Is your puppy already home, or are you bringing home an older pup? Start uncovering the potential of your new best friend. All with kind methods, for you and your wild wiry little puppy.
How Does Foundations Plus+ Work?
__________Assessment & Immediate Plan
Week 1
Our first meeting is 1-1.5 hours via Zoom where we will look at your dog’s history, your needs and lifestyle. We will catch up and get started with an immediate plan that gets you on the best track forward for terrier puppy raising, taking into consideration that you will be also waiting on new supplies and troubleshooting to accomodate this. The Assessment & Immediate Plan will put you in a wonderful position to begin the Foundations portion of the program!
A Month of Foundations Coaching
Weeks 2-5
Next we will continue to meet weekly for 45 minute meetings on a regular day/time via Zoom. This month will include following up on the progress of your initial plan, working on terrier specific remedial socialization, and starting Terrier Specific Foundations.
What Will We Accomplish in Foundations Plus+?
In Foundations Plus+ you will learn fantastic new routines that work for your specific lifestyle, troubleshooting, how to communicate with and respond to your dog effectively, how to better your dog’s individual well-being in profound ways, and we will address challenges and critical terrier-specific foundations.
No Prior Tech Experienced Needed
All you need is WiFi and a computer, tablet, or smartphone.
Fun Fun Fun!
Gone are the days of stressful group classes where your terrier is wildly distracted, or where you seek private help and are met with judgement. In this program you will feel supported and you will see your terrier transform into a more confident, relaxed, and focused dog who relishes working with you.
24/7 Support During Your Program
During this 5-week program you will be able to text message and email me any questions that you have about any and all aspects of your dog’s life. You will be encouraged to send videos for review. I am on your team and known for my supportive detailed approach. I will also work with your veterinarian if helpful.
Will I Need More Coaching?
After this program, those that are all set proceed onward and keep me updated, and those who are really excited about their progress and want to fast track to a higher level can request more coaching. Every case has different challenges and you will feel empowered to make this choice for yourself. Subsequent coaching is $547 per month.
Concerning Challenges?
Common puppyhood challenges include house training issues, puppy nipping, poor recall, stealing “contraband” and parading around the house with it, trouble settling at quiet times, and difficulty getting your terrier’s attention and keeping their focus. If your challenges involve a bite history, resource guarding, safety concerns with children and/or other pets, or any other concerning challenges, please apply here:
What Alumni Think of Foundations PLUS+
Our dog, Meghan, was impossible to walk. She was wild. I could not go half a block. She is a pleasure to be with now. She has responded to Emma’s techniques very well. She would not respond to traditional methods.
To anyone thinking about working with Emma I say JUST DO IT
Training sessions with Emma are enjoyable. She addresses our specific concerns and issues rather than just a standard list of topics. Emma let’s us set the pace with our questions and needs. Emma has helped with training, feeding, housebreaking, and keeping both Stella and our furniture safe.
I had some doubts about online training, but it has been very easy. We can watch Emma demonstrate with Miles and then Emma can watch us work with Stella.
I think we have more respect for how hard Puck is working and trying to learn and please us. It feels more natural for us to focus on good behavior than focusing on “no” and negative reinforcement. He is so smart, and Emma’s training has helped us see that!
We think this is a great investment in helping us all live together happily!
Frequently Asked Questions
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Why should I invest in coached foundations for my terrier?
Why does Foundations Plus+ cost more than Puppy Foundations?
Is your puppy already home?
Once your puppy comes home, they are learning in every single second. My puppy programs work through very targeted “training” sessions that you will do with your puppy for around 5-10 minutes a day… But, the bulk of the work and thought actually relate to your daily routines, and getting you set up for success and relief! If your puppy is already home and you are feeling a little overwhelmed, Foundations Plus+ is the right fit for you. It begins with a much longer meeting where we can back track a bit, come up with temporary solutions while you wait for your new recommended supplies, and we can make sure that you are on the right path forward.
Is your puppy over 4 months old?
Puppyhood is a precious time for terriers. Once your puppy is more than 4-5 months old, they will be past the socialization period. The socialization period is critical for terriers, not just because it is such a wonderful time for accelerated learning, but also because it is the age where clever little terrier puppies will very rapidly establish routines and associations. Rapid development of set behavior patterns can be a blessing, or a curse! Terrier puppies raised with routines that might work for a more classic “companion” type of dog can develop behavior challenges very rapidly. Maladaptive behaviors can escalate quickly in terriers and become quite challenging long before a dog is even a year old. It is not uncommon to be feeling overwhelmed very early on. If you are feeling overwhelmed, it is because strong and complex patterns have already been established, and it will take some careful organization and troubleshooting to unravel established behaviors.
A more intensive program
The Foundations Plus+ program is more intensive because we are no longer working from a preventive perspective. We will be regrouping in a major way. In Foundations Plus+, I will spend some valuable early time with you in the Assessment to really figure out what is currently going on, so that I can develop a plan to troubleshoot and address immediate concerns as efficiently as possible. I get it, you need relief and you need it yesterday. In the following month of coached sessions, your program will also include extra Q&A, and additional weekly notes and documentation.
My puppy/dog will be older than 4 months, but I don't have him/her yet. Is this program the right fit for us?
The first meeting is a 1.5 – 2 hour scheduled meeting via Zoom where we will look at your soon-to-be puppy or dog’s history, age, and we will talk about your lifestyle. We will look at the type of environment in which the dog was raised and develop a plan that will included all aspects of their new life with you: appropriate and important socialization plans, carefully set-up home environment and early routines, and more. Within 48 hours of our meeting you will receive a detailed 5-10 page plan that you can begin working on immediately.
My dog and/or I have had negative experiences with training before. Why should we work with you?
My approach is data and science-based, and is based overwhelmingly on positive reinforcement for dogs AND people. If you or the dog are stressed when you are trying to take in new information, you won’t be learning optimally. I want the best possible experience and outcome for everyone involved. Methods and routines should feel approachable and comfortable – and most of all, flexible! If something isn’t working, it isn’t because someone is “bad” or “wrong,” it is because we need to adjust things and fine-tune. Given that I work with very “creative” terriers, adjusting and fine-tuning routines to the individual at hand is my passion and speciality! I always start every meeting with, “How are things going? Do you have any questions?” This allows me to prioritize what YOUR foundation needs truly are.
To get more of a sense of my coaching method, I recommend that you check out the client story videos that are peppered around this website. They probably can speak best to what I am like!
Do you work with other breed types of dogs, or mixed-breed dogs?
Any dog with a spirited terrier-style personality is welcome! I love working with rescue dogs with unknown genetic lineage who are clearly part of the terrier family. I foster tough cases now and then and am a big fan of giving misunderstood dogs a second chance.
I am just one person, so I dedicate my time to terrier types. If I feel your concerns are more general, I will provide you with an expert referral.
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Non-terrier-types are 100% welcome to apply for Terrier Academy Courses or On-Demand programs. Training that is effective for terriers has to be pretty dang rock-solid… For your viewing pleasure, please enjoy the following video of my sister who is a very busy professional with her cats. She only had time for two sessions with me and these are the results for her rescue cats:
Do I need to be technologically savvy?
How do I book live online coaching?
For the Coached Sessions, can we meet at different days/times or with gaps in the schedule?
Foundations Plus+ is all about setting up a strong foundation for a successful present and long-term future for both you and your puppy. For the Coached Sessions portion of the program, is important that you are able to meet once a week with Emma on a set day/time. The good news is, even if your location shifts during the program, meeting virtually is very accomodating for travel or location changes.
Foundations programs are not scheduled where there will be planned gaps outside of the weekly format for the Coached Sessions. The first 4 weeks are absolutely critical. If you foresee that that this sort of scheduling may be challenging, you will still want to apply in advance, but you will want to share what month(s) in your application that would be ideal start times for you.
* Terrier Academy books on holidays, but never on weekends.
What do the online "Coached Session" look like?
About a week or so after we meet for the 1-1.5 hour Assessment and Immediate Plan, we will dive into foundations coaching. Foundations Plus+ includes a month of weekly meetings for the Coached Sessions portion. Each session is 45 minutes long and typically looks like this:
- We check in about how everything is going, and make sure all of the Immediate Plan setup, care, and health stuff is going smoothly. If there are any areas for improvement, we will discuss ways to streamline your routines to suit your pup and your lifestyle.
- I will explain the week’s topics, and run through the homework that is in your Terrier Academy account.
- Usually I will then demonstrate the exercise(s) with my dog Miles so you can see what you will be doing this week.
- Then you get to try! If you aren’t tech-savvy, don’t worry at all. I am a master at online coaching as I have been doing this for over a decade. You will feel supported and relaxed as you try the exercise(s) with your pup.
- I get to watch your dog and observe how they learn and what motivates them, and I can offer really exciting and unique tips and insight as we work together.
- At the end of the session, we check in again to ensure all of your questions are answered.
- After the session, you will have access directly from your Terrier Academy account to course materials, and the ability to text message or email me any and all questions you might have, and to send me video for review if you like.
What happens after I complete Foundations Plus+?
After you complete Foundations Plus+, your terrier will understand how to work with you, you will both learn how to communiucate with each other, and you will both have great socialization and home routines under your belts. At this stage, alumni are amazed at how different their relationship with their terrier is and surprised at learning who their terrier really is! At this stage, you may be inspired based on your success to go to the next level.
Advanced Foundations delves deeper into more advanced skills that you will both retain for life.
After completing Advanced Foundations, the sky really is the limit for what you can achieve with your terrier! Check out Terrier Academy Courses!
Emma is amazing. She is a wonderful trainer with an innate love of terriers. She is also simply a wonderful human. She guided us through the early days of working with our Welsh Terrier puppy. Her holistic system works and prepares you for all of the adventure a terrier pup brings. We learned so much about our pup and ourselves. We had some serious issues to work through and Emma not only assisted us, but also took incredible time and care to listen and hear our concerns. Her care for her clients, human and canine, is extraordinary. Honestly, Terrier Academy & Puppy Foundations, was the best investment!
We adopted a four month old, scruffy terrier-type puppy and immediately knew that he was very smart but also, that he would need solid training. We did a lot of research and mainly found trainers who were either wildly expensive, used inhumane methods, or only offered training basics that our puppy largely already seemed to know, like recognizing his name and sitting on command. I found Emma online and was skeptical of dog training over Zoom, but really appreciated that she focused on terrier specific behaviors and being a team with your dog.
We loved our experience with Emma. It ended up being more expensive than we had anticipated once we got all the supplies, but her methods were a perfect match for our special rescue puppy; virtual training was absolutely right call to build trust and communication with him. We appreciated Emma’s patience, deep knowledge, responsiveness, and engagement when we had tough questions. Now that our puppy has graduated, we have the tools we need to continue to train him ourselves. We would absolutely consider returning for another class with Emma.
For anyone skeptical about taking a rescue puppy to train with Emma when you’re not 100% sure of its breed mix, I would say our experience was overwhelmingly positive even if our puppy didn’t ultimately exhibit every single trait that a terrier might. We recently learned our puppy is half yorkie, half pitbull-lab mix. And he did great training with Emma.
Where to begin! Emma was recommended to us via our amazing Welsh Terrier breeder as an imperative, and puppy foundations is a MUST! My husband and I are busy working people (me a terrier fanatic since birth) and Emma’s support and guidance has allowed us to carve out time to do the crucial training that does wonders for stimulating the mind (both ours and our pup’s!), and creating a balanced relationship with our Welshie. All the supplies Emma recommends are fantastic. We transitioned to the diet pretty quickly after seeing the joy it brought to our furry guy. We’d also like to commend Emma on the conciseness and ease of the homework. Thanks to her, building a connection with our new companion has been a joy. YES to Emma and Miles! 🐾💙✨
Emma changed our lives… Lucy is my third welsh terrier puppy so I felt pretty confident I could handle training on my own and attend a local puppy class as I had done with my first two girls. After 6 months and a local class things were deteriorating. We were calling Lucy “baby shark,” and shoes/socks, feet/legs were constant targets. She was also a jumper, even on stairs. I was covered in bruises and Lucy was getting bolder. She wasn’t just “Lucy” she was “Lucy No” or “Lucy Stop.”
Lucy is the smartest and most curious puppy I’ve ever had so I was particularly upset that I felt we hadn’t bonded. Since she was 12 weeks old, everytime I held her she’d look past me all around to see what she could explore next. I was concerned about Lucy’s behavior, I didn’t want her to hurt herself or someone else, but I also wanted to bond with her as I had done with my first two.
Enter Emma (& Miles)… When I repeatedly reached out to my breeder about Lucy’s behavior she declared “I don’t know what else to tell you. I can only suggest you consult a behavior trainer” and she recommended Emma. I immediately went to Emma’s site, I couldn’t believe there was a terrier specialist! As I went through her site and read through her blog, I saw her relationship with Miles and read about her approach. I knew she “got it”and felt she could help us.
I originally applied for Behavior help but Emma knew we needed to go back to the basics, Foundations Plus, and start again, even at 9 months old. Emma really got us and she was able to help Lucy and me become a team through “everything Emma”… the right supplies, diet, personalized zoom sessions (where we could address issues as they arose), homework, close to 24/7 text availability and personalized care and support. Emma was always there for us in every regard, she cares and understands welsh terriers and how we can too.
This course was a huge financial investment for me, but worth every penny. Family, friends and visitors remark on how much better Lucy is (calmer, cuddler, responsive, etc). While skeptical at first, they now agree this was a wise investment! I can now redirect Lucy when/if she starts to get hyped up, she’s still a welshie after all. The difference is night and day! Do not hesitate to work with Emma, 1-on-1 with Emma over zoom is more valuable than an entire series of an in person group class.
Thank you, Emma, we owe you everything!
Yesterday was the 2 year anniversary of our picking up our boy from his breeders. In this photo he’s checking for squirrels in his favorite hollow tree that we dub Ye Old Squirrel Tree. Thank you again for your help in his training journey. He’s on the way to becoming our best Welsh Terrier ever…and they’ve all been great, wonderful dogs.