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Foundation Skills

Basic dog training skills like sit, stay, recall, loose-leash walking, leave it, and settling on a mat can make everyday life with your dog easier and more enjoyable.

Does this sound familiar: “My dog is stubborn.” or “My dog never listens to me.”

Would a polite wait at a doorway be helpful?

How about a “sit” that doesn’t just last a few seconds, and then the dog pops back up?

Imagine sending your dog to their bed and having them stay while chillin' out!

Is recalling your dog a nightmare? It doesn’t have to be.

  • Settle on a mat

  • Door manners

  • Recall

  • Leash manners

  • Leave it/take it

  • Stay

  • Jumping

  • and more!

Help Starts Here
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Building a Connection

Do you think of your dog as "stubborn," "lazy," or one that "doesn’t listen"? All dogs can learn, but knowing how to start is key. We’ll help strengthen the bond between you and your dog so those words disappear.

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More than Basic Manners

It’s a myth that you can't teach an old dog new tricks. We’ve never found a dog who doesn’t want to learn. But knowing how to motivate and communicate is a skill. We develop a custom plan that helps you fill in the gaps of foundation skills and polite manners so you can move on to better things, like loving and playing with your dog.

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Loose Leash Walking

Do you feel your shoulder and knees get the worst of your dog’s walks? We get it! Whether your dog has always been a puller or your new adult dog just missed out on learning, we are here to put some joy back into walks with your dog.

Testimonials

★★★★★

Basically, Mariah is never allowed to leave us! We are busy professionals, but we still wanted to add a dog to our busy lives. We travel all the time and want a friendly dog that can do well in lots of busy environments. We not only got lucky with a great puppy but Mariah has taken care of all the puppy training and socialization. We can easily take our dog to a restaurant or our kid’s soccer games, and the dog is well-mannered and chilled out. Mariah helped give us the dog we knew we wanted but didn’t have time to train. But, again, she’s not allowed to leave us. We love her, and our dog is obsessed with her.

— Ginger’s Humans – Ashland, OR

★★★★★

Mariah did all our puppy training and is now helping us through our boxer’s teens (lord help us!). I thought we were done with training, but when Braxton turned 15 months, I thought I might have to re-home him. He was literally bouncing off the walls, barking at every little sound, and starting to cause issues with my neighbors. We called Mariah back out, and she quickly got us back on track. Thank goodness we now know what our Braxton needs, and I have my sanity back.

— Braxton’s Humans – Phoenix, OR

★★★★★

A friend referred me to Mariah. WOW! Mariah doesn’t just teach dogs; she’s a great teacher for humans. I knew I had a lot to learn since it had been 20+ years since my last puppy. Mariah came to our house every week with so many fun things for our little Billy to play and learn from. Mariah is so well organized and provided a written training plan that we used each week in our training sessions. She was also reachable between sessions when chewing became a huge issue. I felt like Mariah was with me through the whole puppy time.

— Billy’s Humans- Ashland, OR

★★★★★

We were feeling overwhelmed with our new puppy but you helped us learn how to develop management tools that immediately changed things for the better. We’re better able to meet our puppy’s needs and in turn we’re seeing much less T-Rex puppy monsters. We can’t thank you enough.

— Angela & Mike

★★★★★

Mariah is such a great trainer to work with! She is so patient and nice and has so many good ideas to help with our dog! I would recommend her to anyone!

— Gus’s Humans – Colorado

★★★★★

Thanks to you I don’t have to go running down my street yelling at my dog with him fully ignoring me. It’s been a game changer! Winston now waits at the door like a good boy. My knees, neighbors, dog, and I, all thank you.

— L&P

★★★★★

I’ve hired other trainers in the past but never felt like I learned anything helpful. This time, I did a lot of research when looking to hire a new trainer. I found Mariah on the Karen Pryor Academy website. What a difference an education makes! She’s the first trainer I’ve met who knows what she’s talking about, and it shows in the way she worked with me and my family and dogs. I highly recommend hiring Mariah for your training needs.

— Central Point, OR

★★★★★

If you just got a dog, you need to make one call: The Joy of Wagging. Just save yourself the headaches and start off on the right foot. You won’t be sorry. Call Mariah.

— Charlie’s Human – Jacksonville, OR

★★★★★

I not only learned the basics of training my dog, but after adopting from a rescue, I now feel truly bonded to my new dog. Mariah added so many fun team-building training games, which made the experience so rewarding for both of us. Thank you.

— Peanut’s Human – Ashland, OR

★★★★★

We adopted our pit mix from the local animal shelter. We were provided with Mariah’s information for training. After doing our best to manage his barking at every living thing outside the house (and sometimes not living things like sticks and leaves), we called The Joy of Wagging. We knew we needed help. Mariah helped us put together a management strategy and training plan that immediately helped improve Hank’s non-stop barking. We have a ways to go, but knowing we rescued a shelter dog who we now know how to train is all thanks to Mariah. I can’t recommend her enough.

— Hank’s Humans – Medford, OR

How It Works

Getting Started

We start every training plan with a free 20-minute discovery call, followed by a paid one-hour consultation.

Individualized Solutions

After choosing your training objective, you can select between private coaching sessions and day training sessions.

Let's Train!

Once you receive your customized training program you're ready to schedule your first training sessions!

Talk With a Trainer

Increase the value of your rewards.

Shop our selection of high value training treats and reward treats today.

There’s a saying by the famous trainer Ken Ramirez: “Advanced dog training is just the foundation skills done really well.”  I love this because all skills start at the beginning and grow from there. Whether you want a simpler everyday life with your dog or you want to dream bigger, it all begins with foundation skills.

Book your discovery call today and start living the life you want with your dog!

Let’s Make a Game Plan