In-Home Dog Behavior Consultation is the solution to your dogs most troubling behaviors. When dogs display aggression, anxiety, or extreme hyper activity within the home then we need to meet them where they are. Consultations are available Oregon & Washington. Depending on your location some travel fees may apply. A liability waiver, detailed intake form, and virtual coaching session is recommended before we do an in person so you can get the most out of our time together. In-Person sessions are offered at a discount for program subscribers and it's recommended that you consider signing up for a training program. FAQs-- Q: Where do we meet for In-Person Sessions? A: In-person training sessions can take place wherever you and the trainer agree will be a good location for your animal, conducive to learning, and appropriate for the goal behavior and skill level of your animal. Q: Do you offer In-Person Sessions for clients beyond the Columbia Gorge and Mt. Hood Area? A: Yes! As long as we can travel to you and back within a day's work there is no extra fee. This means the Portland and Vancouver area is no problem. If travel to and from your location will require more than a day's work plus the training time will exceed 8 hours we may require additional fees for travel costs but we are still happy to travel to you. Q: How long are the sessions? A: In-Person sessions typically last anywhere from 1 to 4 hours. No one wants to train any longer than 4 hours. You need to take breaks for your mental health. Q: Will you do multiple day long sessions if I pay for travel? A: Yes! If you have a challenging case and you really want the most help possible. We will travel and stay for up to a week. You will be responsible for the travel expenses but the training sessions will be heavily discounted after the first sessions. For other frequently asked questions check out Frequently Asked Questions category in the blog. --

One-on-one training sessions covering basic manners, socialization, puppy & kitten development, cooperative care and handling for vet exams or grooming, harness and leash training, recall, and station training. First time client please come prepared with your pets vaccination records and signed training waiver. You may also send these documents to heytrainer@kindanimalservices.com be sure to add your contact and booking information so we know what appointment the documents are for. Returning clients will only need to provide the basic booking form information. Unless brining a new pet to the session in witch case we need vaccination records for the new pet.

Over the last 10 years of being in the pet industry and studying dog behavior. I hear an echoing statement from clients that haunts me. The story goes like this: These are often clients over 50 in their 60s, 70s, and 80s. They come to me with young typically poodle mixes (not all but many). They are struggling with training these young rambunctious companions something they have never experienced before. These are experienced dog owners and have been raising and living with dogs most their life. They grew up with dogs, they had a dog in their early adulthood, raised a dog along side their children... but now they can't seem to understand why they are not able to get control of this newest member of the family. The behavior issues these clients are facing very from excessive and uncontrollable barking, reactivity to other dogs, tire chasing, aggressive or startling reactions to strangers or children. I have a tendency to flip back and forth in my head on the topic. Maybe we should just revert to old ways, would I have more success in helping these people if I utilized more direct and harsh methods? I spend hours researching, watching videos, and trying to understand the effectiveness and ineffectiveness of old-school "broom training" or "newspaper training" methods vs. the more gentle positive reinforcement approach of training dogs. In the next breath I see the fear and stress in the dogs eyes, the frustration and anger in the human, and the eventual relapse of the unwanted behavior. I can't look past all the material and knowledge we have about learning to date, the quality of the dog-human relationship, and what we know about instinct and unconscious mechanisms at play inside every life force (genetics, hormones, blood chemistry, gut health, and more.) Yet, there is still mounting complaints from my elders that their dog owning experience has changed. What has changed? I am going to attempt to describe my outlook on the matter and various elements that may be impacting our modern pet owning experience. Breeding There are some incredible projects out there like the Functional Breeding project that I think are on to one piece of the puzzle. I have been seeing a huge push for these "designer dogs" and specifically doodles. Among my colleagues it's pretty clear that we all antidotally are experiencing a decline in these dog's health, physically and behaviorally. Personally, doodles are some of the most socially frantic and stressed out dogs I work with. Of course this does not apply to all doodles, I know a few stable and calm doodles, but those are often working service dogs, selected for their collected personality and work ability. Again this entire article is based on my opinion and antidotal experience. I am in no way saying this is the sole cause of the issues we are seeing but a potential player in the game. We are not selecting and breeding dogs with the whole dog in mind. We are near-sided for non-shedding "friendly" dogs and anyone can breed them by crossing favorite breeds with poodles. Change of Human Lifestyle Next up, we can't blame everything on the dog. Our issue could be that our lifestyles are changing rapidly, exponentially in fact. In just one life time we now have access to technology that was the product of science fiction in the past. Even old dogs, I mean humans, can learn new tricks and have been! We live in smaller and more crowded spaces, we spend more time on screens and stationary, and we are addicted to immediate results and high production. Our dogs (like us) are biological animals that move at biological speed. After years of evolving together humans have, it appears, diverged from our shared evolution dramatically! Where dog's lives are changing they are not in the drivers seat but being dragged along. They just can't evolutionally keep up. Dogs have been our companions and assistants. Used for caring our burdens, protecting our families, hunting, food production, and transportation. Today they live much less eventful lives, get far less life experiences, and don't really serve the needed purpose of the past. Even when we didn't need them they were still granted much freedom and experiences because we spent more time outside, so did they. Dogs and children everywhere are not getting the same amount of exposure to nature as those just 60 years ago. Our lifestyles have changed and I think it's having a massive effect on the behavioral health of our dogs. Because of this, I think that more people should abandon dog ownership and realize that our canine companions are just not needed and don't thrive in this new world we are moving to. My heart sinks at the thought of all those abandoned dogs, and potentially the dog breeds that will likely go extinct if we were to abandon dogs on our evolutionary road. Please know I'm not saying we should give up on dogs currently in our lives or that no one should own dogs. I'm thinking on a much larger scale, in the decades to follow, I think dogs should only be owned by a few dedicated dog enthusiasts (those who train and compete), working farms, hunters, police and military and service dog organizations placing dogs wisely with people who can benefit from their service. I think we should take a hard look at our selves and our lifestyle. No longer accept "Just because I want a dog" as a reason for bringing a dog into our home. Change in Prospective With technology, education, and the spread of ideas we have more research and understanding about brain function, behavior, and biology. Science and personal experiences with dogs as companions has changed our prospective. Now that our life no longer depends on the dog to do his job we have started becoming aware of the dog's experience. We are opening our eyes to how they feel, their emotions, comfort, and well-being. They are our companions and family members after all, they deserve a life of comfort. Dogs no longer hold the space of a tool or farm equipment, they are our friends. This shift in perspective and gains in science that support the fact dogs feel emotional distress, social pressure, and have preferences has made us soft. It might be natural to take this "softness" as weakness but I don't think its a weakness at all! It's an awareness and an openness to the fact that our dogs are subject to many of the same life struggles humans are. As we broaden our prospective about the dog experience it is normal to feel a little helpless and overwhelmed by all the information. Now we see there is a behavioral issue that we were blind to with our past dogs but the path to resolving the behavior issue is no longer as straight forward as it was when we had narrow vision. Change In Expectations One more piece of this puzzle I cannot conclude without addressing. What if, with technology priming us for immediate and specific results, our "too busy" lifestyle, and our constant consumption of information changing our prospective have skewed our expectations. Media does a really good job of seeping it's toxic potion of the ideal life into our minds. We see a Subaru commercial with a happy family and a shaggy (non-shedding) muddy dog bouncing into the car with it's family. No leash, no training, no information about how this family got to this moment or what happened after. We imagine the dog walking obediently at our side, comforting us when we are sad, protecting us when we are afraid. Our expectations and ideals don't include the fact dogs have a lot of needs beyond food, water, and shelter. They experience trauma and mental illness. They are subject to stress and anxiety. Our expectations are all about us and don't consider them! Rarely, do we plan for how we are going to provide emotional security, accommodate for the dogs natural impulses (i.e. chasing, digging, barking, biting, and more) , teach the dog how to respond to and cope with stress, empower them to have agency and obedience at the same time. Then I ponder, how can we prepare our dogs in this way when we can hardly do this for ourselves. Did humans of the past really used to have all these expectations of dogs? From what I can tell we only had a couple: do your job and don't harm our families. Dogs were then left to be dogs. To chase dear, sleep, dig, socialized with other dog family members, etc. This goes without saying, we are also under more pressure than ever to own "well behaved" dogs in the public eye. The fear of coming in contact with people and their judgement is becoming impossible to avoid. Then to top it all off we don't want our dog to get us sued or start a legal debacle with our neighbors. We have pressure from all sides to have quiet soulless obedient dogs. Maybe it's time to get a robot. Individual Selection Now I think that this is a very real problem of the day. If you narrow our focus to the dog in front of you. How did you select them and what were you selecting? I see people adopt dogs purely on looks with out consideration or assessment of personality, preferences, tendencies, or sociability. In many cases families have selected the wrong dog for their ideals. I have clients who are active adventurers they bike, hike, and cross country ski they were hoping to get a dog that would match their enthusiasm for the outdoors. They select a breed/look of dogs, that is large and athletic, that they imagined would enjoy those activities only to find out the dog they selected is afraid to leave the house, hates going outside, and thinks every shadow, human, and dog it meets is a threat to it's safety. Another case, couple adopt a small mixed breed puppy hoping for casual dog walks in the neighborhood and a cuddly lap warmer in the house. Friendly with the adult children and grandchildren who come to visit. On the contrary the dog they adopted is a fierce resource guarder, highly intelligent (always getting into trouble) , and does everything with over the top intensity. They got the opposite of calm. It's not 100% the fault of the owner, because many of these pet parents didn't have the information to make a better decision. They were also influenced by media, breeders, friends, and rescues. In the end for many of the reasons I have already mentioned the pet owner selects an individual dog that is ill matched. I think we could do better about informing dog adopters about the individual and how they can better assess personality or hire a professional assessor before adopting a dog/puppy. No matter the reason, all of or none of the reasons I listed, the dog owning experience has changed in recent years. What do you think is the driving cause of this change? I'm really curious to hear from you. Let me know in the comments below.

This is the most common question among my reactive dog clients. "...But, Kelsie, what do I do WHEN they have a reaction?" My answer honestly is nothing much. You see when a dog is in the midst of reacting to a trigger they are drowning in stress. The thing with stress in large doses is that it inhibits the brain from learning. So at the time of a reaction there is nothing you are going to do that will be productive in teaching your dog to react less. Okay, I would be lying if I said there was nothing you could do to make them react less. You could potentially use punishment but it would have to be punishment that was strong enough to force them into shut down and cause them to stop all reactions and behaviors. It would require a heavy hand and in the end would not improve their underlying reason for the reactions in the first place. In fact the use of punishment to stop big reactions almost always backfires because dogs under stress are more likely to start generalizing their fear if you try to use fear to stop fear. In the end this puts you in a situation worse than you started! So let's not use punishment or annoyances like shouting "no" or jerking on the leash which typically are not strong enough to act as punishers in the first place. Here is what you can do: The golden rule with reactive dogs: Avoid triggers all together. Try to walk in locations or times of the day when the trigger is not present. Consider minimizing or stopping walks all together. Stressing the dog out more and forcing them to "get over" or "work through" stress inducing situations is the last thing we want to do. This is because by putting them repeatedly in known stressful situations will likely compound the problem and sensitize them to fear. Create distance if you spot triggers coming or you know there is the possibility to come across triggers set yourself up to be able to retreat and create distance from the trigger. By retreating to a safe distance you can then keep your dog under threshold and if they are not drowning in stress they will be capable of learning. Ding, Ding, Ding! This is a great teaching opportunity if executed effectively. Get busy or better yet get active. By moving your feet and your dogs feet you can prevent your dog from fixating or locking on to a trigger that might be a little too close for comfort and training. I sometimes lunge the dog in circles. Making the circle longer in the direction away from the trigger. This creates distance when you have a dog that isn't willingly moving away because they are already beginning to escalate their reaction. This technique can be messy but a good rule of thumb is don't let the dog lock up on the trigger and don't get stuck behind the dog pulling backwards against them. You want to stay 90 or 45 degrees to the side of them to best utilize your leash pressure and keep them from digging in. When in a pinch start body blocking. Put yourself between your dog and the trigger. I only recommend this with dogs we know for sure do not have redirected aggression! This means that in moments of intense stress the dog will redirect their reaction (aggression/frustration) onto something other than the trigger like the person handling the lead or getting in their way. This very aggressive technique should only be used when all other options are not available. I use it if I have a dog in an indoor space with no room to move. Find a wall or corner and sometimes forcibly hold your position between your dog and the trigger. If you can feed them treats great. Be ready to defend your dog against their trigger at all costs, tell people (if people are the trigger) to keep walking. If the trigger is other dogs be ready with citronella spray, a hand full of treats, or an umbrella to fend off any oncoming dog. On the topic of umbrellas if you find your self in situations with no escape often, because you live in the city, than carrying an umbrella might be a great option so you can literally pop up a shield to protect your dog. Note that you do need to spend time desensitizing your dog to the umbrella before this will be a worthy technique. Body/Head lock. Now I only recommend such physical force and this technique should be used in emergency situations only! If you have a dog that could potentially really bite someone or something and you know they will not redirect on to you than this move is worth knowing. Again this is for emergency situations and is intended to immobilize your dog to prevent a dangerous situation. For instance a child running into your dog's space. At the end of the day I would rather my dog bite me instead of a child. Biting the child is surely a death sentence for any dog. I also want to mention that if your dog is a bite risk then you should be utilizing a muzzle when walking or training them in unpredictable areas. To immobilize a dog quickly I take hold of their collar, pinching it so that it tightens high around their neck and they will not be able to back out. Then I take my other hand/arm and hug their abdomen against my hip/body. In an athletic stance with one foot slightly forward and one back I push my knee or shin into the dogs ribcage right behind their shoulder pulling their head into one and their hips into the other hip. You are essentially bending them around your leg. Meanwhile I would begin shouting at the incomer to get away because I don't have hands to or the ability to defend my dog in their now vulnerable state. You can also do something similar against a wall. This can sometimes free up a hand because you can use your leg to hold their back end against the wall and one hand on their collar to hold their head. Practice this technique with your dog a few times so you can feel comfortable with where to hold and how to get a good grip. Make sure you pay heavily with tasty treats during practice. This will also help your dog be more comfortable if you do need to use this technique. I know that number 5 is likely to get some hate from some positive only trainers but the reality is that life happens and I want you to be prepared and know what to do if a situation arises. It should be known that only #2 involves training/learning. All other techniques are just to try and get out of the situation quickly and will not help your dog learn to respond better the next time they see a trigger. Notice I didn't mention distracting the dog with food. I don't recommend this because by distracting the dog we are potentially raising the risk of the dog becoming startled if/when they do finally notice the trigger. I always encourage the dog to notice the trigger and then I follow looking at the trigger with a treat. I never treat BEFORE the trigger has been spotted! If you hide behind a car or visual barrier where you can see the trigger but the dog can't then this would be a good time to distract while the trigger passes hopefully unnoticed by the dog. Once more I want to drive home that by the time the dog is reacting it is too late to teach them to behave better. Get out of the situation quickly, take note of what happened, and consider how you can avoid (#1 suggestion) something like that from happening in the future. Then call a behavior professional to help you teach your dog a different response. So what do you do when your dog reacts? What is your biggest take away or what are you going to implement?

Affection Loop Training also known in the more scientific world as Constructional Affection Training. I’m not going to try and break down what constructional means for the purpose of this lesson but you can think of it as building something, constructing behavior using affection rather than treats or play. I’m always shocked at how much there is a need to talk about appropriate touching, petting, and affection with animals. Social animals specifically have a social and physical need for affection and acceptance into the group. So often we make these common mistakes. Now keep in mind there are always exceptions to the rules but I find this to be true with the majority of dogs. Stroking - Extremely stimulating and some dogs find it very irritating and not rewarding Patting - Some animals might find gentle and playful patting acceptable but if your goal is to train with affection this will likely be too stimulating or they may find it annoying, irritating, or even painful if done too rough. Fast scratching - This is probably the most common way people interact with dogs but it is also the most stimulating! It revs them up and why many puppy owners will experience their puppies biting and pouncing at them. It can be used in play but should not be part of your affection training protocol. Now, I want to point out that for affection loop training we are focusing on calming the dog and co-regulating emotions and big feelings. So our approach when petting our dogs should be relaxation, calmness, and comfort. This training protocol can work wonders for highly anxious and over aroused dogs and puppies. One pet parent found that her highly anxious german shepherd dog that consistently couldn’t sleep through the night and would pace around the house all day long, began sleeping through the night and greatly reduced her barking and pacing after putting this training into practice. Not all dogs are the same so you may or may not see dramatic changes like this with your dog but doing this definitely won't hurt! First, you need to change your thinking about training from linear to cyclical. All day long you will be looping through this pattern. Second, this protocol is designed to fill your unique dog’s need for affection. Dogs have different sized affection buckets. Some dogs will be satisfied with about 30 min of quality affection and ready to do other stuff. Where other dogs will need up to 2 hours of affection or more. Don’t worry you don’t have to spend 2 hours straight giving your dog affection. Think of affection like you do your dog’s exercise requirements, daily food intake, water requirements, or sleep. It’s one of the core needs that should be met daily. Sometimes there are things that you will combine such as mental stimulation and affection, or play and affection. Other interactions will also add to your dog's affection bucket. Third, learning the process of timing to build in the teaching element of affection training. After all, our goal is to teach the dog to be calm when greeting people and not to jump, to relax when home alone, or to not beg at the dinner table. Affection training can, when used appropriately, teaches all of these things and more. The level at which you can use affection training to teach wanted behaviors depends on the dog and your unique situation. So I mention these learned skills as suggestions not as a standard or even to say that this is the protocol I would choose for this specific dog. Remember that there are many many ways to get to the same result. At KAS we are all about utilizing the method that is going to fit the individual best. We do this through assessment, observations, and some trial and error testing techniques to find the best match. We also always want to screen protocols for the most human and gentle approach that will be successful. I ask and re-ask the question: Is this protocol causing this dog stress? Is there something that I can change or another approach that would cause less stress? While providing affection to your dog make sure that you observe signs of stress, make note of what they like, or don’t like. For this training we are here to serve our dogs. Okay, without further ado enjoy this video review all about how to do affection training. Resources: For more information about how to pet your dog (use TTouch method) check out https://ttouch.com/ For more examples and information about Constructional Affection check out this website: https://www.constructionalaffection.com/ Please share in the comments all questions and concerns. I would like to start a conversation around affection training and help you reap the benefits.

Puppy Immersion Program Raising well adjusted, socialized, and mannered puppies for a future of service or companionship. Enroll Today Invest In Your Puppy's Future Welcome to the Puppy Immersion Program from Kind Animal Services! ​ Are you tired of feeling overwhelmed and unsure about how to properly train your new puppy? Do you want to give them the best start in life and set them up for success as a well-behaved, socialized adult dog? If so, our Puppy Immersion Program is exactly what you need. ​ Our program is designed to fully immerse your puppy in a positive and nurturing environment, with the guidance of a professional trainer. For the first month of the program, your puppy will be boarded and trained in a home setting, where they will get exposure to novel situations and socialization with both humans and dogs. They we will start their education with age appropriate lessons. ​ But the training doesn't stop there. After the initial month of board and train, we offer two additional months of follow-up training to complete the full three-month program. The second month focuses on bonding and experiences with your family, while the third month focuses on mastering the three most necessary training and obedience skills all dogs need: go, stay, and come. ​ By the end of the program, your puppy will be well on their way to becoming a well-behaved and well-adjusted member of your family. Don't wait - give your puppy the gift of a lifetime by enrolling in our Puppy Immersion Program today! Sign Up Today! "Educating your dog isn't a luxury; It's a necessity. Learning ultimately improves your dog's welfare long into the future." -KAS What's The Big Deal? Early socialization and desensitization is extremely important for young developing puppies because it helps shape their behavior and temperament in the future. Socialization allows puppies to learn how to interact and communicate with other dogs and people, and helps prevent fear and aggression towards unfamiliar situations and stimuli. Desensitization helps puppies learn to cope with and adapt to new environments and experiences, which can help prevent anxiety and fear-based behaviors in the future. ​ Without proper socialization and desensitization, puppies may be more prone to fear, anxiety, and aggression towards unfamiliar people and situations. This can lead to a variety of behavioral issues as they grow into adulthood, which can be difficult to resolve later on. ​ By providing puppies with early socialization and desensitization experiences, we can give them the best foundation for a happy and well-adjusted life. Is Immersion Program Right For Your Pup? Puppies don't grow out of behavior they grow into behavior. Don't wait till they are mature and habits have formed to seek help. Dog training and education needs to start in their youth! Time is Slipping. Start Now! Why Puppies? Opportunities like this are now or never. Starting training when puppies are young is important because puppies are more receptive to learning and are more likely to retain what they have learned at this stage in their development. Puppies are born with very limited abilities and are unable to do much more than eat, sleep, and eliminate. As they grow and develop, they become increasingly capable of learning new things and acquiring new skills. ​ During the first few months of a puppy's life, their brains are rapidly developing and they are highly receptive to new experiences and learning. This is a critical period for socialization, which is the process of exposing puppies to a wide range of people, places, and situations so they can learn to be confident and well-adjusted adults. ​ Training during this time can also help puppies learn good manners and obedience skills, which can make them easier to live with and more enjoyable companions. Training can also help puppies feel more confident and secure, as it gives them a sense of structure and helps them understand what is expected of them. ​ In summary, starting training when puppies are young is important because it allows them to learn and develop at a critical stage in their development, and it can also help them become well-behaved, confident, and well-adjusted adults. What are you waiting for?

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Service Dog Coaching Assistance is only a paw away. Do you think your dog has what it takes to be a service dog? Are you looking for guidence on how to train your own dog as a service dog? Contact Us Today! Emotional Support vs. Service Dog We can help you train your dog for either and as you will find out not all dogs have what it takes for service work but they are wonderful companions at calming your emotions. Sign Up Today! Imagine what could your dog do for you? Hearing Assistance Physical Assistance Mental Illness Assistance Does my dog qualify? Unfortunately, not all dogs are going to qualify as a good service dog candidate. The good news is even if your dog does not qualify to be a public access service dog that doesn't mean they can't still offer assistance in the home or emotional support. We can help you train your dog for the job but we want you to keep in mind just like there are jobs you wouldn't want to work, not all personalities of dogs want to be a service dogs. Some dogs just prefer other work. ​ For a fully trained serviced that could possibly gain rights to work in public access they must have the following. Some of these prerequisites are teachable but you want your dog to have some innate tendency for the skill. Friendly and not afraid of people Not reactive and generally calm around other dogs Does not startle easily or show anxiety around loud noises Is eager to please and enjoys learning new tricks Calm but alert energy Stays with handler and walks well on leash Not easily distracted and focused on tasks Is comfortable in lots of environments Is in good health and physically capable for work ​ Dogs that will not qualify are dogs that show any aggression towards people, dogs, or other animals. Some reactivity can be worked through and if you currently have a dog that is reactive or anxious we will need to address this behavior concern first before we can begin any service dog training. ​ We strongly suggest that you start your service dog training journey when the dog is under 4 years old. The most ideal age to train a service dog is between 2-4years . Prior to 2 the puppy should be learning basic manners that will make them eligible for service dog work. Reach Out Today Is your dog under 2 years and you want to eventually have them as a service dog consider signing them up for our Immersion School. Learn More How does it work? At KAS we believe in bringing out the best in our animal companions through relationship, science, and positive reinforcement methods. We train service dogs that enjoy their work and willingly show up every day in support of their handlers for years. This is possible because we put your relationship and the dogs needs first. ​ When you reach out we will go through an assessment phase. This phase consists of virtual sessions with you to understand your disability and your need for a service dog. We then discuss and assess the dogs viability for being a service dog. Following these discussions we will set goals and expectations. KAS requires your dogs veterinarians involvement to ensure your dog is fit for the tasks we are planning. Finally, in many cases we ask to include your health care team and support team to make sure that the dog's tasks will actually be helpful for you. Full Assessment and planning process costs $300 flat and this includes all the discussions, planning sessions, and assessments. It does not include any boarding trials or pre training sessions. ​ Once we get through the series of Assessments, and planning we can hit the ground running. Depending on our final program decisions we may including boarding school for your dog as well as home training coaching and support. No two service dog training plans look the same. Training personal dogs is dependent on too many variables to give any clear idea of what your program will look like. ​ After all this we want to prepare you for the fact that your personal dog may not make the cut. Do you have a plan for this dog if they are not suited for service dog work? Will you keep your current dog or choose to re-home and purchase a puppy better suited for service dog work? Whatever you decide Kind Animal Services can continue to assist you. We can help you continue to train and improve your dog's behavior or facilitate the re-home/adoption process. What are you waiting for?