Ethical Canine Training and Behaviour Modification

01/16/2025

Is your dog....
Outdoorsy? ⛰️🌲🌧🏕
Outsidey? ☀️🏡🌻🪟
Or....
Gavin? 🤷‍♀️😂

01/12/2025

One of the most influential books of my professional life. The author, Karen Pryor, passed away this past week, and my social media has been filled with tributes to her impact on the field of dog training. While I never met her (unlike so many other lucky professionals around my age), this book still holds a place of honour. 20 years ago, in vet tech school, I was lucky enough to have instruction in animal behaviour from a positive reinforcement trainer who assigned this book in our curriculum. I have clear memories of reading it at that time and how it made me think differently about so many aspects of teaching animals (I came from traditional horse training and farm animal handling).

I'll always be thankful for being made to read 😆. I wouldn't be where I am today without this book and the education around it.

Ps this is the same copy from my tech school days complete with highlighter.

01/11/2025

It's 2025, does your training plan need a refresher? I'm doing a sale in January and February for previous clients to help jumpstart your new year 😊. Message me if you're interested!

01/08/2025

Previous and current students, check your emails for links to Jan and Feb drop ins! I'm trying some new things, so I want to know if this is what you all want 😊. The sign up link is in the most recent Mailerlite Newsletter.

01/03/2025

"Building Confidence" - what does it mean? Unfortunately, most of what you might see online is not it. Fortunately, you can build your dog's confidence in many gentle and understanding ways.

01/02/2025

New Year, New Wonderful People! 🎉
Introducing Authentic Canine's newest certified dog trainer, Chelsea Major! 🔥
(stay tuned to see her involved in some Ethical Canine classes, too).

Chelsea is deeply passionate about the well-being of dogs and is committed to continually enhancing her expertise in training, behavior, and enrichment. As a Certified Canine Training and Behavior Specialist through the Animal Behavior Institute, she strives to empower both dogs and their owners by fostering trust, understanding, and positive relationships.

Her services include day training, with a focus on puppies' foundations, basic manners for all ages, group classes, and dog walking and enrichment visits designed to promote physical and mental stimulation. Chelsea takes pride in offering compassionate, science-based training methods that strengthen the bond between dogs and their owners.

12/25/2024

12/20/2024

I'm done with classes and clients until January! I've got so many fun ideas rolling around for 2025, so I'll see you all soon. Please tell your dogs I say hi :)

12/19/2024

It's the last day of ! And also my last day of work before the Christmas break. To celebrate, I'm sharing some art that's extra special to me...art of my own dogs :)

I've tagged the artist in the first three as they're commissions done over the past couple of years. The fourth one was done as a fundraiser, so I don't know the artist, but I know they kindly volunteered for the . And the last two are treasured gifts from friends 🥰 (the drawing of Joni actually also has a sneak peak of art I had done for my best boy Marlo many years ago).

Have you had any art done of your dogs, or had any as gifts? I think art is one of the best gifts there is :)

12/18/2024

Today in is an illustration from the book "The Story of the Kind Wolf".
Art is by Jozef Wilkon, book by Peter Nickl.

12/15/2024

My last couple of days of art have been a bit on the serious side, so here's some of the funny side of dogs in art. These 3 paintings are all in the National Gallery in Edinburgh, and I was able to see them in person this past April. What I noticed in all of them was how the artists had included not only details of dogs but how the dogs in the tiny details are quite funny.

The full image of these paintings are downloaded from the internet, but I took the pictures of the details myself. The last photo shows a human for scale - you can see how enormous a lot of these works are, which makes looking for the tiny details even more amusing.

"Pitlessie Fair" by Sir David Wilkie, 1804
"The Penny Wedding" by Alexander Carse, 1819
"Landscape with a Hunstman and Dead Game" by Jan Weenix, 1697

12/14/2024

Fidelity
1869
by Briton Riviere (1840–1920)

This dog reminds me of my Gavin 🤎

12/13/2024

"Dog/Perro"
Diego De La Rosa
Oil on panel, 8×10 inches
2022

12/13/2024

I am a member of a Facebook group for sharing Animals in Art, and every once in a while, a particular artist just hits differently. These digital works are by the contemporary Japanese artist Monokubo. Much of their art features giant animals - giant but still fluffy and cute. I've selected creations featuring canines, but animals are everywhere in their art, and I suggest you check out the pieces featuring cats ;) Monokubo's art also includes people... but there is often a sense of sadness or despair seen in the human subjects. Although I'm usually most drawn to "cozy" art, I find that these works are less and less cozy the more you study them... but just as much if not more meaningful.
Sadly, Monokubo passed away in 2022.

12/13/2024

Current and previous clients,I've sent out an email asking for input on Drop In sessions for 2025. There are prizes!

12/11/2024

If you know me, you'll know about my love of Collies. I'm always keeping an eye out for Collies in art, and in much of the early 20th century, they were very popular. You can also see, through these selected paintings, the evolution of the look of the Collie as we know it today. The first painting, "Rough Coated Collie," is from 1809 by James Ward. This dog looks more like what we would now think of as a Border Collie. As we move along, the Collies in these images move from farm workers to companions, ending with the painting "Queen Alexandra, Her Grandchildren and Dogs," by Frederick Morgan, and featuring a collection of very posh and purebred-looking dogs.

The other Collie paintings are as follows:
"Found" by Albert Schenck (1828-1901)

"Good Friends" by Walter Hunt est 1903

"Collie, Guardian of the Flock" c.1908 by Edwin James Douglas

"Little Girl with Collie and Puppies" by Arthur John Elsey (1860-1952)

"A Critical Moment" by F***y Moody (1861-1948)

Do you have a favourite breed that shows up in art throughout the years?

12/09/2024

Today's subject is another artist who featured dogs in many of his works. Sir Edwin Henry Landseer was a British painter who lived from 1802-1873. He painted many animals, but in particular, he seems drawn to dogs' strong emotions around humans. This first work is called "Saved", the second is "The Old Shepherd's Chief Mourner", then "The Faithful Hound" followed by "The Poor Dog (The Shepherd's Grave)", and finally "Alpine Mastiffs Reanimating a Distressed Traveler".

If you're a breed nerd, you might have thought that the name Landseer sounds familiar, and you'd be right. The black and white coat type found in Newfoundland dogs (see the first painting) is called "Landseer" after this artist.

Sir Edwin is also responsible for two other very famous works of art: the Monarch of the Glen, found at the National Gallery in Edinburgh (I was lucky enough to see it in person in April), and the four stone lion sculptures at the base of Nelson's Column in London's Trafalgar Square.