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Many owners spend hours teaching sit, stay, and come in a quiet room, then watch the whole thing fall apart the moment the sidewalk, the bike, or the farmers market appears. On Dog Works Radio, Robert and Michele Forto explain why the real test of training is not the backyard; it is the environment where you actually live with the dog. The AKC Urban Canine Good Citizen (CGCU) title is one practical framework for that gap. It asks the dog to ignore food on the sidewalk, cross a street calmly, stay under control around traffic and bicycles, and remain polite in public buildings. Those are not flashy tricks. They are the skills that make a dog safer and easier to include in everyday life, whether you live in downtown Anchorage or just want to walk the trailhead without a meltdown. Key points Foundational commands matter. They count only if they hold up when distractions are real. The Urban CGC builds on the standard Canine Good Citizen and takes those behaviors into sidewalks, traffic, crowds, and public buildings. To earn the official CGCU title, a dog must already hold a CGC certificate and pass the urban exercises. The title is not a service-dog or therapy-dog certification. Alaska dogs face the same challenges: busy parking lots, trailheads, farmers' markets, airports, veterinary clinics, and pet-friendly stores. A dog that is perfect in the training building but ignores you outside hasn't finished the learning process. Proofing closes the gap. Confidence is built by gradual, guided exposure, not by avoiding the hard environments. This episode's question Can your dog ignore food on the sidewalk, stay calm when a bicycle passes, and cross a street without pulling—or does the training still live only in the backyard? Other Episodes You Will Love ·     How to Get the Best Results out of Dog Training  Support the Show This episode was recorded on the Shure SM7B and a Rodecaster Pro II Like this episode? Share it with your dog training friends! Love this episode? Say thanks in true dog training podcasting style by leaving a review. FREE! Grab our 7-Day Real-World Dog Training Plan Take our Understanding Drive Behaviors quiz to see exactly what drive your dog is in and how to begin to train for it. Join the On-Air Dog Training Coaching waitlist for a chance to be coached on the air by Dr. Robert or Michele Forto and get your dog training questions answered in real time. Sign up now for 20% off our Group Coaching Program and learn how to build the best possible relationship with your dog. Take your dog training to the next level with our Peak Performance membership. Follow Dog Works Radio for more dog training tips: Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn   ©2009-2026 by Dog Works Training Company® All Rights Reserved.

Your dog doesn't need to greet everyone who knocks. On The Daily Dog, Nicole Forto walks through threshold manners—the door, the doorbell, and the routine that keeps the dog out of the chaos before Halloween visitors arrive. Yelling "no" while the dog loses its mind at the front door is not a training plan. Nicole shows how to give the dog a clear job (a settle spot away from the doorway), practice it when the house is quiet, then raise the difficulty so the routine still holds when the doorbell actually rings. Key points A threshold is any transition point: front door, gate, doorway. The dog needs clear expectations there, not hope. Charging the door, barking at the delivery person, or rushing an open doorway are patterns that paid off. Change the pattern. Give the dog a job. Every time the doorbell rings or someone knocks, the next step is the same: go to the settle spot and stay there while you handle the door. Build the skill with no distractions first. Then add the sound of a knock or doorbell from a phone. Then practice while you walk toward the door and open it. A settle in a quiet living room is not the same skill as a settle when a costumed stranger is on the porch. Context matters. Do not use Halloween night as the training experiment, especially if the dog has a history of fear or aggression around strangers. Training and management work together. Introduce decorations and costume pieces calmly, in small doses. Reward observation and calm. Do not force interaction. The same skills make ordinary days better: deliveries, visitors, open doors. This episode's question Does your dog actually know what to do when somebody comes to the door, or have you just been hoping they will figure it out? Other Episodes You Will Love ·     How to Get the Best Results out of Dog Training  Support the Show This episode was recorded on the Shure SM7B and a Rodecaster Pro II Like this episode? Share it with your dog training friends! Love this episode? Say thanks in true dog training podcasting style by leaving a review. FREE! Grab our 7-Day Real-World Dog Training Plan Take our Understanding Drive Behaviors quiz to see exactly what drive your dog is in and how to begin to train for it. Join the On-Air Dog Training Coaching waitlist for a chance to be coached on the air by Dr. Robert or Michele Forto and get your dog training questions answered in real time. Sign up now for 20% off our Group Coaching Program and learn how to build the best possible relationship with your dog. Take your dog training to the next level with our Peak Performance membership. Follow Dog Works Radio for more dog training tips: Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn   ©2009-2026 by Dog Works Training Company® All Rights Reserved.

Iseult is a Seppala Siberian husky who does not live in one box. On The Daily Dog, Nicole Forto tells the story of a calm sled-dog leader who also visits elementary schools, races campers, bikejores, and keeps the mouse patrol on high alert. Iseult was raised by dog trainers who work with therapy and service dogs and also keep sled dogs. She became the clear example of a dual-purpose dog: focused and composed on the line, affectionate and playful with kids, and serious about her unofficial security detail. Key points  - Leadership on a sled team is not always the loudest dog. Sometimes the calm one sets the tone.  - A dual-purpose dog can excel at serious work and still be the one who demands coconut-scented hugs.  - School visits and therapy work use the same reliability that makes her steady on the trail. - Adventure Dog Club work (bikejoring, obstacle courses, camp) gives her jobs that use her natural drive. - Mouse Patrol is the playful side of a dog who was built to notice movement and investigate. - Working dogs were not designed only to exist in the house. Giving them real jobs produces better dogs and better stories. This episode's question: What job or adventure could your dog actually do that would use the abilities they already have? Credits  The Daily Dog with Nicole Forto. Dog Works Radio is a First Paw Media production, sponsored by Alaska Dog Works.   Other Episodes You Will Love ·     How to Get the Best Results out of Dog Training  Support the Show This episode was recorded on the Shure SM7B and a Rodecaster Pro II Like this episode? Share it with your dog training friends! Love this episode? Say thanks in true dog training podcasting style by leaving a review. FREE! Grab our 7-Day Real-World Dog Training Plan Take our Understanding Drive Behaviors quiz to see exactly what drive your dog is in and how to begin to train for it. Join the On-Air Dog Training Coaching waitlist for a chance to be coached on the air by Dr. Robert or Michele Forto and get your dog training questions answered in real time. Sign up now for 20% off our Group Coaching Program and learn how to build the best possible relationship with your dog. Take your dog training to the next level with our Peak Performance membership. Follow Dog Works Radio for more dog training tips: Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn   ©2009-2026 by Dog Works Training Company® All Rights Reserved.

Your dogs mostly get along, until one of them ends up with stitches. On Dog Works Radio, Michele Forto explains why the dog who "starts it" is usually responding to a quiet signal the other dogs have been sending for days. If you have more than one dog and you keep thinking, "If we just fixed that one, the house would settle," this episode is for you. Michele breaks down the triangle: the manager dog who doesn't always growl, the independent dog who pushes back, and why both humans have to see the same picture before teaching any new command. Key points In a house with three dogs, the hierarchy is a triangle, not a straight line. It shifts when a dog joins or leaves. One dog usually manages space, who gets close to people, the best bed, the food bowl. The manager often does it with body blocks, stares, or a lowered head that the owners have stopped noticing. The second dog usually goes along. The third, often more independent, refuses and pushes back. Fights often start with the third dog, but the manager often makes the first move by saying, "Not right now." Breed is information, not an excuse. Traditional Alaskan huskies are often pack- and people-oriented and, once rules are clear, food-motivated. Karelian Bear Dogs and certain Laikas are bred to work at a distance and make their own decisions. You do not convince them by repeating the cue louder. Late neutering (after the dog has already learned patterns) can change the individual dog while the other dogs still treat him as the old version. That mismatch can look like random aggression. The first step in an in-home session is not a new sit. It is watching who moves when people enter, who steps between the others, and what happens when attention lands on one dog. Both adults must use the same words, interrupt the same way, and reward the same behaviors so the dogs stop testing which person is easier. For the manager dog, people now make the access decisions. For the independent dog, find what actually motivates her and make the rules clear so cooperation is a choice, not a surrender. For the older dog, give clear ways to leave so he does not have to choose between fighting and freezing. This episode's weekly action Choose a time when your dogs are together, and you are not rushed. Watch them for five minutes without saying anything. Who moves first when you open the door? Who stands between the other two? Who gives a look that says enough without making a sound? Write it down. Do not try to fix anything yet. Other Episodes You Will Love ·     How to Get the Best Results out of Dog Training  Support the Show This episode was recorded on the Shure SM7B and a Rodecaster Pro II Like this episode? Share it with your dog training friends! Love this episode? Say thanks in true dog training podcasting style by leaving a review. FREE! Grab our 7-Day Real-World Dog Training Plan Take our Understanding Drive Behaviors quiz to see exactly what drive your dog is in and how to begin to train for it. Join the On-Air Dog Training Coaching waitlist for a chance to be coached on the air by Dr. Robert or Michele Forto and get your dog training questions answered in real time. Sign up now for 20% off our Group Coaching Program and learn how to build the best possible relationship with your dog. Take your dog training to the next level with our Peak Performance membership. Follow Dog Works Radio for more dog training tips: Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn   ©2009-2026 by Dog Works Training Company® All Rights Reserved.

Leash pulling is one of the top issues families already try to fix with new harnesses, YouTube videos, and classes. On Dog Works Radio, Robert and Michele Forto explain why a dog that walks perfectly for twenty minutes indoors falls apart on the Coastal Trail or in a Wasilla parking lot, and why the gap gets dangerous once the sidewalks turn to ice. The walk only continues when the leash is slack. If the leash is tight, you stop. No speech, no negotiation. Timing matters more than the collar. Practice the same short route every day while the ground is still dry so the habit is already in place when the dark, icy walks of November and January arrive. Key points - Pulling works for the dog because it gets them to the next smell faster. When the leash is tight, following keeps the cycle going. - Proper equipment can help you manage the walk. It does not teach the dog how to walk. - Three practical rules: the walk continues only on a slack leash; timing (hands, feet, when you start moving again) is the owner's job; practice in the places you actually walk. - A dog that walks perfectly after a long hike is usually just tired. That doesn't carry over to a short, dark Tuesday night walk. - Start now. Two short practices beat one long struggle in the driveway. Choose one daily route. - Real examples from Anchorage/Valley clients and from work with volunteers at Rebel Rescue in South Korea show the same principle: build the routine before the hard environment. This episode's question If your dog is dragging you to the mailbox today, what happens when that same pull happens on ice in the dark? Weekly action Choose one route you walk every day. Every time the leash gets tight, stop. When it loosens, go. Keep the sessions short. Start while the ground is dry. Other Episodes You Will Love ·     How to Get the Best Results out of Dog Training  Support the Show This episode was recorded on the Shure SM7B and a Rodecaster Pro II Like this episode? Share it with your dog training friends! Love this episode? Say thanks in true dog training podcasting style by leaving a review. FREE! Grab our 7-Day Real-World Dog Training Plan Take our Understanding Drive Behaviors quiz to see exactly what drive your dog is in and how to begin to train for it. Join the On-Air Dog Training Coaching waitlist for a chance to be coached on the air by Dr. Robert or Michele Forto and get your dog training questions answered in real time. Sign up now for 20% off our Group Coaching Program and learn how to build the best possible relationship with your dog. Take your dog training to the next level with our Peak Performance membership. Follow Dog Works Radio for more dog training tips: Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn   ©2009-2026 by Dog Works Training Company® All Rights Reserved.

In this episode of Dog Works Radio, Robert Forto talks with Joe Dickinson, founder of Western States K9 College in Utah. They cover leash reactivity, the reality of putting dogs in social situations, a tough Airedale case, board-and-train vs. private lessons, and the big question: what actually makes someone a professional dog trainer in an unregulated industry?

Leash pulling is one of the top issues families already try to fix with new harnesses, YouTube videos, and classes. On Dog Works Radio, Robert and Michele Forto explain why a dog that walks perfectly for twenty minutes indoors falls apart on the Coastal Trail or in a Wasilla parking lot, and why the gap gets dangerous once the sidewalks turn to ice.

Your dog is solid at home and falls apart outside. Robert and Michele Forto on why backyard training is only the start, and what real-world reliability looks like.

Your dog is not plotting against you.  On this episode of The Daily Dog, Nicole Forto draws the line most owners miss: understanding a behavior is not the same as tolerating it. Jumping, leash pulling, counter surfing, and a stolen sock are not revenge. They are patterns that paid off. Nicole walks through the third option between "he's disrespecting me" and "he's just being a dog": teach the behavior you want, set the boundary, and follow through every time. Key points Disrespect is a human word. Dogs learn by what happens next. The useful question is not "why is he defying me?" It is "what is he getting out of this?" A growl is communication. Take it seriously. Do not punish the signal and leave the situation in place. A boundary is not a punishment. It is the rule of the house, and it only exists if it holds when you are tired. Repeating come, or swapping in "come here" and "come on, buddy," teaches the dog the first word does not count. Official cue: COME. Release is BREAK. A solid sit in the living room is not a solid sit at the trailhead. That is a training gap, not stubbornness. You can have expectations without being angry. This episode's question Before you say "my dog is disrespecting me," ask: does my dog actually understand what I am asking, in this place, right now? Other Episodes You Will Love ·     How to Get the Best Results out of Dog Training  Support the Show This episode was recorded on the Shure SM7B and a Rodecaster Pro II Like this episode? Share it with your dog training friends! Love this episode? Say thanks in true dog training podcasting style by leaving a review. FREE! Grab our 7-Day Real-World Dog Training Plan Take our Understanding Drive Behaviors quiz to see exactly what drive your dog is in and how to begin to train for it. Join the On-Air Dog Training Coaching waitlist for a chance to be coached on the air by Dr. Robert or Michele Forto and get your dog training questions answered in real time. Sign up now for 20% off our Group Coaching Program and learn how to build the best relationship possible for your dog. Take your dog training to the next level by enrolling in our Peak Performance membership. Follow Dog Works Radio for more dog training tips: Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn   ©2009-2026 by Dog Works Training Company® All Rights Reserved.

You know something needs to change with your dog. Maybe walks have become a wrestling match, guests get jumped on at the door, or your dog knows "come" until something more interesting appears. But what actually happens when you contact a professional dog trainer? In this episode of Dog Works Radio, Michele Forto explains what a strategy call with Alaska Dog Works is and, just as importantly, what it isn't. A strategy call isn't a sales pitch or a free training lesson. It's a focused conversation about what is happening with your dog right now, what your family wants to change, and what needs to happen next.  Michele also explains why everyone involved in the training decision should be part of the conversation. When one person wants change but another hasn't heard the same information, training can stall before it even begins. The goal is to get the household working from the same plan and move from talking about the problem to actually addressing it.  If you've been wondering whether it's time to talk with a professional dog trainer, this episode will help you understand what to expect before scheduling that first call. What is a strategy call? Other Episodes You Will Love ·     How to Get the Best Results out of Dog Training  Support the Show This episode was recorded on the Shure SM7B and a Rodecaster Pro II Like this episode? Share it with your dog training friends! Love this episode? Say thanks in true dog training podcasting style by leaving a review. FREE! Grab our 7-Day Real-World Dog Training Plan Take our Understanding Drive Behaviors quiz to see exactly what drive your dog is in and how to begin to train for it. Join the On-Air Dog Training Coaching waitlist for a chance to be coached on the air by Dr. Robert or Michele Forto and get your dog training questions answered in real time. Sign up now for 20% off our Group Coaching Program and learn how to build the best relationship possible for your dog. Take your dog training to the next level by enrolling in our Peak Performance membership. Follow Dog Works Radio for more dog training tips: Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn   ©2009-2026 by Dog Works Training Company® All Rights Reserved.

What do you do with a dog that seems completely untrainable? You give a command and get nothing. You offer treats, and the dog does not care. Toys do not work. Praise does not work. Eventually, you start wondering whether the dog simply cannot be trained. In this episode of Dog Works Radio, Nicole Forto challenges that assumption. Some dogs are confused or distracted. Others have learned that if they ignore their owner long enough, the owner eventually gives up. And then there are genuinely difficult dogs that are highly independent, defensive, reactive, or willing to make their own decisions.  The conversation becomes even more important when those decisions create a safety problem. If a dog has a history of biting people or other dogs, owners cannot simply continue allowing unrestricted interactions and hope the next encounter goes better. Management, boundaries, and controlled access become part of responsible training.  Nicole also explores what happens when food is not motivating. Treats, toys, and praise can all be useful training tools, but they are not the only things a dog values. Movement, sniffing, freedom, exploring, interaction, and access to the environment can become meaningful parts of training. Other Episodes You Will Love ·     How to Get the Best Results out of Dog Training  Support the Show This episode was recorded on the Shure SM7B and a Rodecaster Pro II Like this episode? Share it with your dog training friends! Love this episode? Say thanks in true dog training podcasting style by leaving a review. FREE! Grab our 7-Day Real-World Dog Training Plan Take our Understanding Drive Behaviors quiz to see exactly what drive your dog is in and how to begin to train for it. Join the On-Air Dog Training Coaching waitlist for a chance to be coached on the air by Dr. Robert or Michele Forto and get your dog training questions answered in real time. Sign up now for 20% off our Group Coaching Program and learn how to build the best relationship possible for your dog. Take your dog training to the next level by enrolling in our Peak Performance membership. Follow Dog Works Radio for more dog training tips: Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn   ©2009-2026 by Dog Works Training Company® All Rights Reserved.

If the person whose name is on the van disappeared for thirty days, what would actually break at your shop? Not the website. The eval. The hard dog. The refund. Saturday. Michele Forto is solo on this episode of Dog Works Radio. She talks to owners of family-run dog training businesses in rural and mid-size markets, private lessons, group class, board-and-train, service and therapy work, where family is on the books and the founder is still the bottleneck. Get the handout at https://dogworksradio.com/handoff In this episode Why a thin local list is not the real ceiling Drive time, seasons, and word of mouth as operating rules The four stalls: eval, hard case, refund, Saturday exception Family system vs. training floor in the same building Criteria, consequences, consistency—for the dog and the next trainer The one page to write if someone left for four days Free worksheet The 30-Day Handoff (two pages): dogworksradio.com/handoff Connect Podcast: https://dogworksradio.com Training: https://alaskadogworks.com Worksheet: https://dogworksradio.com/handoff Other Episodes You Will Love ·     How to Get the Best Results out of Dog Training  Support the Show This episode was recorded on the Shure SM7B and a Rodecaster Pro II Like this episode? Share it with your dog training friends! Love this episode? Say thanks in true dog training podcasting style by leaving a review. FREE! Grab our 7-Day Real-World Dog Training Plan Take our Understanding Drive Behaviors quiz to see exactly what drive your dog is in and how to begin to train for it. Join the On-Air Dog Training Coaching waitlist for a chance to be coached on the air by Dr. Robert or Michele Forto and get your dog training questions answered in real time. Sign up now for 20% off our Group Coaching Program and learn how to build the best relationship possible for your dog. Take your dog training to the next level by enrolling in our Peak Performance membership. Follow Dog Works Radio for more dog training tips: Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn   ©2009-2026 by Dog Works Training Company® All Rights Reserved.

What happens when decades of law enforcement experience, a career working with police K9s, and an interest in officer wellness come together? On this episode of Dog Works Radio, Robert Forto talks with Dr. Coby Webb, a retired captain with the Riverside County Sheriff's Department who spent much of her 28-and-a-half-year law enforcement career working with dogs. Her experience included patrol dogs, bloodhounds, detection dogs, and supervising a canine unit that included 26 dogs. Coby shares what life is really like as a police K9 handler, how different breeds are selected for different jobs, and why the relationship between a handler and working dog extends far beyond a normal shift. She also tells the story of launching a bloodhound program and explains why training dogs in the environments where they will actually work matters. The conversation then turns to her work with Guide Dogs of the Desert and an unexpected idea that began when a dog trained for guide work simply did not enjoy being a guide dog. Coby brought the dog into her workplace as a pilot program and discovered how much of an effect he had on employees dealing with demanding, stressful work. That idea grew, and Coby says she has now placed more than 70 dogs across the United States. Robert and Coby also discuss her work imprinting dogs on the odor associated with cortisol so they can gravitate toward people experiencing stress without performing a conspicuous formal alert. The goal is to give the handler a chance to start a conversation while keeping the dog engaged with the person. Other Episodes You Will Love ·     How to Get the Best Results out of Dog Training  Support the Show This episode was recorded on the Shure SM7B and a Rodecaster Pro II Like this episode? Share it with your dog training friends! Love this episode? Say thanks in true dog training podcasting style by leaving a review. FREE! Grab our 7-Day Real-World Dog Training Plan Take our Understanding Drive Behaviors quiz to see exactly what drive your dog is in and how to begin to train for it. Join the On-Air Dog Training Coaching waitlist for a chance to be coached on the air by Dr. Robert or Michele Forto and get your dog training questions answered in real time. Sign up now for 20% off our Group Coaching Program and learn how to build the best relationship possible for your dog. Take your dog training to the next level by enrolling in our Peak Performance membership. Follow Dog Works Radio for more dog training tips: Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn   ©2009-2026 by Dog Works Training Company® All Rights Reserved.

Your dog sits perfectly in class, walks nicely when the trainer is nearby, and seems to know exactly what you want. Then you get home and everything falls apart. That does not necessarily mean your dog forgot the training. It may mean the training was never built to survive real life. In this episode of Dog Works Radio, Michele Forto from Alaska Dog Works explains why dogs often learn the environment surrounding a behavior instead of developing a skill they can perform anywhere. Sitting quietly inside a training facility is very different from responding when a runner appears on a trail, a visitor knocks at the door, or a moose catches your dog's attention. Michele also explains why training the owner matters just as much as training the dog. At Alaska Dog Works, the goal is not a dog that performs beautifully for an hour in class. It is a dog and owner who can take those skills into walks, doorways, trails, public spaces, winter conditions, and everyday Alaska life. Other Episodes You Will Love ·     How to Get the Best Results out of Dog Training  Support the Show This episode was recorded on the Shure SM7B and a Rodecaster Pro II Like this episode? Share it with your dog training friends! Love this episode? Say thanks in true dog training podcasting style by leaving a review. FREE! Grab our 7-Day Real-World Dog Training Plan Take our Understanding Drive Behaviors quiz to see exactly what drive your dog is in and how to begin to train for it. Join the On-Air Dog Training Coaching waitlist for a chance to be coached on the air by Dr. Robert or Michele Forto and get your dog training questions answered in real time. Sign up now for 20% off our Group Coaching Program and learn how to build the best relationship possible for your dog. Take your dog training to the next level by enrolling in our Peak Performance membership. Follow Dog Works Radio for more dog training tips: Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn   ©2009-2026 by Dog Works Training Company® All Rights Reserved.

This episode covers dog training fundamentals and how to train a dog so you end up with a reliable dog, not just a dog that sits in the kitchen. Michele Forto shares the dog training philosophy Alaska Dog Works uses after 30+ years: clear communication, structure, and follow-through. If your dog listens at home and falls apart in real life, start here. Listen for: why repeating cues teaches the wrong lesson, why you cannot out-train a bad rehearsal schedule, and the one key to install this week. Companion article: alaskadogworks.com/the-3-keys-to-a-well-trained-dog/ This week's action: pick one key: communication, structure, or follow-through — and keep it consistent for seven days. Questions or ready for a plan? Book a strategy call at alaskadogworks.com. Other Episodes You Will Love ·     How to Get the Best Results out of Dog Training  Support the Show This episode was recorded on the Shure SM7B and a Rodecaster Pro II Like this episode? Share it with your dog training friends! Love this episode? Say thanks in true dog training podcasting style by leaving a review. FREE! Grab our 7-Day Real-World Dog Training Plan Take our Understanding Drive Behaviors quiz to see exactly what drive your dog is in and how to begin to train for it. Join the On-Air Dog Training Coaching waitlist for a chance to be coached on the air by Dr. Robert or Michele Forto and get your dog training questions answered in real time. Sign up now for 20% off our Group Coaching Program and learn how to build the best relationship possible for your dog. Take your dog training to the next level by enrolling in our Peak Performance membership. Follow Dog Works Radio for more dog training tips: Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn   ©2009-2026 by Dog Works Training Company® All Rights Reserved.