Leashes & Licks

01/19/2025

Sunday belly rubs with the Scoob.

01/15/2025

All dogs should be trained to wear a muzzle even if they will never need one. You just never know when a situation might require your dog to wear one.

Can also help reduce panic in dogs who may like sticking their noses in places they could get stuck.

01/11/2025

Yes, these might look gross and yes they probably do stink but your dog would love to have some raw food even once and awhile. Chewing on raw foods can help your dog’s dental health, provide them with mental stimulation (new textures, new tastes, chewing is an enriching activity) and give them a nice treat from their regular foods.

We feed a lot of fish in our household to help with coat quality, improve nail health and because of allergies. Scooby, Duckie, and Minnie all enjoy full frozen sardines as well as canned sardines (in spring water only).

There are a lot of fun food options out there for our dogs. Enrich your dog’s mealtime by picking up a new exciting snack for them. These sardines, which are a really good size, were $10.99 in Bowness. If your dog isn’t into fish, they have a lot of other tasty snacks you might consider.

01/10/2025

Reactivity is one of those things that is really miss - understood in the dog training world…

Some trainers focus on STOPPING unwanted behavior by only looking at the top portion of the igloo. How can I help make your dog stop barking, lunging etc…

For me, my personal approach is to look at the whole picture. I focus on the “why” behind behavior and how I can work with you AND your dog to get to the root cause of the behavior and help them to feel better about certain situations that are causing them to show the observable behavior.

It is easy to say “I want my dog to stop reacting at people and dogs on walks” but it’s another to ask “why is my dog reacting to people and dogs on walks?”

I have some pretty exciting training packages and resources coming in 2025 and day training options as well to not only help your dog but also you!

Interested in finding the “why” behind your dog’s behavior and start working with them instead of against them?

Send me a message for a sneak peak of our new training packages or comment 🐶 and I’ll send it directly to your inbox! 👀

01/07/2025

Sweet, sweet Scooby

01/05/2025

Sometimes having a confident dog is challenging.

64lbs and on a frozen glass table. Scooby yelled and screamed at her. He attempted to pull her off the table as well.

When I went outside to get her down she looked for all possible ways off before I got to her but found that getting down was scarier than getting up.

I have done a lot of handling work with her so she is comfortable with me picking her up. After giving her some time to see if she could figure out how to use the chair to get down, I scooped her little butt up and put her back on the ground.

It is so important to make sure you are handling your dog for all possible situations even if they never happen. It would have been so easy for her to bite me in the face if she didn’t feel comfortable with me holding and picking. This would have resulted in injury not just to me and possible facial scarring but it could have caused injury to her as well.

It is better to be over prepared when it comes to handling than under. This includes things like muzzle use, giving needles, ear drops, eye drops, nail trims, brushing (hair and teeth), and so much more.

Handling can also be looked at as a bonding session. Sitting with your dog petting them, loving on them, and working getting them comfortable with all manner of touch.

12/27/2024

I often get asked what the difference is between “Behaviour Modification” and “Training”...🐾🐶

And I couldn’t have summed it up better than the wonderful late Sophia Yin.💗

Behaviour Modification is about changing an animal’s emotional experience around a situation - think of it as “therapy” - and is intended to teach coping skills and change brain neurochemistry.🌟🐶

Training on the other hand is all about the “operant”, what behaviours an animal can perform in response to a specific cue or antecedent setting. Don’t get me wrong, there absolutely may be a place for this in some situations, however, I always think about the emotional experience first and what I can do to change and improve it.🤩🐕

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12/27/2024

Duckie would like to remind everyone to bag and box their holiday bones before putting them in the trash.

Disposing of your holiday bones this way will help reduce the chance of animals getting access to them.

Cooked bones pose a serious risk to our dogs and doing something as simple as bagging and boxing them can help prevent hefty vet bills or death.

Help keep your dog, your neighbours’ dog and other animals safe this holiday season.

12/27/2024

12/26/2024

Merry Christmas!

Everyone gets a special dinner on Christmas in our house.

Doggo Dinner:
Top sirloin
Salmon Fillet
Carrot

12/01/2024

This is definitely how you cuddle on a Sunday.

11/20/2024

The dog who doesn’t want to go potty outside when it is cold but refuses to miss out on snow being thrown around.

11/18/2024

11/11/2024

Meet Stelle! 🐕

Stelle is a 3-year-old gentle giant searching for her forever home 🏘️. Our staff and volunteers can’t say enough good things about her; she’s not only sweet but also smart, already mastering basic commands like “sit” and “stay.” She loves leisurely walks with plenty of breaks for belly rubs and rolling in the grass 🐶. When she's not out exploring, she enjoys games like fetch and tug-of-war, and she's always up for ending the day with cuddles on the couch. 🛋️❤️

Stelle would thrive in a calm, quiet home. She can be a bit wary of strangers, so slow, supervised introductions to new guests are important.

Book your appointment or visit us as a walk-in today! https://www.calgaryhumane.ca/adopt/dogs/?id=2000188458

11/11/2024

It always melts my heart when I see these two cuddling.

I also think back to just a couple months ago when these two struggled so much to settle together. How did we go from wanting to rip our hair out because of the nonstop wrestling, the constant jumping on each other, the teeth clicking bitey face and the all the sounds that came with action? We rewarded calm behaviour.

We rewarded them for making the choice to just relax together. We captured the calm in all situations - outside, on walks, in the bedroom, during the day, during the night and any other times we saw them just chill together.

We are so good at reacting to undesirable behaviours that we miss so many opportunities to reinforce the things we want. Try ignoring behaviours that are not desirable (obviously if safe to do so) and start reward your dog for things you like - are they laying down while you cook? REWARD THEM! Are they watching people or dogs walk by without barking? REWARD THEM! Reward them for making good choices on their own and you will find things will improve quicker.

11/08/2024

Can you guess who took the paper towel outside?

How would you respond to your dog taking a brand new roll of paper towel outside and having a party?

11/01/2024

Duckie’s first Halloween!

She was rather disappointed that people weren’t stopping to pet her in the beginning so she decided she would force them to pet her by cutting in front of them and sitting down. We ran into the same group of 3 kids, who all stopped each time and gave her all the pets and even some kisses.