One of the biggest differences working with a qualified trainer and trying to DIY your training is knowing when or how to make your training more challenging for your dog. One of the recent survey questions submitted was "how do I know when my dog is ready...
Many people, whether they have a new puppy or a newly rescued adult dog, struggle with the most basic of things we need to train in dogs - to go to the bathroom outside. Housetraining or potty training can be frustrating for owners. Housetraining issues can...
Recently I covered the topic of Is It Separation Anxiety Or Something Else? Some clients come to me already knowing their dog has separation anxiety or isolation distress, because it's been diagnosed by a vet. But many others are confused and unsure - is...
It can be confusing for dog guardians to know if their dog or puppy is experiencing separation anxiety or just having normal "dog stuff" going on, since often there can be a lot of crossover between how behavior presents. Is the dog being destructive and...
I have many clients that find themselves to me because their dog, whether newly adopted from a rescue or purchased from a breeder, discover their dog is afraid of being outside. This is especially prominent in dogs who come from quiet rural settings and then...
Recently I asked for blog topic suggestions and one of the questions submitted was how to answer when people ask "does he bite?" This person also offered that they wanted to keep strangers from petting the dog, so has been saying "yes, he bites" to deter people...
Happy New Year! Thank you for all the responses to my recent survey asking for blog topics. Many of them have already been covered but I will revisit them and maybe break them down a bit more. But, with the start of the new year, I thought it would be a good...
2022 was a hard year for many, including my own family losing Mr. Barbo in August. I've had clients struggling with separation anxiety, and other fearful or aggressive situations: dogs biting children, resource guarders, dogs who don't like to be touched,...
This past Halloween and holiday season I've seen a rash of social media posts, usually videos, of clearly scared dogs and people laughing at them. Dogs startling at lawn inflatables. Dogs backing away from people in costumes. Dogs barking at toys or decorations...
Often in dog/toddler or dog/baby interactions I see parents urging their child to "be gentle" and while I'm sure this is well intentioned by the parent, it's really not a safe way to allow your child to interact with your dog. Depending on the age of the child,...
In some celebratory news, last month marked 3 years that I've been writing weekly blog content (except for a few weeks I took off!) and sharing it with you all. And a huge variety of topics, though some, like fear and aggression, separation anxiety, normal...
If I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard this, I’d be sitting on a private island somewhere retired right now. And honestly, before I was a trainer, before I knew better, I said the same thing about my BooBoo. It’s easy to jump to that conclusion if...