by Kate LaSala | Mar 30, 2026 | Dog Training, Dog Training Regulation, Fear, Aggression and Reactivity, Rescue Dogs, Resource Guarding, Separation Anxiety
If you are struggling with your dog’s behavior, I want you to hear this first. You are not failing. You are not behind. And you absolutely deserve qualified help. But I want you to also know that the quality of information you get and who you hire matters. A lot....
by Kate LaSala | Mar 16, 2026 | Dog Training
Do you ever feel like your dog listens to you better than your spouse? Do you wonder if you’re just lucky or maybe the dog “likes you better”? Sure, your dog might be more attached to one person over the other, but maybe instead of luck,...
by Kate LaSala | Mar 9, 2026 | Dog Training, Dog Training Regulation, Fear, Aggression and Reactivity, Rescue Dogs, Resource Guarding, Separation Anxiety
Professional licensure is not required to call yourself a dog trainer nor is there any industry specific government regulation. Anyone can wake up tomorrow, print business cards, make an Instagram account, and call themselves a trainer or “behaviorist.”...
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 16, 2026 | Dog Training, Puppy Training, Rescue Dogs
One of the trickiest parts (and best parts!) of dog training is that dogs are excellent at connecting dots. It’s one of the ways dogs learn. Sometimes they connect dots that we don’t want them to connect and that’s where clients can run into...
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 19, 2026 | Dog Training, Rescue Dogs
Let’s start by getting this out of the way: dog humping is completely normal behavior. It’s also one of the behaviors that tends to make people the most uncomfortable and embarrassed. I suspect that has more to do with our own cultural weirdness around sex than...
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 8, 2025 | Dog Training, Dogs and Babies and Kids, Puppy Training, Rescue Dogs
During the holidays, a lot of dogs find their new homes, and many of these are being integrated into homes where there is already a resident dog. While gift giving a dog isn’t a great idea (everyone in the family needs to be on board with making the commitment...
