Puppies have a finite socialization window that starts around 3 weeks of age and lasts through about 14-16 weeks of age. What this means is that your puppy is extra impressionable during this window. We DO want to get your puppy out into the world in safe ways so that they can be the most well-adjusted adult dogs they can possibly be. Taking your puppy to the dog park is not recommended due to the health and behavior risks. Ultimately, we don’t know what diseases or unfriendly dogs are lurking at the dog park. Now, we do want your puppy to have the opportunity to play with other dogs. Working with a trainer and attended well-run puppy socials can be part of that. Not sure where to look? No worries, we’ve got you covered!

Do you need help with your dog’s reactivity, separation anxiety, house training your adult dog or something else, but our standard private dog training rates feel out of reach? No worries. We know that life is expensive and the costs associated with caring for a dog can add up quickly and unexpectedly. Our affordable private dog training options are available to anyone who needs them. There are no hoops you have to jump through to access the program.

Dog training is not a regulated industry. What does this mean? Well it means anyone can wake up and decide to start charging you money for helping you “train” your dog! The American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior put together a great PDF aimed to help you pick a trustworthy and qualified dog trainer, which you can find HERE. Below are a few dog trainers and service providers that travel to the Gresham area that we feel comfortable standing behind.

It’s easy to take nice photos when your models are adorable! Check out the photos from our first photoshoot fundraiser benefiting PAW Team PDX.

If you’re looking for a group dog training class near SE Portland or Gresham, Oregon, we recommend researching facilities to see how their classes will support you and your pup’s learning experience vs. simply signing up for a class based on how close the class is to you or how well it fits with your availability.

If we work together, you’ve probably heard me mention Sniff Spot… In late 2025, I decided to start reviewing Sniff Spots, partly to motivate me to visit new Sniff Spot locations and partly so that I could accurately recommend Sniff Spots locations to clients and know they will have a good time on their adventure. This is a comprehensive list of all the Sniff Spots I’ve reviewed up to this point.

We all love a polite dog. The dog who walks up to you and stands there (or sits), waiting for some gentle petting. That being said, it’s much more common that a dog climbs up your body or launches themself at you. Maybe they even paw or nip at you while jumping. The common (often unhelpful) advice is just to ignore the jumping, the pawing, and the mouthing.

You want to get your reactive dog out of the house, but you don’t know where to go. There’s too many dogs and people in your neighborhood for that to be relaxing for you or your dog. Look no more, Sniff Spot has got you covered. If you haven’t heard about it already, Sniff Spot is an app that you can use to rent people’s private property so that you can take your sensitive dog on safe adventures. With properties all over the Portland-metro, there’s almost too many Sniff Spots to choose from.

Before I became a dog trainer, I managed a large scale dog daycare facility for around 7 years, and even lived there for 3 years. The daycare facility offered daycare for small and large dogs, overnight boarding, some grooming, and training options, too. So, it’s fair to say that we saw a lot of dogs. Like thousands of dogs a year. Overseeing the care of all of those dogs gave me a uniquely informed perspective on how dog daycare impacts our dog’s development, training and behavior. While many dog trainers may out-right say no to dog-daycare, I feel it's important to lay out the benefits and potential training setbacks dog daycare can cause.

Crate training is more than simply putting your dog in their kennel and hoping for the best. When approached thoughtfully, the ability to crate or confine your dog can be one of the most useful tools you have available to you. If you’re not sure how to get started crate training your dog, you’re in the right place. Our step by step instructions will help you get started on the right paw. 

Often the first place that comes to mind when thinking about how to socialize our dogs and puppies is the dog park. Now, in the dog training community, dog parks are a topic that invites a lot of opinions. On one side, we have folks that are adamantly against the dog park. On the other side, we have people who understand that there are limited options for many people looking to let their dogs off-leash in a safe environment where they can interact with other dogs.

Have you ever felt like walking your dog was a chore instead of an opportunity to explore and bond with your dog? Maybe your dog is scared of going for a walk, overstimulated and jumping on you when you put on their dog walking gear, or just pulls you every which way once you’re outside. These situations are all common, and can be helped through understanding your dog’s body language, setting up routines, compassion towards yourself and your dog, and basic training.

The reality of it is that even with the best management, supervision, training strategies and experience, puppies generally like to explore the world with their mouths. It’s normal and to be expected. I’m excited to help you learn from my experiences raising my own dogs, fostering puppies, running puppy socials and classes, and helping other people train their teething puppies. 

So you just brought home your first puppy. Congratulations! Or maybe this is actually your first puppy in a couple decades. You know training and socialization protocols have evolved. With millions of puppy training videos and articles online, it can be hard to know who to listen to, what exercises to follow, and what the timeline for all of this is. Bringing home a puppy is a full-time job and now you have to decipher an overwhelming amount of information online just to figure out how to raise this puppy to be the most well-adjusted adult dog they can possibly be. If this sounds like something you’re experiencing, I understand.

We’ve all been there–you’re in a rush to get to your next task and suddenly a warm sensation overcomes your foot. Once again, you’ve stepped in pee, if you’re lucky. If you’re unlucky, it’s poop, smeared all over your favorite shoes and now the rest of the floor. House training your puppy or adult dog doesn’t have to be difficult, but it can often feel like it is. Soon, you’ll be potty training your dog like a professional.