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Canine Gains

@caninegains

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☰ diy dog training guides built like a workout ☰
⋯ 🌟 www.caninegains.com

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Most owners don’t need to spend hours with a professional trainer, they just need a clear plan that fits into their day-to-day life.

This is who Canine Gains is built for. We offer structured, workout inspired DIY courses that focus on the skills that matter: loose leash walking & reliable recall.

Simple drills, clear progressions, and real-world results.

Get started today for FREE with our Foundations Course! Link in Bio by @caninegains

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7 months ago

We Don’t Fix Everything, We Train What Matters

Most training programs teach dozens of commands you’ll rarely use.

Canine Gains focuses exclusively on the skills that determine whether your dog is a joy or a source of daily frustration: clear communication, calm walks, and reliable recall.

Follow the link in Bio to browse our course offerings! by @caninegains

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7 months ago

Real Owners. Real Results!

These aren’t perfect dogs or professional trainers, just everyday owners who followed the plan! by @caninegains

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7 months ago

Comment “RECALL” and I’ll send you a link to get your free, customized starter plan. This is just the start - check out our course offerings for more comprehensive training. by @caninegains

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22 days ago

We worked with Carly and her dad through private one-on-one coaching sessions to help with loose-leash walking. One year later and they are both still doing fantastic 🙌🏽☺️ by @caninegains

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a month ago

this is your sign to:

🫶🏽 celebrate the small wins
🫶🏽 train the dog in front of you
🫶🏽 stop rushing the process
🫶🏽 trust your dog
🫶🏽 choose progress over perfection
🫶🏽 be proud of how far you’ve come

—
inspiration from @trailsanddogs by @caninegains

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2 months ago

If your dog loses their mind the second the leash comes out, here’s what’s happening. Their brain has already checked out and gone straight to Disneyland 🤪, and now you’re trying to have a nice calm walk with a dog who mentally left the building before you even opened the door.

This is why I always tell people the walk doesn’t start at the sidewalk, it starts the moment you reach for the leash. If you can help your dog stay calm before you even leave the house, you’re setting the stage for the whole walk to go a lot smoother.

Tools can absolutely help you with loose-leash training, but no tool actually *teaches* your dog anything on its own. Whatever you decide to use, it’s still on you to teach your dog what leash pressure means and how to respond to it.

The only real difference is that some tools make that job easier than others, letting you communicate gently or with more clarity, instead of muscling your dog around. If you want to learn how to actually teach leash pressure the right way, that’s exactly what I walk you through in our Loose Leash Walking course. Link in bio.

I think people put way too much pressure on themselves to have a dog that walks in a perfect heel, and honestly, most dogs don’t need that at all. The only dogs I typically ask to hold a heel are ones that tend to get reactive on leash, because that structure helps them.

Most dogs naturally move at a faster pace than we do, and making them creep along right at your side the whole time isn’t always comfortable or relaxing for them.

My criteria for a loose-leash walk is honestly pretty simple: I just don’t want my dog putting tension on the leash. Beyond that, they’re free to sniff, explore, and wander a little, as long as they’re not dragging me down the street.

Something worth understanding is that your dog didn’t come pre-programmed knowing what a leash even is, let alone what they’re supposed to do when they feel it go tight.

On top of that, dogs have something called opposition reflex, which is just a natural tendency to lean against pressure instead of giving in to it. The easiest way to picture it is to imagine someone pressing on your shoulder. Without even thinking about by @caninegains

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2 months ago

For 15 years, kennels were my whole world, and the headlines this past year have broken my heart. 
I’ve lived every side of the dog care industry. I’ve worked as a staff member in kennels, I owned and operated my own kennel for a decade, and I’ve also been the client dropping my own dog off at someone else’s door. Having stood in all three places makes these stories hit home in a way that’s hard to put into words. 
Every one of these families believed they’d found the right place, and I truly believe every one of these tragedies was preventable.  I want to be very clear about one thing, because some of these owners have been made to feel like it’s their fault for placing their dogs in someone else’s care: needing a kennel doesn’t make you any less of a great dog parent. Not everyone can bring their dog everywhere or leave them with family. For a lot of us, daycare and boarding aren’t a luxury, they’re a necessity, and there’s no shame in that. No owner should feel terrified to leave their dog with the businesses and people who are supposed to be pet care professionals. 
I actually created this guide long before any of these stories hit the news. My hope is simple: that it helps you choose the right place for you and your dog with confidence instead of fear.  Inside, you’ll find exactly what to look for on a tour, the questions to ask before you book, and the red flags worth walking away from. Because the difference between a safe facility and a dangerous one usually isn’t about how much the owner or staff love dogs, it’s about how committed they are to safe operating protocols; it’s the checks and balances that catch an honest mistake before it ever becomes a tragedy.  Loving dogs doesn’t make a great pet care professional. Understanding them and implementing safety protocols and failsafes are what make a good pet care professional. 
If there’s something I didn’t cover in the guide, or something you’d want me to add to help other owners in their search, please tell me in the comments or through DM. This will become a working document that will be updated regularly to help guide owners looking for good care. Comment “safe” if you would like to get the free guide. by @caninegains

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3 months ago

Happy Friday!! Make sure you get outside with your dog today 🤩🥾🌲⛰️ by @caninegains

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3 months ago

If you’re an average owner who wants to speed up your dog’s learning and get better at guiding them through it, this post is for you.

Just about everyone has heard of clicker training, but a lot of owners have never heard of marker training. It sounds like complicated trainer jargon, maybe something best left to the pros. It’s not. This is one of the simplest and most important things you can teach your dog.

So what is marker training? The simple answer: it’s a technique where you pair a specific word, like “YES!”, with a treat. You practice about 2 to 3 sets of 15 reps over a few days, where you simply say “YES!” and immediately hand your dog a treat. You’re not asking them to do anything. All you’re doing is building a pattern they can connect: I hear this sound, I get a treat.

Once your dog understands that, you can use “YES!” to capture behaviors. Say you want to teach sit. You lure your hand up over their head, which brings their bum to the ground. The second it touches down, you say “YES!” and give the treat. Because you marked the exact moment their bum hit the floor, your dog goes “aha, THAT’S the thing that earned my reward. Let me try it again.”

This is what creating a shared communication system is all about: creating clarity in learning that builds confidence & your relationship! by @caninegains

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3 months ago

The e-collar is one of the most controversial dog training tools out there, but when applied correctly, it is a gentle and clear tool that provides many dogs with the opportunity for free movement who otherwise would’ve been attached to a leash for their entire life.

Unfortunately, I have met my fair share of trainers who apply it incorrectly which leads people to think that the e-collar is a shortcut tool for lazy trainers. If you are layering it into your training correctly, it’s is the farthest thing from a shortcut - it doesn’t and should never replace all the foundation work that must be applied first.

The most *IMPORTANT* thing to remember about this tool is that it is not a teaching tool - it only reinforces known behaviors to create follow through.

Teaching *ALWAYS* starts with positive reinforcement and gradual progression of working through difficulty with your 4 D’s (Distance, Duration, Distraction, & Diversity). This is where 90% of your training time should live - in the thoughtful teaching phase.

This is exactly why we do not sell our Advanced E-Collar Recall course as a standalone course - it is sold as a bundle with our Voice-Only recall course because you still must put in all the proper recall foundation work before you layer in the e-collar 🙌🏽 by @caninegains

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3 months ago

If you have questions about any of these “no-go” tips, drop them in the comments below! by @caninegains

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3 months ago