by Kate LaSala | Oct 21, 2024 | Dog Training, Fear, Aggression and Reactivity, Rescue Dogs
Turid Rugaas, a Norwegian dog trainer, came up with the term “calming signals” to refer to the appeasement behaviors dogs do. People will often coin these as submissive or deference behaviors. Many dogs will use this body language signs to...
by Kate LaSala | Oct 7, 2024 | Dog Training, Fear, Aggression and Reactivity, Rescue Dogs
Adopting a fearful dog from a puppy mill, hoarding situation or backyard breeder dog can be incredibly rewarding and very challenging. There’s something to helping a fearful dog blossom into a confident, non-fearful dog. But, I get a lot of clients who are not...
by Kate LaSala | Aug 19, 2024 | Dog Training, Dog Training Regulation, Fear, Aggression and Reactivity, Rescue Dogs, Separation Anxiety
Clients almost always ask “how long will this take to fix?” and I can never give them a concrete answer. I don’t have a crystal ball or a magic wand. I’m not hiding anything, in fact, I’m being completely transparent, unlike...
by Kate LaSala | Aug 5, 2024 | Dog Training, Fear, Aggression and Reactivity, Rescue Dogs
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. For active,...
by Kate LaSala | Mar 4, 2024 | Dog Training, Fear, Aggression and Reactivity, Rescue Dogs
With many of us thinking ahead to the upcoming solar eclipse, and ordering those special glasses to protect your eyes for this once in a lifetime event, you may be wondering if you need to worry about your dog (or other pets) for the eclipse. Well, I checked...
by Kate LaSala | Feb 5, 2024 | Dog Training, Fear, Aggression and Reactivity, Rescue Dogs, Separation Anxiety
Displacement behaviors are normal behaviors that are performed out of context and they can indicate if a dog is conflicted or anxious. I talk about them when I’m reviewing dog body language with clients, especially for fearful dogs or with my separation...
by Kate LaSala | Jan 22, 2024 | Dog Training, Fear, Aggression and Reactivity, Resource Guarding, Separation Anxiety
Once again, let me first start this post with my standard disclaimer: I AM NOT A VET. But as a trainer who specializes in fear, aggression, reactivity and separation anxiety, I always ask clients about their dog’s medical history and I’m always...
by Kate LaSala | Nov 6, 2023 | Dog Training, Dogs and Babies and Kids, Fear, Aggression and Reactivity, Rescue Dogs
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...
by Kate LaSala | Oct 23, 2023 | Dog Training, Rescue Dogs, Separation Anxiety
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...
by Kate LaSala | Sep 25, 2023 | Dog Training, Dog Training Regulation, Fear, Aggression and Reactivity, Puppy Training, Rescue Dogs, Resource Guarding, Separation Anxiety
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...
