by Kate LaSala | May 8, 2023 | Dog Training, Fear, Aggression and Reactivity, Rescue Dogs
People mean well. I know they do, but there’s many old ways of interacting with dogs that we were once thought to be the right way, but aren’t. One of these myths is that when we meet a dog we should present our hand “for them to sniff.”...
by Kate LaSala | May 1, 2023 | Dog Training, Fear, Aggression and Reactivity, Rescue Dogs
Full disclosure, I have a strong bias against big dogs playing with and living with small dogs. There, I said it. Sure, many big and small dogs successfully do play or live together, but for me, the risk of something going wrong, just isn’t worth it. Many...
by Kate LaSala | Apr 17, 2023 | Dog Training, Puppy Training, Rescue Dogs, Separation Anxiety
As someone who focuses on fear cases, I have a disproportionate amount of people who view their dog’s fear issues as behavior “problems” that need “fixing” instead of recognizing that fear is not disobedience. The more I was...
by Kate LaSala | Mar 27, 2023 | Dog Training, Puppy Training, Separation Anxiety
While crate training has its place in some areas of dog training – house training, management and medical recovery come to the top of my mind, crating for separation anxiety is not one of those applications. This does get complicated if we have a dog who...
by Kate LaSala | Mar 20, 2023 | Dog Training, Fear, Aggression and Reactivity, Rescue Dogs
Just like humans, dogs go through different stages of development over time, both physical, emotional and social. Every stage has its special moments. Puppies turn into uncoordinated juveniles testing boundaries then into unruly teenagers and then finally...
by Kate LaSala | Mar 13, 2023 | 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. Aversive trainers and electric fence companies will tell you the shock collar is “just a vibration like your cell phone or TENS...
by Kate LaSala | Mar 6, 2023 | Dog Training, Fear, Aggression and Reactivity, Rescue Dogs
As a behavior consultant and trainer, my primary goal is to help families work through their dog’s behavior to help them achieve behavior modification, set up management, ensure the dog’s needs are being met and more. I’ve helped thousands of dogs...
by Kate LaSala | Feb 27, 2023 | Dog Training, Dog Training Regulation, Dogs and Babies and Kids, Fear, Aggression and Reactivity, Puppy Training, Rescue Dogs, Resource Guarding, Separation Anxiety
I’ve written about why you shouldn’t use a shock collar and have my free download, 3 Reasons Not To Use A Shock Collar, but today I’m addressing some common shock collar myths. But, at its core, if you take nothing else away, it’s this:...
by Kate LaSala | Feb 20, 2023 | Dog Training, Puppy Training, Rescue Dogs, Separation Anxiety
Enrichment isn’t optional. It’s not a nice, extra thing we should be doing for our animals – it’s a critical part of their well-being, health and happiness. Having the ability to do normal dog behavior is one of the Five Freedoms,...
by Kate LaSala | Feb 13, 2023 | Dog Training, Fear, Aggression and Reactivity, Rescue Dogs, Resource Guarding, Separation Anxiety
One of the biggest differences working with a qualified trainer and trying to DIY your training is knowing when or how to make your training more challenging for your dog. One of the recent survey questions submitted was “how do I know when my dog is...
