Our Story
Five Minutes That Launched a Whole Community
Tails of Connection (TOC) started with a scared dog, a living room rug, and a promise to train together for five minutes a day.
Where It Started
I remember the day I walked my dog Otis out of our one-bedroom condo in Washington, D.C., and he refused to walk forward because there was a feather on the grass patch to our right. He was barking and backing up. The feather was new. His fear wasn't.
I had already spent thousands of dollars on training that did more harm than good. I was working crazy hours as a consultant at EY and felt like I was failing this dog I loved so much. So I made him a promise that would end up changing my life: five minutes of fun training together, every day.
The Exhale
Each night when I got home from work, I would move the coffee table off the living room rug and fumble my way through teaching Otis something. What I thought would be hard to fit into my absurd work schedule became something I looked forward to every day. I carried so much tension and moved through my days so quickly, but in those five minutes training with my dog, I exhaled. I felt my whole body soften and my mind slow. It felt like magic.
I taught him things like passing a soccer ball back and forth with me, closing cabinet doors, and knocking over noisy objects (for a dog who was afraid of a feather, getting to be the one who made the noise was a big deal). Within a few months of daily five-minute sessions, Otis's behavior out in the world started changing. At the time, I didn't really understand why. I just watched his confidence grow. I now understand the science behind it, and I still look back on it with the same dazzled look in my eyes that I had back then.
Featured Courses
Learn on Your Time, With Your Dog, Wherever You Are
We’ve created four easy-to-follow, on-demand e-courses designed to support you through real-life challenges (and fun stuff too). Our videos are short, clear, and filmed in real homes—because that’s where training happens.
Your 5-Minute-a-Day Starter Course
Tails of Connection Challenge
New to training? This is the course that launched the TOC community! Thousands of dog guardians have taken this 14-day challenge, training for just five minutes a day.
Attention Unlocked
This course gives your dog tools to navigate their world with more ease.
Challenge 2.0: Cooperative Care & More
A course all about building a dialogue with your dog and practicing cooperative care.
Our Mission
We are dog people
At Tails of Connection, we believe dog training is about so much more than obedience—it's about building a relationship. Our mission is to help people deepen their connection with their dogs, themselves, and the world around them.
The way we show up for our dogs often reflects how we show up in other parts of life. That’s why we’re committed to sharing tools that empower people to understand behavior—so they can support their dogs with compassion and bring that same understanding into their communities.
We’re honored to be part of your journey. Whether you’re here for support, connection, or just some good dog content, we’re here to help—with training resources that are science-based, accessible, and rooted in kindness.
Subscribe to Our Substack
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