by Kate LaSala | May 26, 2025 | Dog Training, Dog Training Regulation, Puppy Training, Rescue Dogs
I often hear from potential clients who are torn between hiring a private trainer like me or sending their dog to a “boot camp.” Let me be clear: boot camp is not the answer. The term itself conjures images of military-style training—pre-dawn wake-ups, yelling, rigid...
by Kate LaSala | Apr 28, 2025 | Dog Training, Puppy Training
“I don’t want to bribe my dog with food” or “When can I stop using food?” are two common things I hear from clients. For some reason, a lot of people see using food in training as some form of corruption, like if they use food the...
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 | Feb 21, 2025 | Dog Training, Fear, Aggression and Reactivity, Pet Loss & Grieving, Rescue Dogs
I was recently honored to be a guest on the The Pet Loss Companion podcast, talking about behavioral euthanasia and my death doula work. While behavioral euthanasia is touchy topic and one that tends to bring out the keyboard warriors, it’s an important...
by Kate LaSala | Jan 21, 2025 | Dog Training, Fear, Aggression and Reactivity, Pet Loss & Grieving, Rescue Dogs
I was recently honored to be a guest on the The Resilient Animal podcast and had a lovely discussion about my companion animal death doula work and other dog topics. This was a more personal conversation than some of my other podcast appearances, talking about...
by Kate LaSala | Dec 30, 2024 | Dog Training
2024 was the most challenging year I’ve had in many ways, with most challenges stemming from the devastating loss of my heart dog, my muse, my love, my BooBoo. When she died in April, I sunk into a deep depression, unable to work and just needing time to...
by Kate LaSala | Dec 3, 2024 | Dog Training, Fear, Aggression and Reactivity, Pet Loss & Grieving, Rescue Dogs
I was recently on the RISK! podcast talking about what else? Dogs! If you’re not familiar with Risk!, it’s a storytelling podcast (similar to The Moth, but not always PG!) and my husband is one of the audio editors and engineers. RISK! is weekly...
by Kate LaSala | Nov 27, 2024 | Dog Training, Fear, Aggression and Reactivity, Pet Loss & Grieving, Rescue Dogs
I was recently honored to be on the podcast, Good Grief with Nikki The Death Doula, talking about what a companion animal death doula does, how I help clients suffering from stigmatized losses like behavioral euthanasia, and how to best prepare for the death of...
by Kate LaSala | Nov 12, 2024 | Dog Training, Fear, Aggression and Reactivity, Pet Loss & Grieving, Rescue Dogs
I was recently honored to be a guest on the Starlight Pet Talk podcast, talking about where fear in dogs comes from, how trauma affects some dogs, while also emphasizing how resilient dogs can be and how we can help them adjust to their new lives. Amy, the...
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...
