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 trouble and...
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...
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 to...
With the New Year often comes transition, and for many people that includes moving. A large number of my clients relocated during Covid, and over time I noticed several common challenges that came up when moving to a new home with a dog. Personally we've moved 5...
Let’s start by getting this out of the way: dog humping is completely normal behavior. It’s also one of the behaviors that tends to make people the most uncomfortable and embarrassed. I suspect that has more to do with our own cultural weirdness around sex...
Many of my separation anxiety clients live in urban environments, so this is a topic I deal with often. If you live in an apartment, the first sign that your dog is struggling with being alone may not come from your dog at all, but from a note slipped under...
I was recently honored to be a guest on the Pet Parent Hotline podcast, talking about dogs and grief. This was my second appearance on Amy's show. You can watch my last appearance talking about Trauma In Rescue Dogs here. Amy is a rescuer, educator and a really...
Barking is completely normal dog behavior. Barking is completely normal dog behavior. Barking is completely normal dog behavior. While it may be annoying, barking is your dog's way of communicating something. There are many reasons why a dog might bark but...
Ready to jumpstart your dog training in the new year? These 6 key things will help get your started on the right paw!
It's that time of year when everyone starts to reflect back on the year and look ahead to next year. And I'm no different. I've done a version of this post every year for the last 6 years since I've been blogging, with lots of ups and downs, but every year...
This will be our second Christmas without my sweet BooBoo. Last year we knew as hard as it was to not have Boo here that we didn't want to have Christmas without a dog in the house, since our Christmases are always about the dogs and having them tear open...
During the holidays, a lot of dogs find their new homes, and many of these are being integrated into homes where there is already a resident dog. While gift giving a dog isn't a great idea (everyone in the family needs to be on board with making the commitment to...