Why We Don’t Use Prong or Choke Collars
When it comes to training and enrichment, our goal is simple: help dogs feel safe, confident, and successful. That’s why we use fear- and force-free methods — and why prong and choke collars will never be part of our approach. Why? 1. Learning happens best when dogs feel safe Prong and choke collars only work […]
Altercations in doggy daycare- what TBY does to prevent them
Just like in a group of children, altercations and accidents are bound to happen, and there’s no way to prevent them entirely. But here at TBY, we have a multi-layered approach to preventing as many altercations as possible with a collection of tools we’ve developed from our experience. Training staff All of our staff is […]
🌟 SPOTLIGHT ON: TRAINING at The Bark Yard
Confidence. Communication. Connection. At The Bark Yard, training isn’t about forcing dogs to behave — it’s about teaching them to understand, feel safe, and make great choices. We believe that every dog thrives when they’re supported, not scared. That’s why our trainers use 100% fear-free and force-free methods, backed by modern behavioral science. No intimidation. […]
Back to School at The Bark Yard
It’s that time of year again — Back to School! While your kids are heading off to classrooms designed to help them learn, grow, and thrive, have you ever thought about your dog’s “school day”? At The Bark Yard, we take a similar approach: structured, enriching, and guided — because just like children, dogs thrive […]
Looking for a Board & Train for your pup?
🐾 Looking for a board and train program for your pup? 🐾 Try our Sleep Away Training Camp (*a fear and force free board and train option*) Science teaches us that a stressed and fearful brain actually can’t learn effectively. That’s one of many reasons we will never scare or hurt your dog and call […]
Why choose us over Rover sitters?
Why choose us over Rover sitters? 🩵We won’t ever cancel on you or leave you hanging- no illness cancellations last minute! 🩵Our staff already knows and loves your dog- and your dog knows and loves our staff! 🩵Our staff is guaranteed to be trained in dog body language, as well as other tools, including things […]
How well do you want your dog’s daycare counselor trained?
How well do you want the person in charge of your dog trained? At many daycares, staff is barely trained before they lead play groups (sometimes with up to 60 dogs), conduct training sessions, or do enrichment with your dog. (How do we know this? We hire staff from other […]
How do you know if your dog is enjoying play?
Many dog parents tell us that their dog had a scary experience in a poorly supervised play group or dog park that make them wary of interacting with other dogs. It is CRUCIAL that any play your dog has with other dogs is carefully supervised by someone who is skilled in reading and interpreting dog […]
What IS socializing your dog?
One of your top priorities for your new puppy or young dog should be socialization. However, this is something that we see dog parents misunderstanding ALL the time. I was at the river this weekend watching a man with his very young puppy, trying to get her to “like” the water by dragging her into […]
How do you know a doggy daycare is safe?
Did you know that the doggy daycare industry is an unregulated field? While you DO need a kennel license in the state of Maine to operate, that’s achieved at opening and barely investigated afterwards…and has NO bearing on how the daycare is actually run or how safe it is- for staff OR dogs. Raising the […]
