In this episode of the Pet Biz Podcast, I interview Jayson Fogle, the passionate and skilled founder of Focused Dog Training. We dive into Jayson's business, exploring how he helps not just dogs but their owners too. We discuss his wide range of services, including where to start if you need help with your pup and the many behaviors he can address in both puppies and adult dogs. Jayson shares his expert insights on building strong, positive relationships with pets and their owners, highlighting the exceptional customer support he offers. Whether you're a dog owner seeking advice or a pet professional looking for inspiration, this episode is packed with valuable insights and practical tips.

Focused Dog Training serves the Dane County and Madison, Wisconsin areas.

Reach out to Jayson here: https://focuseddogtraining.com/

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Transcript of Podcast:

Lianne Shinton (00:18)

All right, and today we have Jayson Fogle joining us from Focused Dog Training. So we're gonna dive into a little bit here so we can learn more about Focused Dog Training and how it can help you with your pet.

So Jayson welcome. And if you don't mind, tell us a little bit about yourself and what inspired you to specialize in dog training.

Jayson Fogle (00:35)

Thank you.

Well, like a lot of the dog trainers out there in the world today, I got started because I adopted a dog from a rescue and lo and behold, it had issues. And I worked with a trainer here locally in Madison and then decided after a little while, he liked what I did. I've worked with dogs in the past. So I came on board with them, worked for them for a couple of years and then.

I wanted to do things differently. I wanted to offer more services and better customer service. So I decided to go off on my own and nine years later, we're here today.

Lianne Shinton (01:15)

Fantastic. And I love the name Focused Dog Training It speaks to me so well because it's, it says what most of us want in our dog. We want our dog to listen. We want our dog to pay attention, which is focused. How did you land on that name?

Jayson Fogle (01:32)

Everything that I wanted to do when we were finding a name I wanted it to be about attention not only attention from the dog to the handler the owner whatever it might be but also focused on the family that we're working with That's the most important to me I want every single one of my clients to think they are the only client I have because I want to give them that service so we finally found focused and Lo and behold the website was open and I could

get it immediately, we landed on it and we went with it.

Lianne Shinton (02:03)

Fantastic. I love that. It's such a perfect name. And I love that, you know, you really speak to me with my family, with my dog, so that I can appreciate all that extra customer service and, you know, personalization that you would offer not just to my dog, but to my entire family, which could be very different from another family. Maybe they have multiple dogs, maybe they have multiple kids, or it's just a single person, but.

Jayson Fogle (02:16)

Cool.

Lianne Shinton (02:32)

I love that you adjust and personalize to each.

Jayson Fogle (02:36)

Yeah, we have to, and that's one of the biggest things for us is the unparalleled customer service that we provide. I don't care where I'm at in the world. As long as I have a wifi signal, I will respond to any of my clients. So I will respond on vacation, on holidays, anything that I'm doing. It might take me a couple extra minutes, but I want them to know that I am there to help support them and keep moving them forward.

Lianne Shinton (03:01)

And that kind of leads me to my next question, which I think you may have already answered. But what do you believe is the most important quality or skill for a successful dog trainer to possess?

Jayson Fogle (03:12)

Well, that's just it. You know, education is going to be paramount, whether that's classroom, whether that's being mentored, whether it's getting your hands on as many dogs as you can to actually understand dog behavior and ultimately figuring out, listening to your clients and figuring out what they want from their dog and from the training program that they're choosing. But the biggest focus always has to be on the owner. The owner is the one.

Unfortunately, I'm in this boat. I was for years. The owner is the one creating most of the issues. So we have to re -educate them. So customer service lands hard on that one because if I can't change who's on the end of the leash, the dog will only go so far. So we really strive on teaching our clients what and why they're doing and then what.

repercussions or benefits their dogs have from what they're currently doing. Once we get to that point, you know, we just tweak small little things to make the dogs better and better. That to me, the customer service portion and education are what lead dog trainers to be successful or not successful.

Lianne Shinton (04:28)

Awesome. Tell us a little bit about your business, like where you're located, what areas you service.

Jayson Fogle (04:35)

I am in Madison, Wisconsin. I service the Dane County, majority of the county anyway, but I will say this. I have clients in Arizona. I have clients in Key West. I have clients in California. I currently have two clients in Japan. They happen to be local here at the time that we were training and then two of them actually got there in the military. So they got...

their orders to go over to Japan and they are currently over there. So same rules apply. If they have a question, if they have an issue, if they have anything going on, all they have to do is reach out. We'll figure out the time difference. We can zoom call, we can do whatever we need to. But my goal is to help them continue with their dog to have the best quality of life for both of them.

Lianne Shinton (05:24)

Amazing, amazing. I bet you get some middle of the night text messages then if you've got clients in Arizona and clients in Japan. That is amazing. It really shows that you care. I think that's everything I'm hearing so much is that you're like part of their family and that you care so much about them and their success. And it sounds like too dog training just isn't just a quick fix. This is.

almost like a lifetime support, it sounds like you're giving them.

Jayson Fogle (05:54)

I give everyone of my clients lifetime support. They all have my cell phone. They can, you know, through the app, they can message me at any point in time. I usually tell people, hey, if I go to bed, my phone's on the charger. I leave it there. I'm off for the night. And then I will respond first thing in the morning. So that way, again, we can keep you moving forward. The biggest thing is I treat all my clients like family. I want to be their friend. Then the reason being is I'm in their life and...

The goal is going to be, I'm not in their life for a week or two weeks or even a month for doing in -home lessons. I'm there to help them move forward and I'm there if they need me. I want them to feel like that so that way they can reach out with any questions and never feel like, I'm not going to bother them today. No, please do. That's what I'm here for and that's why my business has thrived the way it has and that's why I keep getting the referrals that I do.

I have a dog currently with me, a five month old puppy that is from two hours up north. I've trained both of his cousin's dogs. One lives in Chicago, one lives in Nashville. And ultimately the Nashville one drove nine hours up to drop the dog off, drove nine hours, a couple of weeks later to do that. We just did a follow up with them. They came up to see their mom, brought the dog and we went out to like a beer park where you can actually have like a bar and the dog park.

and we work the dog there as a follow -up. That's what I want. That's what I enjoy doing. I love seeing clients excel and exceed, and then ultimately the life that they have with their dogs is so much better.

Lianne Shinton (07:32)

Yeah. And you're training in the real world too. You're training at an, in an environment where they're going to want to go, but you're there with them to hold their hand in the beginning. I love that. Awesome. And then how do folks get started with you? What should they do? What's that process look like? Do you have like a free consultation?

Jayson Fogle (07:52)

So I will say this, a few years ago, obviously the world changed. My process and my system has also changed with it, but I almost think it's for the better on both sides. So my side as well as the client's side. So if people want to reach out to me, my website's just focuseddogtraining .com. And ultimately we have a free form on there that they can fill out and it will give them some extra information.

With the new system that we have, a lot of my system is automated. So it will help them get a message out quickly. So that way one would respond fast. Now I do offer a free in -home consultation, but the caveat to it is, once somebody contacts me, we kind of go through what their issues are and what their goals are. That's my first and foremost to kind of find the program that's going to best fit their needs.

Once we do that, we give them specific information based on those programs. And then if they're really just still unsure or not quite 100 % on which one's going to work best for them, we set up that consultation. I go out and actually see them meet the dog. And then I can give them a recommendation of what I see currently in the home.

Lianne Shinton (09:07)

Awesome. And, you know, I like that you mentioned that you've evolved, you've changed your processes, you know, as the world changed with COVID and things like that. That's very entrepreneurial to, you know, adjust things to suit the way the world is to suit your clients. And it sounds like you offer a couple different options. So they reach out to you through the website, focusedogtraining .com you said. Okay. And then you could start with maybe the phone and if need be,

Jayson Fogle (09:31)

Correct.

Lianne Shinton (09:36)

You could even come out to the house.

Jayson Fogle (09:39)

Correct. Yeah, once you contact me, my system and myself will both send you some messages. So text and email. And then ultimately from there, we kind of just start a conversation, figuring out what you need. And then we dive into the deeper issues that you're having. And then if we feel like the conversation needs to be in person, we go to the in -home consultation. And most of my clients, truthfully, never make it to that point.

We give them the information from the programs and they're like, no, this is exactly what I want. This is what I was looking for. It, it fits the needs for what we have. They sign up right there and then we just start picking dates for training.

Lianne Shinton (10:08)

I love that.

And I think you may have just answered my next question inadvertently, which was what advice would you give to someone who's considering enrolling their dog in training, but maybe hesitant or unsure and just, just doesn't know how it all works. And it just sounds like I would be very comfortable signing my dog up with you and you care. So that you've kind of already answered, but if you wanted to add to,

Anyone that might be hesitant considering enrolling in dog training, what advice would you give to them?

Jayson Fogle (10:54)

Yeah, this is an easy but a big one. The big part about it is the first piece of advice when you're looking for a trainer, go out and look at reviews. Reviews, reviews, reviews. The dog training world is an unregulated one, meaning anybody can put up that says, hey, I train dogs. I have a website. Here you go. I'm a dog trainer. That does not mean they have the education. That does not mean they have the background or the skill set needed for any particular one dog.

So biggest thing is I tell people all the time, look at the reviews, see what happens, see what they say. Then once you contact a trainer, see how they respond. You know, for me, again, the biggest thing is the customer service point. I try to get in touch with my clients within 10 to 15 minutes tops of them actually contacting me. The great news is my system will contact them to help them, but I also personally reach out to make sure that, hey,

I got your email, I got your message, what are you looking for, what's going on? That's the service I want to provide and that's the level of service I want to provide. But when you're looking, look for a reputable trainer. The second thing is what methods are they using? Are you comfortable with those methods? If not, maybe we need to do some education. Maybe we are on the wrong side. So some are very adversive, some are very positive only.

It all depends on what you're looking for, but also being open to other ideas that will best help your dog. Biggest and best part that I tell people all the time, your dog lives in my home. And you send me, you know, like you're sending your dog to me to help train, it lives in my home. It does not live in a facility. It's not left there overnight. It's not unsupervised. Your dog is in my house.

So at any given time, your dog feels like they're at home. So it takes some of the anxiety, the stress away. Typically when most of the people do drop -offs for the boarding trains, they're also coming to my house. So they get to actually see where their dog is staying. It gives them a peace of mind that says, okay, I know where my dog is going to be. House is nice, these kinds of things. So it helps them just be at ease. But that's the big things that I look for when telling somebody why choose a trainer.

One, customer service. Two, education. Three, making sure there's safety and the dog feels at home as much as possible.

Lianne Shinton (13:29)

Fantastic and checking those reviews is a really, really good tip. I know that's how I find restaurants and all sorts of things. So very good advice. And you've touched a little bit now on one of your types of programs. Maybe you could share a little bit more about that board and train aspect, that type of program and what that looks like. Cause I know that there's folks out there that are like, I've never even heard of board and train. That sounds perfect, but let's hear a little bit more about.

maybe that and some of your other programs.

Jayson Fogle (14:01)

Yeah, so I offer two different real styles. It's what helps the majority of my clients and what allows me to continue doing what I'm doing at the level that we're doing it. I offer in -home lessons, which not a lot of people here in the Madison area actually offer. I come out to the house. It's a set series of lessons based on what your needs and what your goals are. But ultimately, I come out to you and I'm training you how to train your dog.

So there the whole family can get involved and everybody's on the same page and moving the dog forward. My goal is to be able to have that dog at the end of the program, to be able to go out in public, do the things you want to do. You want to go to a soccer game? Great, take the dog if it's an opportunity to take the dog. I want them to have that confidence and to be able to do that. My other side is born and trained. Born and trained, I call it boot camp. The reason I call it boot camp is extremely point.

On point to say basically your dog is coming into an area that it doesn't understand doesn't know where it's at where it's going and my job is to let that dog decompress for a little bit but then start building a relationship with them just like it would be anywhere else I'm going to build that relationship build their trust in me and then once we're kind of there we really start the process your dog's going to work morning noon evening nights it's going to be

In suburbia, I live in suburbia, so ultimately there's every distraction that you could possibly be. That's my whole goal is I can train the dog where the dog would normally be. My backyard, I have a bike path directly behind it. Ultimately, that's great. A lot of dogs like to bark at other things walking behind the fence when they see it at home. Great, we get to fix that while they're here. It's a extreme hands -on approach.

But it teaches the dog new skills. That's my goal. I tell everybody just because you send your dog to a born and trained program and I don't care how long that program is, your dog is not trained. Your dog is in training. So after the program is done, and I have four different sizes for people to choose from based again on goals and what they want. But ultimately,

While their dog is with us, we're working on as many skills as possible to help that dog succeed in the everyday world. Biggest thing again is customer service, updating our clients. We update about every other day with pictures, videos. I have my system actually send out things while their dog is with us. So that way when the dog comes home, mom and dad already have a jumpstart on understanding what they need to be changing, what they need to be doing.

when they should be doing commands, how they should be doing commands, so they're not just left with, hey, here's your dog, hope you have a good life. They're set up for success, and then with the follow -ups that we do after camp, that helps them immensely just get their dog into the greatest possible spot that they can.

Lianne Shinton (17:05)

Awesome. So the private lessons sound like a fit for somebody that wants to maybe take more of an active role in the training because they're going to have more homework maybe to do, but that bootcamp is very attractive because a professional is laying down that foundation with the dog. But then you also get that great phase two where you're working with the client to transfer that training to the client.

Jayson Fogle (17:31)

Correct.

Lianne Shinton (17:33)

And what advice could you give to someone who's thinking, I want to send my dog to Jayson for the bootcamp. How can I prepare my dog so that it's an easy, comfortable transition to you? So it makes it a little easier for you, more comfortable for the dog for those first few days when you're building that relationship.

Jayson Fogle (17:54)

The most part that I tell people when they're like, well, I don't know what to expect. What can I do to help? The hardest part I tell people, I'm like, don't do anything. Literally don't do anything. Don't do anything different than you're doing right now. And the reason being is if you're changing for, let's just say, I typically book out about six to seven weeks out. And if they're changing their lifestyle or doing something different with the dog for the next six or so weeks before they come to us, something's going to be different.

There's going to be different changes in the dog because they're seeing different pictures, those kind of things. I want them to be as normal as possible. I do have some clients that we do get some, I'll say bite cases. I've got a dog coming in about 12 days that has been a few people and he's a bigger dog. The one thing I told them to work on muzzle training. So that way, again, when the dog comes to me, at least we can have safety for the first 24 hours that.

Hey, the dog comes in, it's un -muzzled, if it tries, you know, it's going to be anxious, it's going to be, it's a different environment. But once we take that dog away from mom and dad, typically that dog kind of goes, they're not here. Who are you? And then they typically just relax and let go. Decompression time that we give them, as well as just kind of sitting with dogs like that, taking them for a walk, walking around the backyard, just tends to ease that stress and that anxiety. But for the most part, I tell people,

don't change anything, don't do anything different. Just prepare the things that, you know, we sent out an email and a text saying, hey, prepare these things for your dog to come to camp. But I really tell them, don't change anything, don't do anything. Because again, I want the dog to be as normal as possible when we see it, so that way we can fix some of the major issues that they're having.

Lianne Shinton (19:45)

Outstanding. And you mentioned there's some homework tutorials that can help folks along with that are included with your training.

Jayson Fogle (19:54)

Yeah, I send out a lot of videos. Some are just me talking, just like this today. Just me talking to them, basically setting them up for what they should be doing when the dog comes home. Training is a lifetime aspect for the dog and for the people. It's just the dog has learned some new skills. Now you're going to apply them in your everyday life. One of my core values is get brilliant with the basics.

If you can get brilliant with the basics, I mean a good sit, stay, down, stay, a nice place command for a lot of dogs with impulse issues, walking in a nice loose leash, you can do anything you want with your dog. And I try to tell my clients all the time, that's all you have to ever do with your dog. If you get brilliant with the basics, you can do anything you want. Over my shoulder over here, you'll actually see one of my dogs. I tell everyone of my clients, I'm like,

they come out to a baseball game, he is a bat dog. So he goes out and fetches the bats when the guys get on base and stuff like that, the baseball games. He places in the dugout. So ultimately he's just on a spot for anybody who doesn't know place. It's just get out an object and stay on it. He does that when he is off work, meaning that the other team is batting and he's not going to do anything for a while. It's just a send out.

So all I'm doing is I'm sending him to go get a bat and I've taught him bats are the absolute best thing in the world. So he loves them. He doesn't care because of the dog he is. He doesn't care about the crowd, doesn't care about the umpire in full gear and baseball players and stuff like that. He just wants the bat. So it's a fetch command and a recall. He's put all that together, but because we were brilliant with the basics in the beginning, he can do all that. There's no reason.

Not one of my clients can't do things like that with their dogs. Whether it's going out on a boat in the middle of summer, whether it's going up to cabins, whatever it be and having the dogs be off leash, but understanding boundaries, understanding that they can't bark at every little thing or chase every little animal they see. Those kind of things, if you can get really good with the basics, you can do in no time at all. It's just the consistency behind it.

and then holding your dog accountable to the expectations you have on him. And that's my job to my clients.

Lianne Shinton (22:15)

Outstanding. One of the things as you spoke about your dog, I can tell you just are so proud and you just love that dog.

Jayson Fogle (22:21)

No. He, you know, I had this opportunity. It was presented to me. And at the time I had just lost my, I will say my soulmate dog, the dog that would do everything for me anytime, anywhere. I call him my Everest. I put every trick in the book into that dog. I wanted to teach him everything in the world. And he was a great dog.

At the time I didn't have a dog and when I got the call and said, Hey, are you interested? And I'm like, I need to go get a dog. So I went actually out, found a reputable breeder, got the dog that I wanted temperament wise. I needed him to be good with animals. I needed him to be fantastic with people. So I got him in a 12 week old puppy, started working with him, fetching things. So that way, again, he thought it was the greatest thing in the world.

By six months, he was fetching bats. And at 16 months, he went out on his first game and got his first bat for real. And he's been on almost every news channel here locally. And it just makes you proud. I love being able to say that he's my dog, because I am very, just like a dad, I'm very proud of the accomplishments that he has and the things that he still gets to do. But even more so,

I love watching him do it. He enjoys it so much that it's just amazing to sit back and watch and go, how did I get so lucky? You know, he's that dog.

Lianne Shinton (24:01)

I can tell, yeah. And I've definitely seen him on the news. He is a little celebrity, a local celebrity. That's amazing.

Jayson Fogle (24:08)

yeah.

Lianne Shinton (24:11)

So we've talked a little bit about your programs and about Maverick and a lot of these great positives. Maybe you could talk a little bit more about some of the common problems your clients ask for help with their dogs, house breaking, running away. You'd mentioned some dogs come to you with a bit of a bite history. So maybe some of the nuisance behaviors that are maybe driving folks crazy with their dog and they need your help with.

Jayson Fogle (24:40)

Yeah, a lot of my clients come to me and under no fault of their own. They come to us because they're asking for help and I want to be there to help them. My job is to educate them on what they've been doing that supports or changes their dog's behaviors. But I get a lot of just the nuisance behaviors. if I open the door, the dog is going to run outside and take off. We start to teach them a boundary control where the dog actually won't do that.

they pull in the leash. They're a horror to walk. They do this. They do that. But a lot of it's just like the nuisance, everyday life problems that you would normally see when you walk into someone's house. The dog runs over, it's barking, it's jumping on people. It's just being obnoxious and people are embarrassed by it. And truthfully, there's no reason to be embarrassed. We can help you. We can fix that. And it's not as hard as you think. But the biggest thing again is I'm going to teach the dog what to do in those moments.

But even more so I'm going to teach the human what they should be doing in those moments and how to help their dog. And once they're consistent a little while, just like us, we're rebuilding new habits, the behavior changes. And then very quickly they start to see the results, which just like anything else in life, weight loss, anything else that you're needing to work on, the quicker that you see even a small change or benefit, now you can apply that much more effort to it and you start to get better and better.

And again, the goal is happy, healthy puppies.

Lianne Shinton (26:11)

And puppies, what age, if I got a new puppy, what age would you like to see my puppy? What age should I be reaching out to you?

Jayson Fogle (26:21)

So I tell people if you've got a puppy, I don't care how old it is. If it's eight weeks old, 12 weeks old, whatever, we have a puppy program that will actually come to you and work inside your house. Puppies are a little different because it's going to take a lot longer. It's like teaching infants. You're going to work on a couple little things as they are like eight to 10 weeks old. You're going to work on a couple more obedience things, you know, the biting ambitions, the jumping again. What?

People are teaching them to jump, but ultimately changing those aspects when they're young until they're adolescent and then adult. So my puppy program tends to run a couple lessons right away when you get the puppy, great training, potty training, all those kind of fun things, how you should be feeding your dog, how you should be playing with your dog, giving him, this is a huge one, giving your dog rest. Puppies, people don't understand, puppies?

typically need like 18 to 20 hours a day of sleep, just like an infant does. They're growing, the world is open to them, they get overstimulated, they need a rest or there's issues. And then we hit a couple lessons when we're hitting adolescence to help with obedience training, the near sits, your downs, those kinds of goofy things. And then when we hit kind of like that adulthood area, we really hammer home what they're looking for out of their dog.

So that way again, we can just tweak along the way of what they're doing to get, develop the dog, that's a good word, develop the dog that they really wanna use, you know, one half.

Lianne Shinton (27:56)

And I love that you're starting in the home with a young puppy so that you can protect them from, you know, distemper, parvovirus, and all the things that we're vaccinating for until they're completely safe to go out into the world to your home for a boot camp, things like that.

Jayson Fogle (28:10)

yeah.

Yeah, I don't even allow dogs to come into boot camp unless they're over four months old. That way, one, they've had most of their puppy shots. But same point, they're not going to learn as much in boot camp. I can only work with them 10, 15 minutes at a time, but they're not going to retain things very well in a short period of time where it's camp related. Your adult dog can definitely hammer those home. Hey, we can do a thousand sits with you. We can do a thousand downs with you.

With a puppy, I can do a thousand downs, but it's going to remember four. And you go home and you go down. The dog's not going to go, okay, I know what that is. It's going to take some work. So we always try to start with in home as much as we can for puppies because it's more about teaching again, the owner what their behaviors are. I let my puppy sleep in bed and we're having this issue. And I'm like, okay, maybe we need to great train the puppy.

Maybe we need to do this differently. Maybe we need to do that differently to better your results.

Lianne Shinton (29:14)

Great. Okay, my next question. In your opinion, what's some common misconceptions people have about dog training and how do you address them?

Jayson Fogle (29:25)

People a lot of times think that it's hard on the dogs. That, you know, sometimes, and I'm gonna pick straight on one client that I love them to death. They're good friends and we travel a lot together. But unfortunately, love does not conquer all. Just because you love your dog to death does not mean they're going to want to listen and respect you. So for me,

It's really teaching both sides of it. So I want there to be respect with the owner and the handler and the trainer. So ultimately what I'm looking for there is that again, reviews are what they are when you're choosing a trainer. I am a balanced trainer. I tell everybody that I use tools. I use prawn collars. I use e -collars, but I'm not harsh with them. I don't want harshness in the training.

There's a couple locations here in the area that are pressure -based. And you won't know it until you actually sign up and go through it. And that's the unfortunate part. Look at the reviews, find the person that best matches your values. And why are those? So for me, I tell people a lot that, hey, why choose us? Why choose this dog training over this one?

It's because I use positive reinforcement with everything we do. I want your dog to be motivated to want to work with me and ultimately not just, hey, I'm going to do it because you told me to. I want them to do it because they're working with me. We're a common goal. We're working together. We're a team. That's the biggest thing that I will ever tell anybody when choosing a dog trainer is what are your values? What do you see?

I get some people that just simply won't ever tap a button on any collar and therefore I won't push it on them. I won't say, hey, even if your dog needs it, we'll go around. It might take a little bit of extra time, some extra reps, some extra this, some extra that, but ultimately we can go around those things. It's matching the training to the owners and the goals that they're looking for. If that makes sense.

Lianne Shinton (31:43)

Yes, and a big part of a lot of what I'm getting from you is back to that word you mentioned earlier was relationship. You're building a relationship with the dog. So that I think makes a lot of us feel better when we think about different tools that maybe we're a little not sure about, but it seems like the most important thing to you is to build a relationship before you even dive into a lot of the training.

Jayson Fogle (32:10)

It is, and it's both ways. It's with the owners as well as with the dogs. For me, if you start retraining immediately, the dog's not going to respect you in a way. So it's not going to trust you in a way. It doesn't understand you. So just spend some time with the dog. Let it, again, let it decompress. If it's coming in for like a board and train option, let it decompress. It's in a new environment. It doesn't know where it's at, you know, all these goofy things, but dogs adapt so fast. They don't hold the feelings that humans do.

So they adapt really fast to what their surroundings are and they go, all right, cool. I'm the only person that they're gonna engage with immediately. So ultimately when it's up happening is they go, cool. Well, what are you about? I'm about giving you love, treats, toys, pets, praise, going outside, having fun. And then very quickly the dog associates me with those things and goes, I like you. What is it you want from me?

And then the more that we have that relationship and we build, now I can start incorporating doing the commands and the skills that are needed for them to, you know, experience life in the best possible way. Again, teaching them skills that they can go to a soccer game and just do a down stay and just hang out on a blanket or a towel or anything else, or even the grass and just sit calmly while all the commotions going on around them. It all has to start with that relationship.

and then repairing and fixing the relationship between the dog and the owners at home. So that way, again, they have the same expectations. They hold the dog accountable. And I, my job, it's just like a trainer, just for humans, I'm going to hold you accountable to what you need to be doing for your dog to reach your goals. That's my job. To keep pushing you to make sure that you're doing what's best for you and the dog.

So ultimately again, you have the best possible relationship with your dog and you can go anywhere you want.

Lianne Shinton (34:10)

That makes good sense. And I think building the relationship and teaching the behaviors and then expecting and holding them accountable, both on the dog side and the human side. That sounds like a great step -by -step plan. Could you share a heartwarming success story or particular memorable transformation with one of your pup clients?

Jayson Fogle (34:21)

Yeah.

So I have a fantastic story and it's one of my current clients so Heather might not love me sharing it, but that's okay. I met them just last year. I met them in late December and they had a four -month -old cream lab puppy. Now the reason they're reaching out is because they didn't know if they should keep the dog or rehome it or give it back to the breeder. The problems were...

that this dog was physically biting mom on a daily basis. And when I say biting, I mean putting punctures in mom's arms on a daily basis. Not a killer, I don't wanna destroy you, but I'm frustrated and I'm setting boundaries. When I met them, we did in -home training. That's what they wanted, they wanted to learn and they did need to learn. Things got better, but...

I could instantly sense what was happening. This is the person that mom thought love is going to conquer all. If I love the dog, the dog will respect me and love me. And I told them, I'm like, you have a very alpha dog who is correcting mom. And I told mom for her poor behavior. Mom wants to cuddle the dog, baby the dog, over love the dog.

No expectations. I want you just to love me and sit with me on the couch and I will play with you and all these fun things. But as we started to learn, they weren't letting the dog rest. The dog was just constantly out in the house with them all the time. Dog would get up on the couch. They didn't want on the couch. Mom would actually scoop it up and put it on the floor. Well, when she'd scoop it up, the dog could get frustrated and bite her in the mouth or in the chin. So.

The success of this story and the horror story about that is we started instrumenting structure. By structure, what I really mean by this is I ended up telling mom and dad they were going to Key West at the end of January. They spend four months down there because Wisconsin gets a little chilly in January and February, the first part of March. They're going to spend four months down at Key West at their home and they wanted the dog to come down and hopefully be enjoyable.

versus do I get rid of this dog because it's biting. So I finally talked them into letting me have the dog for a boarding train and I ended up having it for just under three weeks. And the great news about this is this dog is remarkable. She loves to learn, she loves structure, she thrives on it. She is one of the most amazing dogs that I will say that I would steal her in a heartbeat and I don't say that about very many dogs.

Fast forward, I'm in their will. If something by happens to chance, they happen to pass, the dog does come to me. And the dog absolutely loves me and we love it. Now the success story of this dog is I knew at the end of 18 days, this dog was going down to Key West. I needed to prepare it for as much as I possibly could. Now with the distance in between, mom's gonna struggle with this dog. I know she's gonna struggle.

We had to use a tool to help mom get over what this was occurring. And it's just one occurrence that mom goes down and tries to play with the dog and then mom leaves and the dog gets angry and goes after mom and will bite her arms. So we used and implemented a tool, e -collar for her. And ultimately, as long as the dog's even wearing the collar, it doesn't even have to be used. The dog does not do this behavior. Mom doesn't long enough. Guess what? Behavior is extinct and no longer happens.

The greatest news about this and the biggest success of this story is that I finally got a hold of them to go, what are their goals? And talking to them, mom was going to fly back from Key West to Wisconsin, drive the dog down to Key West in three days. And I asked them like, why, why don't you just fly her back? And they're like, well, she's a five month old puppy and she can't be, they won't put her in cargo on a plane, which I am a hundred percent agreeing with.

And I talked to him and I'm like, well, you do realize that she flies with me. She can fly in main cabin. Done. So with about 10 days left to go in camp, I had to prepare this dog to actually walk through an airport, get out an airplane, go through another airport, get out another plane and fly her into Key West. And at five months old, you would not have known that this dog was not a service dog. Her behavior was impeccable.

She laid at our feet and mom went with me, but she laid at our feet. I spent a few days down there in Key West with her just to show mom and dad what to be doing and how to do it. And then I got to see them this last week when we did a parade together and they're doing awesome. So the success of that story really lies again on River was a fantastic dog. It's just, and I told mom and dad, it's not the right.

dog for them. She's an alpha dog. She wants to do things. Mom wants the dog that I can just love and just cherish. I'm like, they won't give her back, which is great. This dog is going to have an amazing life. But I had to mirror what they want to what the dog can do. So changing their minds, changing what they're doing was the only way I was going to have success with this dog. And

She's about to go on a month long trip out west. She'll be back down to Key West and Disney by the end of the fall. So she's going to be traveling all over the world and stuff like that. And I'm like, just make it the best you can.

Lianne Shinton (40:24)

That's a wonderful story and I just can't believe how much time, how much personalized time you spend with your clients and with their dogs and you have a real love for them and their dog.

Jayson Fogle (40:37)

Yeah, I mean, it's, it's what I want to do. And I absolutely have zero problems traveling. You know, that it gets me out of here for a few days. I'm always up for that. Same way in Arizona. I had trained their family dogs here in Wisconsin. They moved out to Arizona. They adopted a new dog and he couldn't find a trainer that he liked. So I actually flew out to Arizona, spent a week with them at their house and we did the training right then and there.

And it was kind of both board and train, kind of, and private lessons because I was living with them for the week. And ultimately, you know, we got the dog where it needed to be and the parents where they need to be. But I want to spend that time with the owners to really make sure that they understand what's needed for their dog and the success of it.

Lianne Shinton (41:28)

Outstanding. That's all the questions I have on my list. Those are some amazing stories. I got a lot of great information. Maybe you could just reiterate again how folks can find you and connect with you.

Jayson Fogle (41:40)

Yeah, so main website is going to be the easiest and fastest way to reach out to us, which is just focused dog training dot com. I have a Facebook page, Instagram. I'd like to say I'm a little bit more on there a little bit more often, but you can still reach me through any platform. I don't care how you reach out to me and reach out to me. I can help you with regardless of what's going on. And I will instantly tell you as honestly as I can right up front.

if I'm gonna be the best fit or if it's not gonna be the fit. And as we go through this, I'm 100 % on board with telling anybody, even problems, that this is gonna be an issue. So that way, again, they understand exactly what they're getting into before they actually hire us. So, okay, you and I are on the same page. We have the same expectations. We have the same aspect of outcomes of what we're gonna be doing.

and knowing that the work is going to be put in there behind. So, focused on training .com is the easiest way. Reach out on any of our socials as well, just Facebook or Instagram.

Lianne Shinton (42:50)

Terrific. That is outstanding information and it really does that last, you know, information you gave us. It sounds like you're ready to have those harder conversations that sometimes maybe people kind of need or are ready to have because their dog's driving them crazy or, you know, there's some difficult stuff going on and you're able to get in there and be very honest with them about what their expectations should be or should not be.

Jayson Fogle (43:19)

Yeah, that's one of my biggest things. I have a client that had three Great Danes and they brought, I'll say the middle child in and in the end they met with a couple other trainers. They didn't like what they said and ultimately they had me come to a consultation for him and I saw the dog and I told him, Mike, there's nothing wrong with your dog. Your dog's just a jerk. She's an alpha. She's just a jerk. Might not been the language I use, but.

little more colorful, but ultimately I said, they're dogs just a jerk. We can fix that. And they hired us. They came back out and I asked them about the first lesson. I'm like, so I'm going to ask you a question. Why'd you hire us? And he's like, cause you're the only one that told us our dog was a jerk. And he goes, that's exactly what we've been seeing. I don't mind those conversations. I want those conversations. I want it to be as real as possible. Cause again, the owner and the handlers.

They're the ones behind the dog's behavior. And if I don't change that, the dog is only going to go so far and I need to change things. So if people, you know, have come to me and like, I really don't want my dogs to be kenneled. Okay. That's not a problem, but he's chewing up the walls. He's chewing up the carpet. He's doing this. He's doing that. Okay. You have two options. One, you never leave your dog alone or two, you put the dog in a crate pretty quickly.

You know, a lot of times they'll go, okay, fine. And their dog is perfectly fine. And then they're like, I can't believe that was that easy. And I'm like, yeah, it might take a few days to change for the dog. But I'm like, ultimately it helps your dog stay safe. If your dog's eating the carpet and eating the walls, it's only going to get sick. I don't care about walls. I don't care about your floor. You can replace those things. But if your dog ingests something that they're not supposed to, get sick.

the dog's going to have some major issues and that's what I want to prevent. So again, just changing people's minds on how they're seeing their dogs, how they're living with their dogs and having the best life you can with your dog.

Lianne Shinton (45:25)

Awesome. So if you want to have the best life you can with your dog, go to focusedogtraining .com and talk to Jayson.