October 20, 2025 • 32 mins
Professional dog trainer Laura Christiansen has successfully trained thousands of dogs in obedience, scent work and agility. She was named National Dog Trainer of the Year in 2015. In this special Oh Behave show episode, she shares the challenges faced with her own reactive dog, Mick, a Belgian Tervuren. His life inspired her to author a new book called, "Loving Mick My Reactive Dog." Tune into as Laura tells show host Arden Moore insights into reactive dogs, tips on how to help them and much more.
EPISODE NOTES: Lessons Learned From A Reactive Dog Named Mick
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EPISODE NOTES: Lessons Learned From A Reactive Dog Named Mick
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/oh-behave-with-arden-moore-harmony-in-the-household-with-your-pets-recommended-by-oprah--6666801/support.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Baby.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
This is Pet Life Radio. Let's talk pets.
Speaker 3 (00:09):
It's all behaved with arden More, this show that teaches
you how to have harmony in the household with your pets.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Join Ardna.
Speaker 3 (00:16):
She travels coast to coast to help millions better understand
why cats and dogs do what they do. Get find
Lady Scoop on famous spaces, They're perfectly pampered pets and
who's walking goom rints him Tinseltown. From famous pet experts
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get the latest buzz from Wagging Tongues and Tails Garner,
great pet tips and have a dog one per Flying
(00:37):
fun Time. So get ready for the paws and applause
as we unleash your oh Behave hosts America's pet ed
You tainer arden More, What about pet Pals?
Speaker 4 (00:49):
Welcome to the O Behave Show on Pet Life Radio.
On your post arden More. Hey, You're about to meet
a very inspiring individual and she's very candid too. She
was named National Dog Trainer of the Year in twenty fifteen,
and now she has added a new title author. She's
(01:12):
about to share the inspiring story of life with her
own reactive dog she's doing this in hopes of helping others.
The book is called Loving Mick, My Reactive Dog. Please
welcome to our show, my friend Laura Christiansen. Welcome, Welcome, Laura.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
Thank you. It's great to be here.
Speaker 4 (01:38):
Laura and I go well back, We've just got to
fill in the gap here for you all. Laura, oh
my goodness, almost ten years ago, maybe nine ten years ago,
because she's an amazing professional dog trainer and she does
help people have their dogs become certified therapy pets, pet
(01:58):
safety dog. Kona everybody, my terrier mix was trained by
Laura and she is a certified therapy dog. Thanks to you.
So pause up to you, Laura.
Speaker 1 (02:08):
Thank you, thank you.
Speaker 4 (02:10):
All right, hey, he did pretty proud actually. So we're
going to dive into what her book is all about,
and I bet she's gonna help you. But first we're
going to take a quick break, and you all know
the drill. Sit, stay, we'll be right back.
Speaker 3 (02:28):
Time for a pause for very ones, Actually sit and
stay all behave. We'll be right back.
Speaker 4 (02:38):
Take a bite out of your competition.
Speaker 5 (02:41):
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(03:02):
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Speaker 3 (03:21):
Let's talk pets on Petlife Radio dot com. All behaviors
back with more tail wagging ways to achieve harmony of
the household with your pets. Now back to your fetching host,
America's pet ed You, Jyner Ardenmore.
Speaker 4 (03:38):
Welcome back to the old Behave Show on pet Life Radio.
I'm your host, Ardenmore. I am a good person here
in the house and her name is Laura Christensen. She
has been a professional certified dog trainer for a number
of years. Hey in twenty fifteen, she won the Top
Dog Award, the National Dog Trainer of the Year. Please
or tell us a little bit where you're based and
(04:00):
what the name of your own dog training company is.
Speaker 1 (04:03):
Okay. So I am based in Carlsbad, California since nineteen
ninety two, and my business is called Canine Learning Center
Nice and I have a wonderful training facility, my own
three thousand square foot training facility right here in Carlsbad.
Speaker 4 (04:21):
And I've been there. I used to live in the
neighboring town of Oceanside before I moved to Texas. And
I can tell you a test that you are about
to hear from one of the best dog trainers on
the planet. She has videos, she has handouts, she teaches
a variety of courses just to give people an understanding.
What got you into the dog training business to begin with?
Speaker 1 (04:44):
Well, you know, I always loved animals from the time
I was a child, and I loved teaching. So I
used to actually line up all of my stuffed animals
and I would be the teacher. So when I started
looking for a career, I found something called a humane educator. Okay,
you had to have an elementary education degree and then
you would go into places, you know, like school, libraries,
(05:08):
schools themselves, et cetera, and teach children about animals. Nice
and So, while I was doing that, a neighbor who
had Irish setters, invited me to a training class that
she was going to to watch and they had an
apprentice program. So I did my darness to try to
(05:29):
be asked into that apprentice program. But my golden retriever
had other ideas. He lifted his leg and urinated on
me in front of everybody when I tried to get
him to do something, and it was kind of a disaster.
But lo and behold, they didn't ask me. I ended
up asking the owner to lunch and was going to
(05:49):
say to her, you know, what suggestions do you have?
Where else can I go? And then she invited me
to join and I apprenticed there for five years and
then came out here in ninety two and started my
own business.
Speaker 4 (06:02):
So what was the name of the golden who pittled
on you? Dugan? Dougan Dugan. At least he didn't do
what do doo?
Speaker 1 (06:09):
That's true, But you know what, had I known then
what I know now, I don't think that would have happened.
I think he'd have been much more responsive. You know,
it's a process here.
Speaker 4 (06:18):
So you and I go way back. I love all
that you do, and you've been training. Do you have
any idea of how many people you've actually trained in
various levels of a dog courses.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
Thousands. I've never actually counted them, but I mean over
the years, I would say thousands. Wow, I guess I
made train see maybe five hundred people a year. Six
hundred people a year.
Speaker 4 (06:42):
That's impressive.
Speaker 1 (06:43):
That's a lot of people.
Speaker 4 (06:44):
Do you ever walk around Carlsbad and a dog notices you,
kind of like a kid notices their teacher in a
grocery store and does a dog do any kind of like,
oh my god, there's.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
My teacher, Laura. Well, that's funny. Usually first the human
does it. I don't recognize them, you know, if they
don't have their dogs, so you know, they go hi,
and I go hi and like, oh, this must be
one of my students. If they have their dog with them,
then that saves me. And I, you know, usually recognize
because I always recognize the dogs first.
Speaker 4 (07:14):
And I bet the dogs recognize you.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
They do, they do. That's nice. Get lots of little
love letters, you know, my dog, here's your voice on
the videos and they come running, and you know, people
ask me for recordings of my voice.
Speaker 4 (07:27):
You've done a lot of dogs, good and you've helped people,
and I know it's challenging because training people might be
a little bit more tricky than turning dogs. But you
do both species because you want the dog to bring
out the best in the dog. So you have a
favorite breed, let's just say it because I can't pronounce it.
Belgian tervurin Belgian tvernurn. Why why that breathe?
Speaker 1 (07:52):
You know, probably like most people. When I first started
looking through a dog book when I was going to
get a dog, I saw this picture and it's like, oh,
that is the most gorgeous dog I've ever seen. And
when I finally met one in person, it just sealed
the deal. And I might sticks now my sixth spelt.
Speaker 4 (08:12):
How are they different than the malinmaw, which seems to
be the police dog?
Speaker 1 (08:15):
The malin wah, yeah, used by the police, is a
little bit more intense, okay, and uh a little more
compact maybe slightly. But Spice actually has a father from
Europe and she's like a malin waw.
Speaker 4 (08:32):
Okay. So you mentioned you have now had six, she's
number six.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
Spice's number six.
Speaker 4 (08:38):
Okay. So now we're gonna get to your book, and
I do want everybody to get the book. It is
available on Amazon. It is called the Whole title Please.
It is called Loving Mick My Reactive Dog, How an
award winning dog trainer learned to help her own reactive dog.
(09:00):
So tell us how you met Mick, And I guess
you're living in beautiful, sunny California. But wasn't Mick a
puppy in Michigan.
Speaker 1 (09:08):
Yes, he was a puppy in Michigan, and I had
gotten another two other dogs from this same breeder in Michigan.
So at the time, I just had Grace and Mick
came to us at eight and a half weeks old,
and we just fell over heels in love with them.
And you know, everything appeared to be going smoothly for
a very short amount of time until it wasn't all right.
(09:31):
So let's dive in, because I guess I want to
ask a question, and I'm going to have you answered
maybe later on too.
Speaker 4 (09:37):
Why why were you so inspired? Of all the dogs
that you've trained, of all the dogs that you've had,
what was it about Mick that made you say I
need to share this story.
Speaker 1 (09:49):
Mick was like no other dog that I had ever
met or encountered, and he really was a handful. I
had no idea what to do with him, and it
was like, he's my boy, I love him more than anything,
and I need to figure this out. And it took
me on a journey, and wow, what a journey of
(10:10):
learning it was. So yeah, he's special. He's special for sure.
Speaker 4 (10:15):
And how has that appreciation of that challenge impacted you
as a dog trainer today when you're meeting people that
might have a challenging dog.
Speaker 1 (10:25):
I think it really taught me to open my eyes
and see what was in front of me and to
figure out how to work with it.
Speaker 4 (10:35):
So if you were Webster's Dictionary right now, because you know,
you know a lot, what would you how would what
is your definition of a reactive dog? And I think
even in your book you mentioned, you know, up to
seventy five percent of dogs may show some sort of reactivity.
Mm hmmm, So what is react? What is that?
Speaker 1 (10:56):
A reactive dog is a dog that tends to get
very overstimulated by certain things. It could be dogs, it
could be little kids, it could be people.
Speaker 4 (11:05):
Yeah, you know, it could be squirrels.
Speaker 1 (11:08):
Whatever. They get very overstimulated, they fixate. They may start
barking and lunging, and they can be very difficult to
control and contain.
Speaker 4 (11:20):
And it isn't it a little impossible when a dog
is in the reactive stage, you know, I don't think
that's a time for tree or say it stay.
Speaker 1 (11:30):
Once the dog, Yeah, once the adrenaline goes up and
the dog is in that state, no force, nothing you
can do can stop it. If they get to that point,
you immediately have to remove them from the situation.
Speaker 4 (11:44):
So okay. So that segues into mix. So I don't
want to give away everything in the book because I
want people to buy your book. But it's really good, folks.
You know, you took him to a puppy class and
you started seeing some things.
Speaker 1 (11:59):
So I took him to a class and it was
actually someone that had worked with me for a very
long time, and I was just, you know, caught up
in the excitement. They were so happy for me, and
they were making a big deal and everybody was saying
how cute he.
Speaker 4 (12:15):
Was, How old was Mick at the time.
Speaker 1 (12:17):
He was actually he had just turned ten weeks old.
Speaker 4 (12:20):
Oh wow, okay.
Speaker 1 (12:21):
And so I was really caught up in that excitement,
and I guess that focus on me and how cute
he was, and I wasn't really reading the fact that
he was saying, you know, you're going way too fast here.
This is really overwhelming for me. It's way too much.
So what happened, So, you know, in the beginning, he
you know, kind of listened to me and he would
(12:42):
take treats. And as they started progressing with the socialization
exercise where he had to interact with other people, I
could tell that he would, you know, he refused some treats.
He would give a lot of body signals indicating that
he was stressed. You know, he'd be blinking his eyes
and yawning and you know, and being still and even
you know, had sweaty pop heads, which is a sign
(13:05):
of stress, and you know, and I just kind of
went like, oh, you'll warm up. It's all good. Everybody
thinks he's cute, and everybody thinks this is great. So
I just kind of dismissed it when I shouldn't have.
Speaker 4 (13:19):
Then you were in an agility class and something happened.
Speaker 1 (13:21):
Yep. So now fast forward.
Speaker 4 (13:23):
And it's an indoor agility class, which I also want
to make that distinction.
Speaker 1 (13:27):
Yeah, So fast forward, you know, with some of the
experiences that he had and you know, and some of
the reactivity, and someone came into the class and they
had a super high energy black lab and that caused
Mick to be very stressed and very concerned that that
dog was going to come into his space. So it
(13:49):
took a lot of maneuvering and managing, you know, to
keep that dog out of his space. And then also
he had zero impulse control. I didn't know how to
bring him down once he would get super excited about what.
Speaker 4 (14:05):
Does that mean that the term zero impulse control?
Speaker 1 (14:08):
So basically, you know, so with the reactivity, he would say, oh,
I'm really excited, you know, and then he would start
barking and you know, not listening and just kind of
going crazy, and there was no way for me to
reel him in, and he caused a big ruckus in
the class. The owner got annoyed and said, this is
a problem. You know, we need to contain his barking.
(14:31):
And she said, you know, well, why don't we put
an electronic collar on him?
Speaker 4 (14:35):
Oh, hell to the no.
Speaker 1 (14:37):
And I said, you know, no, you know, I'm not
comfortable with that. You know, I don't think that that
is a good idea. And so she tried to talk
me into it. She explained how it worked, and you know,
let's put this on and this is going to do this,
and I said, no, that I don't want to do that.
And I said, you know what, we'll we'll leave class
and I said, let me work with him some more.
(14:58):
I'm going to work with him really hard to try
to contain his his you know, impulses in his excitement,
and can we come back at the next session. So
I kind of talked her into it. She very reluctantly agreed,
and so when we went back to that first session again,
that was when this black lab was there. And the
(15:19):
first day I had him under control, I had to
be very firm, you know, very corrective with him, let's say,
maybe a little punitive, and he was kind of surprised
because he knew that I never treated him that way.
But he listened to me. But as the class started
progressing in the weeks, it got harder and harder and
(15:41):
harder to control him, and he started the barking, and
then the instructor suggested, well, let's put him in the crate,
you know, while he waits his turn to go on
the floor, which was a bad idea because he wasn't
used to that, so it brought his stress up. And
when it was our turn, he started barking and he
wouldn't listen to me, and he jumped up at me,
(16:03):
and his tooth caught me right here on this delicate
part of your skin, and I started.
Speaker 4 (16:09):
Gushing under the chin.
Speaker 1 (16:10):
Okay, yeah, right under the chin here. And I mean everybody,
I remember, they just gasped in horror. Conary is kind
of near there, right yeah, And I mean, I mean
everybody was just like horrified that I had this horribly
aggressive dog. And we left and we were kicked out,
but it didn't matter because at that point the light
(16:32):
bulb went on and you know, I said to myself,
I can't control this boy. I need help, all right.
Speaker 4 (16:39):
So we're speaking with Laura Christensen. She is a professional
dog trainer, actually National Dog Trainer of the Year from
twenty twenty five, and she wrote a new book called
Loving Mick, My Reactive Dog. We're going to continue this
after we take this quick break, so sit, stay, we'll
be right.
Speaker 3 (16:56):
Back time for a walk on the red carpet.
Speaker 2 (17:02):
Of course, oh behave.
Speaker 3 (17:04):
Will be backing up lash right after these messages.
Speaker 2 (17:09):
We wear fur and we're damn proud of it. What
ends our four legs and our tail and we can
go to the bathroom outside. Well, we may not be
too proud of that. Sniff around, Ben, Mike your spot
right here. Pet Life Radio, Let's talk pets, Let's talk past,
(17:31):
Let's done, pet Headline.
Speaker 3 (17:33):
Radio, Ptlight Radio dot Com. All right, this is Brandon McMillan,
hosts of Lucky Dog on ABS, and I want to
invite you all to listen to Arden Moore.
Speaker 2 (17:43):
On the O Behave Show on Petlight Radio. Truck me
when I say, good, good.
Speaker 3 (17:49):
Go on, we're back from the lot. Just check the paper.
And we had our record showing at the box, the
letterbox that is now back to.
Speaker 2 (18:00):
Here's aardy, Welcome back to.
Speaker 4 (18:02):
The obih Show on tet Life Radio. On our show
today is a remarkable woman named Laura Christensen. You in
the southern California area, Carlsbad, San Diego area, check her out.
Gotta if you have a dog. She knows how to
train dogs. And what I think this book is telling
us all Laura, is that you had this beautiful dog
(18:24):
you loved and there's so many lessons that you learned
from Mix's short life, right, yes, yes, and let's let
the cat out of the bag. You actually approached me
and said, you want to write a book. So why
would you want to write a book about a situation
like this rather than a pat on the back about
(18:46):
how many great dogs you've trained.
Speaker 1 (18:48):
You know, Yeah, it was a book that needed to
be written. Number one, to honor Mix. Number two, to
honor everyone else that has a reactive dog, and to
do my best to help them with that because it
is so so common and I see people making all
of the mistakes that I made with Mick. They will
(19:11):
keep taking their dog into a situation that causes them stress,
and they just keep doing it over and over and over,
hoping for a different result. But what actually happens is
the dog becomes worse, the becavior becomes more ingrained, and
(19:31):
so there is a way to not get to that point.
Speaker 4 (19:35):
Well, in your book, you do tell the story of Mick,
but you also have a whole section on tips for people,
and you also have some advice for people who have
none reactive dogs. Meeting a reactive dog, Can you share
a tip about that? Because they have this perfect dog
who's easy going and a person has another dog that
(19:58):
is reactive, but what can you share?
Speaker 1 (20:00):
Yeah, just even if you have a friendly, outgoing dog,
please do not assume that everyone else has a friendly,
outgoing dog. You do need to be respectful of space.
You wouldn't go up to a stranger, you know, and hey,
how are you doing, and get into their space and
give them you know, you go on Facebook friend or not? Yeah,
hopefully not. So it's the same thing with dogs. You
(20:21):
need to be respectful. Just because your dog wants to
go and say hi, doesn't mean that they should. They
should be calm, they should be in control. If you
do want them to meet another dog, ask the owner
if it's okay.
Speaker 4 (20:35):
Yes, politeness never goes out of style. Yes, it so.
You having your book on page fifty seven, I know
you haven't memorized it, but you say, how do you
teach your dog to have a little self control? Especially
dogs that might be reactive?
Speaker 1 (20:52):
So I think people always reinforce their dogs for excitement,
and it's hard. You know, they come home and the
dogs jumping hi.
Speaker 4 (21:00):
You know, Oh he's so cute.
Speaker 1 (21:02):
Oh he just wants to say hi. Oh you know,
I don't want to stop him. I don't want to,
you know, spike his personality, you know, et cetera. So
it's teaching the dog to be calm and polite. And
you can do that all around with your interactions. Let's
wait before you get your food, Let's wait before you
step out the door. Let's wait before I put your
(21:24):
leash on. Good, wait before I throw the toy. Any
kind of a situation that you can think of, just
request calm and wait until it happens, and then reinforce
that behavior.
Speaker 4 (21:38):
I like it.
Speaker 1 (21:38):
Yeah, that gets reinforced tents to start repeating itself.
Speaker 2 (21:41):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (21:42):
I have ConA and Ema, my two dogs, and they
get rewarded for having doggy manners at dinner. They have
to sit, stay and then the bulls down. They look
at me and then I say, calmly okay, and then
they go eat away from each other. So there's no stress.
But yeah, I think doggy manners ever goes out of style?
Does it? Never?
Speaker 1 (22:02):
Never?
Speaker 4 (22:03):
So with Mick, you mentioned that there are some mental
and emotional factors involving reactivity in dogs. I know it's
a science that hasn't been completely solved, but can you
talk about that we could make a dog reactive.
Speaker 1 (22:19):
You know they always talk about nature versus nurture. Yeah,
I always think that it's you know, it's always both.
Dumb dogs just have a predisposition to view something as stressful.
And when they view something as stressful and the owner
doesn't see it and they keep kind of putting them
into that situation, the dog will usually almost always give cues,
(22:41):
this is too much. I'm uncomfortable, just like Mip did,
and they keep pushing it and insisting on it. Next thing,
you know, the dog will say, okay, well I've been
trying to tell you and you're not listening. I need
to do something else. So reactivity and of itself, it's
not a positive trait, but it's not aggression.
Speaker 4 (23:02):
Yeah, explain that. What does that mean?
Speaker 1 (23:04):
So it's not aggression, it actually is they're doing a favor.
They're saying I'm uncomfortable. I'm telling you please give me space,
please stay away. And if that's not respected and other
dogs keep getting the dog reactive dog will say, all right,
they're just not getting the message. Now I got to
go to plan B, which can become aggression.
Speaker 4 (23:27):
Gotcha, Well, I'm trained as a fear free speaker, and
you know fas fear, anxiety, stress, And I've been taught
that you know a dog, you approach not feeling comfortable
about the approach can freeze, fidget, flee, or fight. Right,
it sounds like us humans, we only have two legs
and two eyeballs, Laura. It sounds like we need to
(23:49):
pay stop and start paying attention to our dogs more.
In dog people situations, it seems like we don't. We
kind of just go blah blah blah blah blah.
Speaker 1 (23:58):
Yeah, we need to see. I think that I can
compare it to just any kind of a task that
you do, where it's like if you take the time
to see it to do it right, you have a
good result. And most of the time we're just going
so fast and we miss it because the cues are
always there, we just missed them.
Speaker 4 (24:20):
So you see people walking their dogs. I try my
best to have ConA and Emma kind of walk with me,
but then I let them go to sniff because I
know it's important. But I never put them on one
of those retractable leashes. Right, Please tell me I'm being
a good girl, Arden, good girl.
Speaker 1 (24:38):
Yes, you are being a very good girl. Retract the
leashes can be a hazard. So that's not to say
you have a regular six foot leash that you cannot
you can't allow your dog to sniff and have a
good time. But here's the compromise. My dog can heal,
which means being right at my left side and paying attention,
sit when I do, et cetera, et cetera. And then
(25:00):
there's the loose leash walking. Can't say that fast. The
loose leash walking basically saying you can go to the
end of the leash and sniff as long as there
is nothing more than mild tension on the leash. If
you go to yank me, oh, we have to go,
(25:21):
oh no, we're going to kind of do a little
circle and resets good.
Speaker 4 (25:25):
Yes, instead of hel I always say to ConA and
Emma walk nicely, yes, And they walk nicely and during
the walk now, I always have a bag of treats.
But you know, every once in a while they look
back at me like is it treat time? And I
ignore it. And then when you're not looking, I'll say, hey, sit,
and they sit, they look at me, and then I
(25:45):
reach in to get them a treat. Why is it
so important that timing sequence versus showing the treat and
then saying sit.
Speaker 1 (25:53):
You want a dog to do a behavior first, and
then you tell them they're right, and then you reward it.
And that's so different. I mean, I'll never forget. It
was the first time that Spice was off lesi in
a you know, safe appropriate area. She got way ahead
of me and all of a sudden she turned and
looked at me and I went, yeah, amazing, and she
(26:13):
looked at you, Oh yeah, I meant to do that,
so mark good behaviors. Yes, and she's like, this was
my idea and it's been her idea ever since.
Speaker 4 (26:23):
Now this is going to make me cry, but I'm
not as enough as you, I'm sure. But I love
your dedication in your book, Loving Mick, my reactive Dog.
You're right in the dedication. You actually dedicate this book
to Mick, and you say, to my beloved Mick, I
wouldn't change a thing. You inspired me to be a
better person and trainer. I don't think a day goes
(26:45):
by where you don't think of Meck, but talk about that.
Speaker 1 (26:48):
Absolutely not. So you know, he's always in my heart
and the lessons that he taught me, it was all
for a reason. If I didn't experience. Any of that,
I wouldn't have been able to figure out, you know,
how to help him and therefore figure out how to
help other people.
Speaker 4 (27:06):
So when did the book come out?
Speaker 1 (27:09):
The book actually came out, Oh, probably about.
Speaker 4 (27:11):
Six weeks ago. Okay, So talk about how it's been
since you've now added the title author.
Speaker 1 (27:17):
You know what, I think that right after I won
the National Dog Trainer of the Year, I was honestly,
I knew deep inside that I had a talent and
I was good. But it caused other people to acknowledge that,
you know, maybe some people that might not have initially.
And I think that I've always had you know, good respect,
(27:38):
you know, since that, But with this now it's like, wow,
you know, this is somebody that I want to bring
my dog and I want to work with her and
I want to train my dog. And so, you know,
people look to me now even more than they did.
Speaker 4 (27:53):
Well, you know why, because don't we learn from our
disappointments and our setbacks better than if if you were
miss Laura Christensen, ai dog trainer. I don't think I
would want you as my dog trainer. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (28:06):
And I started with a dog lifting his leg and
front of my ears. So you know, it's like that
humbled me. So every time that I, you know, look
at someone and are not doing the right thing, I just,
you know, think to myself, you need to be patient.
Speaker 4 (28:21):
You started there, that's right. What is something that dogs
have taught you to be a better two legger?
Speaker 1 (28:27):
Just to really see and to accept they are who
they are. They were born a certain way and the
experiences that they had created the behavioral template, and you
need to see that. You need to accept them for
who they are and treat them how they need to
be treated, for their temperament and their experiences. Really, just
(28:50):
like people completely parallels. You can't tease them. They're not
going to be the way you want them to be
or you had.
Speaker 4 (28:56):
Hoped or yeah. Well, I mean I feel like if
I come back as a dog, I'm going to be
a goofy Labrador retriever. What would the breed be for you?
And why? And I'm hoping, I don't know if it's
going to be that certain breed you'd love or your
own personality. What would be your dog breeding? Why?
Speaker 1 (29:14):
Well, I guess no one's ever asked me that question.
I know that when I actually took a quiz online
it labeled me as a Chihuahua. I don't think that
is the case, but yeah, I think I would probably
be a Belgian.
Speaker 4 (29:29):
Okay, I think so.
Speaker 1 (29:30):
I think that our personalities are pretty the same, pretty
much the same, so I would be a Belgian.
Speaker 4 (29:36):
Yeah, how again, can people learn more about you, Laura Christensen?
Speaker 1 (29:40):
They can go to my website. It's the letter K
the number nine l r NG dot com.
Speaker 4 (29:50):
K nine learning but in a fun way.
Speaker 1 (29:53):
And the book is also available where on Amazon. They
can purchase it on Amazon, or if they attend my classes,
they can purchase.
Speaker 4 (30:02):
It for me and get your pod graph. Yes, all right, Well,
we are so delighted to have you on the show.
You were taking on a tough topic and you presented
it with honesty and I do appreciate it. I miss you.
You're a good person. It's hot here in Dallas.
Speaker 1 (30:20):
That's what I had.
Speaker 4 (30:21):
I still reinforce my girls some of the things that
I learned from you, So thank you for that. Hey,
at this time, pet Pals, that's it for our show today.
I want again get big thanks to our very very
special guest National Dog Trainer of the Year get her book.
Loving Mick. She is Laura Christensen. Big thanks to all
(30:41):
of you tuning in. Shout out to my producer, Mark Winter.
He is the producer of all the shows on Pet
Life Radio and humbly this show you are listening to
right now has been on the air since oh seven.
We are the longest running weekly pet podcast on the
planet and I did that without popping my piece. So
want to learn more about me, please go to ardenmore
(31:04):
dot com, check out my YouTube channel, and my passion
is safety and so please go to Pet First Aid
for you or I teach veterinary approved courses in a fun,
practical way with Petsafety Dog ConA and be ready for
it Pet Safety Cat Casey. So until next time, this
(31:25):
is your flea free host Ardenmore delivering just two words
to all you two three and four layers out there, all.
Speaker 3 (31:33):
Behavior coast to coast that are around the world.
Speaker 2 (31:36):
It's all behaved with art and more.
Speaker 3 (31:38):
Find out why cats and dogs do the things they do,
and you get the latest buzz from Wagging Tongues and
Tails and rent ten tinsel Town. From famous pet experts
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Baby.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
This is Pet Life Radio. Let's talk pets.
Speaker 3 (00:09):
It's all behaved with arden More, this show that teaches
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Speaker 2 (00:15):
Join Ardna.
Speaker 3 (00:16):
She travels coast to coast to help millions better understand
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(00:37):
fun Time. So get ready for the paws and applause
as we unleash your oh Behave hosts America's pet ed
You tainer arden More, What about pet Pals?
Speaker 4 (00:49):
Welcome to the O Behave Show on Pet Life Radio.
On your post arden More. Hey, You're about to meet
a very inspiring individual and she's very candid too. She
was named National Dog Trainer of the Year in twenty fifteen,
and now she has added a new title author. She's
(01:12):
about to share the inspiring story of life with her
own reactive dog she's doing this in hopes of helping others.
The book is called Loving Mick, My Reactive Dog. Please
welcome to our show, my friend Laura Christiansen. Welcome, Welcome, Laura.
Speaker 1 (01:36):
Thank you. It's great to be here.
Speaker 4 (01:38):
Laura and I go well back, We've just got to
fill in the gap here for you all. Laura, oh
my goodness, almost ten years ago, maybe nine ten years ago,
because she's an amazing professional dog trainer and she does
help people have their dogs become certified therapy pets, pet
(01:58):
safety dog. Kona everybody, my terrier mix was trained by
Laura and she is a certified therapy dog. Thanks to you.
So pause up to you, Laura.
Speaker 1 (02:08):
Thank you, thank you.
Speaker 4 (02:10):
All right, hey, he did pretty proud actually. So we're
going to dive into what her book is all about,
and I bet she's gonna help you. But first we're
going to take a quick break, and you all know
the drill. Sit, stay, we'll be right back.
Speaker 3 (02:28):
Time for a pause for very ones, Actually sit and
stay all behave. We'll be right back.
Speaker 4 (02:38):
Take a bite out of your competition.
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(03:02):
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Speaker 3 (03:21):
Let's talk pets on Petlife Radio dot com. All behaviors
back with more tail wagging ways to achieve harmony of
the household with your pets. Now back to your fetching host,
America's pet ed You, Jyner Ardenmore.
Speaker 4 (03:38):
Welcome back to the old Behave Show on pet Life Radio.
I'm your host, Ardenmore. I am a good person here
in the house and her name is Laura Christensen. She
has been a professional certified dog trainer for a number
of years. Hey in twenty fifteen, she won the Top
Dog Award, the National Dog Trainer of the Year. Please
or tell us a little bit where you're based and
(04:00):
what the name of your own dog training company is.
Speaker 1 (04:03):
Okay. So I am based in Carlsbad, California since nineteen
ninety two, and my business is called Canine Learning Center
Nice and I have a wonderful training facility, my own
three thousand square foot training facility right here in Carlsbad.
Speaker 4 (04:21):
And I've been there. I used to live in the
neighboring town of Oceanside before I moved to Texas. And
I can tell you a test that you are about
to hear from one of the best dog trainers on
the planet. She has videos, she has handouts, she teaches
a variety of courses just to give people an understanding.
What got you into the dog training business to begin with?
Speaker 1 (04:44):
Well, you know, I always loved animals from the time
I was a child, and I loved teaching. So I
used to actually line up all of my stuffed animals
and I would be the teacher. So when I started
looking for a career, I found something called a humane educator. Okay,
you had to have an elementary education degree and then
you would go into places, you know, like school, libraries,
(05:08):
schools themselves, et cetera, and teach children about animals. Nice
and So, while I was doing that, a neighbor who
had Irish setters, invited me to a training class that
she was going to to watch and they had an
apprentice program. So I did my darness to try to
(05:29):
be asked into that apprentice program. But my golden retriever
had other ideas. He lifted his leg and urinated on
me in front of everybody when I tried to get
him to do something, and it was kind of a disaster.
But lo and behold, they didn't ask me. I ended
up asking the owner to lunch and was going to
(05:49):
say to her, you know, what suggestions do you have?
Where else can I go? And then she invited me
to join and I apprenticed there for five years and
then came out here in ninety two and started my
own business.
Speaker 4 (06:02):
So what was the name of the golden who pittled
on you? Dugan? Dougan Dugan. At least he didn't do
what do doo?
Speaker 1 (06:09):
That's true, But you know what, had I known then
what I know now, I don't think that would have happened.
I think he'd have been much more responsive. You know,
it's a process here.
Speaker 4 (06:18):
So you and I go way back. I love all
that you do, and you've been training. Do you have
any idea of how many people you've actually trained in
various levels of a dog courses.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
Thousands. I've never actually counted them, but I mean over
the years, I would say thousands. Wow, I guess I
made train see maybe five hundred people a year. Six
hundred people a year.
Speaker 4 (06:42):
That's impressive.
Speaker 1 (06:43):
That's a lot of people.
Speaker 4 (06:44):
Do you ever walk around Carlsbad and a dog notices you,
kind of like a kid notices their teacher in a
grocery store and does a dog do any kind of like,
oh my god, there's.
Speaker 1 (06:54):
My teacher, Laura. Well, that's funny. Usually first the human
does it. I don't recognize them, you know, if they
don't have their dogs, so you know, they go hi,
and I go hi and like, oh, this must be
one of my students. If they have their dog with them,
then that saves me. And I, you know, usually recognize
because I always recognize the dogs first.
Speaker 4 (07:14):
And I bet the dogs recognize you.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
They do, they do. That's nice. Get lots of little
love letters, you know, my dog, here's your voice on
the videos and they come running, and you know, people
ask me for recordings of my voice.
Speaker 4 (07:27):
You've done a lot of dogs, good and you've helped people,
and I know it's challenging because training people might be
a little bit more tricky than turning dogs. But you
do both species because you want the dog to bring
out the best in the dog. So you have a
favorite breed, let's just say it because I can't pronounce it.
Belgian tervurin Belgian tvernurn. Why why that breathe?
Speaker 1 (07:52):
You know, probably like most people. When I first started
looking through a dog book when I was going to
get a dog, I saw this picture and it's like, oh,
that is the most gorgeous dog I've ever seen. And
when I finally met one in person, it just sealed
the deal. And I might sticks now my sixth spelt.
Speaker 4 (08:12):
How are they different than the malinmaw, which seems to
be the police dog?
Speaker 1 (08:15):
The malin wah, yeah, used by the police, is a
little bit more intense, okay, and uh a little more
compact maybe slightly. But Spice actually has a father from
Europe and she's like a malin waw.
Speaker 4 (08:32):
Okay. So you mentioned you have now had six, she's
number six.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
Spice's number six.
Speaker 4 (08:38):
Okay. So now we're gonna get to your book, and
I do want everybody to get the book. It is
available on Amazon. It is called the Whole title Please.
It is called Loving Mick My Reactive Dog, How an
award winning dog trainer learned to help her own reactive dog.
(09:00):
So tell us how you met Mick, And I guess
you're living in beautiful, sunny California. But wasn't Mick a
puppy in Michigan.
Speaker 1 (09:08):
Yes, he was a puppy in Michigan, and I had
gotten another two other dogs from this same breeder in Michigan.
So at the time, I just had Grace and Mick
came to us at eight and a half weeks old,
and we just fell over heels in love with them.
And you know, everything appeared to be going smoothly for
a very short amount of time until it wasn't all right.
(09:31):
So let's dive in, because I guess I want to
ask a question, and I'm going to have you answered
maybe later on too.
Speaker 4 (09:37):
Why why were you so inspired? Of all the dogs
that you've trained, of all the dogs that you've had,
what was it about Mick that made you say I
need to share this story.
Speaker 1 (09:49):
Mick was like no other dog that I had ever
met or encountered, and he really was a handful. I
had no idea what to do with him, and it
was like, he's my boy, I love him more than anything,
and I need to figure this out. And it took
me on a journey, and wow, what a journey of
(10:10):
learning it was. So yeah, he's special. He's special for sure.
Speaker 4 (10:15):
And how has that appreciation of that challenge impacted you
as a dog trainer today when you're meeting people that
might have a challenging dog.
Speaker 1 (10:25):
I think it really taught me to open my eyes
and see what was in front of me and to
figure out how to work with it.
Speaker 4 (10:35):
So if you were Webster's Dictionary right now, because you know,
you know a lot, what would you how would what
is your definition of a reactive dog? And I think
even in your book you mentioned, you know, up to
seventy five percent of dogs may show some sort of reactivity.
Mm hmmm, So what is react? What is that?
Speaker 1 (10:56):
A reactive dog is a dog that tends to get
very overstimulated by certain things. It could be dogs, it
could be little kids, it could be people.
Speaker 4 (11:05):
Yeah, you know, it could be squirrels.
Speaker 1 (11:08):
Whatever. They get very overstimulated, they fixate. They may start
barking and lunging, and they can be very difficult to
control and contain.
Speaker 4 (11:20):
And it isn't it a little impossible when a dog
is in the reactive stage, you know, I don't think
that's a time for tree or say it stay.
Speaker 1 (11:30):
Once the dog, Yeah, once the adrenaline goes up and
the dog is in that state, no force, nothing you
can do can stop it. If they get to that point,
you immediately have to remove them from the situation.
Speaker 4 (11:44):
So okay. So that segues into mix. So I don't
want to give away everything in the book because I
want people to buy your book. But it's really good, folks.
You know, you took him to a puppy class and
you started seeing some things.
Speaker 1 (11:59):
So I took him to a class and it was
actually someone that had worked with me for a very
long time, and I was just, you know, caught up
in the excitement. They were so happy for me, and
they were making a big deal and everybody was saying
how cute he.
Speaker 4 (12:15):
Was, How old was Mick at the time.
Speaker 1 (12:17):
He was actually he had just turned ten weeks old.
Speaker 4 (12:20):
Oh wow, okay.
Speaker 1 (12:21):
And so I was really caught up in that excitement,
and I guess that focus on me and how cute
he was, and I wasn't really reading the fact that
he was saying, you know, you're going way too fast here.
This is really overwhelming for me. It's way too much.
So what happened, So, you know, in the beginning, he
you know, kind of listened to me and he would
(12:42):
take treats. And as they started progressing with the socialization
exercise where he had to interact with other people, I
could tell that he would, you know, he refused some treats.
He would give a lot of body signals indicating that
he was stressed. You know, he'd be blinking his eyes
and yawning and you know, and being still and even
you know, had sweaty pop heads, which is a sign
(13:05):
of stress, and you know, and I just kind of
went like, oh, you'll warm up. It's all good. Everybody
thinks he's cute, and everybody thinks this is great. So
I just kind of dismissed it when I shouldn't have.
Speaker 4 (13:19):
Then you were in an agility class and something happened.
Speaker 1 (13:21):
Yep. So now fast forward.
Speaker 4 (13:23):
And it's an indoor agility class, which I also want
to make that distinction.
Speaker 1 (13:27):
Yeah, So fast forward, you know, with some of the
experiences that he had and you know, and some of
the reactivity, and someone came into the class and they
had a super high energy black lab and that caused
Mick to be very stressed and very concerned that that
dog was going to come into his space. So it
(13:49):
took a lot of maneuvering and managing, you know, to
keep that dog out of his space. And then also
he had zero impulse control. I didn't know how to
bring him down once he would get super excited about what.
Speaker 4 (14:05):
Does that mean that the term zero impulse control?
Speaker 1 (14:08):
So basically, you know, so with the reactivity, he would say, oh,
I'm really excited, you know, and then he would start
barking and you know, not listening and just kind of
going crazy, and there was no way for me to
reel him in, and he caused a big ruckus in
the class. The owner got annoyed and said, this is
a problem. You know, we need to contain his barking.
(14:31):
And she said, you know, well, why don't we put
an electronic collar on him?
Speaker 4 (14:35):
Oh, hell to the no.
Speaker 1 (14:37):
And I said, you know, no, you know, I'm not
comfortable with that. You know, I don't think that that
is a good idea. And so she tried to talk
me into it. She explained how it worked, and you know,
let's put this on and this is going to do this,
and I said, no, that I don't want to do that.
And I said, you know what, we'll we'll leave class
and I said, let me work with him some more.
(14:58):
I'm going to work with him really hard to try
to contain his his you know, impulses in his excitement,
and can we come back at the next session. So
I kind of talked her into it. She very reluctantly agreed,
and so when we went back to that first session again,
that was when this black lab was there. And the
(15:19):
first day I had him under control, I had to
be very firm, you know, very corrective with him, let's say,
maybe a little punitive, and he was kind of surprised
because he knew that I never treated him that way.
But he listened to me. But as the class started
progressing in the weeks, it got harder and harder and
(15:41):
harder to control him, and he started the barking, and
then the instructor suggested, well, let's put him in the crate,
you know, while he waits his turn to go on
the floor, which was a bad idea because he wasn't
used to that, so it brought his stress up. And
when it was our turn, he started barking and he
wouldn't listen to me, and he jumped up at me,
(16:03):
and his tooth caught me right here on this delicate
part of your skin, and I started.
Speaker 4 (16:09):
Gushing under the chin.
Speaker 1 (16:10):
Okay, yeah, right under the chin here. And I mean everybody,
I remember, they just gasped in horror. Conary is kind
of near there, right yeah, And I mean, I mean
everybody was just like horrified that I had this horribly
aggressive dog. And we left and we were kicked out,
but it didn't matter because at that point the light
(16:32):
bulb went on and you know, I said to myself,
I can't control this boy. I need help, all right.
Speaker 4 (16:39):
So we're speaking with Laura Christensen. She is a professional
dog trainer, actually National Dog Trainer of the Year from
twenty twenty five, and she wrote a new book called
Loving Mick, My Reactive Dog. We're going to continue this
after we take this quick break, so sit, stay, we'll
be right.
Speaker 3 (16:56):
Back time for a walk on the red carpet.
Speaker 2 (17:02):
Of course, oh behave.
Speaker 3 (17:04):
Will be backing up lash right after these messages.
Speaker 2 (17:09):
We wear fur and we're damn proud of it. What
ends our four legs and our tail and we can
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too proud of that. Sniff around, Ben, Mike your spot
right here. Pet Life Radio, Let's talk pets, Let's talk past,
(17:31):
Let's done, pet Headline.
Speaker 3 (17:33):
Radio, Ptlight Radio dot Com. All right, this is Brandon McMillan,
hosts of Lucky Dog on ABS, and I want to
invite you all to listen to Arden Moore.
Speaker 2 (17:43):
On the O Behave Show on Petlight Radio. Truck me
when I say, good, good.
Speaker 3 (17:49):
Go on, we're back from the lot. Just check the paper.
And we had our record showing at the box, the
letterbox that is now back to.
Speaker 2 (18:00):
Here's aardy, Welcome back to.
Speaker 4 (18:02):
The obih Show on tet Life Radio. On our show
today is a remarkable woman named Laura Christensen. You in
the southern California area, Carlsbad, San Diego area, check her out.
Gotta if you have a dog. She knows how to
train dogs. And what I think this book is telling
us all Laura, is that you had this beautiful dog
(18:24):
you loved and there's so many lessons that you learned
from Mix's short life, right, yes, yes, and let's let
the cat out of the bag. You actually approached me
and said, you want to write a book. So why
would you want to write a book about a situation
like this rather than a pat on the back about
(18:46):
how many great dogs you've trained.
Speaker 1 (18:48):
You know, Yeah, it was a book that needed to
be written. Number one, to honor Mix. Number two, to
honor everyone else that has a reactive dog, and to
do my best to help them with that because it
is so so common and I see people making all
of the mistakes that I made with Mick. They will
(19:11):
keep taking their dog into a situation that causes them stress,
and they just keep doing it over and over and over,
hoping for a different result. But what actually happens is
the dog becomes worse, the becavior becomes more ingrained, and
(19:31):
so there is a way to not get to that point.
Speaker 4 (19:35):
Well, in your book, you do tell the story of Mick,
but you also have a whole section on tips for people,
and you also have some advice for people who have
none reactive dogs. Meeting a reactive dog, Can you share
a tip about that? Because they have this perfect dog
who's easy going and a person has another dog that
(19:58):
is reactive, but what can you share?
Speaker 1 (20:00):
Yeah, just even if you have a friendly, outgoing dog,
please do not assume that everyone else has a friendly,
outgoing dog. You do need to be respectful of space.
You wouldn't go up to a stranger, you know, and hey,
how are you doing, and get into their space and
give them you know, you go on Facebook friend or not? Yeah,
hopefully not. So it's the same thing with dogs. You
(20:21):
need to be respectful. Just because your dog wants to
go and say hi, doesn't mean that they should. They
should be calm, they should be in control. If you
do want them to meet another dog, ask the owner
if it's okay.
Speaker 4 (20:35):
Yes, politeness never goes out of style. Yes, it so.
You having your book on page fifty seven, I know
you haven't memorized it, but you say, how do you
teach your dog to have a little self control? Especially
dogs that might be reactive?
Speaker 1 (20:52):
So I think people always reinforce their dogs for excitement,
and it's hard. You know, they come home and the
dogs jumping hi.
Speaker 4 (21:00):
You know, Oh he's so cute.
Speaker 1 (21:02):
Oh he just wants to say hi. Oh you know,
I don't want to stop him. I don't want to,
you know, spike his personality, you know, et cetera. So
it's teaching the dog to be calm and polite. And
you can do that all around with your interactions. Let's
wait before you get your food, Let's wait before you
step out the door. Let's wait before I put your
(21:24):
leash on. Good, wait before I throw the toy. Any
kind of a situation that you can think of, just
request calm and wait until it happens, and then reinforce
that behavior.
Speaker 4 (21:38):
I like it.
Speaker 1 (21:38):
Yeah, that gets reinforced tents to start repeating itself.
Speaker 2 (21:41):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (21:42):
I have ConA and Ema, my two dogs, and they
get rewarded for having doggy manners at dinner. They have
to sit, stay and then the bulls down. They look
at me and then I say, calmly okay, and then
they go eat away from each other. So there's no stress.
But yeah, I think doggy manners ever goes out of style?
Does it? Never?
Speaker 1 (22:02):
Never?
Speaker 4 (22:03):
So with Mick, you mentioned that there are some mental
and emotional factors involving reactivity in dogs. I know it's
a science that hasn't been completely solved, but can you
talk about that we could make a dog reactive.
Speaker 1 (22:19):
You know they always talk about nature versus nurture. Yeah,
I always think that it's you know, it's always both.
Dumb dogs just have a predisposition to view something as stressful.
And when they view something as stressful and the owner
doesn't see it and they keep kind of putting them
into that situation, the dog will usually almost always give cues,
(22:41):
this is too much. I'm uncomfortable, just like Mip did,
and they keep pushing it and insisting on it. Next thing,
you know, the dog will say, okay, well I've been
trying to tell you and you're not listening. I need
to do something else. So reactivity and of itself, it's
not a positive trait, but it's not aggression.
Speaker 4 (23:02):
Yeah, explain that. What does that mean?
Speaker 1 (23:04):
So it's not aggression, it actually is they're doing a favor.
They're saying I'm uncomfortable. I'm telling you please give me space,
please stay away. And if that's not respected and other
dogs keep getting the dog reactive dog will say, all right,
they're just not getting the message. Now I got to
go to plan B, which can become aggression.
Speaker 4 (23:27):
Gotcha, Well, I'm trained as a fear free speaker, and
you know fas fear, anxiety, stress, And I've been taught
that you know a dog, you approach not feeling comfortable
about the approach can freeze, fidget, flee, or fight. Right,
it sounds like us humans, we only have two legs
and two eyeballs, Laura. It sounds like we need to
(23:49):
pay stop and start paying attention to our dogs more.
In dog people situations, it seems like we don't. We
kind of just go blah blah blah blah blah.
Speaker 1 (23:58):
Yeah, we need to see. I think that I can
compare it to just any kind of a task that
you do, where it's like if you take the time
to see it to do it right, you have a
good result. And most of the time we're just going
so fast and we miss it because the cues are
always there, we just missed them.
Speaker 4 (24:20):
So you see people walking their dogs. I try my
best to have ConA and Emma kind of walk with me,
but then I let them go to sniff because I
know it's important. But I never put them on one
of those retractable leashes. Right, Please tell me I'm being
a good girl, Arden, good girl.
Speaker 1 (24:38):
Yes, you are being a very good girl. Retract the
leashes can be a hazard. So that's not to say
you have a regular six foot leash that you cannot
you can't allow your dog to sniff and have a
good time. But here's the compromise. My dog can heal,
which means being right at my left side and paying attention,
sit when I do, et cetera, et cetera. And then
(25:00):
there's the loose leash walking. Can't say that fast. The
loose leash walking basically saying you can go to the
end of the leash and sniff as long as there
is nothing more than mild tension on the leash. If
you go to yank me, oh, we have to go,
(25:21):
oh no, we're going to kind of do a little
circle and resets good.
Speaker 4 (25:25):
Yes, instead of hel I always say to ConA and
Emma walk nicely, yes, And they walk nicely and during
the walk now, I always have a bag of treats.
But you know, every once in a while they look
back at me like is it treat time? And I
ignore it. And then when you're not looking, I'll say, hey, sit,
and they sit, they look at me, and then I
(25:45):
reach in to get them a treat. Why is it
so important that timing sequence versus showing the treat and
then saying sit.
Speaker 1 (25:53):
You want a dog to do a behavior first, and
then you tell them they're right, and then you reward it.
And that's so different. I mean, I'll never forget. It
was the first time that Spice was off lesi in
a you know, safe appropriate area. She got way ahead
of me and all of a sudden she turned and
looked at me and I went, yeah, amazing, and she
(26:13):
looked at you, Oh yeah, I meant to do that,
so mark good behaviors. Yes, and she's like, this was
my idea and it's been her idea ever since.
Speaker 4 (26:23):
Now this is going to make me cry, but I'm
not as enough as you, I'm sure. But I love
your dedication in your book, Loving Mick, my reactive Dog.
You're right in the dedication. You actually dedicate this book
to Mick, and you say, to my beloved Mick, I
wouldn't change a thing. You inspired me to be a
better person and trainer. I don't think a day goes
(26:45):
by where you don't think of Meck, but talk about that.
Speaker 1 (26:48):
Absolutely not. So you know, he's always in my heart
and the lessons that he taught me, it was all
for a reason. If I didn't experience. Any of that,
I wouldn't have been able to figure out, you know,
how to help him and therefore figure out how to
help other people.
Speaker 4 (27:06):
So when did the book come out?
Speaker 1 (27:09):
The book actually came out, Oh, probably about.
Speaker 4 (27:11):
Six weeks ago. Okay, So talk about how it's been
since you've now added the title author.
Speaker 1 (27:17):
You know what, I think that right after I won
the National Dog Trainer of the Year, I was honestly,
I knew deep inside that I had a talent and
I was good. But it caused other people to acknowledge that,
you know, maybe some people that might not have initially.
And I think that I've always had you know, good respect,
(27:38):
you know, since that, But with this now it's like, wow,
you know, this is somebody that I want to bring
my dog and I want to work with her and
I want to train my dog. And so, you know,
people look to me now even more than they did.
Speaker 4 (27:53):
Well, you know why, because don't we learn from our
disappointments and our setbacks better than if if you were
miss Laura Christensen, ai dog trainer. I don't think I
would want you as my dog trainer. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (28:06):
And I started with a dog lifting his leg and
front of my ears. So you know, it's like that
humbled me. So every time that I, you know, look
at someone and are not doing the right thing, I just,
you know, think to myself, you need to be patient.
Speaker 4 (28:21):
You started there, that's right. What is something that dogs
have taught you to be a better two legger?
Speaker 1 (28:27):
Just to really see and to accept they are who
they are. They were born a certain way and the
experiences that they had created the behavioral template, and you
need to see that. You need to accept them for
who they are and treat them how they need to
be treated, for their temperament and their experiences. Really, just
(28:50):
like people completely parallels. You can't tease them. They're not
going to be the way you want them to be
or you had.
Speaker 4 (28:56):
Hoped or yeah. Well, I mean I feel like if
I come back as a dog, I'm going to be
a goofy Labrador retriever. What would the breed be for you?
And why? And I'm hoping, I don't know if it's
going to be that certain breed you'd love or your
own personality. What would be your dog breeding? Why?
Speaker 1 (29:14):
Well, I guess no one's ever asked me that question.
I know that when I actually took a quiz online
it labeled me as a Chihuahua. I don't think that
is the case, but yeah, I think I would probably
be a Belgian.
Speaker 4 (29:29):
Okay, I think so.
Speaker 1 (29:30):
I think that our personalities are pretty the same, pretty
much the same, so I would be a Belgian.
Speaker 4 (29:36):
Yeah, how again, can people learn more about you, Laura Christensen?
Speaker 1 (29:40):
They can go to my website. It's the letter K
the number nine l r NG dot com.
Speaker 4 (29:50):
K nine learning but in a fun way.
Speaker 1 (29:53):
And the book is also available where on Amazon. They
can purchase it on Amazon, or if they attend my classes,
they can purchase.
Speaker 4 (30:02):
It for me and get your pod graph. Yes, all right, Well,
we are so delighted to have you on the show.
You were taking on a tough topic and you presented
it with honesty and I do appreciate it. I miss you.
You're a good person. It's hot here in Dallas.
Speaker 1 (30:20):
That's what I had.
Speaker 4 (30:21):
I still reinforce my girls some of the things that
I learned from you, So thank you for that. Hey,
at this time, pet Pals, that's it for our show today.
I want again get big thanks to our very very
special guest National Dog Trainer of the Year get her book.
Loving Mick. She is Laura Christensen. Big thanks to all
(30:41):
of you tuning in. Shout out to my producer, Mark Winter.
He is the producer of all the shows on Pet
Life Radio and humbly this show you are listening to
right now has been on the air since oh seven.
We are the longest running weekly pet podcast on the
planet and I did that without popping my piece. So
want to learn more about me, please go to ardenmore
(31:04):
dot com, check out my YouTube channel, and my passion
is safety and so please go to Pet First Aid
for you or I teach veterinary approved courses in a fun,
practical way with Petsafety Dog ConA and be ready for
it Pet Safety Cat Casey. So until next time, this
(31:25):
is your flea free host Ardenmore delivering just two words
to all you two three and four layers out there, all.
Speaker 3 (31:33):
Behavior coast to coast that are around the world.
Speaker 2 (31:36):
It's all behaved with art and more.
Speaker 3 (31:38):
Find out why cats and dogs do the things they do,
and you get the latest buzz from Wagging Tongues and
Tails and rent ten tinsel Town. From famous pet experts
and best selling authors to television and movie stars. You'll
get great tail wagging pet tips and have a fur
flying fun time. All behave with America's pet edutainer Ardmore
every week on demand only on petlive radio dot com
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