DogFit Dallas- Dog Behavior

🎄✨ Hi… my name is Kirby. ✨🎄

I’m the best girl with the shortest spine (it’s called short spine syndrome), but don’t worry — it doesn’t slow me down one bit. I’ve been with since I was just a puppy, and for the last 3 years they’ve loved me, cared for me, and believed in me.

Right now, I’m being fostered by , and while I’m so grateful for them, what I want more than anything is a place to call home. That’s my Christmas wish this year. 🎁🤍

A little about me:
🐾 I’m about 3–4 years old
🐾 Crate trained & potty trained
🐾 I walk nicely on leash
🐾 I love other dogs — especially the happy, playful ones — and I politely give older dogs their space
🐾 I’m great with kids
🐾 I LOVE toys (like… really love them — all of them 😄)

My foster people tell me I’m a very good girl. So sometimes I wonder… why haven’t I been adopted yet? Maybe my person just hasn’t seen me yet.

If you think we might be meant for each other, please reach out to and fill out an application to meet me. I’d love nothing more than that.

And if you can’t adopt, would you share my story near and far? Surely my forever home is out there somewhere — I might just need a little help finding it.

Love,
Kirby 🐾🤍

🐾✨

We get it, when you start your training journey, things can feel pretty overwhelming. Your trainer will tell you about all the things to do differently and sometimes that can feel like a lot. If that is the case for you, don’t let it get to you. It’s normal. We do our best to give you a game plan that will rewire your entire relationship with your dog, and that may entail a lot of different things. If it feels like a lot of change, start with one thing. Example - focus on thresholds. And do that diligently every day. Or, if one of your things is to keep the dog off the furniture, for example, work on that with the help of place work. Don’t try to change everything all at once if it feels like a lot. Master one thing and then add on to it. Think of an ABC - you master step A first, then you add B because in combination with A because you already mastered A, so it becomes an AB. And so on. Break it down into more digestible parts, and you will soon notice that one step leads to another and so on. And, if you focus on that one thing, you’re already redoing a big chunk of the work because your dog will notice your commitment to it. So, start small, grow tall. 😊

Just yesterday, we met with a new client who had a very timid dog. We sat with the dog, no pushing, no reaching, no forcing. Didn’t even look at the dog. The dog came over and got curious. The owner said, “She never warms up to people that quickly.”

This is not about ego. This is not a post about “look at me, look what I can do”. No, it’s about service. We want to help the dog overcome their fear. You can’t do that with ego. What we do is we see what’s possible for the dog. We picture it. And we observe. And we communicate, without words or any grand actions, that we’re a safe space. We show them that we can be trusted when they’re ready. And the dog notices. And then they want to be around that safety net. And then they start asking for more. They tell us that they’re ready to move on as long as we’re going to guide them. That’s the beauty of working with timid and fearful dogs.

After that, it becomes about being a guide/coach/mentor - whatever you want to call it - to the owner. Oftentimes the owner wants to help the dog so badly but they just don’t know how. So we loosen the jar for them. We show them the potential we see. We show them that the dog is ready to move on. Then we coach them through the process so they can do the same. And then their relationship flourishes and takes on a whole other level.

But again, you can’t do this with ego. You can’t have an agenda. Because it’s not about you. You meet the dog where they’re at. You show them that you’re ready to move on and they can join you. And more often than not, they will.