Meet your trainers
Laura Bourhenne & Kim Rinehardt discuss how they met and how each of them got into dog training. 
Laura graduated from Moorpark College’s Exotic Animal Training & Management Program where she learned about animal husbandry, Operant Conditioning, Classical Conditioning and everything else that was helpful in reaching her goals of becoming an animal trainer. 
From there she took a seasonal job at the Animal Show at Universal Studios. Shortly after beginning that job she received a call from a family in Santa Monica asking her to train their pot-bellied pig. They also had dogs, and then got a few birds as well. Thus, began her training pets for private clients. Once her stint at Universal Studios was up she continued building her business focusing on dog and pig behavior so she could help people live a rewarding life with their pets. 
Laura has competed in agility, nosework and dabbled in herding to better understand those instincts (also just for fun).
Laura earned her certification through the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers, is an Associate Certified Dog Behavior Consultant through the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants, and is a member of the Association of Professional Dog Trainers.

Kim Rinehardt’s life with dogs began as a groomer and obedience competitor. Her obvious natural instincts led others to begin asking her for help with their own dogs. This started her on the path to becoming a professional dog trainer. 
During her dog training career she also worked at a dog rehab facility where she worked with dogs in the pool to help them gain strength and confidence.
Kim has competed in grooming competitions, agility, nosework and she too, has dabbled in herding. 
Kim earned her certification through the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers, is a Supporting Member of the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants, and is a member of the Association of Professional Dog Trainers.
Kim & Laura met through a mutual friend after Laura’s pitbull suddenly passed away and shortly thereafter Kim found a stray pitbull. When nobody claimed the stray pitbull their mutual friend put them in touch and Laura adopted Stoney. Kim & Laura have been close friends ever since.

Meet Your Hosts

In today's podcast Kim & Laura discuss why it's important to have your dog's attention, which is very different than getting your dog's attention. This is such an important concept!


Attention: What It Is and Why You Want It

Laura & Kim talk about what to do when you first bring your puppy home. It's important to set your puppy up for success right from the start. Remember, he starts learning the first second he steps into your home.

Puppy's First Days

Today’s show is about the ins & outs of living in a multi-dog household. Laura & Kim have suggestions which will make your life easier as well as reasons why not to do certain things.

Living in a Multi-Dog Household

Laura & Kim talk about one of the very first things you should teach your dog - eye contact and name recognition. After all, if he doesn't know his name training can be difficult.


Eye Contact & Name Recognition

Laura & Kim discuss classical conditioning and all the ways you can use it in training your dog.


Classical Conditioning

Today's podcast is all about the importance of making sure your dog is comfortable in a crate, even if it's only for a short period of time. At some point in your dog's life he will likely need to be confined. Whether it's at the vet or groomer you don't want your dog feeling extra stress and anxiety because they aren't comfortable in a small space.


Crates - To Use Or Not To Use?

“When You’re Ready for a New Dog” – Doggie Dish


Getting A New Dog

Part 2 of our discussion about the differences between being dominant and being a great leader.


The Difference Between Dominance & Leadership - Pt 2

Kim & Laura talk about ways to boost your dog's confidence. A confident dog is less likely to have behavior issues and is also more likely to defer to your judgement. 

Boosting Your Dog's Confidence

Kim & Laura talk today about dogs that like to lift their legs on things. There are ways to discourage this behavior and believe it or not there may be some things you are doing that encourage the behavior.

Dogs That Mark - Leg Lifting

Today Laura & Kim talk about the pros & cons of dog parks. They can be dangerous places for a dog so you need to know how to navigate them and what to do if a situation arises.


Dog Parks - Yay or Nay?

Kim & Laura discuss how we can set our dogs up for success, and how we also can set them up for failure without even thinking about it.


Setting Your Dog Up For Success

Today Laura & Kim talk about rescue dogs. What it means to bring one into your home, what to expect and ways to help them succeed in their new environment.


Rescue Dogs

Have you ever heard the phrase "It's not what you say, it's how you say it"? Well, that phrase has never been truer than when it is applied to how we communicate with dogs. Human beings rely heavily on words and vocal inflections to determine the meaning behind what other people are saying. Dogs, on the other hand, rely more on vocal inflections and body language. Today’s topic is about not only the words we use but how we say them. The tone of our voice and the inflections we use can help determine whether a dog will respond the way we want them to. Today Laura & Kim discuss how the tone of our voice alone can determine whether your dog responds to you, and the changes you can make to increase the likelihood of them doing so.

Vocal Inflections - How They Influence Your Dog's Responses

Kim & Laura discuss why little dogs tend to be snarky with larger dogs and why it's not okay for them to do so. Why is it that we accept bad behaviors from small dogs that wouldn't be okay with a larger dog? Food for thought. 


Big Dogs and Little Dogs

This is part 1 of a 2 part episode in which Laura & Kim discuss shy, fearful and reactive dogs. This describes so many dogs and there was so much to talk about we had to split it into 2 parts. Enjoy!

Shy, Fearful & Reactive Dogs Pt 1

This is part 2 part of the "shy, fearful & reactive dogs" podcast. This describes many dogs and there was so much to talk about we had to split it into 2 parts. Enjoy!


Shy, Fearful & Reactive Dogs Pt 2

This is part 1 of a 2 part interview with movie & television trainer Mathilde DeCagny. Mathilde is known for her great work with Moose, who played Eddie on t.v.'s Frasier, as well as movies like Marley & Me, My Dog Skip, Hotel for Dog, Steel Magnolias, and many, many others.


Mathilde DeCagny Interview Pt 1

This is part 2 of our interview with movie & television trainer Mathilde DeCagny. Mathilde is known for her great work with Moose, who played Eddie on t.v.'s Frasier, as well as movies like Marley & Me, My Dog Skip, Hotel for Dog, Steel Magnolias, and many, many others.


Mathilde DeCagny Interview Pt 2

Kim & Laura discuss what happens when you play roughly or wrestle with your dog.


Playing Roughly With Your Dog

Kim & Laura are usually on the same page with regards to training, but when it comes to tug of war they have differing opinions. Tug is a mutual killing game where you are a teammate with your dog killing the toy; it is not you against your dog fighting for the toy. However, just as with any game there are very specific rules for playing tug. Laura likes to play tug and teaches clients how to play it with their dogs, on the other hand, Kim does not like to play tug. So today Kim takes Laura systematically through the rules of tug to give you a clear understanding of how best to play it with your dogs and use it in training situations.
One big rule for tug is to make the dog work for it. Meaning, before you offer the toy ask him to do something like sit, down, spin, shake, etc... Basically, anything he knows how to do can be asked for before offering the toy for play. Begin the game by asking your dog to do something for you. Once he does the behavior say “yep” and “take it” or “get it”. After he is playing make sure you move the toy in a side to side manner, not up & down so his feet come off the floor, and not by pushing into him and compressing his neck. The former is because we don’t want your dog getting into a state of arousal and coming up into your face, and the latter is because you could injure your dog by compressing his neck. 
The key to this game is not to make the toy a valuable object your dog will want to guard. This means you are keeping your body language and voice soft and your facial expression happy/smiling. If you get tense or raise your voice it will increase the value of the object, which in turn will make the dog less likely to give it up when asked. Tug is a great way to teach a “give” or “mine” cue; we prefer those cues to the more common “drop it”. When using the words “drop it” people tend to use a harsher tone of voice which raises the value of the toy. The impression you are giving the dog by using a harsh tone is that you are now willing to fight for the toy, making it less likely he will let go of it. If you already use “drop it” as a cue we suggest you shorten it to “drop”.
Occasionally there is a dog that prefers the toy over the food. In those cases, you can use 2 toys of equal value and perform the same “give” exercise as above. 
Most dogs who like to play tug have a difficult time giving the toy up. Of course, it’s more reinforcing for us to play tug if the dog doesn’t give up the toy easily. This means we are more likely to allow our dogs to play tug longer and thus have fewer opportunities to practice giving. Rather than having your dog tug for 3 minutes and asking for one “give”, you should start by tugging for only a few seconds and then ask your dog to “give”. This means your dog is getting reinforced more for giving up the toy than he is for playing tug. When this happens, it increases the likelihood your dog will give up the toy in the future.   As an aside, growling during tug is perfectly normal because if you watch 2 dogs playing with a toy you will hear them growl and in the majority of circumstances it doesn’t mean anything.

Playing Tug O' War, Okay or Not?

Today Laura & Kim discuss how to get your dog to play. Play skills are so important in interacting with your dog. If your dog likes toys and will play with you then that's just another tool in your training toolbox.


Teaching Your Dog To Play

“Dealing with Oh No! Situations” In today's show Kim & Laura talk about what to do when the unexpected happens. We've all been through it. You're out with your dog and a loose dog comes running up on you, what's the best way to handle that and keep your dog safe?


Handling Those "Oh No" Moments

Laura & Kim discuss how teaching impulse control makes all training better. A dog with impulse control will seem like a better behaved dog than one without, no matter how much training the one without has had. 


Impulse Control

Laura & Kim talk about what to look for in a good breeder as well as some red flags that mean you should keep looking.


What to Look For in a Good Breeder

Today's show is all about allowing your dog to play roughly with other dogs. What is acceptable and what isn't? We had a lot to day about this topic so there are 2 parts to this episode.

Dog to Dog Rough Play - Pt 2

When we choose to be caretakers of animals we make a contract with them. That contract says you will not put your dog into an uncomfortable/unnecessary situation. What we mean by that is if we are in public with our dogs and somebody wants to pet or interact with your dog, it is your duty to know your dog well enough, and read your dog’s body language to determine if he is comfortable with the person and wants to be petted.

Dog to Dog Rough Play - Pt. 1

Today's podcast is all about socializing your dogs. 


Dog Socialization

When we choose to be caretakers of animals we make a contract with them. That contract says you will not put your dog into an uncomfortable/unnecessary situation. What we mean by that is if we are in public with our dogs and somebody wants to pet or interact with your dog, it is your duty to know your dog well enough and read your dog’s body language to determine if he is comfortable with the person and wants to be petted.

Advocating For Your Dog

Toys in Puppy Class
To allow toys or not to allow toys, that is the question. When you watch puppies play together some things to take into consideration are *how* are they playing. Do they play chase or do they wrestle? Unfortunately, there are many group puppy classes which don’t allow people to bring toys to class, nor do they supply toys for the puppies to play with. The problem with this is that the only option that leaves the puppies is to wrestle & chase. As we all know, wrestling is practice fighting. If that is the only interaction, and especially the first interaction, your puppy has with other dogs then they are learning how to fight and getting better at it with each subsequent class. 
The reason trainers give for not allowing toys in puppy class is that they don’t want the puppies to start guarding toys. What they fail to realize is that by having toys in their classes they will minimize the possibility of that happening. By providing more toys than there are puppies they learn to share and interact with each other by focusing on the toys, not by wrestling. And if there is a potential resource guarding issue with one of the puppies THIS is the time to deal with it. Not after the puppy has had more time to practice guarding things.
Add to that if the age of puppies in puppy class ranges from 7 – 16 weeks there can be a huge size and developmental difference between those dogs depending on their breeds. If you have a 15-week-old Mastiff and an 8-week-old Maltese there is going to be a massive size difference. Now imagine those same puppies not having toys to play with and only having the option of playing chase and wrestling. If the Maltese was your puppy would you feel comfortable with that? We sincerely doubt it. We’ve seen puppy classes where that exact scenario happened and the small dog was bullied and ended up hiding under a chair. The trainer never stepped in to stop it from happening and the owner wasn’t going to stop it if the trainer thought it was ok. The big puppy was just doing what came naturally, but that behavior could have been redirected if there had been toys available to play with. However, what did the small dog learn from the incident? At a very impressionable time in his development he learned that big dogs chase and harass him and his owner, the person he should be able to depend on most, did nothing to stop it. 
So, before you join a puppy class we highly recommend you stop by and watch one first. Locally, we recommend J9sK9s in Canoga Park for group puppy classes. Hers are the only ones we know of that allow toys in puppy class.

Toys in Puppy Classes

Kim & Laura discuss what happens when our dogs don't like the things we want or expect them to like. Whether it's playing fetch, riding in the car or even other people & kids. It's important for us to understand what our dog is actually capable of instead of having our own goals and thrusting them upon our dogs even if they don't have the capacity to reach those goals. Just because you like it doesn't mean they will.  #unrealisticexpectations, #iwantmydogtolike

Unrealistic Expectations

Behavior is rarely isolated and more often than not one bad behavior can lead to another, more serious behavior if we don't see the potential connection. This episode discusses how to make those connections to prevent possible future behaviors from cropping up.  #connectingthedots, #evolutionofbehaviors

The Evolution of Behavior - AKA: Connecting the Dots

Kim & Laura discuss some myths about dog behavior and training. Find out how some of these ideas came about and whether or not they are true. Feel free to contact us with ideas you've heard of and maybe we can tell you if they are fact or indeed a myth. #dogmyths #dogbehaviormyths

Dog Behavior Myths

Such a simple question with a not so simple answer. As Laura & Kim discuss this topic, you’ll hear why just blurting out “yes” may not be the best option. No matter how friendly your dog is under normal circumstances, there may be situations when he isn’t comfortable having a stranger pet or interact with him. Nobody wants to offend someone on the street who says nice things about their dog, like how cute he is, or he reminds them of a dog they had growing up. So, when that same person asks if they can pet your dog you feel compelled to say “yes”. Unfortunately, that may not be what’s best for your dog.

Is Your Dog Friendly?

Dog training advice and information from 2 top Los Angeles dog trainers and behavior specialists. If your dog barks, is fearful or just needs some basic dog obedience we are here to help. We talk about specific issues as well as conceptual things that help you build a better relationship with your dog.

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