Amanda Taulborg

Hi this is Atlas! I took my mom‘s phone and typed this! I’m making my Christmas list and want to know what my friends’ favorite interactive toys are so that I can ask for them from Santa Paws! Have you tried a Kong or a snufflemat? What about a treat despenser? I might want all of those if my mom will get them for me but she said I had to ask my friends first! Thanks, Atlas ❤️🐕‍🦺🎅🏼

New comment 7d ago

Amanda Taulborg

1 like • 7d

@Kenzie Carlson lol love you Atlas potato 🥔

Amanda Taulborg

2 likes • 7d

Great suggestions!! And I always choose size large or extra large, especially with balls and chuck-it’s 🥍

Julie Kelley

10d •

🌍 MISSION 3 VIDS.

Mission 3 Day 14 Saffy - “cone” emersion desensitization

Long story here . . . We learned from watching @Amanda Taulborg to start early with cone desensitization before spay/neuter surgeries. Saffy is scheduled for late Jan so we pulled out some old cone to start working on it. Well we had to jump right in instead. She was running and playing and some how tore up her wrist (carpal?) pad. We got some vet wrap and vet spray and got it wrapped up. Of course she wouldn’t leave that alone so . . . Cone emersion time.🫣. We did some really quick training with sniffing it first, moving to very loosely wrapping it around with treat reward, wrapping a little tighter and then just having to secure it. She was having a hard with her perception and wanting to move around. So this is where the video starts . . . It was meal time and she didn’t want to try to eat out of her bowl either so we did some spot work to help with space awareness , we did some off camera place work with sniffing. After that she showed interest in her bowl, so she got the rest of her food in her bowl!🙂. A little later she got a drink on her own.🤩🥳. One thing she wasn’t doing was laying down, but while typing this she figured that out. (Picture). Certainly not the ideal way to do cone desensitization but she is doing pretty well. Thank you Amanda for ALL of the training and videos that we were able to apply in this very fast paced ‘emergency’ situation!!!!!!! We were so much better prepared to help her adjust vs in the past just having to throw it on and trying to figure what to do to help them. Past experiences and your training helped us be chill about it, which as we have been discussing in the fear posts, helped her. Thank you again!🙏🏻🙏🏻

New comment 7d ago

Mission 3 Day 14 Saffy - “cone” emersion desensitization

Amanda Taulborg

0 likes • 8d

@Kenzie Carlson Totally get why people suggest that — and for some dogs and some households, that works just fine. 😊 For me though, in real life, I usually don’t take the cone off for meals. Honestly, it’s mostly because I always have a million things going on, and once the cone comes off there’s a real chance it doesn’t go back on immediately… which is exactly when dogs sneak in licking the incision. On top of that, dogs need to be able to drink randomly throughout the day, and constantly taking the cone on and off for meals and water just isn’t very realistic for how I live and manage dogs. What I’ve found is that if you do enough desensitization work, they don’t actually need the cone removed. In fact, feeding with the cone on can be a really powerful part of the training — the cone starts predicting good things. If they’re calmly eating their meals, drinking water, and settling with it on, the cone stops being this big scary object and just becomes part of life for that short healing window. So for me, once the cone goes on, it usually stays on until the dog is healed. Some dogs do great with taking it on and off, and that’s totally fine — this is just one of those “know your dog and know yourself” situations 😎

Amanda Taulborg

0 likes • 7d

@Julie Kelley awesome!!! Love everything about this! I also love that she got used to it so quickly and with so many types of positive reinforcement and desensitization training!🙌 Yes I think that sounds like a great plan. Way to go Saffy!!

Tawnya Thomas

10d •

🎯 MISSION1 VIDS

Off leash

I took her off leash at the dentist office but in the video you can see she’s very alert to what’s going on around her. I don’t know if that’s OK or not can you let me know please?

New comment 8d ago

Amanda Taulborg

0 likes • 8d

The biggest thing is that she’s not breaking obedience and that the scenario is safe for her and for the people around her. If she’s in a down-stay, you want to see a relaxed body — no creeping forward, no loading up like she’s about to pop up. If she’s in a heel, you want her actually maintaining that heel position. If there’s ever anticipation of movement, that’s the cue that you need a way to enforce and redirect — calmly and clearly — so she understands, “Nope, we’re staying right here.” That clarity is what keeps everyone safe. At the same time, I think it’s completely fair for dogs to be aware of their environment. Being curious or alert isn’t a problem as long as she’s also checking in with you for guidance. One eye on the world, one eye on her human 🐕‍🦺 Your job in that moment is exactly what you’re already thinking about — praising and reinforcing when she’s relaxed, when she checks in, and when she’s holding that nice down-stay or staying solid in her heel. That tells her, “Yes, this is the right choice.” Some trainers prefer dogs to fully tune everything out in public, others are okay with calm awareness. As long as she’s relaxed, responsive, and making good decisions with you, that’s solid working behavior 💛

Danielle Lavine

12d •

🏆 Wins

Rangers Airport Trip!

I forgot to post this but Ranger did AMAZING on our airport trip on the 30th and he did try to get up on the landing but honestly, I felt the immense pressure on that landing and I knew he was uncomfortable but he went right back down!!! He did also fix himself when we passed another service animal and looked back at them but looked ahead before I realized and said “leave it”, I love how perfect he was.. Enjoy our video!! I absolutely love Ranger and this made me so incredibly proud of him! Again, THANK YOU Amanda for your help leading up to this trip!!

New comment 8d ago

Amanda Taulborg

1 like • 11d

😂🥔 Look at that confident little potato!!! HECK YES!!! 🙌✈️🐾 I love everything about this. The editing, the vibe, the whole story you told with the video — so cool. And Ranger?? Just out here being an absolute professional. That takeoff though… are you kidding me?! He didn’t even try to pop up — just shifted his body to get comfy like, “oh okay, that’s a thing” and carried on with life. YES. You could totally tell the plane was a bit shaky, and that landing was no joke. I loved how tuned in you were to him — you noticed the pressure, knew he was uncomfortable, and gave him immediate, clear guidance. That was very much a “whoa… what just happened?” moment after basically waking up from a nap during landing. You handled it perfectly. Down cue, calm follow-through, and he went right back to business. Also loved the moment passing the other service dog — he noticed, fixed himself, and re-focused before you even had to say anything!!🥳 That’s HUGE. That’s your training paying off. And the mid-flight scratches, the praise, the post-landing love… all of it was just really nice handling. You are SO welcome for the help leading up to this trip — but truly, you did the work. This video is such a great example of what a well-prepared, well-trained dog looks like on a plane and how a handler supports them through it. I’d absolutely love to add this to the educational space so others can see what preparation + teamwork actually looks like in real life. One question for you: was there any tip or piece of prep you found especially helpful that you’d want to share with others flying with their dogs for the first time?

Amanda Taulborg

1 like • 8d

@Danielle Lavine LOVE this advice 🙌👏 Taking your time and letting your dog observe and settle at each stage — check-in, TSA, after TSA, and at the gate — makes such a huge difference. Those environments are all very different, and giving your dog space to process each one sets them up for success. Airports are a lot — for dogs and for humans — especially during the holidays. I always tell people not to plan on rushing anywhere when traveling with a service dog. The calmer and more intentional you are, the easier it is for your dog to stay regulated too. Slow, steady, and prepared goes a long way. This is great real-world handling and excellent advice. Keep up the awesome training — I can’t wait to see you back in class again!! 💛🐾

Tawnya Thomas

13d •

Just Sharing!

At the doctors

So I took my girl to the doctors today and she did absolutely wonderful I’m so proud of her she ignored people calling her and talking to her and I was shocked that i passed by two parents that explained to there kids about service dogs and how important they are while a lady was trying to distract Harley so I looked at the mom and said thank you 😊 you have no idea how many people don’t know how to no talk or look at service dogs lol 😂 but here’s a video of her heeling with out her leash oh mind you she was off leash all day at the doctors I’m so proud of her and she was alerting perfectly to the only thing was is she does walk to slow for me videos, and pictures of her

New comment 8d ago

Amanda Taulborg

0 likes • 11d

🎉🎉 YAYYY!!! That is SO awesome — you should be proud of her!! 🙌🐾 First of all, I love those little check-ins she’s giving you. So attentive, so connected, and just cruising along doing her job like a pro. And omg… the parents explaining service dogs to their kids while another adult was trying to distract her?? 👏👏 That right there made my heart happy. You handled that perfectly, and huge props to those parents — it really does make such a difference when people take the time to educate their kids. Her heeling looks really nice — calm, focused, and engaged with you the whole time. And the alerting being spot-on?? 🔥 Love to hear that. One quick question — and this is purely curiosity, not me fussing at all 😊 — was there a particular reason you had her off-leash at the doctor’s office? I’m guessing you’re really comfortable in that environment and felt good about it, which totally makes sense. She clearly handled it beautifully, and being able to work off-leash like that definitely shows how solid she is. That said, in most public scenarios I personally tend to keep service dogs leashed, mainly for safety — not because I don’t trust the dog, but because I like having something I can grab quickly if a random dog runs up, someone gets too close, or something unexpected pops off. But every situation is different, and I’m curious what your thought process was there. Overall though — fantastic training, super proud moment, and she is just such a cute, good girl 😍🐕‍🦺 Thanks for sharing this — these are the best kinds of updates!

Amanda Taulborg

0 likes • 8d

@Tawnya Thomas I really appreciate you explaining your thought process. You’re being very intentional about when and where you do off-leash work, and that’s exactly how it should be handled. And yes — you already know how chaotic places like Walmart can be, especially with untrained dogs, so being selective and safety-minded is huge. It’s also not uncommon for some dogs to move more freely and confidently without leash pressure, especially when they’re that tuned in to their person. The fact that she was off-leash, ignoring distractions, listening beautifully, and holding her stays and downs speaks volumes about the work you’ve put in. You should absolutely be proud of her — and of yourself. Great job, truly. Thanks for sharing, and keep up the awesome work. She’s such a good girl. 💛

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Amanda Taulborg

@amanda-taulborg-2815

21 yrs professionally training dogs 🐶 | ASA Service Dogs + Cool Dog Skool | Inspiring humans to train, play, & bond with their pups every single day!

Active 22h ago

Joined Jul 3, 2024

Florida