by Kate LaSala | Jun 5, 2023 | Dog Training, Fear, Aggression and Reactivity
Understanding how to read your dog’s communication is the single most important thing you can to improve your relationship with your dog. This is probably why one of my most popular free downloads is my infographic on dog communication. If you missed it, you...
by Kate LaSala | May 16, 2023 | Dog Training, Fear, Aggression and Reactivity
I’ve written about the importance of enrichment how giving your dog outlets for normal dog behavior like sniffing is important and how enrichment isn’t optional. But, let’s face it. We all have busy lives. And sometimes the weather may not...
by Kate LaSala | May 15, 2023 | Dog Training, Fear, Aggression and Reactivity
I’ve written about the importance of enrichment how giving your dog outlets for normal dog behavior like sniffing is important and how enrichment isn’t optional. Often we overlook social interaction as part of our enrichment plan. Remember, dogs are...
by Kate LaSala | May 8, 2023 | Dog Training, Fear, Aggression and Reactivity, Rescue Dogs
People mean well. I know they do, but there’s many old ways of interacting with dogs that we were once thought to be the right way, but aren’t. One of these myths is that when we meet a dog we should present our hand “for them to sniff.”...
by Kate LaSala | May 1, 2023 | Dog Training, Fear, Aggression and Reactivity, Rescue Dogs
Full disclosure, I have a strong bias against big dogs playing with and living with small dogs. There, I said it. Sure, many big and small dogs successfully do play or live together, but for me, the risk of something going wrong, just isn’t worth it. Many...
by Kate LaSala | Apr 17, 2023 | Dog Training, Puppy Training, Rescue Dogs, Separation Anxiety
As someone who focuses on fear cases, I have a disproportionate amount of people who view their dog’s fear issues as behavior “problems” that need “fixing” instead of recognizing that fear is not disobedience. The more I was...
by Kate LaSala | Apr 3, 2023 | Dog Training, Dog Training Regulation, Puppy Training, Rescue Dogs
Much like the lack of transparency in dog training, there’s also a lack of transparency in sheltering and rescue organizations. In 2018 eight prominent animal welfare organizations and foundations released a joint mission statement regarding...
by Kate LaSala | Mar 27, 2023 | Dog Training, Puppy Training, Separation Anxiety
While crate training has its place in some areas of dog training – house training, management and medical recovery come to the top of my mind, crating for separation anxiety is not one of those applications. This does get complicated if we have a dog who...
by Kate LaSala | Mar 20, 2023 | Dog Training, Fear, Aggression and Reactivity, Rescue Dogs
Just like humans, dogs go through different stages of development over time, both physical, emotional and social. Every stage has its special moments. Puppies turn into uncoordinated juveniles testing boundaries then into unruly teenagers and then finally...
by Kate LaSala | Mar 13, 2023 | Dog Training, Fear, Aggression and Reactivity, Rescue Dogs
There’s a lot of euphemisms in dog training, mostly trying to smooth over things that don’t sit well with us. Aversive trainers and electric fence companies will tell you the shock collar is “just a vibration like your cell phone or TENS...
