Mirror Image K9

Testimonial Tuesday!

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One of my biggest frustrations with the dog training industry is how often owners are told to “just be calm and confident.”

As if confidence is a switch you can flip. As if fear disappears the moment someone tells you not to feel it.

The truth is, most confidence is earned. And before confidence comes practice. Which means most people have to start scared.

If you’ve been dragged down the street, embarrassed in public, or put into situations where you felt completely out of control, it makes sense that you’re nervous.

You don’t need to pretend those feelings don’t exist. You just need to avoid letting them make your decisions for you.

If you can’t control your feelings yet, control the environment. Start farther away. Pick easier locations. Work below your dog’s threshold. Build skills where both you and your dog can succeed. Then slowly expand your comfort zone.

Confidence isn’t something you wait for before you start. It’s something you build because you started.

The goal isn’t to feel fearless. The goal is to become capable enough that fear no longer gets the final vote.

Head to Paw Partner to sign up!

Chiropractic and MagnaWave services will be offered on Thursday 10/8!

One of the biggest myths in dog training is that a tired dog is a good dog.

So people spend hours trying to wear their dogs out. Long walks. Endless games of fetch. Constant stimulation. And then they’re surprised when their dog needs even more tomorrow.

Physical exercise is important. Fulfillment is important. But exhaustion is not a training plan.

If the only reason your dog is behaving is because they’re too tired to misbehave, you haven’t actually changed anything.

You’ve just delayed it.

A well-behaved dog isn’t one that’s too exhausted to make bad decisions. A well-behaved dog is one that has learned how to make good decisions even when they have energy.

Because eventually your dog is going to miss a walk. The weather is going to be bad. Life is going to get busy. And when that happens, you shouldn’t have to choose between living your life and living with your dog.

Teach your dog how to relax. Teach them how to regulate themselves. Teach them how to do nothing.

Because the goal isn’t a dog that’s exhausted.

The goal is a dog that’s balanced.

Bear was one of the very first Day Camp dogs we had when we opened the center. We saw him at least twice a week for that first year, and it didn’t take long before Bear became an integral member of our pack.

In 2023, we got a call that Bear’s mom, Kathryn, had passed away and left him to us. He stayed with me for a few months while I wrestled with finding the absolute perfect home for him. He had an undeniable bond with Kathryn, and I knew his next home couldn’t just be good. It had to be perfect. I didn’t want to let Kathryn down.

And I can confidently say…I didn’t.

My best friend of 15 years started fostering him, and it was clear pretty quickly that he wasn’t going anywhere. I knew he had found his perfect home for the second half of his life. He had a Mom and Dad who loved him so much, eventually a new brother, foster siblings coming and going, and he still got to come to camp with his friends three times a week.

His bond with Jamie reminded me so much of the bond he had with Kathryn. She became the second light of his life.

Yesterday, we had to say goodbye to Bear.

Our team and our pack feel this loss deeply. Bear has been woven into the story of Mirror Image K9 almost from the very beginning. He was an incredibly intelligent, kind, special dog who was loved by so many people here. There are very few dogs who have been as much a part of this place as Bear was.

But as much as it hurts to lose him here, there’s something really comforting about knowing that Bear got two incredible lives. He got to be deeply loved by Kathryn, and then, when she couldn’t be here anymore, he somehow found his way to another person who loved him just as deeply.

I know Jamie gave Bear exactly the second half of his life that Kathryn would have wanted for him. And I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that we kept the promise we made to her when she left him in our care.

And now, after three more years of adventures, camp days, foster siblings, naps, and being so incredibly loved, I like to think Bear finally found his way back to Kathryn.

What a lucky dog to have been loved this much, twice.

We’ll miss you forever, Bear.

Testimonial Tuesday!!

One of the hardest lessons dogs have taught me is that I don’t get to decide whether my communication was effective.

The listener does.

I might think I’ve given a dog enough information. They might tell me I haven’t. I might think I’m being perfectly clear. They might tell me they’re still confused.

That’s what makes communication so humbling.

What we say is only as effective as what the other individual understands. No more than that.

If your dog isn’t responding the way you expected, that doesn’t automatically mean they’re stubborn, defiant, or refusing to listen.

Sometimes it means we haven’t communicated as clearly as we think we have.

The best trainers aren’t constantly asking, “Why isn’t this dog listening?” They’re asking, “How can I make this easier to understand?”

Because communication isn’t about proving your point. It’s about creating understanding.

And understanding only happens when we’re willing to listen to what the other side is telling us.

If you want your dog to understand you, start by understanding them.

Congratulations to this months Day Camp graduates!🎓

I’m still a little in shock from today in the absolute best way.

From the amount of people who showed up to celebrate Lucy, to the amount of gifts and overwhelming generosity, to the incredible effort my team put into making today so special for me…. I really don’t have any words.

I said it at the shower but I think it’s worth repeating.

Most babies are lucky enough to be born into loving families. But my daughter….she gets to be born into a pack.

A pack filled with the most loyal, generous, and kind humans I have ever met.

Thank you all for today.