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The Monthly Wag: April 2025
Ready Set...Train! Monthly Newsletter
ReadySetTrainDogs
April 06, 2025
Hello Fellow Dog Lovers!
Thank you for subscribing to our monthly newsletter! We’re thrilled to have you be a part of our ever growing community of dog lovers and training enthusiasts. Each month, you can look forward to receiving valuable training tips, behavior insights, and updates on our upcoming events and classes. We're excited to share this journey with you and your furry friend(s)!
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Table of Contents
Featured Upcoming Class: Advanced Good Manners
Each month, we feature one of our upcoming classes to give you a deeper look into what the class entails. This month, we’re excited to highlight Advanced Good Manners Class, starting on April 13th at 1 PM!
What is our Advanced Good Manners Class?
Take your dog’s training to the next level with our Advanced Good Manners class! Building on the foundation from our Beginner Good Manners course, this class introduces more advanced behaviors such as heel, place, settle, leave-it, and drop-it.
Our goal is to strengthen the skills your dog has already learned by increasing difficulty with added distractions, distance, and duration—helping them master commands like come and stay in real-world situations. We focus on loose leash walking, impulse control, and maintaining focus around higher-level distractions, with a strong emphasis on staying calm around new dogs. Each week, we introduce different dogs into the studio, allowing your pup to practice handling new distractions in a controlled environment.
This class is ideal for dogs with a solid foundation who are ready to refine their skills. It’s also a great stepping stone for those interested in advanced training such as CGC certification, therapy dog work, rally, or agility.
Sign up today and continue your dog’s training journey! https://www.readysettraindogs.com/book-online?category=b7edb5b7-db72-4d08-ab4b-c42e613d4d7d
Monthly Training Video: Look at That(LAT) Teach Your Dog To Be Calm Around Triggers
Why Choose Ready Set…Train! for Group Training Classes?
Dog of the Month: Wally
Name: Wally(from Leave it to Beaver TV show)
Age: Around 2 years
Breed: 100% American Pit Bull Terrier per Embark testing
Favorite activity: Searching for Kibble in his backyard
Favorite food/snack: Chicken Gizzards
Favorite Trick: Bow
Best personality trait: Friendliness to people and he never counter-surfs!
Fun fact about Wally: he enjoys car rides which includes watching neighbor’s backyard chickens!
Wally has shown remarkable progress throughout his training journey with us, which has included group classes and recent private lessons. His initial excitement around other dogs was the primary focus of our training Wally has made significant improvements in his impulse control and focus in other dogs presence. Wally's success is also a testament to his dedicated owners, Beth and Ron, who actively reinforce his training at home. Beth enjoys teaching him tricks and cooperative care, while Ron focuses on daily walks and counterconditioning around other dogs. Wally is currently working towards participating in group classes without barriers. He can now comfortably be in the training room with two other dogs and even completed a rally course with them nearby. We are incredibly proud of Wally's hard work, resilience, and intelligence!
The Sounds of Spring: How to Help Our Dogs When the Outside World Gets Busier
As we open up our houses and spend more time outside this spring, our dogs may need some help adjusting to the more exciting outside world.
Spring has sprung, and with the warmer weather comes more time outdoors for everyone, including our canine companions! As we open our windows and doors and spend more time in the yard, our dogs are naturally exposed to a greater variety of outdoor activity, sounds, and potential triggers. This increased stimulation in your neighborhood can sometimes lead to heightened excitement or anxiety in our furry friends. To help your dog navigate this busier season with calm and confidence, consider incorporating these strategies:
Smart Management: Creating a peaceful indoor environment is key. If outdoor sounds tend to stress or trigger reactivity in your dog, consider using a noise barrier to help soften or mask them. A fan, calming music, or the television can effectively reduce your dog's awareness and reaction to external noises.
Proactive Counter-Conditioning: This powerful technique involves changing your dog's emotional response to triggers. Carefully and gradually expose your dog to the sights and sounds that typically cause a reaction (from a safe distance where they remain under threshold – meaning they notice the trigger but don't react strongly). When your dog notices the trigger but remains calm and doesn't react, immediately reward them with something high-value, such as a tasty treat. The goal is to create a positive association with the once-stressful stimulus. You can check out our monthly training video teaching your dog the “Look at That” exercise if you want to see how to do these counterconditioning exercises. Remember to keep these sessions short and positive, gradually increasing the intensity of the trigger as your dog becomes more comfortable.
Create a Safe and Comfortable Retreat: Designate a specific area in your home where your dog can go to feel safe and secure when they feel overwhelmed by outdoor stimuli. This could be a comfortable bed in a quiet corner, their crate with the door open, or even under a specific piece of furniture. Make this space inviting with soft bedding and perhaps a favorite toy. Encourage your dog to use this space voluntarily and never force them to go there as punishment. When they are in their retreat, avoid disturbing them. This provides them with a sense of control and a refuge when the outside world feels too busy.
Give your Dog Time: the finial tip is to be patient and give our dogs time to adjust to the new sights, sounds, and stimuli the spring and summer world will bring. Over time, something called desensitization starts to happen on its own. Repeated exposure to any stimuli over time makes our dogs brains have less and less of a chemical reaction to said stimuli. The first time the windows were opened and my dogs heard the lawn mower it was a big deal for them, but by mid spring they became used to this happening. Our dogs will desensitize to most low level stimuli they are exposed to over and over again. For higher level reactions from our dogs see step 2 and do counter-conditioning.
By implementing these management and counter-conditioning techniques, you can help your dog enjoy the sights and sounds of spring without unnecessary stress.
Upcoming Classes/Events
4/13: 11:30 am- Beginner Good Manners Class I | First Class
4/13: 1:00 pm- Advanced Good Manners Class | First Class
4/27: 10 am- Puppy Start Right Pre-School | First Class
4/27: 3:00 pm- Novice Agility Class | First Class
4/30: 7:15 pm- Beginner Good Manners Class I First Class
All of our upcoming class still have several spots available. Sign up today! https://www.readysettraindogs.com/group-training-classes
