Instagram story viewer> @nirvana_k9> Posts
Sami Garza | Seattle Dog Trainer šŸ¦®(@nirvana_k9)'s profile avatar HD Profile

Sami Garza | Seattle Dog Trainer šŸ¦®

@nirvana_k9

4K
followers
820
following
No BS dog training for real behavior change.
Reactivity & aggression specialist
šŸ“ Seattle, WA
šŸ¤ Community over competition
šŸ‘‡ Get started
POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED
Penny the chocolate labby lab! šŸ¾šŸ˜ sheā€™s about half way through her board & train, this sweet girl is learning all the things required to be a good canine citizen. Thanks for watching! taken in Edmonds, Washington by @nirvana_k9
2
14 days ago
Download
Iā€™m a professional dog trainer. But Iā€™m also a real fucking person. I swear. I laugh. I make jokes. I get dirty. I have bad days. I say things probably wouldnā€™t make it past a corporate HR department. šŸ˜‚ And honestly? I refuse to believe that being ā€œprofessionalā€ means stripping away every ounce of personality and pretending Iā€™m some perfectly polished business robot. Because the people I work with arenā€™t robots either. Theyā€™re people who are frustrated. Overwhelmed. Embarrassed. Exhausted. Sometimes scared. Sometimes at their absolute breaking point with their dog. They donā€™t need someone standing in front of them pretending to have everything figured out. They need someone who knows what the fuck theyā€™re doing and can meet them where theyā€™re at. So yeah, Iā€™m going to be professional when it matters. Iā€™m also going to be myself. Because I built Nirvana K9 to work with real people and real dogs, not to conform to somebody elseā€™s idea of what a dog trainer is supposed to look like. And if being unapologetically human makes me less ā€œprofessionalā€ in someoneā€™s eyes? ĀÆ\_(惄)_/ĀÆ Iā€™ll survive. My clientsā€™ dogs will too. šŸ˜‚ taken in Seattle, Washington by @nirvana_k9
7
22 days ago
Download
Kodiak šŸ–¤ Heā€™s a 5 month old Bernese Mountain Dog šŸ”ļø Heā€™s here for a 3 week board & train to learn how to be a good lil man šŸ˜ I love puppiesssss šŸ“ø @whosagoodphoto taken in Seattle, Washington by @nirvana_k9
0
22 days ago
Download
Apparently weā€™re doing this today. šŸ˜‚ Just because this is a dog training account doesnā€™t mean I stop caring about what happens outside of the training session. I advocate for safe, ethical training and safe environments for my clients. That means I take seriously who I recommend, who I refer clients to, and who I trust to work with the people and dogs in my community. So let me be very clear: I have NEVER worked with this person. She has never been my client, and I have never interacted with her. The claim that she was a client of mine who then started working with my ex is fabricated. And that matters. When you publicly invent a client relationship with a legitimate business, you arenā€™t just creating drama. Youā€™re potentially damaging that business and misleading dog owners who are trying to figure out who they can actually trust with their dogs. I would never refer my clients to someone I didnā€™t believe was qualified, professional, and capable of providing a safe environment for them and their dogs. You are free to work with whoever you want. But please donā€™t fabricate a history with my business to build a narrative that doesnā€™t exist. Receipts matter. So does honesty. taken in Seattle, Washington by @nirvana_k9
35
22 days ago
Download
Your puppy is not going to magically outgrow jumping. šŸ˜‚ Kodiak is 5 months old, and this big fluffy man thinks every interaction is an invitation to launch himself at me. So hereā€™s a simple place to start: Step on the leash. When he jumps, the leash limits his ability to follow through with the behavior. He learns that jumping doesnā€™t get him what he wants. When he settles and starts paying attention, we can actually begin working with him. No yelling. No kneeing your puppy in the chest. No repeating ā€œoffā€ 47 times while he continues to jump on you. Just clear boundaries, consistency, and teaching your puppy that calm behavior gets him access to the things he wants. This is a foundation, not a complete training program. Once your puppy understands that jumping isnā€™t rewarding, you can start teaching him what to do instead, like sitting for greetings, keeping four paws on the floor, and engaging with you. And yes, Kodiak is adorable. But adorable puppies grow into big dogs, and a 100-pound dog jumping on guests is a problem. Start teaching the behavior you want now. šŸ¾ Want help building better manners with your puppy? Send me a message and letā€™s get to work. taken in Seattle, Washington by @nirvana_k9
6
24 days ago
Download
A few changes are being made over here šŸ‘ˆ ā­ļøNirvana K9 Clients & Alumni get priority on all boarding services. If you are not a current client, please email me and we can set up an evaluation to see if this is a good fit for your dogs boarding needs. ā­ļø50% deposit is required to hold your dates for boarding. Due to an excessive amount of cancellations this year we are no longer accepting boarding clients without a deposit. ā­ļøIf youā€™ve already booked for the year of 2026, donā€™t worry you are on the calendar and arenā€™t going anywhere. ā­ļøAll future boarding dates that are booked will require a deposit. ā­ļøI have recommendations for trainers who offer similar style boarding if we are full for the dates you need, just dm me. Boarding rates remain the same. $80 per calendar day the dog is with us. $150 for day training depending on availability. As always thank you for trusting me with your pups ā­ļøšŸ–¤ itā€™s truly an honor and a privilege to wake up and do what I do everyday. Thank you for making my small business thrive! taken in Seattle, Washington by @nirvana_k9
5
a month ago
Download
The extended versions are the only ones that exist imo #fyp #reels #trend #lotr #seattle taken in Seattle, Washington by @nirvana_k9
19
a month ago
Download
STOP SCROLLING I just realized I havenā€™t posted to here in a bit so hereā€™s my dog Stewart being a certified good boy at the mall šŸ˜ Okay continue scrolling OR go outside and train your dog. Whatever floats your boat šŸ˜ by @nirvana_k9
5
a month ago
Download
One thing that has changed dramatically in the way I train dogs is how much I value the relationship. I wasnā€™t always this way. For a long time, I kept a pretty strict teacher/student relationship with the dogs who came into my home. I didnā€™t want to get too attached because, ultimately, they were going home. I could teach them, manage them, improve their behaviorā€”and then send them back to their owners. Then I started raising Zelda, my malinois, for sport. Somewhere along the way, it clicked: the relationship isnā€™t separate from the training. The relationship is part of the training. When a dog comes into my home for three weeks, like Mia, my job isnā€™t just to teach leash manners, house manners, place, recall, or obedience. My job is to understand the dog in front of me. What motivates her.. What makes her nervous.. What makes her light up. When she needs pressure and when she needs reassuranceā€¦ How she communicates when sheā€™s frustrated, confused, excited, or overwhelmed. Because these dogs have emotions. They have preferences. They have fears, confidence levels, personalities, and individual ways of processing the world. And if weā€™re asking them to change the way they think and respond, I believe we have a responsibility to actually get to know them. That doesnā€™t mean every client dog needs to become my best friend. It doesnā€™t mean I need to be bonded with them for life. But I do think trainers have a professional responsibility to build enough trust and connection that we can reach the dogā€”not just control the dog. Training is communication. And sometimes the biggest breakthroughs happen when the dog finally realizes, ā€œOh. This person understands me.ā€ Mia is here for three weeks, and yes, sheā€™s going home at the end of them.. But while sheā€™s here, sheā€™s not just a training projectā€¦ Sheā€™s a dog Iā€™m getting to know. And that relationship is going to be one of the most important tools in her training. by @nirvana_k9
4
2 months ago
Download
Some dogs come into your life to teach you something. Ramen came into mine to test every ounce of patience, consistency, and optimism I had. For 1 year and 8 months, this scruffy little 14-pound gremlin was my shadow. We worked through resource guarding. We worked through his bite history. We worked through the reality that he wasnā€™t the ā€œinstant cuddly lap dogā€ everyone wanted him to be. He had to earn that version of himself, and people had to earn it too. It wouldā€™ve been easy to write him off. Instead, we gave him time. And thatā€™s the thing about dogs like Ramen. Theyā€™re so often overlooked because theyā€™re not easy. Theyā€™re complicated. They require management, training, and someone willing to see the dog underneath the behavior. But if youā€™re willing to put in the workā€¦ theyā€™ll give you a version of themselves that most people never get to experience. Today, Ramen is exactly where he belongs. Heā€™s living the good life in Gig Harbor with an incredible owner, endless space to explore, and the luxury of being an only child. He finally gets to exhale. People always celebrate the easy adoptions. The puppies. The dogs everyone wanted. Iā€™m celebrating the one that almost no one did. Goodbye, little dude. Thank you for reminding me that ā€œdifficultā€ doesnā€™t mean ā€œunworthy.ā€ I hope your days are full of sunshine, sniffing every blade of grass, and demanding treats like youā€™ve never committed a crime in your life. Iā€™ll miss youā€¦ ā€¦but Iā€™d be lying if I said I wasnā€™t also enjoying having one less tiny terrorist trying to extort me over a chew bone. Go live your best life, Ramen. You earned it. ā¤ļø taken in Seattle, Washington by @nirvana_k9
45
3 months ago
Download
Goggle conditioning for @fullsendzelda because if we are ANYTHINGā€¦ we are PREPAREDā€¦ with our @rexspecsk9 goggles šŸ’š Goggles are great for eye protection, either from the sun or other weather elements (think sand, twigs, dirt, bugs, foxtails, etc that can get in your dogs eyes during adventuresā€¦)ā€¦ also donā€™t they looking freakin cool!!!?? Would you like a video tutorial on how I introduced the goggles to my dogs? šŸ«¶šŸ½ by @nirvana_k9
6
3 months ago
Download
Trust me when I say itā€™s not worth wasting your breath. I see it a lot on Facebook group. I seldomly respond to questions online but once upon a time I used to obsess over helping people for free. Until I saw my screen timeā€¦ all those hours I spent helping people for free when I couldā€™ve been working with my client dogs or teaching lessonsā€¦ Most of the time people donā€™t wanna hear or follow the advice anyways so, get that bag šŸ’° taken in Seattle, Washington by @nirvana_k9
6
4 months ago
Download

Download All

Save the photos and videos currently loaded on this page.

0Photos
0Videos
Ready to download 0 / 0

Keep this tab open until your download is ready.
back to up