DOG TRAINING OFFERED IN-PERSON AND ONLINE

Our dog training services are delivered in almost any format that meets your needs.  We have GROUP CLASSES at our indoor and outdoor facilities on our farm,  ONLINE LIVE STREAMING classes, and SELF-PACED VIDEO-BASED training through our Online Dog Training Course.  Our PRIVATE TRAININGS can be done in-home, outside, in public dog-friendly locations, at our facility on our farm, online via phone or video conferencing and through email.

IN THIS ISSUE

ISSUE # 184  December 2025

Train My Dog: SPOTLIGHT ON BARKING:  – Excessive Barking Driving You Bananas? | Barking | Barking For Attention | Is your dog barking at nothing? Or is there really something there? | Barking at the fence | Dog Body Language: Barking & Growling | The Blitzen Bulletin: March & April 2021

Just For Fun: November 2025 Photos

Calendar: Classes and Events Schedule

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TRAIN MY DOG

SPOTLIGHT ON BARKING

Why dogs bark: Normal communication (visitors, wildlife, excitement), attention-seeking, fear or stress, frustration (can’t chase bunnies or follow you), or alerting to something unusual.

When it’s “excessive”: Barking that goes on longer than makes sense for the situation — minutes turning into many minutes, or any barking that bothers neighbors, family, or sleep.

How to reduce barking:

  • Teach an alternative behavior. A toy in the mouth, “Touch” (nose to hand), or “Go to Mat” makes barking less likely.
  • Interrupt + reward. Allow 1–2 seconds, then say “Enough,” offer a high-value treat, and redirect focus.
  • Ignore attention barking — but teach a polite replacement. Sitting and making eye contact beats yelling “NO,” which often reinforces barking.
  • Train in easy environments first. Build up slowly before practicing around wildlife, people, or other big triggers.
  • Address the underlying reason. Fear, separation anxiety, or frustration require solving the emotion, not just the noise.

And remember: sometimes the dog is right — like when Zuzu alerted us to a bobcat. Barking isn’t always bad!

Visit the articles on our website for more tips and deeper insights on barking.

INFOGRAPHIC

OTHER FUN STUFF WE DID

CALENDAR

Upcoming Classes in Highlands Ranch

Our Saturday & Tuesday evening classes are held outdoors at various locations, typically within close proximity to Santa Fe and C-470.

  • Polite Pooches in Public:  new classes will resume spring 2026

Upcoming Classes at The Light of Dog Farm

  • Puppy Preschool:  Sundays 1:15 pm, rolling enrollment
  • Basic Training: Sundays, 2:30 pm; new class 1/11/26
  • Juvenile Delinquents:  Sundays 3:45 pm, new class 1/11/26
  • Intermediate Training:  Sundays 12:00 pm, new class 1/11/26
  • Tricks for Treats!:  Sundays, new class 12/7

Click here for our complete group class & events schedule with available spaces.

WHO IS THE LIGHT OF DOG

About Us

The “Kids”
Zooka (Vizsla) joined us in July 2019. Current jobs are: entertaining our visiting dogs; being the demo dog at classes as needed; being a “neutral” dog for dog-reactive private training client sessions; providing content for blog posts; helping keep Blitzen in shape and out of trouble; being patient with his brother Blitzen. Blitzen (Vizsla) joined us in December 2020.  Current jobs are: wearing out visiting dogs; being a “neutral” dog for dog-reactive private training client sessions; providing content for blog posts; working on finding his “zen”.

Wife & Husband
Sue Brown, behavior consultant, dog trainer and writer extraordinaire and Eddie Soehnel, dog products, farm manager and the techie.

The Light of Dog Farm
We live and operate from 14-acres in Sedalia, where we have indoor and outdoor facilities for training and boarding, fenced private dog park rental and a USDA-licensed kitchen for dog food products, We grow using regenerative agriculture and free-range our chickens in protected spaces.


Our goal is to positively impact the lives of as many dogs and their families as we can, in part through our extensive library of video, infographics and text articles.

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