Oahu Dog Training

Don’t let your dogs (mis)behavior be the reason you both miss out on all that life has to offer. I promise your goals are closer than you think. I‘ve lost track of the number of client messages I have gotten over the years with the, “I can’t believe we were able to…” sentiment. From off-leash hikes, beach’ing, traveling, walking passed other dogs, people, chickens, etc. - we’ve done it all & can help you do it, too. In fact, I don’t just teach this, guys. I LIVE IT. Mylo has traveled with me to Alaska, Alberta, British Columbia, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Nevada, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, & the Yukon. He’s been on countless road trips, hikes, backpacking trips, kayaking, paddle boarding, & camping excursions, restaurant’ing, shopping & everyday life’ing. He’s been with me for the addition of three kiddos, and multiple dogs in and out of our home. All made possible #BecauseWeTrained. What would you be doing with your dog if you were not limited by his (mis)behavior?

Otis comes off the curb with intent to react. His tail raises, ears move forward, he quickens his pace, & zeroes in on the dog. At this point, he has strongly been conditioned to “yes,” and it’s the perfect interruption. You see him respond immediately without need for any leash pressure.Using it as an initial interruption reminds him what we’re doing, so I am able to revert back to its traditional use almost immediately, reinforcing him for his next great choice.In dog training, there’s never one way of doing something and there’s always multiple uses for cues. If it works for you and your dog, is safe, and improves quality of life - it’s right - and there’s many right ways!Here’s my “wrong way” of using “yes” for good 😉#balanceddogtrainer #reactivitytraining #yeswork #leashskills #looseleash #looseleashwalking #politedog #dogreactivity #oahudogtraining #oahudogs #hawaiidogsofinstagram

My Train While You Work program is the only one of its kind on island (or that I have seen, period), And, I created it with YOU at the forefront of my mind. ✨ Fills the gaps of traditional programs, like board & trains, & individual sessions. ✨ Training occurs in your home & surrounding area (field trips optional) during the day while you work / are away / napping / doing whatever you want. ✨ Includes periodic sessions with you to review skills, address questions, concerns, etc. ✨ Includes access to an online folder with training videos & photos for you to follow along. ✨ Includes the training equipment you will need to succeed. ✨ Integrates you throughout the program so there is no transitional period (or freak outs) at the end of the program. ✨ Tailored to your dog’s needs & your training goals. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Check out my “Reviews” highlight at the top of my page to see what clients are saying about it. ✉️ Reach out via e-mail, text, or DM to get started. #guahank9 #oahudogtrainer #hawaiidogtrainer #oahudogs #hawaiidog #hawaiidogs #hawaiidogsofinstagram #luckywelivehi #hilife #balanceddogtraining #balanceddogtrainer #openmindedapproach

My Train While You Work program is the only one of its kind on island (or that I have seen, period), And, I created it with YOU at the forefront of my mind. ✨ Fills the gaps of traditional programs, like board & trains, & individual sessions. ✨ Training occurs in your home & surrounding area (field trips optional) during the day while you work / are away / napping / doing whatever you want. ✨ Includes periodic sessions with you to review skills, address questions, concerns, etc. ✨ Includes access to an online folder with training videos & photos for you to follow along. ✨ Includes the training equipment you will need to succeed. ✨ Integrates you throughout the program so there is no transitional period (or freak outs) at the end of the program. ✨ Tailored to your dog’s needs & your training goals. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Check out my “Reviews” highlight at the top of my page to see what clients are saying about it. ✉️ Reach out via e-mail, text, or DM to get started. #guahank9 #oahudogtrainer #hawaiidogtrainer #oahudogs #hawaiidog #hawaiidogs #hawaiidogsofinstagram #luckywelivehi #hilife #balanceddogtraining #balanceddogtrainer #openmindedapproach

A word on choosing a dog trainer. Spoiler Alert: It’s probably not what you thought. This is your invitation to choose whatever, whoever feels right for you. Your success will be so much greater if you trust your gut & feel good about your decision rather than basing it off anything or anyone else. 💙 #guahank9 #oahudogtrainer #hawaiidogtrainer #oahudogs #hawaiidogs #dogtrainingtip #empowereddogowner

❌Stop feeding your dog from a bowl ✅ Put all the kibble into a baggie & feed like treats throughout the day ✅ Feeding from a bowl results in so many missed training opportunities. Dog training is best maintained if you integrate it into your lifestyle. Your dog chose not to jump on you when you get home? Hand feed kibble. She sat at the door before letting her out? Hand feed kibble. He didn’t bother you while you were eating your meal? Hand feed kibble. The possibilities are endless. ✅ More bonding. If you are hand feeding each piece of kibble, you have that many interactions with your dog. Positive interactions strengthen your bond. ✅ Making it evident that you control the resources could be especially important for dogs that are pushy or have issues with resource guarding. Try it out & tag @guahan.k9 in your post! I’d love to see how it goes! #guahank9 #oahudogtrainer #hawaiidogtrainer #oahudogs #hawaiidogs #dogtraining #dogtrainingtip #treatpouch #trainyourdog #diydogtraining

“Out” can be such a valuable command for so many reasons, but especially when you have a dog with resource guarding issues. Titan has previously bitten over food, so him learning to drop his prized pig ear is awesome! We’ll continue to build on this and make it more and more solid. #guahank9 #oahudogtrainer #hawaiidogtrainer #oahudogs #hawaiidogs #resourceguarding #dogboundaries #americanpitbullterrier #apbt #pitbullmix #bordercollie #collie #pitcollie

Sometimes training looks like nothing. And in this case, it’s because I’m teaching Duke how to be okay (relaxed) when doing nothing. This particular exercise is called a “Behavioral Down,” which is just a fancy way of saying that I’m not giving any verbal cue, physical input, or other gesture to get him to relax. I simply stand on his leash and do nothing until he is relaxed from nose to tail. And then I repeat it for another cycle. Sure, there are other ways to achieve a relaxed dog. Here is some insight: I could take him on a run until he is so exhausted that he lays peacefully on the floor. However, that will only be useful in times when I can actually take him running to the point of expelling all of his energy. Not to mention, the more you exercise a dog, the more stamina he will have; so, he will begin to require more and more exercise to achieve the same level of relaxation. Also problematic is that exercise does not give him the benefit of teaching him how to calm himself. That is, even the smartest of dogs will not think, “I am feeling anxious, perhaps I should go for a run to calm my nerves.” Heck, this is hard even for humans! I also cannot easily attach a verbal cue - the dog would not associate me telling him to relax with the mental state that is achieved after a run. I could also teach him the popular “place” command. While this is a great alternative, and a method that I use often because it can address some of the pitfalls of the “exercise to exhaustion” method, the place command requires a certain level of motivation to train and cooperate. Also problematic is that I may not always want to carry an object for him to “place” on (such as a towel, etc.). So, for a dog that is not yet super treat motivated at this stage of training, and is building his confidence to train in general, Behavioral Downs can be done from day one, with no need to teach or build up anything beforehand, and without requiring the time and energy

Ipo’s progress with handling - grooming, nail trims, & teeth hygiene. This guy used fo run & hide when his mom pulled out the grooming tools. Awesome progress Ipo! #guahank9 #oahudogtrainer #oahudogs #grooming #groomingdog #yorkshireterrier #yorkshire #yorkie #yorkiesofinstagram #yorkiepuppy #puppytraining

Zeus was attacked by a loose neighbor dog pretty early on in his life & subsequently developed dog reactivity to the point that his human mom had a hard time walking him by herself. Here is a day one clip versus his progress within just one week. Awesome transformation Zeus! At 5’3 and 105 lbs, most of the dogs I work with weigh two-thirds to double as much as I do and could easily and quite literally pull me over if I allowed it. So rest assured, if I can do it, you can too 😉 #guahank9 #oahudogtrainer #oahudogs #leashreactivity #leashmanners #leashtraining #americanpitbullterrier #apbt #pitbull #pitbullsofinstagram #pitbulltraining #bullybreed #dontbullymybreed #adoreabull #loveabully #endbreeddiscrimination #endbsl

A little Smokey pupdate from their last individual session. Look at them go 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 For those of you that haven’t been following Smokey’s story, he’s almost 3 years old. Because of his leash reactivity, he hadn’t been walked in months. His family just wanted to be able to take him out & help him be his happy, sweet self. Here is his progress after my 2-week Train While You Work program, where I trained with him during the day while his family was working. #guahank9 #oahudogtrainer #oahudogs #dogtraining #leashreactivity #leashmanners #blackgermanshepherd #blackgsd #germanshepherd #gsd