by Kate LaSala | Mar 31, 2025 | Dog Training, Fear, Aggression and Reactivity, Rescue Dogs
As someone who focuses on fear and aggression, a majority of my clients have fear of strangers, or “stranger danger.” This includes subsets of strangers, like fear of children, fear of men or fear of people who look or act a certain way. When your...
by Kate LaSala | Mar 24, 2025 | Dog Training, Fear, Aggression and Reactivity, Puppy Training
Socialization is critical to a happy, behaviorally healthy dogs. Unfortunately there are a lot of mistruths, myths and bad information out there on socialization, including that puppies shouldn’t go out until they’re fully vaccinated. Socialization is not...
by Kate LaSala | Mar 17, 2025 | 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, Introduction to Dog Body Language and Communication is now available! And, for a limited time, it’s FREE to access! This course is packed with quality content with 9 self-paced...
by Kate LaSala | Mar 3, 2025 | Dog Training, Dogs and Babies and Kids, Fear, Aggression and Reactivity, Pet Loss & Grieving, Rescue Dogs, Resource Guarding, Separation Anxiety
Behavioral euthanasia is touchy topic and one that tends to bring out keyboard warriors. Euthanasia for any reason is a difficult decision but behavioral euthanasia is often not given the same understanding as a euthanasia for physical reasons like cancer or...
by Kate LaSala | Feb 17, 2025 | Dog Training, Dogs and Babies and Kids, Puppy Training, Resource Guarding, Separation Anxiety
Technology is changing many industries and dog training is no exception. While it may seem counterintuitive to not have someone come to your home to train your dog, distance (or remote) dog training can be a very successful, cost-effective and convenient way to get...
by Kate LaSala | Jan 27, 2025 | 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. Words matter and how you talk about your dog matters and influences how you feel about your dog. Owners tend to sugarcoat things or...
by Kate LaSala | Jan 13, 2025 | Dog Training, Dog Training Regulation, Fear, Aggression and Reactivity, Puppy Training, Rescue Dogs, Resource Guarding
Here’s the situation: Your dog barks, growls or jumps on someone (or the counter in the kitchen). You respond with a sudden, unpleasant noise like “eh-eh!” Innocent right? Nope! Unfortunately, when people are frustrated or don’t know how...
by Kate LaSala | Dec 23, 2024 | Dog Training, Pet Loss & Grieving, Rescue Dogs, Resource Guarding, Separation Anxiety
I can hardly believe it but last month marked 5 years that I’ve been writing weekly blog content (except for the time I took off during the decline and death of BooBoo). Each year my alma mater, The Academy for Dog Trainers holds their annual Academy...
by Kate LaSala | Nov 11, 2024 | Dog Training, Fear, Aggression and Reactivity
Can dogs be racist? This is a question I get from clients when they sheepishly bring this up in consults and sort of whisper “I think my dog is a racist.” I assure them, first, that they’re not alone and second, that as embarrassing as this...
by Kate LaSala | Oct 28, 2024 | Dog Training, Puppy Training, Resource Guarding
If your dog growls, freezes, eats faster or tries to bite if you approach him when he’s eating, then it’s possible he’s guarding his food. Food guarding is a completely normal and very common dog behavior but it understandably upsets owners...
