Better Dogs. Better Relationships 

More Than Dog Training 

Tongues Out helps dogs and humans build greater understanding, capability, cooperation, and trust over time. We don’t believe your dog is a problem to fix. We believe they are an individual to understand, guide, and develop.

The Goal 

We want dogs who are not simply obedient, but capable.

Dogs who can move through the world with confidence and resilience, recover from challenge, fulfill the biological needs that make them dogs, make good choices without constant control, and look to their humans as reliable partners within it.

A dog who is fulfilled, practiced, connected to their person, and clear on what is expected of them will often be more willing to cooperate, easier to guide, and easier to live with.

The goal is not to choose between the dog’s needs and the human’s needs.

The goal is to build a system where both sides work better together.

How We Think 

Stopping a behavior is not always the same thing as helping the dog underneath it.

Reactivity, frustration, avoidance, disobedience, or other difficult behavior can have very different causes depending on the dog.

That is why we look at the whole picture.

What the dog understands. What the human understands. What motivates the dog. What creates friction. What already works. Where things break down. And what would be most useful to work on next.

Two dogs with the same outward problem may need completely different paths.

Our job is not to apply a formula.

Our job is to understand the individual well enough to build the right one.

The work may involve obedience, play, communication, environmental work, problem solving, or other skills depending on what the dog and human need next.

Dogs are also constantly making choices between competing motivations.

Food, toys, play, freedom, movement, access, social opportunities, and other things the dog values can all influence those choices.

The goal is not to control every decision.

It is to understand what matters to the dog well enough to guide them fairly and effectively.

Pursuit Feeding 

One of the most powerful opportunities is already part of your dog’s life every day:

feeding.

Pursuit Feeding turns those same calories into opportunities to search, pursue, learn, problem solve, communicate, and work with you.

Food becomes more than something that simply appears.

It becomes something the dog actively participates in acquiring.

The dog stays in the pursuit. The opportunity stays alive. Successful participation leads to access.

And sometimes, the rabbit gets away.

If the dog abandons an opportunity, the food may temporarily disappear, and another opportunity can emerge later.

That matters because competing motivations are real. Something in the environment may matter more to the dog in that moment than what the human is offering.

Sometimes we need leverage to help rebalance that equation.

Food can be one of the clearest and most biologically familiar forms of that leverage — but it is also much more than leverage.

It gives the dog something to pursue, work for, solve, and successfully acquire.

Same food. More purpose. More participation. A richer experience.

As habits, skill, trust, and shared experience build, less leverage should be needed to create the same cooperation.

Dogs benefit from people who are clear, fair, predictable, and worth following.

Why Tongues Out 

Much of the dog-training industry is built around a simple promise:

You have a problem.

We fix it.

You get your convenient dog back.

Sometimes that produces impressive results quickly.

But a demonstration of control is not the same thing as development.

When the goal becomes fixing the visible problem as fast as possible, it becomes easy to overlook what the dog actually needs, what the human has actually learned, and whether the result will hold up in real life.

The owner matters. Their openness to learning, their consistency, and how much they’re willing to prioritize the work in everyday life all matter.

But so does what the owner was taught.

If someone pays a professional for help, we believe that professional has a responsibility to build the human’s ability too — not simply produce a result and leave the client without the judgment, tools, or understanding needed to continue successfully.

Meaningful change does not always happen on a convenient timeline, and we will never pretend otherwise.

Why I built Tongues Out 

After years of working closely with dogs, clients, and professionals across this industry, I became increasingly aware of how inconsistent the standard can be.

I often wanted to offer people more myself, but I was limited by the systems and environments I was working within.

Too often, the priority was securing the sale, simplifying the promise, or protecting the business model — even when the dog or family needed something more honest, individualized, or involved.

I watched clients and dogs work with other professionals and, in some cases, come away worse off than when they started — more confused, more stressed, and still without the progress they had hoped for.

That changed the direction of my life.

I decided to dedicate myself to this craft and help build a higher standard — one that prioritizes the welfare of the dog, builds the human’s ability, protects the bond they share, and stays honest about what progress actually requires.

Tongues Out is not just a business to me. It is a mission.

Our philosophy will not be everyone’s cup of tea.

That is okay.

But if you want more than a quick fix — if you want a dog who can contribute more to the life you share and a relationship that works better for both of you — Tongues Out is built for you.

You Can’t Outsource Relationship 

Someone else can teach skills.

Someone else can give your dog incredible experiences.

But nobody can build your relationship with your dog for you.

That is built by how you communicate, guide, play, handle difficulty, and move through life together.

That is why one of our services is designed specifically to teach you how to develop your dog.

But you do not have to provide every opportunity alone.

Tongues Out can also become part of your dog’s team — providing regular hands-on work, challenge, new experiences, and continued progression.

You cannot outsource relationship.

You can build a better team around it.

Two Ways to Work With Tongues Out

Development Privates

We teach you how to develop your dog.

Development Privates are individualized, owner-involved sessions built around what would be most useful for you and your dog next.

Work may include communication, food luring, reinforcement, play, engagement, tool foundations, walking, crate work, recall, environmental work, problem solving, scent work, advanced obedience, body awareness, shaping, or something else entirely.

The work is guided by developmental priorities, not a preset curriculum.

Development Privates are booked individually for $175 per session and may last up to 60 minutes.

The amount of direct dog work depends on what is useful that day. Sometimes much of the session may involve the dog. Sometimes the dog may only work for a few minutes while we continue teaching the human.

Development Membership

We develop your dog for you.

Development Membership gives your dog consistent, ongoing hands-on work with Tongues Out.

Sessions are shaped around the individual dog and may include learning, play, exploration, problem solving, environmental work, skill development, and other opportunities that add value to the life you share together.

Development Membership includes three sessions per week.

$1,200/month.

Membership is ongoing month-to-month with 30 days’ notice required to cancel.

See the Work

We believe proof matters.

Proof should mean more than posed photos, impressive claims, easily acquired certifications, sport work, titles, or simply taking someone’s word for what they can do.

Those things may tell you something.

But they do not necessarily show how skilled someone is at reading, teaching, living with, and bringing out the best in companion dogs amid the complexity of everyday life.

Anko & Friends is where we show our work — including the progress, the mistakes, the challenges, the play, and the dogs behind Tongues Out.

Real work happening in real life.

Watch how we work.

See how we think.

Then decide whether this is what you want for yours.

Ready to Start?

Every new relationship begins with an initial evaluation.

The evaluation gives us an opportunity to meet you and your dog, see what is happening firsthand, discuss your goals, and determine which path makes the most sense.

Initial Evaluation — $175

If you move forward with Development Privates or Development Membership, your $175 evaluation fee is credited toward your service.

If you decide not to move forward, the $175 remains the fee for the evaluation.

No pressure to choose a service before we meet.

Start by telling us about you and your dog.