Let's Talk Sit

28/03/2023

Collars are the safest thing for dogs... Right?! Actually, like any other tool, they can be extremely harmful and cause severe injury to dogs. ​​​​​​​​
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In this episode, we wanted to talk about some of the things you can do to keep your dogs safe when wearing collars. ​​​​​​​​

21/03/2023

"It's all in how you raise them!" ​​​​​​​​
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We all hear it, all the time. Dogs aren't born a certain way - it's in how you raise them! In this episode, we discuss the problems with thinking that way.​​​​​​​​
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This is HARMING dogs! This episode is going to ruffle some feathers, but please try to open your mind anyway. ​​​​​​​​
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14/03/2023

Dog trainers new and old are driven crazy by certain owners. If you're a trainer, you know the type. The owners who want their dog fixed but aren't willing to put any work in to actually fix their problem! Listen to this week's episode to learn about our own experiences and some useful tips if you're struggling with this too. ​​​​​​​​
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07/03/2023

Did you know that socialization isn't just throwing your dog into a room full of dogs or people and letting them fend for themselves? In 2023, especially from the effects of Covid, we are all dealing with a huge increase in reactivity. This episode discusses why! ​​​​​​​​
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28/02/2023

Lately, everything we see on TikTok and in pet owner circles is that crate training is cruel - after all, it's illegal to leave dogs in crates in Sweden! ​​​​​​​​
In this episode, Kim, Lynne, and Alice talk about how that is simply wrong. ​​​​​​​​
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26/02/2023

Alice has been on a huge Michael Ellis kick lately, so have a quote!​​​​​​​​
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Good dog training is undramatic - Michael Ellis ​​​​​​​​
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07/02/2023

When talking about small dogs, the first thing most people think is that they're little terrors. Ankle-biters, mean, and demonic.​​​​​​​​
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Lots of pros even when asked their least favorite dog breed, they'll say "Chihuahua!" ​​​​​​​​
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Today we take some time to un-pack that and figure out where it stems from, along with what causes Small Dog Syndrome - aka what causes small dogs to become monsters. ​​​​​​​​
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02/02/2023

Guess who's back...​​​​​​​​
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Keep your eyes and ears open on Tuesday, 2/7 for a new episode of Let's Talk Sit! ​​​​​​​​
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16/01/2023

Level Up Your Pup: Essentials Join Now You didn’t know what you were getting into with a new dog You've stockpiled hundreds of blog posts, books, podcasts, and YouTube channels...but you're tired of trying to search through everything to find the information you need right now. The different dog t...

13/01/2023

Introducing Level Up Your Pup: Essentials!

Level Up Your Pup: Essentials is a ✨brand new✨ dog training membership brought to you by the hosts of Let's Talk Sit!

🎮 We were inspired by the levels in a video game and created Essentials to help dog owners understand the steps needed to train their dogs at home.

🎯 We provide tangible goals for each level of every cue so you know exactly when your dog is ready to move to the next level.

This course is mainly aimed toward puppies and new pet owners but is also great for dogs of all ages with owners who want to understand basic dog training.

We will be updating this membership every single month and we will be adding more obedience cues, answers to YOUR questions, different ways to teach cues, videos, and more!

➡️ Sign up NOW at www.levelupyourpup.com/essentials

03/01/2023

So sorry for the late notice! We will not be releasing episodes in the next couple of weeks, however, we will keep you updated!

20/12/2022

Part 2/2 in our Spay and Neuter series!​​​​​​​​
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Today we focus on keeping your dog intact instead of spaying and neutering.​​​​​​​​
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In this day and age, spaying and neutering is the widely accepted expectation with both pet owners and in the industry overall. ​​​​​​​​
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We go over the other side, talking about:​​​​​​​​
◾ Why you should consider NOT spaying/neutering your pet​​​​​​​​
◾ Myths of the behavioral issues with intact pets​​​​​​​​
◾ The responsibility required for choosing to not spay/neuter ​​​​​​​​
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08/12/2022

When it comes to training a dog, 5 minutes a day Monday-Friday is better than 30 minutes on a Saturday. - Martin Deeley​​​​​​​​
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Consistency, consistency, consistency! ​​​​​​​​
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06/12/2022

EVERYONE experiences imposter syndrome.​​​​​​​​
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You? Probably.​​​​​​​​
Your boss at work? I'd say so.​​​​​​​​
Your dog training mentor with 35 years of training experience who has done basically everything and has been mentoring others for over a decade? ABSOLUTELY.​​​​​​​​
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But as a newbie dog trainer, it's so overwhelming and can feel paralyzing. ​​​​​​​​
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In today's episode, we talk about our experiences with imposter syndrome and share a bunch of tips on moving past it.​​​​​​​​
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01/12/2022

Happy December!​​​​​​​​
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Holly got to Kim just in time for Christmas - hence her name.​​​​​​​​
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She looks like a little troublemaker... but isn't she so cute?!? ​​​​​​​​
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29/11/2022

Reactivity and aggression in the dog training industry are typically used either interchangeably or together.​​​​​​​​
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But what is reactivity? What's aggression? Are they different, or are they synonyms? ​​​​​​​​
Do they even have defined different definitions?​​​​​​​​
Who decides what is aggression and what is reactivity?​​​​​​​​
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Learn the answers to these questions along with our discussions on how to handle reactivity vs aggression in today's episode!! ​​​​​​​​
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26/11/2022

Small Business Saturday!​​​​​​​​
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Personally, I think Small Business Saturday is way cooler than Black Friday. Show your local small businesses some love today! ​​​​​​​​
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And don't forget to listen to our episode about Independent Pet Stores ( #11) if you're into small businesses or want to learn more about why you should love them!​​​​​​​​
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24/11/2022

Happy Thanksgiving, friends! ​​​​​​​​
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Remember, don't give your dog any (cooked) bones or anything too salty or fatty, but Thanksgiving food is pretty dog friendly! ​​​​​​​​
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Do you make a Thanksgiving plate for your dog?​​​​​​​​
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22/11/2022

Everyone wants to work with dogs. And why wouldn't you? Dogs are the best. We all agree with that.​​​​​​​​
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But the one thing people don't think about when considering a career as a dog trainer is burnout. ​​​​​​​​
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Most people have experienced burnout in some capacity in the workplace. Jobs get boring, bosses are annoying, and Karens are the worst. But in dog training, and specifically, as a dog trainer, it can hit too. And it hits hard.​​​​​​​​
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Repeatedly doing the same types of training day in and day out can get boring (Basic obedience and house training, anyone?)​​​​​​​​
Annoying bosses still exist in the dog industry (unless you work for yourself?!)​​​​​​​​
And the Karens... well, they're worse than ever.​​​​​​​​
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Listen to this weeks episode to hear our experiences with burn out and what we do to get out of it. ​​​​​​​​
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Because, all this said, we wouldn't trade our careers and lives as dog trainers for the world. ​​​​​​​​
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18/11/2022

Saria is working on her Novice Trick Title and loves practicing her wave! (Also pictured, the oversized box she jumps into)​​​​​​​​
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15/11/2022

There are multiple ways you can work as a dog trainer - today, we discuss three of those ways.​​​​​​​​
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🐾 Self-employed - owning your own business​​​​​​​​
🐾 Independent contractor - working for someone else, but still kinda doing your own thing ​​​​​​​​
🐾 Employee - working for someone else and following their rules​​​​​​​​
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Listen to this episode to learn more - and also the natural progression a dog trainer may or may not follow! ​​​​​​​​
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12/11/2022

Hey friends!!

Don't forget to sign up for our newsletter on our website ASAP! We're working on some really REALLY cool stuff we know you'll all love! You will NOT want to miss out on this.

ARE YOU READY TO LEVEL UP YOURDOG TRAINING CAREER? Join our email list! Sign up today and be the first to get all our upcoming news! Loading... Thank you! You have successfully joined our subscriber list. Who We Are Let’s Talk Sit! brings together Kim Toepfer, Lynne Bell, and Alice Teal.We have a...

08/11/2022

The IACP Conference was held in early September and held amazing seminars with some of the biggest names in the dog training industry. While we weren't fortunate enough to go this year, Lynne and Kim's mentee, Luis Rosado, was!​​​​​​​​
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In this episode, Luis tells us all about his experience at the conference. ​​​​​​​​
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Check out our website for more info on Luis and his training business! ​​​​​​​​
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03/11/2022

Good morning! We're working on an email list to share some quality dog info (training and otherwise) with y'all

You can sign up on our website - and trust me, you will not want to miss this stuff!

01/11/2022

EPISODE 11 IS FINALLY HERE!!!!​​​​​​​​
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Welcome back, friends! We're so excited to be back!!!​​​​​​​​
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In this week's episode, Kim, Lynne, and Alice talk to LISA SAROYAN. ​​​​​​​​
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Lisa Saroyan has been in the pet industry for 12 years and is here to discuss the differences between independent pet stores and big box stores. ​​​​​​​​
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We believe that, whenever possible, we should always shop small business and support our local community.​​​​​​​​
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31/10/2022

Happy Halloween! ​​​​​​​​
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Do your dogs dress up for Halloween? What are they dressing as this year? ​​​​​​​​
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28/10/2022

It's National Mentoring Day! ​​​​​​​​
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The master has failed more times than the beginner has ever tried. - Stephen McCranie​​​​​​​​
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We found this quote hit pretty close to home today - your mentor walked so that you can run! ​​​​​​​​
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Do you have a mentor? ​​​​​​​​
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PS: DM us if you're interested in getting our newsletter! ​​​​​​​​
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25/10/2022

One week until our next episode!​​​​​​​​
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We're welcoming our first guest to the Let's Talk Sit podcast and we can't wait to share this episode with you! It's packed full of some amazing information about independent pet stores and why we support them!​​​​​​​​
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BTW: We have a newsletter coming soon, DM us your email address if you want to be added!​​​​​​​​
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