Special. If you have doubts that I can help you, send me an email at yooperpaws@gmail.com and let me help you with a simple plan to get you started.

January Special

January Special - Planning for Success Package

Whether you are returning client or a new to Yooper Paws of Love, we are pleased to offer this special package in January 2025. Clients can help get the year started right with this $150 Planning for Success Package! 

The package includes:

• One 60 Min Zoom Session to discuss your current needs, behavior challenges you are having, long term goals you want to accomplish, and develop a 3 month plan to get you started.
• Complete 3 Month Training Plan with basic steps to take that will lead up to your long term goals. This type of plan sets you up to make small changes that allow for making progress while keeping realistic expectations with the understanding that dogs are individuals that often don't follow our timeline.
• Detailed step-by-step Shaping Plans for the new behaviors you want to teach. This is designed on spending just 5 minutes a day working your way from step to step until the behavior is reliable.
• Progress Tracking Forms including templates you can can fill in as you go along and sheets designed specifically to help you stay organized. 

As in Yooper Paws of Love tradition, this package also comes with free text/email support for the duration of the package which is 90 days after your Zoom session. Payment expected at least 24 hours prior to the Zoom Session unless other arrangements have been made.

Book your Zoom Session Today!

When Unexpected Things Happen in Training

As an adolescent, Belle is prone to sudden bouts of unexpected challenges brought on by lack of impulse control, unusual fears, and random struggles. We had something I totally didn't expect to happen during a simple training session last week so I called in a few Canine Coaches and put together this Training Session Review for you.

One of the simple tips for improving your training sessions is to record them occasionally. Most of my training happens regularly throughout the day in 1-3 minutes as needed to keep our teamwork & communication strong. Then about once a week I do a "formal" training session with a starting place, a desired end goal, and hopefully some well planned steps in-between. A few times a week, I try to pull out my phone and video the training that I'm doing. Most of the time, it's simply a fun video for my social media accounts. But occasionally something goes wrong while I'm getting that video. (Things go wrong all the time, but not typically when I'm recording!) Those mistakes or unexpected problems are a great resource for helping me with better planning for future sessions.

When it comes to dog training, to worry about making mistakes. We all make mistakes! Instead, get some video when you're struggling then replay it a few days later and create a plan to learn from your mistakes!

Email me a video or two and I will help you figure out how you can tweak it just a little to make it better! Send emails to yooperpaws@gmail.com if you'd like a video review.

Shaping Plans!

Shaping is my favorite way to tackle behavior challenges, so I highly recommend you check out these posts from previous January Planning Posts to learn how you can use shaping a bit better!

Shaping Exercises

More about Shaping 

Shaping Games

Don't forget to join the new Yooper Paws Newsletter Email list! 

Newsletters

 Over the years I've tried several things to help make Yooper Paws bigger and better for my clients including multiple types of newsletters and ways to interact with clients. Needless to say this has been a source of frustration for me as a small business owner. But here I am trying it again! 

As a dog trainer, I've learned that when something doesn't work, look for another approach, possibly another resource and almost always looking at using some type of reinforcement. Therefore the new Yooper Paws Newsletter will be focusing on the Paw CAKES (Compassion, Awareness, Knowledge, Empathy, & Support) format of providing dog training support that explains new approaches, sharing resources, and adding reinforcement for both the dog and the owner.

Please give me some positive reinforcement by subscribing to the Yooper Paws Newsletter and watch for some new free resources coming to all dog owners.

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Feel free to contact me at yooperpaws@gmail.com if you need help!