The Clever Canine

05/28/2024

This little Sheba mix was such a treat to work with today. The best part was this is a third dog that these clients have had me come in and work with them about. Absolutely love that i've been in the field long enough that I'm now working with second and third generation dogs for families.

05/07/2024

I am excited to be partnering with Dr. Kiffney of Northshore Veterinary Hospital to announce a new Comprehensive Wellness program.The program includes a house-call total wellness evaluation including physical exam, gait analysis, environmental evaluation, written full physical and behavioral assessment, medication plan (if indicated), email support for the first three weeks, and a virtual follow-up on week four. If needed the team can set up continued support throughout the Behavior Modification plan.

The Comprehensive Wellness program is now looking for pilot cases at a starting rate of $500.00 for a month of care from the Team. Brita Kiffney, (DVM DABVP canine and feline practitioner), and Celeste Patten (CTC, CPDT-KA, SA Pro ) are scheduling home visits to evaluate your pet's total physical and behavioral health on Tuesdays. Contact Northshore to schedule.

05/06/2024

Last week I met with a new monthly coaching client. Her name was Malu. According to her parents, she had been suffering from light and shadow chasing and other obsessive behaviors. During our initial conversation I asked how often she yawned. They said she never yawned and asked if she was supposed to. Yes, your dog is supposed to yawn throughout the day. It helps to relieve stress. One of the first things we did to help her was add calm enrichment activities to her life. Her exercise needs were being met for sure with long distance bike rides and high intensity activities. But she needed balance. So their feedback that she started yawning warms my heart. I can't say that 20 years ago when I started dog training I would have felt the same way about this small piece of feedback. But today it means a lot.

05/06/2024

02/16/2024

This is Ken, he and my client in Los Angeles. We train online every week to work on his separation anxiety. He is up 2 minutes now of alone time. His mom is so happy that she can take the trash out at her apartment by herself now. It's the little things.

12/24/2023

When you go for your Christmas Eve walk but someone else was there yesterday!! 🤯. New smells equal fun times - enrichment. New locations, new time of day, after a storm. All these things change the environment. Let them have a blast smelling and investigating all these changes. It's good for their minds.

12/23/2023

Got to work with this little icon. She is very nervous in her new home. I spoke with her new mom on how to help her feel safe and to encourage her to explore her new home. Part of that safety is letting her leave the room when she feels overwhelmed. And not to go after her. She is very sensitive to social pressure and following her is scary. We just waited and she came back on her own every time.

12/08/2023

Took my friend to see the dermatologist today! She did so great and now we wait for results. On the way home she got a good girl pupcup

11/14/2023

10/13/2023

Clean boy.

10/12/2023

08/20/2023

I had so much fun meeting the newest addition to the farm Nettles the cow. At a very cool event.

05/13/2023

Got to work with this icelandic today. What a cute guy and his person was so open to learning a new way of communicating with him. We talked about enrichment for his young active brain and body. One of the things I suggested was any and all scent based games. Rats, Antlers, and His Persons things! And we of course talked about Barking because he's an Icey through and through.

05/06/2023

Got to work with these two lovelies this morning. Working on how to share space and not harass your friends. We worked on parallel scatters. Name cookies. Recall out of play. And what is play? What does it look like?.

01/24/2023

This wonderful 10 mo LabX is a lot and I love her for it. She is big, bold and bouncy. In the discovery part of our fist session together it became apparent that she had zero enrichment in her life. So she was causing chaos for entertainment. Her family is gonna start adding in some intentional mental games for her. I think this will be a big step in the right direction for her and her busy teenage brain.

06/16/2022

Got to meet this today. Her parents and I talked about how to help her develop good relationships with the children in the home. Also how to predict and prevent problem behaviors.

05/26/2022

See you there?

Oh look - it's that time again!
Time to discuss how bigotry affects our industry 🤷🏽‍♀️
Join me Instagram.com/flashofbrilliancedogs & Liza (they/them) of LIVE tomorrow evening at 8P EDT/5P PDT over on Instagram for what is sure to be an enlightening discussion.

If you can't make it, boost the heck out of this

01/20/2022

Highly recommend!!

Idgie is 13 years old. And she's a young 13. I don't take credit for all of that; she's got great genetics and has had excellent medical care her entire life. But I do think part of her mobility, cognitive sharpness, and overall health can be contributed to my dedication to exercise, enrichment, nutrition, and communication.

There is so much to know about these four pillars of wellness that it's all in an online course I teach that is starting up soon. Specifically geared toward sport dogs and their handlers, I go through the ways in which you can keep your young dogs mentally sound throughout their careers, setting them up for happy retirements, like Idgie's.

Registration is this Saturday 1/22. Here is the link: https://www.fenzidogsportsacademy.com/index.php/courses/11613

11/03/2021

I am officially a separation anxiety certified specialist now. More info soon!

07/17/2021

Both operant and classical learning are happening at all times; they are not standalone principles. When I say this, it often causes pushback and confusion, so I teamed up with Doggie Drawings by Lili Chin to create this graphic. I hope it helps! Please share and do be sure to like Lili's page!

06/28/2021

Remember to stay hydrated...
☀️

06/26/2021

Watching the pool fill up

06/10/2021

There was a carrot murder here ...

06/09/2021

So y'all I have been keeping a on Memorial weekend I brought home this little girl. She is still in the stage of her stay with me. I have been slowly doing introductions to each dog in the house. Things are going well and I will keep you posted on her progress but for now. Here she is.

05/24/2021

Jonny did Fast CAT today and ❤️ it.

04/23/2021

Let the games begin.

04/22/2021

Let the dog show weekends begin!