An Exciting New Chapter
Empowering Choice
Our Mission is to positively support the human-dog relationship by teaching dog parents how to speak canine, empowering them to get the best out of their best friend! Our teaching style is safe, supportive, non-judgmental, and non-forceful for all human and dog learners.
What fearful, anxious & reactive behaviors can look like...
- Skittish or flighty
- Freezing on walks, gets stuck in one spot
- Shies away from people, other animal, objects
- Obsessively licking
- Loss of appetite
- Anxious at certain times or all the time
- Withdrawal from family
- Whining/vocalizing
- Nose licking
- Yawning when not tired
- Cowering or hiding
- Destructive behavior
- Barks at certain things inside and/or outside of home
- Growling
- Barking/lunging on leash at people or animals
- Barking or lunging at people or animals behind fences
Remote services offered worldwide. Book a consult online.
Our Services
After many meaningful years working through Dog’s Choice, I’m excited to share that I’ve joined The Veterinary Behavior Center as their Hawaii-based Behavior Therapy Technician.
This new role allows me to continue supporting pets and their humans through compassionate, evidence-based behavior care while collaborating with a larger veterinary behavior team.
While I am not currently accepting private training clients through Dog’s Choice, I will keep this website active as a home for educational resources to support pet guardians navigating behavioral challenges.
My mission remains the same:
Helping pets and humans feel safer, more understood, and more connected through kindness, education, and trust.
Thank you for being part of this journey.
— Rachael
Choice Matters
Why is choice so important in our dogs’ lives?
Well, it’s fundamental in our human lives, and we don’t give it a second thought until it’s taken away from us, right?
Just think how many choices you make in a day…when to sleep, what to eat, what clothes to wear, where you’d like to work, who you want to socialize with and on and on… Many dogs live in a world where they don’t even have choices. And sadly, research demonstrates that a lack of choice leads to stress, anxiety, physical symptoms such as ulcers and high-blood pressure, and a condition called “learned helplessness” in which the animal essentially gives up and stops trying to express itself.
On the other hand, being given meaningful choice opportunities increases joy and reduces stress, even in potentially stressful situations. But don’t fret. Giving your dog choices isn’t as daunting as it sounds! My goal is to teach my clients how to create a choice-rich environment for their dogs with easy to implement steps that can be used at home, when training on walks or during playtime.
And when you give your dog more choice, his overall behavior will improve. That’s because most misbehavior is related to stress. When we increase choice, we decrease stress, and that leads to better behavior! Choice Matters.
My mission is to help you create an environment where your dog has many good options, and almost always makes the right choice!
Happier dogs make happier, less stressed dog parents, bringing joy and harmony to your home.
Positive Reinforcement
Dog’s Choice believes in the power of relationships that are based on trust and support. This belief applies to our dog-human and human-human relationships.
Positive Reinforcement – What is it and why does it matter?
Positive Reinforcement uses science-based, force-free techniques aimed at building trust and confidence with your dog. This empowers him or her to offer new behaviors and make better choices. Positive Reinforcement also takes into account the individual learner by developing their skills based on how they learn and what motivates them.
If you reward your dog with praise, play, food, toys, (or whatever they find rewarding), when he responds to you or demonstrates a behavior you like, that behavior will likely be repeated.
Positive reinforcement encourages behaviors that align with your goals and naturally replace unwanted habits. This approach reduces your dog’s frustration, anxiety, and stress while promoting emotional stability.
Emotionally stable dogs are less likely to display anxiety-based behaviors which are at the root of many common dog behavior issues.
Looking for Behavior Support in Hawaii?
I’m now working with The Veterinary Behavior Center, where we provide compassionate,
science-based support for pets experiencing behavioral challenges such as:
● reactivity
● fear and anxiety
● aggression
● separation-related behaviors
● cooperative care challenges
● and more
Fun Tip!
Did you know many common behavior issues stem from a lack of enrichment, AKA doing doggy stuff that fulfills a specific need? This could be social interactions, sensory, physical, occupational, or nutritional enrichment.
A quick and easy way to add mental stimulation, build confidence, and fulfill our dog’s need to forage is by scatter feeding (see my Enrichment E-Book for more info). You can also offer foraging by feeding one or part of your dog's daily meals in a snuffle mat.
Tip for walks: If you walk your dog after they have engaged in some form of mental activity (training session, puzzle toys, hide n seek), they will be mentally fatigued and have less energy to put into pulling when on their walk.
For more info on me and my training methods and philosophy, check out my About Page.
By coming here, you have already made the choice to start working on a stronger relationship that fulfills your needs as well as meeting your dogs.