by Kate LaSala | May 9, 2022 | Dog Training, Dogs and Babies and Kids, Fear, Aggression and Reactivity
You’re expecting a baby or your baby is starting to crawl or toddle. This is an exciting time but if you have a dog who resource guards food, toys, bones or resting spots, you’re likely feeling nervous or scared the the dog might hurt our child. This is a...
by Kate LaSala | Apr 25, 2022 | Dog Training, Dogs and Babies and Kids, Fear, Aggression and Reactivity, Rescue Dogs
Behavior is never random. Often clients will come to me saying their dog has bitten “unprovoked” or “out of the blue.” Bites happen fast, so it can seem like they happen out of the blue but when we dig into it, we uncover that the dog was...
by Kate LaSala | Apr 18, 2022 | Dog Training, Dogs and Babies and Kids, Fear, Aggression and Reactivity, Rescue Dogs
You want to know what makes me weep? When I see people, often well-meaning but grossly mistaken, telling others that their fearful dog “just needs love” to get better. This is akin to telling someone with a fractured leg that they just need love to heal...
by Kate LaSala | Apr 4, 2022 | Dog Training, Fear, Aggression and Reactivity, Rescue Dogs, Separation Anxiety
If you’ve ever exercised a lot or trained for a big event, you’re familiar with interval training. This idea of mixing high intensity practices with periods of rest or easier practices is a concept encourage my clients to use when training their...
by Kate LaSala | Mar 28, 2022 | Dog Training, Dog Training Regulation, Dogs and Babies and Kids, Fear, Aggression and Reactivity, Pet Loss & Grieving, Rescue Dogs, Separation Anxiety
Updated 8/2023: I am now a certified end-of-life companion animal doula. You can read more about my service offerings here. Resources last updated 1/2/25. (Barbo and BooBoo have both passed but I’m keeping this text preserved.) I’ve written before about...
by Kate LaSala | Mar 7, 2022 | Dog Training, Fear, Aggression and Reactivity, Rescue Dogs, Resource Guarding
Are you ready to set you and your dog up for successful training sessions? Here’s 5 secrets to help make your training sessions the most effective and efficient they can be. Keep your sessions short. For basic skills, try to train in 10-15 minute blocks....
by Kate LaSala | Feb 28, 2022 | Dog Training, Fear, Aggression and Reactivity, Rescue Dogs
When you have a dog who is afraid of stranger and leash reactive, it can make walks and just living your life, very challenging. It’s embarrassing, disruptive and in some cases, possibly dangerous. But there are things we can do in the course of training...
by Kate LaSala | Feb 21, 2022 | Dog Training, Fear, Aggression and Reactivity, Rescue Dogs, Separation Anxiety
I recently shared my 100th blog post. To help celebrate this milestone, I dug into my site stats to see what resonates with you, my clients, my readers. Here is a recap for you of my top 5 most visited posts: Decompression: 9 Ways To Help Your New Dog Adjust To...
by Kate LaSala | Feb 7, 2022 | Dog Training, Dog Training Regulation, Fear, Aggression and Reactivity, Separation Anxiety
If you’ve been here a while, you know I’m a huge advocate for evidence based training, continuing education and debunking myths that can be harmful or misleading. In all my work with rescues and shelters, every single one has ascribed to the myth of...
by Kate LaSala | Jan 31, 2022 | Dog Training, Dogs and Babies and Kids, Fear, Aggression and Reactivity, Rescue Dogs
FEAR IS NOT DISOBEDIENCE. Yes, I’m screaming. If I could reach my rooftop I’d scream this from there. As someone who specializes in fear and aggression cases, so often I come across clients who are frustrated with their dog “not...
