Owners often come to me saying their dog is "stubborn" or "lazy" on walks when what they are actually describing is likely a dog who is afraid. Being comfortable outside is a learned skill and one that is often missed during the critical socialization window...
As a licensed Family Paws Parent Educator and a certified behavior consultant whose speciality is fear and aggression, I work with a lot of families with dogs and kids. If you're expecting or trying to adopt or get pregnant, you may be wondering when you should...
One of the hardest moments in caring for an animal is realizing that the medical treatment they need costs more than you have. It happens every day, in emergency rooms at 2am, in exam rooms after a scary diagnosis, and in the quiet panic of trying to figure out how...
Can dogs and cats live in harmony? In many cases yes! In some cases, absolutely not. How can we best set everyone up for success? Read on! Dogs and cats can often live in harmony, or at least peacefully coexist, but it's not likely to happen on its own, so...
This might surprise you, but I think teaching a dog to sit is one of the the skills your dog really doesn’t need. Now hold on, hear me out before you hate me. It might be convenient but it’s not essential. It’s not a life or death skill, like leave it or...
If you have ever found yourself frustrated because your eight-week-old puppy will not stop biting at your hands, had an accident on the rug for the third time this week, or completely ignored you the moment another dog trotted by, you are not alone, and you...
When you're caring for a sick, senior, or end-of-life dog, it's easy to get so immersed in their daily needs that you push your own entirely aside. Every decision, every schedule, every outing gets filtered through the lens of what your dog needs right now,...
Every single day, we ask our dogs to be something they were never designed to be. We ask them to be less dog. Walk on a leash and don't pull, even though dogs naturally cover far more ground than any human. Don't bark, even though barking is one of the primary ways...
A certified behavior consultant shares five common things that raise red flags, from prong collars to kids kissing dogs.
Anticipatory grief is the mourning that begins before your dog dies. If you're loving a dog through illness or decline, read this.
If you share your life with a hard dog, whether they're reactive, fearful, anxious, aging, or struggling to with strangers or your child, there's a version of your life you've quietly let go of. Maybe you stopped having people over because your dog can't handle it,...
As a trainer who specializes in fear and aggression cases, I'm regularly asked by private clients and rescue organizations about sending dogs off to a "sanctuary," and I want to be clear about how I'm using that term here. I'm referring specifically to facilities...