Today I'm thrilled to share that my new self-paced course, Bringing Home Baby: Preparing Dog and Family For A New Human Baby, is now available! This has been many months in the making and I am so excited to be able to finally share it with you. This course...
With Halloween this week and Christmas right around the corner, it's a good time to remind people that Scared Dogs Aren't Funny. Social media posts, usually videos, of clearly scared dogs and people laughing at them make me sad. Dogs startling at lawn inflatables....
I'm here, as a highly credentialed, multi-certified behavior consultant who specializes in fear, aggression and anxiety cases, to give you permission to spoil your dog. Go ahead. Give them treats for free. That's right, don't make them sit before you give it...
You're looking to bring a new dog into your home, and you are understandably excited. I want your first interaction to go as smoothly as possible and that means debunking some old ideas about how to meet or interact with a dog. The old adage, "you don't get...
Many of my friends with human kids love to say "don't blink" meaning that if you blink you will miss your kids growing up and they will be gone, off on their own. This sentiment resonated with me even more for our dogs, who are with us for such a short...
During certain times of the year, I see an increase in community social media groups with postings from parents offering their child as a dog walker and it makes me cringe when I see it. And during my family dog consults I get asked about when kids can walk the...
I've previously written about 5 Myths About Shock Collars and have my free download 3 Reasons Not To Use A Shock Collar. I talk more about why not to use these tools, take a deeper dive into regulation and give you citations to research if you'd like to look...
There's often posts and memes that circulate on social media that get under my skin. Videos that people think are cute or funny when I see a stressed dog. Videos of dogs and kids that anyone educated in dog body language would see as incredibly unsafe and...
A few times a year I get called in on cases of two female housemates having aggression issues. Often these dogs have lived together for a while, with sort of normal, predictable fights over resources like food, toys, resting spots or attention. But then the fights...
Separation anxiety can be hard to properly diagnose, even in adult dogs. But with puppies, it can be especially confusing for new puppy parents to know if their puppy is experiencing separation anxiety or normal "puppy stuff." A lot of normal things that puppies do...
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 listening" in certain...
Today I'm here to tell you, to give you permission, to not walk your dog. Wait, what? Don't all dogs need walks? I'm here to say, no. We've been taught to believe that dogs need walks but many dogs don't enjoy walks. And, for a lot of dogs, walking just...