Integrative Canine

Check out this transformation on my client's dog Kodiak!!

We identified a protein gap in his diet and built a balanced formulation around what he was already eating. has also been running a serious conditioning program alongside the nutrition change, and two months later she sent me this photo out of nowhere with the caption of "He's bulking up."

Fuel matters. 🔥🐾

Most of what gets called disobedience is actually a disconnect between your dog's internal state, the environment, and what we're asking from them.

When those three things aren't aligned, we don't get a clean response. Instead, we get hesitation. Checking out. Scanning the environment instead of paying attention to us.

We might interpret this behavior as the dog blowing us off, but they're usually not. Dogs who can't settle in their own nervous systems in the moment don't have the bandwidth to focus on us.

This isn't a motivation issue - it's a regulation issue that looks different for every dog, every handler, and what's going on in their internal and external environment.

This is one of the first patterns I look for when a dog’s performance isn’t consistent, and now that I've seen it, I can't unsee it.❤️🐾

In my experience, I've learned that training problems aren't always training problems. Sometimes they're actually nutrition problems.

Coat quality that's just "okay." Recovery that takes longer than it should. Inconsistent energy and or focus. Soft stools or digestive issues you've gotten used to. Unexplained fluctuations in weight or body condition. Everything checks out at the vet's.

You've tried different training approaches, adjusted your timing, and gone back to basics, but something still feels off.

Most handlers immediately look at their training structure or the dog's drive. However, I've found that nutrition is often the limiting factor, and nobody's addressing it.

When your dog's diet has gaps such as missing micronutrients, imbalanced macros, or inadequate vitamins and minerals, they can't learn as effectively. They look "unfocused" or "inconsistent" when really, their body just doesn't have the resources it needs to perform.

To help you address this, I'm running Nutrition Checks this month. I'll review what you're currently feeding and identify the ONE highest-leverage change that will make the biggest difference for YOUR dog.

Not "fix everything at once." Not "here's 47 supplements to buy." Instead, here's the single shift that matters the most right now.

Whether you're feeding raw, kibble, or a combo, I can help you see what's missing.

$150. DM me if you want in.🔥🐾

I used to think that my dog not outing was a training problem.

It wasn't.

I was stepping onto the field anticipating a fight -- bracing my core, gripping the leash, and shifting my weight onto the balls of my feet. My dog was reading every single one of those micro-signals, and was responding the way his biology was telling him to.

Grip harder.

Push deeper 

Fight more.

I've found that instead of escalating the issue with him, the answer is to relax my bu******ks, shift my weight into my heels, and breathe into my belly, THEN give him the out command.

The result? He relaxes his jaw and drops the ball / tug / wedge. 

It's a feel thing that most people have never been taught to pay attention to.

Try it the next time you work your dog and let me know how it goes. 🔥🐾

Be honest…
How many of us are former horse girls now training working dogs?

I've discovered that horse girl habits don’t disappear.

They just show up in heelwork instead of half-halts. 🐎➡️🐾❤️

My pre-training routine consists of breathing, grounding, and centering myself - before I pick up a leash. When I do this, our training sessions are calmer and more effective, because my dog can sense that I'm calm and grounded, which tells him "Mom's got this." As a result, he's able to tune in better, and learn more effectively.

Regulation>Clarity>Control 🔥🐾

I failed my first PDC attempt. Not because my dog wasn't ready - because my system wasn't.

I had trained for months. Our obedience was solid. Our bitework was dialed in. Everyone said that we were ready.

What I didn’t account for was everything outside of the reps.

I made the mistake of hyping him up with a ball on the walk to the field — a walk that was much longer than anything we’d ever done in training. By the time we arrived, his arousal was already high, and so was mine.

When we stepped onto the field, he picked up on my nerves, and started scanning his environment (instead of engaging with me.)

The judge told me to stop correcting my dog, and I felt my anxiety ramp up even more.

When he saw the sleeve outside the fence, that was it. We barely made it to the start cone, and I pulled him shortly after.

Looking back, nothing about that day was a training problem.

It was a nervous system load, recovery, and state problem — both mine and his.

That experience changed how I think about performance entirely.

Not “did we train enough,” but “was the system regulated enough to access the training?”

Drop a comment if this sounds familiar. You’re not alone.❤️🐾

As dog trainers, we've all heard the saying" emotions travel down the leash," but what does that mean? 

It means that if you're stressed and tense, your dog is going to be stressed and tense. By the way, fun fact: dogs can hear your heart rate and breathing, and they can smell the stress. Home runs coming off of you. The more stressed you are, the more they're going to be scanning their environment for threats.

If you're calm, if your breathing rate is slower, and your heart rate is slower, your dog is going to be calmer, and going to work better.

This has been on my mind because in my experience, not a lot of trainers are addressing the state of the handler when it comes to training the dog in front of them. As a result, I'm opening up some performance assessment spots where we'll get on a call, determine what you and your dog need, then build a customized plan from there. 

This is for you if:

Your dog comes onto the field frantic and leaking, or takes forever to settle after work

Your dog's performance is inconsistent - some days everything clicks, other days it falls apart and you’re not sure why

Your dog's 'off' switch feels more like they're in drive rather than truly resting and recovering

You're preparing for competition season and want to build your dog's capacity, not just manage their drive output

What you get:

90 minutes of assessment focused on regulation, not just performance

Evaluation of how your dog's system handles load and recovers

Clear recommendations on what's taxing them vs. what's supporting their capacity

Next-step options (implement yourself or work with me)

Investment: $250

Interested? Let me know.

I made the mistake of looking at the ingredients on a popular hydrolyzed protein kibble. 🤬😳🤯🤬

The first few ingredients are corn starch, hydrolyzed soy protein, partially hydrogenated canola oil preserved with TBHQ, powdered cellulose (which is essentially sawdust)....

And a whole bunch of synthetic vitamins and minerals that need to be added back in to make it "complete and balanced." This is NOT a food that a dog can thrive on long term, and does NOT address the root cause of the gut inflammation. It's a f*cking Band-Aid, and I will die on this hill. 🔥🐾

Come on. Do better. Seriously.

(Canine nutrition, dog food, dog kibble, dog allergies, dog gut health, canine gut health)