by Kate LaSala | Oct 6, 2025 | Dog Training, Dog Training Regulation, Dogs and Babies and Kids, Fear, Aggression and Reactivity, Puppy Training, Rescue Dogs, Resource Guarding, Separation Anxiety
Today I want to take a closer look at the fallout effects of aversive training tools such as prong collars, shock collars, bark collars, electric fences, and noise aversives. These methods all have one thing in common: they rely on fear, pain, or intimidation...
by Kate LaSala | Sep 22, 2025 | Dog Training, Dogs and Babies and Kids, Fear, Aggression and Reactivity, Puppy Training, Rescue Dogs
Today I’m thrilled to share that my new self-paced course, Home Sweet Home: Helping Your New Dog Thrive from Day One is now available! Bringing home a new puppy or rescue dog is one of the most joyful experiences but it can also feel overwhelming. From...
by Kate LaSala | Sep 15, 2025 | Dog Training, Dog Training Regulation, Puppy Training, Rescue Dogs
Much like the lack of transparency in dog training, there’s also a lack of transparency in sheltering and rescue organizations. In 2018 eight prominent animal welfare organizations and foundations released a joint mission statement regarding...
by Kate LaSala | Jul 21, 2025 | Dog Training, Puppy Training, Separation Anxiety
It can be confusing for new puppy parents to know if their puppy is experiencing separation anxiety or normal “puppy stuff” since there can be a lot of crossover between the two. Puppies inherently have separation anxiety – vocalizing to reunite with mom...
by Kate LaSala | Jul 14, 2025 | Dog Training, Fear, Aggression and Reactivity, Pet Loss & Grieving, Rescue Dogs
Recently I submitted my one year grief update to The Pet Loss Companion podcast, because they had graciously shared my story about BooBoo shortly after she passed away, and I wanted to give them an update. My Lessons and Gratitude in Grief One Year in was...
by Kate LaSala | May 30, 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, episode #212, talking about fostering, how fostering helped with my grief journey with BooBoo, and my self-paced course, Fostering 101: Fundamentals to Being a Successful...
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 | 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 | 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...
