Welcome 2025 Bark Commanders
While it is mostly returning members this year, we did have a few folks “graduate” to no longer needing me every month who have dropped back down to the Academy program, there are a few new members this year! Including folks who had previously been in the program and have come back with new dogs! Regardless of whether you are new or are returning let me say thank you for being here and want to let you know how much I appreciate you all. This program is a little different for everybody here! Some are just starting out on their training plans with many goals and long lists of things to work on, and some are further along on the journey looking for continued support.
So, you get to make this what you wish it to be.
Monthly counseling sessions for those working on training plans, seeking reassurance and feedback on those plans. Discussing what’s working and what is not to troubleshoot adjustments along the way
Help staying organized and motivated. Maybe you want me to help you create training plans, or guide you as you make your own
Accountability, maybe you are like me and you just need a coach looking at you to provide a bit of a push to get practicing
Maybe you are overwhelmed and need someone who can listen and help you navigate the more challenge aspects of dog behavior modification
Maybe you want to send videos for me to provide feedback on your training techniques
Perhaps you just like talking about dogs with someone who will listen all you want 😂
Before we meet for our one on one zoom think about what you want this year’s program to be for you so we can talk about how to make that happen.
If you have not yet scheduled a zoom, use the link on the homepage for booking appointments.
If you do not see something that works for you please let me know!!! We can talk schedules and find you a spot that will work if you don’t see one offered that works.
You can either choose to book month to month picking the times and days that best work for you using the scheduler, or we can set a monthly meeting for the same day/time each week. Just let me know when we meet if you want to claim that day & time, or we can talk about finding a different day/time that works for you. Obviously if we set a schedule we can always adjust months if needed as the year goes along.
If you can’t make a meeting that month, they don’t roll over. That being said if it’s a one time deal and you really need it, just message me, I’m a pretty reasonable person.
If you can’t make a meeting: use the link the scheduler gives you to “reschedule” a meeting and pick a new day and time if it is more than a 24hr notice. If you are inside 24hrs it won’t let you reschedule. I do appreciate a message either on IG, FB or via email to let me know you can’t make it so I don’t sit in front of my computer waiting.
To Facebook or not to
I have been working hard to get less and less of the program on FB, that being said the private community options it offers is still hard to find an easier way to make that work so I have kept it.
I strongly suggest you join the regular Academy FB page as that’s where most conversations take place.
Bark Commanders FB group is just for members to post homework videos they want feedback on, and to keep all of their videos and questions in one place.
You can also choose not to use FB and use email and youtube playlists to send me homework videos. That can work one of two ways:
you can email me the playlists the day before your monthly meeting and I’ll watch and then we can discuss during the meeting.
you can screen share during the meeting and show me the videos real time for us to discuss.
I post regular blogs and send out emails to keep everyone updated so even if you choose not to FB you won’t be left out of what is happening.
Use the support groups to stay connected! If you want to, but the times/days don’t work for you, let me know and we can look at options of switching them. Let me know during our first meeting if you want to so we can talk schedules.
TIPS for making the most out of the program:
I’ve been doing this for a few years now and here is what I can say:
If you don’t set a monthly meeting, be sure to add a reminder to your phone/calendar that reminds you to book your session, it’s so easy to forget!!
Focus on YOUR needs, not on the group and what everyone else is posting about. It’s really fun to seek motivation on the FB groups, but also, most of those of you that join this program have more specific things you are working on. Trying to keep up with everything can be overwhelming and lead to burnout. And what’s that saying “comparison is the thief of joy”.
Goal setting is not about making lists that feel intimidating or risk feeling failure, they are a basic roadmap to help you decide where you want to go so we can set a plan to work on getting there. They can be as loose and vague as you want or as detailed and specific, it is what works best for how you motivate!
3’s. In my experience people who focus on a small list of 3 or less specific things at a time do a better job of hitting those marks than those that have no plans or those that have too many plans. Each time you tick something off that list of 3 you add another. Why 3? It helps us have: something new that’s fun and motivating to work on, something in the hard to stay motivated stage of not yet quite there, and something that’s getting there so you see progress but needs more practice. When we have too many things going on it can affect how well we complete behaviors that are still in flux. But what if we have so many big goals and we want to work on more at a time? Divide them by day and rotate- so you work these 3 things mon-thurs-sun, then these 3 things tues-fri-mon, these 3 things weds, sat, tues and so on. Doing too much can create that: can do a lot of things kind of ok vs being able to do a few things really well.
LESS IS MORE!!!! Seriously, if you just do one thing each day for 2 minutes, you will make so much progress as those days add up. When we set up lofty lists we can burn ourselves and our dogs out. It is absolutely OK to do more, it really is, if you both enjoy it, but if doing more makes you feel pressure and it’s not something you find fun you will quit and do nothing and if it stresses you out you will send that to your dog with your impatience.
Do what makes you feel good!
Those who do regular live zooms really enjoy them, keep in mind you can keep your camera turned off the whole time if you want to, so no pressure to perform in front of others.
Many people don’t ever attend a zoom and make so much progress working the courses on the website
Some bark commanders just use the website as reference when I suggest a specific exercise and we personally cater the program to what you need to focus on
Many in the program have made friendships using the FB groups or the live support groups to connect
