With the horrible events in our nation's Capitol recently, I've been struggling a bit with how to appropriately provide relevant, but sensitive content for this week, so it seemed fitting to broach the topic of racism, or at least racism in dogs. Often clients...
Last week I discussed about how major life changes, like a move, can often trigger behavior changes or regressions in areas like separation anxiety or house training. And while moving may be a specific trigger for a regression, regressions, moving or not, are...
With the New Year, often comes transitions and people moving. Many of my clients have moved during Covid and there's a few common suggestions I have for people moving to a new home with their dog and thought reviewing them entering the new year would be a nice...
As we move towards kicking 2020 aside, as I'm sure many people are eager to do, I'd like to take a few minutes to reflect on 2020. After the shock of Covid and quarantines and all of that kicked in, I scrambled to rebuild my business model to figure out a way...
This is the fourth and final installment in my Fear in Dogs series discussing all the various ways dogs can acquire fear. Last week I released this helpful, downloadable infographic that you can download on my Free Downloads page. This week, I'm discussing...
This is the third installment in my Fear in Dogs series discussing the various ways dogs can acquire fear. This week, I'm talking about the most commonly known (and assumed) way dogs get fear, through bad experiences. When I have a fear and aggression consult,...
Last week I introduced my Fear in Dogs series talking about the role of mothers in how dogs may acquire fear. If you missed it, you can read that post here. This week, I'm touching on the role of genetics and the situations in which we commonly see these in...
One of the unforeseen benefits of the pandemic, at least early on, was emptying of rescues and shelters, since people were going to be home and they decided it was a great time to bring home a dog or cat. Social distancing and puppy socialization are in direct...
Did you ever just have a really bad day, where everything seemed to go wrong? Your alarm didn't go off, you were rushing around to get ready for work, you spilled your coffee, your toast got burned, you forgot to grab your lunch, your shoe lace broke, you...
One of the most common questions I'm asked during consults is "how long will this take to fix?" It's understandable - people want to know what the timeline is, what the financial commitment is likely to be and what the emotional toll might be. And I...
There's not too many things better in life than watching puppies romp around, wrestling, chewing on each other, playing and toppling over. But trainers know this isn't just fun and games but that having age appropriate puppy play, especially during their...
So you've brought home a new rescue dog (or are preparing to do so)! Congratulations on your new addition! I bet you’re excited to show off your new bundle of joy to everyone! And that's understandable! But first, let’s look at some important things to help...
SUSPEND ABSENCES. Now, hear me out. I know your gut reaction is that impossible - maybe a little less so during Covid but under normal circumstances you have errands to run, work meetings, social engagements, vacations, date night, going to the gym and more. ...
It can be confusing for new puppy parents to know if their puppy is experiencing separation anxiety or normal "puppy stuff" since there can be a lot of crossover between the two. Puppies inherently have separation anxiety – vocalizing to reunite with mom or get...
This week I'm finishing up my credential to become a Certified Separation Anxiety Trainer and if you joined last week's Facebook Live, I talked a little bit about what separation anxiety training looks like. Today I wanted to chat a little about some separation...
Does your dog growl, freeze, lunge or try to bite if you approach him when she's got a high value chew, used Kleenex or stolen sock? Just like food guarding that I talked about a few weeks ago, guarding high value resources is a completely normal and very common dog...
Recently with all the new Covid puppies, the myth, and frankly, dangerous, outdated "advice" breeders, rescues and even vets are giving to new owners that puppies can't go outside until all their vaccines are complete, has reared it ugly head again. (Note: I am not a...
Last week I released an infographic on dog communication. If you missed it, you can download your copy here. Understanding how to read your dog's communication is the single most important thing you can to improve your relationship with your dog. Dogs very rarely...