Dog Pause
Service area: Serves Truckee and Lake Tahoe, California, with in-person training within 45 minutes of Truckee, and virtual training worldwide.
Service Overview
Types of Dog Training
- Family Dog
- Therapy Dog
- Competition / Agility
- Behavior Modification
Specialty Focus Areas
- Puppy Training
- Leash Pulling
- Reactivity / Aggression
- Fearfulness
- Separation Anxiety
- Resource Guarding
- Barking Excessively
- Recall
Training Formats Offered
- Private Lessons
- In-Home
- Video Calls
Program Formats
- One-Time Consultation
- Sessions Package
- Ongoing Weekly
Types of Dogs
- Small
- Medium
- Large
- Giant
- Herding
- Sporting
- Working
- Terriers
- Doodles
Age of Dogs Trained
- Puppy (<1 year)
- Adolescent (1-2 years)
- Adult (2-8 years)
- Senior (8+ years)
Dog Training Methodology
Methods:
- ✓ Positive Reinforcement Only
Equipment:
- ✓ Clickers
- ✓ Food Rewards
- ✓ Harnesses
Training begins with a 2-hour Initial Consultation to assess goals and behavior. Clients then choose from ongoing Personalized Coaching Sessions, Tower’s Touch (hands-off learning), Dog Walks, or AKC title preparation (CGC, Urban CGC, Community Canine, Trick Dog). Training is customized to each dog’s needs, with emphasis on relationship-building, positive reinforcement, and game-based learning to develop lasting behavioral skills.
Pricing & Policies
Pricing Summary
Initial consultation is $226 for a 2-hour session, available in-person or virtually. Ongoing coaching sessions, dog walks, and AKC title prep are offered as additional services with pricing listed on their website. No package pricing is explicitly detailed.
Policies
In-person sessions may be changed to virtual sessions if weather conditions are forecasted to be bad. No other cancellation or rescheduling policies are explicitly stated.
Testimonials
Through a series of Zoom sessions, Dan helped us tremendously with an extremely anxious and challenging new rescue dog. If you think you know a lot about dogs, think again. I am a horse trainer and although I have decades of experience with a variety of animals, Dan provided a great deal of fresh insight and new tools for us to implement. It was very important to us that he utilizes positive reinforcement techniques. After a lot of guidance and work, we now have a calm, happy, and confident member of our pack.
– Client
We foster failed an 80 lb girl a couple of years ago, and after a period of decompression, she presented some serious guarding and behavioral issues. We luckily found Dan and Dog Pause, and he changed our lives. With his positive reinforcement training and teaching us how to read our own dog’s body language, we’ve become effectively attentive and Fran has blossomed into a calm and increasingly resilient dog. She used to crouch, lunge, and bark at every dog she found scary – even an 8 lb Pom – and now, she can disengage, check in with me, get a delicious treat and an enthusiastic “Good girl!!” and move on with our walk. She used to guard me against my own partner in the house, and now she knows that he’s where great things happen, so I find them hanging out and snuggling somewhere in the house all the time.
I think the most significant change Dan’s training has effected is this change in philosophy in the treatment of companion animals… Gentleness and reinforcement of behavior that you want really do work, and what I’ve gotten out of it is a lot of trust and love from this weirdo furball of mine. It beats living with a compliant dog, but one that fears you.
Anyway, I hope anyone who sees this would choose Dan, and I hope your experiences are enriching. He really helped us, and I would wish this type of training for all dogs.
– Client
Dan is an amazing trainer. I work with him since 2 years. Which is nice because my dog goes through different stages. He helps me to understand my dog and other dogs. And he teaches me how to teach my dog everything. Thank you for being the best school for my puppy.
– Client
About the Trainer
Dog Pause is a certified professional dog training business led by Dan “Tower” Anderson, offering personalized one-on-one private coaching for dog owners in Truckee and Lake Tahoe, California, with virtual sessions available worldwide. Tower is a Karen Pryor Academy Certified Training Partner (KPA-CTP) and Absolute Dogs Pro Dog Trainer (AD PDT), using science-based, positive reinforcement methods centered on building trust and partnership with the dog. His approach emphasizes clicker training and playful games that teach concepts like focus, self-control, and optimism, rather than punishment. He helps clients with new puppies, adoption adjustments, behavior problems like reactivity, fearfulness, and resource guarding, and works toward AKC Canine Good Citizen and Trick Dog titles. Tower also offers in-home and virtual coaching sessions, dog walks, and a unique hands-off method called “Tower’s Touch.” He is deeply committed to relationship-based training and has successfully transformed fearful, anxious, and reactive dogs into confident companions, including his own certified therapy dogs Roo and Bagheera.
Dog Pause also provides free monthly training classes for adopters and volunteers of the Humane Society of Truckee Tahoe, and offers a free membership program (DogPause.Plus) with resources and product recommendations. All training is grounded in ethical, force-free principles, with a strong focus on long-term behavioral change through understanding and communication.
Accomplishments
Dan Tower Anderson is a certified KPA-CTP and AD PDT, the only KPA-CTP in the Truckee-Tahoe region. He received Congressional Recognition and won “Best Animal Trainer” in 2023, 2024, and 2025. His dogs Roo and Bagheera hold multiple AKC titles, including CGC and Trick Dog titles, and Roo was an official Truckee Police Therapy Dog.
How to Get Started!
Client engagement begins with booking a 2-hour Initial Consultation, available in-person or virtually, to discuss goals and establish a training plan. This session is the starting point for all training services.
Contact Information
Availability
- Weekdays
- Weekends
- Morning
- Afternoon
Hours
10am-6pm
Certifications
- KPA-CTP
Associations
- AKC
Languages
- English
Other Services Offered
- Dog walker
- Pet trainer
Location
Truckee, CA 96161Listing Tools for Trainers
For Dog Pause Only
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