About Happy Tails & Trails, LLC

What they do

Happy Tails & Trails is a two-trainer practice working across the Augusta area. New clients start with an initial consult of ninety minutes to two hours, held at home, and that session is the prerequisite for studio lessons; group participants are assessed before a class begins. From there the menu is private lessons, day training, board and train, a manners course, group classes, virtual coaching, CGC prep with testing, trail hiking and dog walking.

How they work

The practice is force-free and says so in detail, arguing from the research that punishment-based training "can increase fear, stress, and unwanted behaviors, while also damaging the trust between dog and owner." Its stated alternative is positive reinforcement and clear communication. The trainers describe their approach as evidence-based and summarize it in a line they repeat: "ALL behaviors have a funcation."

A second thread

Unusually for a training business, trail and environmental stewardship sit next to the obedience work rather than behind it. The practice describes itself as made up of avid trail users, promotes leash laws and trail etiquette as part of responsible ownership, and runs trail hiking as a bookable service. The two trainers introduce themselves by name and specialty on the site: Miranda, whose stated niche is leash-reactive dogs, muzzle training, puppies and adolescents, and Rachel, who came to training through a dog-reactive Great Dane and English Mastiff mix.

Coverage

The site states its service area as North Augusta, Augusta, Evans, Martinez and Grovetown.