Local dog business focuses on positive reinforcement, training in pet’s environment

Denise Guy knows exactly when she became a dog trainer.

“I was 7 years old and I was walking home with my twin sister,” she recalled. “This big German shepherd charged at us.”

She doesn’t recall where the relevant information came from, whether she’d read it somewhere or heard it from someone. But she just knew.

“I knew what you had to do was to stand perfectly still, because the dog wants you to run so it can chase you,” she said. “So we did that. The dog almost ran into us, but he stopped and looked at us kind of funny. It didn’t understand why we weren’t running, so it started trying to nip at our heels. I just kept saying ‘No! Sit!’ Finally, it worked.”

Her approach worked then and it works even better now that she utilizes it professionally.

Guy and business partner Mary Davies started Dogology a year ago. The business offers dog training, pet-sitting and walking services. The principle is simple: They go to the dog.

“We’re totally a mobile business,” Davies said. “We come to you.”

“I think it works much easier when the dog is in a place where they’re comfortable and you can see the problems and challenges they’re dealing with,” Guy said. “The dog is much more relaxed and you can get a lot done in a short amount of time.”

Dogology has been operating out of the Spokane Valley for a year and it’s steadily building a stable of referrals. They recently added their own page on Facebook and have a website: dogologyspokane.com.

“Our No. 1 request is to treat behavioral problems,” Davies said. “We do new puppy training, too, which is really fun. People will go to new puppy classes, but once the dog gets a little beyond that stage they’re less likely to go to a class.”

Jeff and Terri Ortiz set out to find a dog trainer for their new Australian Shepherd puppy Poncho, but finding a class that fit their schedules proved impossible.

They found Guy through the website Thumbtack.com, a website that connects potential clients with professionals. From there, it was just a matter of putting in the work.

“She sat with us to find out what our goals and needs were in training Poncho,” Terri Ortiz said. “She assessed him, and from there we started our weekly training schedule. Note that it was our training, not Poncho’s. She trains humans to learn each dog’s language. We learned to watch and listen to Poncho.

“We also learned that training isn’t a once-a-week thing. It’s something we do every day to help Poncho become the best he can be.”

That sums up the Dogology approach.

“More than anything else, we train humans,” Guy explains. “Dogs are very sensitive to their humans and they take their cues from them. If you meet another aggressive dog and you’re scared, your dog will be scared, too.”

Guy and Davies are frequently asked to help owners deal with aggressive behavior – aggressive behavior with other dogs, fear aggression and leash aggression.

“I really believe in positive reinforcement with dogs,” Guy said. “But sometimes you do need to make corrections with a dog. We don’t have to do that often, thankfully.”

For the most part, teaching a dog to stay off the couch or stop chewing up the house is a relatively easy thing to fix – if the owners are willing to put in the time and effort.

“That’s the thing,” Guy said. “I tell people I train people and dogs. For most issues we can correct the problem with two or three follow-ups if the owner puts in the work. If they don’t then each session we have to start over from the beginning.”

Jeff and Terri Ortiz have seen quick results.

“We started with a shy, somewhat fearful pup and he’s progressed quite nicely because of Denise’s positive training techniques,” Terri said. “We couldn’t be happier.”