by Kate LaSala | Feb 24, 2026 | Dog Training
If you have ever picked up a bag of dog treats and found yourself squinting at the ingredient list, you are not alone. A lot of commercial treats are packed with fillers, vague ingredients, and things most of us would never intentionally feed our dogs. And what...
by Kate LaSala | Feb 23, 2026 | Dog Training, Rescue Dogs
First things first. Unless your dog is sick, if your dog is eating and managing to stay alive, then he is food motivated enough to walk over to a bowl or figure out how to get calories some other way. I could stop here, but I won’t. I was recently interviewed...
by Kate LaSala | Feb 2, 2026 | Dog Training, Fear, Aggression and Reactivity, Rescue Dogs
As a dog trainer and active foster, I have introduced a lot of dogs to a lot of other dogs. Clients’ dogs, foster dogs, resident dogs, dogs who have a long learning history of struggling with other dogs, dogs who want to play, dogs who are asocial but don’t want...
by Kate LaSala | Jan 26, 2026 | Dog Training, Separation Anxiety
With the New Year often comes transition, and for many people that includes moving. A large number of my clients relocated during Covid, and over time I noticed several common challenges that came up when moving to a new home with a dog. Personally we’ve moved 5...
by Kate LaSala | Jan 5, 2026 | Dog Training, Puppy Training, Rescue Dogs
Barking is completely normal dog behavior. Barking is completely normal dog behavior. Barking is completely normal dog behavior. While it may be annoying, barking is your dog’s way of communicating something. There are many reasons why a dog might bark...
by Kate LaSala | Dec 29, 2025 | Dog Training, Fear, Aggression and Reactivity, Rescue Dogs, Separation Anxiety
Happy New Year! With the start of the new year, I thought it would be a good reminder to help get you started off with some things to implement for 2026 to set your dog (and you!) up for success. Stop using punishment based methods and aversive tools like...
by Kate LaSala | Dec 22, 2025 | Dog Training, Fear, Aggression and Reactivity, Rescue Dogs
It’s that time of year when everyone starts to reflect back on the year and look ahead to next year. And I’m no different. I’ve done a version of this post every year for the last 6 years since I’ve been blogging, with lots of ups and...
by Kate LaSala | Dec 1, 2025 | Dog Training, Pet Loss & Grieving, Rescue Dogs, Resource Guarding, Separation Anxiety
I can hardly believe it but last month marked 6 years that I’ve been writing weekly blog content (except for the time I took off during the decline and death of BooBoo). And like I try to do each year, I highlight my Top 10 posts. This year I also added...
by Kate LaSala | Nov 24, 2025 | Dog Training, Dogs and Babies and Kids, Fear, Aggression and Reactivity, Rescue Dogs
With Thanksgiving and winter holidays approaching (here in the US), it’s likely you’re gathering with friends and family and your dog is expected to seamlessly integrate into that chaos. While you may be out of time for training helpful skills like...
by Kate LaSala | Nov 10, 2025 | Dog Training, Separation Anxiety
Separation anxiety in dogs is a tough and often misunderstood condition. Unfortunately, there are many myths that confuse dog parents and sometimes lead them down the wrong path. Let’s clear up three common misconceptions. Myth 1: If your dog has separation anxiety,...
