by Kate LaSala | May 5, 2025 | Dog Training, Dog Training Regulation, Fear, Aggression and Reactivity, Puppy Training, Rescue Dogs
I’ve previously written about 5 Myths About Shock Collars and have my free download 3 Reasons Not To Use A Shock Collar where I talk more about why not to use these tools, take a deeper dive into regulation and give you citations to research if...
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 | Oct 7, 2024 | Dog Training, Dogs and Babies and Kids, 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 | Sep 30, 2024 | Dog Training, Fear, Aggression and Reactivity, Rescue Dogs
If I asked most dog guardians if they liked their dog, they’d quickly reply something like “Of course, I love my dog!” But loving your dog isn’t the same as liking your dog. Love and like are different psychological experiences, so...
by Kate LaSala | Sep 9, 2024 | Dog Training, Puppy Training, Rescue Dogs
Since BooBoo passed away 5 months ago, we’ve been dipping our toes back into fostering. When Barbo and BooBoo were both alive, we did a lot of fostering. As a family, we fostered over 50 dogs and puppies, many of which were fearful. It was early in my dog...
by Kate LaSala | Jul 15, 2024 | Dog Training, Dogs and Babies and Kids
A few months ago (before BooBoo passed away…so you will see her in the video if you watch it!) I chatted with Zazie and Kristie from Companion Animal Psychology for their podcast The Pawsitive Post in Conversation about my course, Bringing Home Baby. You...
by Kate LaSala | Jun 3, 2024 | Dog Training, Dogs and Babies and Kids
When I did in-person sessions I would often walk into a home and the kids would yelling at the dog or saying “NO” to it or pushing its butt down to try to get the dog to sit. And my immediate thought was always “well, I know where they learned...
by Kate LaSala | May 13, 2024 | Dog Training, Dog Training Regulation, Dogs and Babies and Kids, Fear, Aggression and Reactivity, Puppy Training, Rescue Dogs, Resource Guarding, Separation Anxiety
I’ve previously written about the fallout effects specifically of shock collars. But I wanted to more broadly touch on our regular interactions with our dogs, especially puppies in their critical socialization window, and why things like clamping a...
by Kate LaSala | Mar 11, 2024 | Dog Training, Fear, Aggression and Reactivity, Rescue Dogs
Today I’m sharing a post I wrote for Pets and Their People, a resource dedicated to pet owners, provided by the Pet Professional Guild, which is a force-free organization that I’m proud to be a member of. I am also a committee member of their...
by Kate LaSala | Feb 19, 2024 | Dog Training, Fear, Aggression and Reactivity, Rescue Dogs
This might surprise you, but I think teaching a dog to sit is one of the the skills your dog really doesn’t need. Now hold on, hear me out before you hate me. It might be convenient but it’s not essential. It’s not a life or death skill, like...
