by Kate LaSala | Mar 30, 2026 | Dog Training, Dog Training Regulation, Fear, Aggression and Reactivity, Rescue Dogs, Resource Guarding, Separation Anxiety
If you are struggling with your dog’s behavior, I want you to hear this first. You are not failing. You are not behind. And you absolutely deserve qualified help. But I want you to also know that the quality of information you get and who you hire matters. A lot....
by Kate LaSala | Mar 23, 2026 | Dog Training, Fear, Aggression and Reactivity, Pet Loss & Grieving, Rescue Dogs, Resource Guarding
A little over a year ago, we adopted a new dog, Gertie. Full name: Gertrude Wigglebottom, because if you’ve seen some of my videos of her…well, it’s obvious. If you’ve been here a while, you might remember that just four days after making her...
by Kate LaSala | Mar 16, 2026 | Dog Training
Do you ever feel like your dog listens to you better than your spouse? Do you wonder if you’re just lucky or maybe the dog “likes you better”? Sure, your dog might be more attached to one person over the other, but maybe instead of luck,...
by Kate LaSala | Mar 9, 2026 | Dog Training, Dog Training Regulation, Fear, Aggression and Reactivity, Rescue Dogs, Resource Guarding, Separation Anxiety
Professional licensure is not required to call yourself a dog trainer nor is there any industry specific government regulation. Anyone can wake up tomorrow, print business cards, make an Instagram account, and call themselves a trainer or “behaviorist.”...
by Kate LaSala | Mar 2, 2026 | Dog Training, Pet Loss & Grieving, Rescue Dogs
Over the holidays I watched a new movie, whose premise was a couple that had broken up and were sharing custody of their dog. But when the dog was only with one of them, he was “depressed” as the vet diagnosed him. I’ll spare you the whole...
by Kate LaSala | Feb 24, 2026 | Dog Training
If you have ever picked up a bag of dog treats and found yourself squinting at the ingredient list, you are not alone. A lot of commercial treats are packed with fillers, vague ingredients, and things most of us would never intentionally feed our dogs. And what...
by Kate LaSala | Feb 23, 2026 | Dog Training, Rescue Dogs
First things first. Unless your dog is sick, if your dog is eating and managing to stay alive, then he is food motivated enough to walk over to a bowl or figure out how to get calories some other way. I could stop here, but I won’t. I was recently interviewed...
by Kate LaSala | Feb 16, 2026 | Dog Training, Puppy Training, Rescue Dogs
One of the trickiest parts (and best parts!) of dog training is that dogs are excellent at connecting dots. It’s one of the ways dogs learn. Sometimes they connect dots that we don’t want them to connect and that’s where clients can run into...
by Kate LaSala | Feb 9, 2026 | Dog Training, Rescue Dogs, Separation Anxiety
When your dog is suffering from separation anxiety, it is completely normal to want to do everything you can, as quickly as possible, to help give them relief and try to help them. A quick internet search will turn up a wealth of recommendations for seemingly...
by Kate LaSala | Feb 2, 2026 | Dog Training, Fear, Aggression and Reactivity, Rescue Dogs
As a dog trainer and active foster, I have introduced a lot of dogs to a lot of other dogs. Clients’ dogs, foster dogs, resident dogs, dogs who have a long learning history of struggling with other dogs, dogs who want to play, dogs who are asocial but don’t want...