Sit Happens Dog Training LLC

Good ol FB says they won't recommend my page because of either my photo of me and my service dog or my business name...? Ridiculous. Too bad FB doesn't hire real people to run this platform.

I absolutely love what I do. I spend the time YOU need to help you understand how to communicate with your dog. I will not rush out, I'm always available throughout the week if you need a phone call or text support.

My goal is always results!

Q&A + Open Discussion
Let’s open this up a bit. If you’ve got a dog‑training question, drop it in the comments — and if you want to start a discussion about something you’ve noticed with your own dog, go for it. Questions, observations, “is this normal,” funny stories… all of it is welcome. I’ll be jumping in throughout the day.

This is Loki. He has multiple "looks". He's a goofy, good boy.

🐾 Why I Don’t Use the Label “Balanced Trainer”

Dog training isn’t a category to me — it’s a nuanced communication system.

I focus on speaking dog:
• clear structure
• meaningful reinforcement
• boundaries that make sense
• fair accountability
• timing that actually matches how dogs learn

Those pieces shift depending on the dog, the environment, and the goals. That level of nuance doesn’t fit neatly under any single label, including “balanced trainer.”

My priority is simple:
Communicate in a way dogs understand so families get real‑world results.

If that’s what you’re looking for, I’m here.

🐾 Sit Happens Dog Training LLC — Sun Prairie, WI
⭐ Trusted by local families
📩 Message anytime to get started

Sit Happens Dog Training LLC

This is a follow‑up to my last post about puppy biting.

A lot of different methods get suggested for stopping mouthing, so I want to clarify what I use in my training methods — and why I choose not to use certain techniques. This isn’t about criticizing other trainers. It’s simply about the approach that aligns with my philosophy and supports long‑term behavior and emotional stability in the dogs I work with.

I’m a balanced trainer who uses a high amount of positive reinforcement, paired with structure, boundaries, and fair consequences. I’m not “positive only,” but I also don’t use techniques that create conflict, increase arousal, or interfere with a dog’s ability to trust hands.

Some commonly suggested methods — like lip‑pinching (“pop the grape”), scruff shaking, or pushing a hand deeper into the puppy’s mouth — aren’t part of my program. Not because I avoid corrections, but because of what these techniques tend to do to a puppy’s nervous system:

Why I don’t use those methods:

- They increase arousal instead of reducing it.
Puppies mouth most when they’re overstimulated. Pain, surprise, or physical restraint spikes adrenaline, which often makes the behavior stronger.

- They create conflict around hands.
Puppies learn through association. If hands repeatedly cause discomfort, you can end up with avoidance, defensiveness, or a dog that becomes more frantic when touched.

- They don’t teach impulse control.
These techniques interrupt the moment, but they don’t build the puppy’s ability to pause, think, or regulate — which is the actual root of mouthing issues.

- They can trigger panic or defensive reactions.
Especially methods involving the mouth or throat. A correction should give information, not create fear.

These reasons have nothing to do with being “positive only.” They’re about clarity, communication, and long‑term behavior.

Here’s what I do focus on:

• High‑value reinforcement for calm, thoughtful behavior
Rewarding soft mouth, choosing a toy, sitting for attention, and self‑settling. Reinforcement builds the behaviors I want repeated.

• Impulse‑control and regulation training
Short, structured exercises like sit → release, hand target, “wait,” and place work. These build the puppy’s ability to pause and regulate excitement.

• Ensuring appropriate sleep
Most puppies need 16–18 hours of sleep in 24 hours. Overtired puppies mouth more, settle less, and escalate faster.

• Crate or pen time as proactive regulation
Used predictably, not punitively. A quiet space with a chew or stuffed Kong helps the puppy decompress before they hit an over‑aroused state.

• Managing arousal before it spikes
Shorter play sessions, more sniffing, calmer activities, and avoiding rough play that pushes the puppy over threshold.

• Fair, calm consequences
If mouthing gets too hard, I use simple, consistent consequences like briefly ending the interaction. No yelling, no physical conflict — just clarity and patterning.

Balanced training isn’t about avoiding corrections or relying only on rewards.
It’s about using the right tools at the right time, teaching the puppy how to regulate, and building behavior through clarity, structure, and reinforcement.

Do you have a puppy who is biting and feels like it's out of control?

Mouthing is usually a mix of teething, excitement, and an underdeveloped ability to regulate impulses. Puppies in the 4-10 month age (adolescence) don’t have a mature “brake pedal” yet, so when they get overstimulated, the mouth becomes their outlet. This is an arousal‑regulation issue, not a dominance or obedience issue. A lot of the techniques like scruffing, yelping, pushing hands in the mouth, collar holds, sour sprays, “popping the grape" actually increase adrenaline and make the behavior worse. That’s why they escalate — they're overstimulated, not misbehaving.

What tends to help most is focusing on regulation, not corrections:
- Impulse‑control training: short, calm exercises like sit‑and‑release, hand‑target (“touch”), brief waits before meals/toys, and “go to mat.” These build the puppy’s ability to pause instead of reacting with her mouth.
- Adequate sleep: most puppies need 16–18 hours in 24 hours. Overtired puppies get mouthy, hyper, and impulsive — just like overtired toddlers.
- Crate or pen for scheduled downtime: not as punishment, but as a predictable place to decompress. Use it proactively with chews or frozen stuffed Kongs to help them settle before they get over the top.
- Lowering arousal: shorter play sessions, more sniffing and calm activities, avoiding rough play that spikes excitement.
- Clear, calm consequence: when mouthing gets too hard, end the interaction for 10–20 seconds by turning away or stepping behind a gate. No drama — just a consistent pattern.

This phase does pass, but it improves fastest when the focus is on helping them regulate excitement and get enough rest, rather than trying to correct the mouthing directly.

Sit Happens will be conducting a small training experiment!

For the next 24 hours, we’ll be stepping away from our usual structured routines and allowing the dogs to make all of their own decisions in every situation. No guidance, no boundaries, no plan — just full canine autonomy.

We’re calling it our “Self‑Directed Canine Decision‑Making Initiative.”

Current observations include:
• a recall that immediately turned into a neighborhood tour
• a leash walk that has rebranded itself as a strength‑training session
• several bold interpretations of “we’re greeting that dog right now”
• a heated debate over who owns the sidewalk
• one dog who has decided barking is now a community service
• another who is passionately demonstrating the physics of forward momentum
• and a developing resource‑management situation involving an item that apparently now holds sacred, untouchable status

We’ll return to our regular training tomorrow — the kind where dogs actually feel supported, understood, and a little less convinced they run the world.

Happy April 1 😃 🐕‍🦺🐾

Lol! If only I recorded the conversation!

I get a phone call from 6083514964-- says West Salem, Wisconsin. I was hesitant on answering but never want to miss a phone call from a potential client.

So I answer and she's a fumbling over her words... forgetting who she called... then asks are you the business owner? Not my name, not the name of my business. So I start to mess with her a bit...

Who are you calling, I ask? She hesitates... finally finds my business name.

Are you a telemarketer? She actually says no...

What do you want? She goes on about mentioning Google... talks really fast... can't understand much.

So you're not a telemarketer? But you're selling something? She says no. I then ask... why are you calling then?

I hear something about "the complimentary appointment..."
i cut her off... oh so the next people I talk to will try to get me to buy something? You're not a telemarketer-- you know... people who call uninvited and try to sell something we don't want?

Are you interested in help with dog training???

She hangs up 😄🐾