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The Everyday Trainer Podcast
The Everyday Trainer Podcast
Snuffle Mats Won’t Save You, But Real Training Might
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Start the year with a training reset that actually fits real life. We lay out a practical vision for 2026: less bashing between camps, more education, and a class model built for consistency. Instead of forcing rigid rules that fall apart on hard weeks, we show how to meet owners where they are, build trust, and add tools later when it makes sense. The throughline is sustainability—habits you’ll keep because they’re simple, fair, and aligned with how you live.
We break down why variety matters and how a gym-style schedule keeps both dogs and humans engaged. Reactivity classes focus on early interruption and neutrality, obedience sessions sharpen markers and play, detection taps into real nosework, and guided pack hikes bring nature back into the routine. You’ll hear how small, repeatable skills—shuffle back, pay, reset—turn panic into a plan, and why those reps create calm confidence faster than any quick fix.
We also take on the myth that a flat, silent dog is a well-trained dog. Training shouldn’t crush personality. By channeling drive, rewarding curiosity, and teaching clean off-switch behavior, you can keep your dog’s spark while gaining real control. That balance is where owners rediscover joy: an off-leash hike in the morning, a cafe settle at lunch, crisp heel work at class, and a happy dog who still lights up for play.
Under it all is community. Weekly sessions turn effort into a habit, reduce isolation for reactive dog owners, and lift everyone’s standards. We’re building a space in Upland, east of LA, where people feel seen and dogs get the outlets they deserve. If you want training that lasts beyond a boot camp and a dog who stays fully alive, this one’s for you. Subscribe, share with a friend who needs hope, and leave a review with your top training goal for 2026.
Visit us on the website here to see what we've got going on and how you can join our pack of good dogs and owners.
New Year, New Training Focus
SPEAKER_02Hello, hello, and welcome back to the Everyday Trainer Podcast. My name is Meg, and I am a dog trainer. Today's episode is what we want to see more of in dog training in 2026. This is our first episode of the new year. So we're gonna talk about what we want more of. You know the drill. Grab yourself a tasty drink and meet us back here. Hey guys, welcome back. Happy New Year. This is our first episode of the year. Let's go. Toma is joining me. We are recording this episode from the facility. My tasty drink of choice today is creamy root beer from Zevia. I don't know. Normally I'm a Olipop girly, but I've been switching it up, and this one's pretty good. I like these.
SPEAKER_00Have yet to try them. Actually, no, I've had one. Yeah, you've had this. Very good.
Life Updates And Reset
SPEAKER_02It's good. Okay, so we actually tried to record a different episode and it didn't feel very authentic. So I was like, you know what? We're gonna do something different because this is just not gonna be an interesting episode. And I knew you guys would not like to listen to us ramble about that other topic. So we were like, okay, what is something that we genuinely can have a discussion around? And that is what we want to see more of in this coming year. I also want to talk about what I kind of see trending. Not necessarily that's just like what I want to see more of, but what I my predictions for the dog training industry and kind of how we play a part in that. Yay.
SPEAKER_00Hang on.
SPEAKER_02So some life updates. Uh we took a little bit of a break over winter break from podcast. I was on my deathbed. I got the flu that everybody in California has been getting, and I literally thought that I was gonna die. And Toma can vouch for me.
SPEAKER_01Oh, for sure. We initially were gonna take some time off for a little, you know, trip.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, we were like gonna go to Mammoth.
SPEAKER_01And post-Christmas, a little time off.
SPEAKER_02We scheduled two weeks, and we still had board and trained dogs, but like we were just gonna take the board and train dogs with us. But no classes, you weren't doing bite work, we weren't gonna do lessons.
SPEAKER_01No trip happened. We got sick.
SPEAKER_02No trip happened. That's what happens when you schedule time off. Your immune system is like, oh yeah. Perfect time to shut down. Oh yeah.
SPEAKER_01So yeah, I was down for like a week, and then normally when Meg gets sick, she's still very much functional, but she was out, and I followed.
SPEAKER_02I was hallucinating. That's how sick I was. We were working on your van, and I was sanding the van, and my fever got so high that the sander started talking to me. Like the sound of the sander, it was like singing to me.
SPEAKER_01You also couldn't breathe. That was kind of more scary for me. I was like, hmm.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, but that was deep into it. That was like a couple days later of laying in bed. I think I might have gotten a little bit of pneumonia.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, no, for sure.
SPEAKER_02Oh man, and then I lost my voice. It was a whole thing, but we still had the potty dogs.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, don't stop in the garbage.
SPEAKER_02We still had the potty dogs, but no, we had other people who were coming to the facility. Shout out Kate, shout out Chelsea. They came by and took care of us. Shout out Steve, he brought us some soup. And some some shots, some immunity shots. We have a really good community of people who were able to take care of us.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, so that was that was awesome. That was really good. Also, we kind of, you know, you were sick first, and then I got sick, so we kind of piggybacked. We toggled. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Back to back.
SPEAKER_02But no vacation for us. We were basically locked in the facility for two weeks, and then it was also super rainy.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01And now I mean, you know, we're healthy again, back on track. We started lessons uh for the good dog club, and I started my bite org group backup.
SPEAKER_02So back into it. Straight back to the old ground. So yeah, we opened up classes at the facility. If you guys are in Southern California, we are in upland. It's like east of LA, right?
SPEAKER_01Correct.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Toma's not good with directions, but east of LA.
SPEAKER_01There's nothing further west. You just hit the ocean.
SPEAKER_02There's LA. No, but that's what I mean.
SPEAKER_01That's what I mean. Like, I don't know. That's my reference point. I'm like, oh, where are we from? We're from the East Coast. Okay, so east of LA.
Beyond Training Camps And Labels
SPEAKER_02Okay, so if you guys are in Southern California and want to come out and train with us, we have tons of amazing classes. I'm gonna get into those more specifically a little bit later in the episode because it kind of segues nicely into what I want to see more of, because obviously our space is designed around all of that. One of the topics that we could have spoken about was force-free, the argument against force-free training. And if you guys have listened to all of my episodes, I don't believe I bash force-free training. That is typically not my style. I like to just talk about what I like to do, you know.
SPEAKER_01But we can promote more of.
SPEAKER_02I don't I don't think that I need to bash a type of training to make my training better. I can just speak on my training and how it can benefit people, and that is gonna sell people on that training. But part of part of what I would like to see more of in 2026 is less bashing from either side.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, for sure.
SPEAKER_02So if you don't know, dog training is kind of divided, and in the simplest way, there's like a million different training camps. And to be quite honest, I could not even tell you what the training camps are. But in the simplest form, there's balance training, which are trainers that use tools and aversives, like prong callers, e-callers. That those are kind of lumped into that camp. And then there are trainers who Whoa, whoa, whoa.
SPEAKER_01You said balance training.
SPEAKER_02So they use tools and also Yeah, but that's just okay, and then they also use positive reinforcement, you know. But that's just like the identifier of balance trainers is like you use those tools. And then the I'm putting this in quotes, the force-free trainers do not believe in using those tools and they are labeling themselves as force-free, or maybe they're calling themselves something else now, but they don't like tools like prong collars and e-collars, and don't believe in correcting dogs or punishment, or I don't know. I don't really think that that actually exists because I don't know. I was watching some stupid, like, force-free video online and he's like tackling the dog because the dog's like not listening to him, and I'm like, oh yeah, that's definitely force-free, or like people who are like letting their super reactive dogs choke themselves out on harnesses, you know? Yeah, is that force-free? Are we avoiding force in that? Well, but anyway, I'm not gonna get we don't.
SPEAKER_01Do you see the handlers get more frustrated? They're like screaming at Fluffy because they have no way to correct them.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. I honestly I have only met one quote force-free trainer who actually was training other people's dogs. I'm not just saying like these people online who are claiming to be dog trainers, but they actually never train other people's dogs and they only post videos of their dogs, and it's not even training videos of their dogs. It's literally just like a carousel of pictures of their dogs and about we don't use tools because we don't need to, and we have a good relationship, and blah blah blah. And it's like, okay, well, show us your dog training videos, and they never say they don't exist. Anyways, I digress. So I only met one trainer who was force-free who had like a training business in Orlando, and this was the angriest person I've ever met. He was so frustrated with the dogs because he had no bet. Yeah, he had no way to like clearly communicate with them. And in my mind, I personally think yelling at a dog is worse than popping a dog on a prong calling.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, just communicate with your leash and you know, your tools, whatever. But they don't they don't got none.
SPEAKER_02Like, I feel like I'm very unemotional in dog training, not necessarily in a bad way.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I I've had to work on that. I'm being like a lot more neutral.
SPEAKER_02You take things more personal than I do. For sure. It's just not personal, you know.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and I think that's like the best approach of like be neutral. If anything, like expect the dog to do poorly in a certain instance, and then you're not gonna get frustrated, you know?
SPEAKER_02Yeah. You know what's funny is I started this off with I want to see this year people not like picking sides or bashing sides and right away pro tools. We're sitting here talking about how bad it is.
Educating Without Pushing Tools
SPEAKER_01Well, actually, I can kind of reel that back in. Today we had a consultation with someone who she told me last year, you know, she wasn't comfortable using e-caller. She's kind of started using it, she got comfortable with it, it's helped her out a ton of her dog, and she was really nervous because she was gonna do uh an activity with you know other people who do not support tools. And she was, you know, worried whether or not she should even use the tool because of like their opinions. And I was like, well, you know, maybe then you can't like take your dog with you, right? So might as well just bring the tool and try and like pitch it. And just I don't know if I could like you know promote the e-collar kind of thing. And it's basically like you know, last year you were you know, the e-collar was like novel to you and you were worried, so just make them relate to it, like where you were last year, like, oh yeah, I didn't know what that was, that was scary, and like now it's allowed me to do like so much more with my dog. So instead of you know even picking sides, I think it's like being able, like if you're gonna be a balanced trainer, it's being able to promote the tools that you use, and you're not gonna change everyone's perspective. You're not necessarily trying to like push it on anybody, you're just educating people on being able to like talk about the tool in a you know positive way and how it helped you is kind of a good skill set to have. And she's like, Yeah, okay, I'm gonna I'm gonna try that. She's like, I don't know how it's gonna go, but yeah, the least you can do is you know, try and help educate people, and maybe you're not gonna change your perspective right away, but down the line maybe they'll remember that conversation.
SPEAKER_02Well, that's interesting because that's a question that I get all the time from the students in the virtual shoutout program. They will ask, do you work with people who don't necessarily want to use tools? And if so, do you try to convince them of using the tools? And I'm very much in the camp of I think a good balance trainer should be able to train a dog force-free. You know, is it the best way to train that dog? Maybe not, but I think a good dog trainer is able to adapt to the dog and the person and where they're at in their training journey. So if somebody came to me and was like, I have this six-month-old puppy, I'm not really comfy using an e-collar on them or using a prong collar on them. Can you train them without? Hell yeah, for sure. And I find that when I'm training that dog, I gain the trust of the owner. And down the line, they're ready to have that conversation about tools, you know, and they see our dogs and they see how our dogs respond to the e-caller. I'm not, I use prong callers, but I typically don't give them to our clients.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, at the end of the day, like we gotta train the dog in a way that the client's gonna continue, like upkeep that training. And if you, you know, try to convince someone to use a prong collar, but then you know, they go home and they're just gonna like throw the prong collar at the bottom of their drawer. Well, what's the point?
SPEAKER_02Yeah. And that's also something that our puppy client mentioned. She went to another dog trainer before us. She did a consultation with another dog trainer, and they were really pushing the e-collar. You know, you remember during your consultation, she was like, They really wanted me to use this collar. And we use e-collars, you know. We could have taken out one of our malinois and be like, Well, look how amazing the e-collar is, you know. Yeah, and shown off the training, but she's not, first of all, she has a 10-week-old puppy. Yeah, why are we having the e-collar conversation with her?
SPEAKER_01You know, I I think she really liked the um, I don't know, kind of reality of like day-to-day training and like teaching, like promoting like just calmness and like tethering and that kind of stuff too. Like, yeah, I could have pulled out a Malin Wall and done some like fancy obedience, but like look at our dogs, it's not applicable. Yeah, like she was like, Yeah, okay, cool.
SPEAKER_02Is that what the other consult did? Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01Like, so irrelevant, you know?
SPEAKER_02Yeah, and so I think like meeting people where they're at, and I guarantee a year from now, yeah, we're gonna be e-collar training that dog for sure.
SPEAKER_01That conversation will happen down the line.
Meeting Owners Where They Are
SPEAKER_02Yeah, it's not gonna happen now. We're gonna build up her trust, we're gonna build up, you know, skills on the dog, and maybe the dog will be perfect, and we like that's not even a thing. And she's like, you know what? I'm fine to walk my dog in a slip lead down the road. We'd be like, hell yeah.
SPEAKER_01She also like wasn't opposed to using the e-collar by any means, it was just like not even the time for that conversation.
SPEAKER_02Yeah, like why is this being pushed to me? Yeah, very interesting. So, what I want to see in 2026 is us being a little bit more open to kind of both sides. Like, I think that's what good balance training is is not slapping any collar on every dog, not slapping a prong collar and saying this is how we have to train every dog, but really looking at the the dog owners and the dogs in front of us and working with them and just educating people, not pushing them in any direction or vilifying, you know, one camp of dog training. We could sit here and do an entire podcast bashing for sure sides, you know.
SPEAKER_01And you know, once again, like you said, like there's what's maybe best, most beneficial for the dog in question, but then it's also meeting the owner kind of halfway of like what are they actually gonna upkeep?
SPEAKER_02Yes, sustainable training, which leads us into the next thing that I want to see more of in this coming year. Dog training needs to be more sustainable. I think currently the structure of dog training revolves around kind of this boot camp style training, board and trains, uh, shorter programs. There's not a lot out there for longevity in dog training. And the way that I view dog training and kind of everything in our life is is it sustainable? If it's not sustainable, I don't necessarily want to do it. And think about your daily routines, like your workout routines or uh what other things do people do? That's part of being a daily human. Eating healthy, you know. Uh, are you gonna start a diet that is let's say you're eating fast food every day and you're like, you know what? I'm gonna start dieting and I'm never gonna eat out and I'm gonna cook healthy food every day, and I'm never gonna do things that I have been doing forever.
SPEAKER_01That's not a sustainable if it's too rigid, chances are you're not gonna, you know, maintain it.
SPEAKER_02If it's too rigid, you're not gonna maintain it. And if it's too different from your current lifestyle. And this is something that I've had to learn over my years of experience as a dog trainer is the training has to, it's behavior change, not just for the dog, but for the owner. It has to fit smoothly. That transition from the way that they're living before training to the way that we're living after training has to be a smooth transition. We can't be like, okay, you're never crating your dog. You never walk your dog, you know, all of these bad habits with your dog. Now we're changing everything. Yeah, cold turkey. Cold turkey after a board and train, never pet your dog. Your dog is never on the couch, your dog is crated unless they're out of the crate working with you. That is a huge shift in behavior. And for the owners, that is unsustainable.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, because it's almost like a turnoff. Like, that's not why you get a dog, right?
SPEAKER_02That's not why you get a dog.
SPEAKER_01It has to be more um like we're striving for like a seamless transition, right? Like, say post-board and train and just integrating back in the house.
Sustainable, Long-Game Training
SPEAKER_02Yeah, and that structure for board and trains and you know, other programs like daily training, things like that. But also for us, I really wanted to structure our training around making it something that can be integrated into our weekly routines. You know, we have two days a week, two full days a week, where we do club and we train our dogs on those days. We are dog trainers, so kind of you know, we're able to do that, but we work all the other days and we also work on those days too, because we still have boredom trains that we take out and train during those days. But it's how long Have we been doing that for? How long have we been consistently training our dogs twice a week with other people? And that's not even including the sessions that we do every single day.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. I mean the club meeting up with other trainers over a year. Yeah. Probably close to a year.
SPEAKER_02And that is really what is required to fulfill our dogs and reach the goals that we have with our dogs.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Somebody asked me another trainer the other day. I did a uh video session. Consult call, yeah. What is that called? Virtual session. Oh my gosh. A video session. Oh my gosh. Do you have a set number of lessons that you tell people you can work through reactivity in? And I was like, oh my gosh. No.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_02I can't meet your dog and be like, oh yeah.
SPEAKER_01And that's gonna take nine classes.
SPEAKER_02In nine classes, your dog will be great. You know?
SPEAKER_01It's go day by day.
SPEAKER_02You go day by day, and sustainable change takes time. So how we structure our classes at the facility is each week we have sorry, each day we have different classes. We have each class kind of twice a week. So we have a reactivity class, we have a puppy class, we have a PDC prep class, basic obedience, advanced obedience. What else do we have? Detection. Detection. Pack hikes.
SPEAKER_01We're gonna have puppy class, huh? A reactivity class.
SPEAKER_02I already said that. We're gonna have an e-color class. But we've structured these classes in a way so that they progress. And we meet the people who show up to the class where they're at. Not everybody is gonna be at the same progression for every class, but we're kind of structuring it like how you would structure group fitness classes at a gym. You know, you don't show up and do the exact same exercises every fitness class. Every spin class is not the same. There's easier ones, there's tougher ones, there's, you know, some that have more incline and there's variety. And because of that variety, you want to keep coming back and it keeps you mentally stimulated and it's fun and enjoyable, and it's something that has been integrated into your daily routine. So we're basically doing that for dog training because I think that's what the space needs. I think that's what the industry needs is something that is easily integrated into our daily routine. We have classes every single day that are across the board, different topics. We're fulfilling different needs for your dog. You can come and do an obedience class and you'll get to practice your marker words and your play, or you can do a reactivity class and we practice neutrality around other dogs. We practice downstays around dogs, we practice tether around dogs, or you can come to a detection class and we're gonna do nosework with your dog. You know, we're gonna work their different senses, or you can go schedule a pack hike and go hike with Kate and her dogs out in nature and fulfill your dogs that way. I think it's about integrating the training into our life in a way that looks at the dog holistically. You know, we're not just drilling obedience, we're not just drilling downstays and doing the same stuff every single class. We have to look at our dogs as living, breathing beings who need more than just the same thing every single day and every week. We want to mix it up, we want to fulfill their you know, mental stimulation through the nose work and also get time out in nature in our pack hikes.
Class Structure Like A Gym
SPEAKER_01Yeah, kind of a well balanced dog. I think you see that a lot like with the sport dogs where people get stuck and like only doing, you know, the obedience in the sport. But it's like, you know, dogs are dogs and they deserve a full life and running in the woods and also just being able to settle. Like a lot of sport dogs can't settle, so showing that side, not just sport dogs, dogs in general, you know, like just because you come here doesn't mean that it's like, you know, a party.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. Well think about your day with Hawk.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. Like I don't know. Today I we spent some time just like hanging out on the on the couch, and then we went on a hike. Um, some off leash time, and then you know, some obedience and some bite work, and also You had such a good day. But that's what it should be, you know. A well-rounded day for your dog.
SPEAKER_02And do you think he enjoyed his off leash hike?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, I think it's all like valuable for sure.
SPEAKER_02I think sometimes we fall into the obedience stuff a little bit heavy.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, no, I've I've been meaning to, you know, go on a hike with the dogs. It's just, you know, sometimes you can't fit it in the schedule, but it's important to take the time.
Real Mental Work Over Gimmicks
SPEAKER_02Okay, next thing I want to see more of is I would like for people to fulfill their dogs by training them. And I don't necessarily mean just training in sitting down and obedience, you know, integrating the other things that we just kind of talked about. The off-leash hikes, you know, having a dog that is capable of doing that, doing nose work with a dog. We had a client come in who has a puppy and she's doing snuffle mats, and she's like, I got this snuffle mat, and I'm dumping her food in there, and I thought that this would wear her out, and it is just not wearing her out. Like she has more energy after doing these snuffle mats, and I think that's kind of a common misconception, and something that I see all the time is people think that mental work is snuffle mats and these like plastic puzzle puzzle toys, and that drives me crazy. It drives me crazy because I just my goal is to kind of get back to the most natural way to fulfill our dog, you know, and that's why I really like the idea of a nosework class or a detection class and hikes and walks and you know, uh teaching our dog any sort of skill. I find that that is a little bit more natural. I find that snuffle mats and puzzle toys leans towards creating a bit neurotic dogs. Yeah. So if we're gonna work to fulfill our dogs, I like mentally, not necessarily just physically, but that mental fulfillment that we think of with snuffle mats and toys, I would rather us do it in a way that we're training the dogs, and then those training skills become applicable to real life scenarios. Yeah, you're actually like improving your relationship with your dog and you know, building a bond and practicing your communication, your training skills, your handling, your body language in practical ways. You know, like for our reactivity class, when everybody came into the reactivity class, I think if you have a reactive dog, you have a bit of trauma. PTSD, you tense up a little bit, you know, and that was very obvious with everybody was nervous, everybody was very nervous in the reactivity class, and so when the owners are nervous, the dogs are nervous, and it's this vicious cycle of trying to work through the reactivity, but the dogs are nervous, and I really I enjoyed our reactivity class so much because seeing the dogs and the owners relax by the end of it, but during I was giving them real-time skills on how to navigate, right? So, like, okay, you see your dog, go ahead and shuffle backwards, pay, pay, pay. You know, we're able to give people real-time instructions that they're able to take outside of that class so that when they see their dog loading up on another dog, they now have the skills in order to work through that in a real life scenario. And that is the stuff that I really like, you know, or even the detection work that you're doing. We're able to work the dog's nose and they can go home and let's say it's raining outside, they can do something like that.
SPEAKER_01You got a fun game to practice and play with their dog for sure.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01No, the reactivity class is super cool because like I did a separate one. Um so not the same that you're referring to, right? But a big thing I think is, you know, the client expects like the dog to pop off and have like a spirit reaction, and then obviously we set the dogs up for success and we kind of show the handlers how to see the signs and avoid the buildup in the first place, and then you get all these dogs that are you know, quote unquote, they're they're still reactive for sure, but they don't get a big explosion, they don't get that eruption, and at the end of it, too, it's like awesome to see how happy the handlers are. Like I had this one lady, she was almost in tears, just like couldn't believe that we actually got her dog in her dog in another yeah, in a room with other dogs, and you know, that just made her day. This like six-year-old dog who had never been able to go on a walk without you know blowing up.
SPEAKER_02Like that's mental work, yeah.
SPEAKER_01You know, and that's super rewarding.
SPEAKER_02Like, yeah, well, she could easily get like puzzle toys for that dog and you know, be like, Well, this is how I'm fulfilling my dog. But no, let's fulfill your dog, work them mentally. I think before she came to that class, I was like, Okay, you're gonna do like your get it's and your yeses, you know, practice your marker words at home, and then when you come here, we'll do the same thing, the same sort of game, but it's gonna be around other dogs. So just like those practical skills and working our dogs mentally in a way that, you know, maybe she'll be able to walk around the block with that dog or take the dog out to go get coffee with her. That was something that she was, you know, talking to us about. She was like, I feel like I can't take my dog anywhere because he just pops off at everything.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, you're such a good boy. Yeah, yeah, you did great. He really did.
SPEAKER_02I wasn't there for that one, but that's awesome.
SPEAKER_01No, she was super, she was super happy. So that's always that's always a huge highlight for me.
SPEAKER_02Okay, the next thing that I would like to see more of is dogs that go through training still get to be dogs. So what I mean by this, and I feel this is where the world of dog training is going. A lot of times we think that shut down dogs are trained dogs. We see this.
SPEAKER_01We do, unfortunately, we do.
SPEAKER_02We see this all the time.
SPEAKER_01We're we're big on like the the emotion that the dog shows, and I think it's very important to you know make sure that your dog doesn't like it's your dog still has a personality at the end of training, you know? But yeah, unfortunately a lot of dogs get kind of suppressed um to a point where they don't have any personality anymore.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. We ask people, what is your dog like? And they're like, what do you mean?
SPEAKER_01Nothing.
SPEAKER_02Nothing.
SPEAKER_01You put the dog in a flexi and he's like not sure if he can like walk forward.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. But that is very uh there's a lot of dog trainers who are doing that.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Suppressing dogs.
SPEAKER_01I know we talked about sport quite a bit already, but that's kind of a cool neat thing about sport is like you see these high-drive dogs that are still eager to, you know, run down the field, but then you can reel them back in and have that obedience and that control. So you can I think sport has a huge emphasis on the emotion, and it's very important to yes, have that control, have that obedience, but to keep the energy up, and that's that's something that some pet training maybe lacks. So yeah, we definitely value that a lot.
Reactivity Skills And Handler Calm
SPEAKER_02Okay, I think what I'm trying to get at is just because a dog isn't, let's say, being reactive, doesn't mean that they're in the right head space, you know, and I think a lot of outdated training doesn't really care, doesn't really care about that. And it's more so about, okay, well, the dog isn't doing the behavior that you don't want them to do, so it's fine. The dog isn't pulling you on leash anymore, so like that's good. I remember learning from a trainer a long time ago, and the dogs that she would send home, I was very impressed by because they were walking literally two feet behind her, and I could never get the dogs that I was training to stay behind me in heel. And I asked her, I was like, How are you sending these dogs home that are walking so far behind you in heel? And it was basically just high-level e-color stimming the dog back into heel. And so now as an educated trainer, I go back and I look at the this style of training, and I see her clients who are like, wow, that dog is so well trained, and this dog has a perfect heel, and that's how the dog is going home. But I see a dog who is completely shut down and terrified to make any thoughts or decisions of its own without getting blasted on an e-collar, essentially, you know. So I would rather have a dog that maybe is a little bit reactive, but is still capable of thinking and self-regulating outside of just avoiding getting blasted on an e-collar.
SPEAKER_01It's kind of like lifeless.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. I just watched a trainer's videos, actually, of he I watched his videos in the very early stages of my dog training career. And I never really took his videos as gospel or anything. But, you know, I even remember kind of at the time being like, I don't really know how I feel about this. These these methods seem a bit overkill, a bit harsh. And it's very much just, you know, dog comes out of the crate and immediately correct them for like any sort of over-arousal, you know, which in some cases may be fine. But for me, I would rather take that over-arousal and kind of channel it into something productive and useful for the dog and figure out what the dog likes. Maybe it's food and we can integrate food chases into our training, or playing tug, or, you know, chasing the flirt pole around, or playing fetch, or going for long walks and hikes and things like that. You know, it's I really enjoy finding what the dogs like and working our training around that instead of okay, this is our dog, and you have to do this because I want you to do this. And if you do anything else, you're gonna get corrected. Just like those flat dogs that it's like, sure, the dogs aren't reactive, but have you genuinely helped those dogs, or have you just suppressed them so much that they don't want to do anything because they're constantly either being corrected or like physically held into position? Yeah, you know, with the nose loop, the gosh dang nose loop.
SPEAKER_01I see. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_02You know what I'm talking about?
SPEAKER_01For sure, for sure.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. So I feel I feel like there's a shift. I feel like people, especially people our age and younger, are very much in the same camp as us of they want to find out what their dog's like, and dog training is so much more than just like, I want my dog to stop doing these things, and I'm gonna like hammer them into the ground until they are never expressing any emotion.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. I I also feel like with Instagram and stuff like that now, like more and more people are like looking for outlets for their dogs. You know, there's so many different sports that I don't even know of, you know, like Rallyo, agility, uh whatever the fast cat, you know, all that stuff. And like I guess another shift that I could see is like people are actually seeking out more drivey dogs.
SPEAKER_02Yes.
SPEAKER_01And, you know, maybe not everybody needs a malenoir, but people are looking for like drivier goldens or you know, that kind of thing, labs to um actually go on like purpose, not necessarily purpose bred, but like purposefully like picking a dog to do like activities, doing sports with their dog. Yeah. So that's a pretty neat shift as well.
Let Trained Dogs Keep Their Spark
SPEAKER_02Yeah, but I like that. I like that training is so much more than just correcting behaviors. Training for a lot of people is becoming finding outlets for our dogs, which I think is extremely important. I think dogs now more than ever are struggling because our lives are so disconnected. We are on our phones all the time, we work long hours, we don't get time in nature, we don't, you know, we're just sitting inside all day and we expect our dogs to live that same life. And I love that the modern dog owner is prioritizing their dog's well being and their dog's genetic fulfillment. Think about how many people come to bite work, you know? That's amazing.
SPEAKER_01Super cool, it really is.
SPEAKER_02And they do that because they want to fulfill their dogs and they love seeing their dog do something that they Enjoy doing.
SPEAKER_01And you know, even maybe you have a like a reactive dog and now like you can enjoy the dog in a different light, you know?
SPEAKER_02Because it's not just about can your dog correcting the dog and be chill around other dogs.
SPEAKER_01So it becomes a different way for these owners to enjoy their dog too, which is yeah, it's an outlet for the dog, but I think it also becomes an outlet for the owner. It's like a social club. They see their their friends every week, and it it becomes a nice like community thing too, which is super cool.
SPEAKER_02Yes. Okay. That was my next thing on my list.
SPEAKER_01Wow, look at that transition.
SPEAKER_02Wow, look at that transition. Okay, so in-person community. This is what I want to see more of in 2026. And I think this is where the world is going. I don't know if you've seen this, you probably haven't, but on TikTok, there's something called analog bags. And basically, people did I explain this to you?
SPEAKER_01No.
SPEAKER_02Okay. So basically, people are getting tote bags and they're filling it with activities to keep them from doom scrolling on their phones. Okay. So, like word puzzles and sketchbooks and knitting. And in my last virtual shadow program, I had three people who would be knitting during our calls, and they're like, sorry, this just helps me keep focused. And I'm like, this is crazy, first of all. Do we need to like do a knitting club? But also I love this. So this is something that I've been seeing on TikTok a lock, lock, a lot, are these analog bags. And I love that. And I feel like in 2026 we are moving away from being online constantly to seeking more community and in-person events and touching grass. In a world where everybody has an online training community, I think the most valuable thing that we can have is genuine in-person.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_02Genuine connection, genuine in-person community. We are truly, truly blessed in the community that we have.
SPEAKER_01Yeah. No, I love to see it. Like our clients, like, yeah, they're they're happy to come train their dogs, come happy to come see us, but like it goes further than that. They're happy to do it. They're friends. Like they make friends. It's the best.
SPEAKER_02It's the best.
SPEAKER_01So super cool.
SPEAKER_02And when you're training your dog, especially if you're dealing with behavioral issues, it can feel very, very isolating. You know. 100%.
SPEAKER_03Yeah.
SPEAKER_02I remember when I was struggling with Lucy and she sent me into a spiral. I was very, I was very like alone at the time as well. I was living by myself and I had just moved to a new state and was going to a new school and had a new job and had all these new things and didn't necessarily have a community right away. And I was also struggling with a six-month-old puppy who was just so crazy I didn't know what to do with. And this was really before I don't, I wasn't really on social media at this point at all. And I didn't know that dog training was even a thing. I'm like looking up books at the library for dog training. I'm asking people that I know, like, my dog is dragging me into the mud. She's running away. I don't know what to do. You know, and this was how old is Lucy? Nine. Yeah. Nine years ago.
SPEAKER_01The start of your dog training career.
SPEAKER_02The start of my dog training career. Yeah. So it's funny to see the shift. It's funny that even not that long ago, I'm really dating myself here, but not that long ago, this wasn't even a thing. Online communities were not a thing. Social media dog trainers were not a thing.
SPEAKER_01Like even now, like every kid has you know an iPhone or whatever, but like I didn't have a phone in elementary school. I didn't even have a phone in high school, you know? And like maybe I was late on the trend back then, but what was that? You you um you were telling me the other day, like uh uh like more poor people have technology and like the rich families, their children are actually kind of taking a step away from technology.
SPEAKER_02Like they have Chelsea was talking about that, I believe.
SPEAKER_01Okay, okay.
SPEAKER_02Like the luxury is being offline.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, like back to nature, where like you know, maybe the rich families have like a nanny and take the kids for activity.
SPEAKER_02Take the kids to the zoo, and poor people are like giving their kids iPads. To fulfill you know the new luxury is being offline.
SPEAKER_01That's what I feel is back to in-person uh interactions, which is kind of hilarious.
Outlets, Sports, And Fulfillment
SPEAKER_02Yeah, very interesting. But I think I don't know, I feel good. I feel good about this coming year and what we've built and the community of people that we have around us and all the amazing dogs and people.
SPEAKER_01That's very exciting.
SPEAKER_02It's very exciting, it's been a lot of work.
SPEAKER_01For sure, for sure. But uh no, it'll pay off. Same here. I'm I'm excited for the new year and what's to come.
SPEAKER_02Is there anything else you want to add? Any other things you want to see more of in 2026?
SPEAKER_01In 2026, it'd be cool to see more like uplifting of other, you know, colleagues, other trainers, that kind of stuff. Less bashing, less conflict. We um we have a good community around the group of friends that we have as well. Like we have a lot of trainer friends, like Saul, Kate, Shane, Oscar, Chris, like you name it. And you know, there's more than enough clients, you know, to pass around and all that. And I think um, yeah, just uplifting each other. I think that's it's the best thing we can do. A lot of our, you know, clients that we have also go see our colleagues slash friends, you know, so more uplifting, more support in the dog training industry as a whole would be nice.
SPEAKER_02Yeah. And when we talk to other people in different places, I find that that's not always the case.
SPEAKER_01No, it really isn't. So we go we got a really cool thing going on here.
SPEAKER_02Community over competition, guys. The more we can help each other, the more dogs we help.
SPEAKER_01Absolutely.
SPEAKER_02Well, we're looking forward to this year. We hope that you guys can make it out to see us at the facility. We would love to have you at our classes and happy new year, happy 2026. We'll see you all next week.