No Monkey Business Dog Training

11/12/2025

Alright NMBDT fans,
I rarely ask for help here, but I’m making an exception for this girl.

Narnia had her appointments this morning with neuro and internal medicine. Her bile acid test came back normal, but we need to get to the bottom of her seizures and wobbly movements. While we are hoping it could just be cerebellar hypoplasia with epilepsy, we need further diagnostic work to ensure it’s not something more progressive or profound. She needs an MRI.

Old Dogs Go To Helen, which I founded, is a 501c3 and every donation is tax deductible. We take in the sick, dying and medically complex dogs - mainly old but puppies too sometimes, who need a soft place to land and quality of life advocated for. We fight like hell to give good lives and good deaths to all in our care and we’d really like to give Narnia the absolute best chance of that that we can. We lose so many oldies each week, cases like hers give us some small glimmers of hope that we need to keep doing this work.

An MRI for her with more diagnostic work (spinal tap and bloodwork) is her best chance at giving us an understanding of what she needs. But, we need help raising the funds to do that. We also have 15 other oldies we care for as well as hospice horses, pigs and goats.

Any donation, no matter how small, helps. And if you can’t donate, can you share to see if we can raise what’s needed for Narnia? We need around $8000!

Thank you so much.

Www.olddogsgotohelen.com/donate

11/11/2025

The first actual written record of war dogs comes to use from the ancient Kingdom of Lydia in modern day Turkey. The small empire’s first ruler, Alyattes, reportedly had his soldiers turn packs of dogs loose on Cimmerian troops in a battle sometime around 600 BCE. The Lydian attack dogs were particularly effective against enemy cavalry, according to one contemporary source.

Around the same time Magnesian troops from Anatolia used their war dogs not against cavalry, but in conjunction with their mounted warriors. In a war against the Ephesians, Magnesian riders released their hounds on the enemy phalanxes to soften them up before a cavalry charge.

Centuries later, the Roman army would routinely deploy their own war dogs. The Canis Molossus or Molossian was the legion’s preferred breed of fighting dog. In fact, it was specially bred just for combat.

In the late Middle Ages, Spanish conquistadores in the New World made brutally effective use of fighting dogs as well. Favouring a mixed breed of deerhound and mastif, the Spaniards festooned their canines with padded armour and spiked collars. Tribal warriors of the Americas were terrified of these enormous fighting animals. The Spaniards would typically release the beasts once an enemy formation was just about to break in order to precipitate a total route. The dogs were known to devour any enemy they could sink their teeth into. So feared were Spain’s canine combatants that the conqueror Ponce De Leon reportedly used a brace of them to put down a slave rebellion in Puerto Rico.

Military dogs continued to be used right up to the 20th Century. In fact, during the First World War, canines quickly proved their value in the trenches of the Western Front – not as combatants, but as pack animals, stretcher-bearers and even sentries. Trench dogs were particularly effective in detecting enemy recon teams and raiding parties in No Man’s Land, especially after dark. Dogs also served as messengers on the front lines. The muddy and crater pocked battlescapes of Flanders were often impassible to human runners; dogs had a far easier time navigating the terrain. And at a fraction of the size of a human being, the animals were hard targets for snipers to hit. Knowing their usefulness, the British army established a dog training centre in Scotland to prepare messenger carriers for the trenches. And it wasn’t just the British who relied on dogs — Germany reportedly used more than 30,000 of them during the war; while the French sent 20,000 to the front.

Dogs returned to action during the next global conflict and were used in new (and sometimes cruel) ways. For example, during the opening weeks of the N**i invasion of the Soviet Union, Russian troops used dogs to destroy enemy tanks. Dog handlers with the Red Army spent weeks conditioning their animals to dart under German Panzers when released onto the battlefield. The dogs were equipped with mines that would be magnetically detonated when the charges came in contact with panzers’ steel hulls. The explosion would knock out the tank, but kill the dog in the process. Innovate yes, but effective? Not really. It turned out that the dogs were just as likely to run beneath Russian tanks or simply leap into friendly trenches amid the noise of battle killing Soviet troops instead of the enemy.

The United States also employed dogs during World War Two, although not as su***de bombers. In fact, soon after entering the war, Washington put out a call to American families to volunteer their pooches to help defeat the Axis. More than 10,000 dogs were inducted into the service. The Americans, like many other armies, used dogs as messengers, sentries and even bomb sniffers. Dogs have continued to serve in these roles right up to the present day.

On Veterans Day we remember and respect all those who have served and returned from war. In the past, many dogs used in war were not able to return and were abandoned after their service. Today however, that is less likely and we see veteran dogs make headlines often, including returning home to meet the President after completing special missions. Although the reality is, they don't do it for the fame or fortune, they do it because they are the most loyal and dedicated creatures on the planet.

Happy Veterans Day. Thank you to all those who have served, past and present, 2 and 4 legged alike. Today we honor you.

11/11/2025

There’s someone very special I’d like you all to meet.

This past weekend I was contacted about a 4 month old GSD puppy who had come into the emergency vet clinic unable to see, walk or stand. She had a grand mal seizure the night before and had a history of being a wobbly puppy but this episode was much worse.

Upon examination and bloodwork, it was determined the puppy needed significant medical attention and work ups, with a potentially very poor prognosis, and was beyond her current person’s scope of care. She was considering euthanizing her but one of the staff members suggested calling ODGTH to see if she was a hospice puppy we would be interested in.

Well, of course we said yes. We started her on treatments right away, because signs pointed to not just a neurological condition but also a possible liver shunt. She was transported to us on Saturday night, and was still at that time mostly unable to stand or lift her head for very long.

The past 3 days we’ve worked diligently to treat her as best as we can while we wait for bile acid results to confirm the shunt, and waiting to see a neurologist. We’ve switched her to an all liver diet, started her on antibiotics and supplements for her liver, as well as anti seizure medications.

She’s walking. She’s eating. She’s trying so hard. She definitely has limited vision, and has cerebellar hyperplasia on top of her liver issues, but she is starting to dog again and tomorrow will go to CAVES to see neuro and internal medicine.

We really thought we wouldn’t have a shepherd again. Other than the seniors. But the universe had other plans. Instead of a high drive high energy one it sent us a special needs one, and we couldn’t love her more. We needed to give her a name as mystical and magical as she is, while still tipping our hats to the last prick eared friend who maybe sent her our way.

Welcome Narnia

11/10/2025

hey

with Sniffspot recently making it REQUIRED to get a subscription to use it (as a new member - older members before they made this change don't have to) I've had many people reach out and ask how they can rent the fun spot without a new subscription. Times are tough and not everyone wants a full subscription if they only really want to use the NMBDT space. I also have been unhappy with the way Sniffspot has handled their payout process for hosts and as a result have made the sunspot available through NMBDT privately!

I have ( for now ) kept the Sniffspot listing, but drastically reduced the availability hours there to allow for more availability this way. Please let your friends and family know. If Sniffspot changes their subscription requirements for new users, I will revert back to using it exclusively.

You can now book your time directly right through our website and pick from multiple options for times and amount of dogs.

The same rules apply. Leaving the space clean, staying safe, and entering and exiting on time. With the weather changing, I know so many people and dogs will benefit from this.

Enjoy!!

Rent the NMBDT Fun Spot for dogs and have a blast in a safe, indoor space where you can play, train and relax!

11/09/2025

Okay tell me how your weekend was??

11/04/2025

11/02/2025

I wrote this last year, and I’m sharing it again. Going on a bit of a rant or vent here, so hang on.

I’m so sick of getting comments, judgements and opinions from people - either directly to me - or what I hear indirectly said about me - and my animals, and how many dogs I have etc etc etc.

Yes. I have a lot of dogs. But you know what I also have? Transparency. I don’t hide my dogs, I don’t hide the ups and downs of sharing my life with them. I don’t withhold anything or not share certain details about who they are, how they behave, how I behave, and all of the fun, sometimes messy, sometimes heartbreaking things that go along with this life. I share pictures and videos of the inside of my home; my yard, my training sessions, my walks, my successes and my failures. I do all that because I have nothing to hide, and truly believe that if I’m going to be the daily advocate for dogs everywhere as a career, I should be as transparent as possible to have people realize what loving and living with them is really like. Some days it will feel like you’re flying, other days it will break your heart.

I’ve seen people with one dog that doesn’t get half the enrichment my dogs do, and I’ve seen people with 20+ dogs do an incredible job. I’ve been inside homes of hoarders, I’ve also seen dogs who have all the luxury materials we humans could create for them, perfect grooming and medical care, but at the same time be punished for simply wanting to dig a hole in the yard or barking at squirrels. I’ve seen homes with two dogs fighting constantly, and I’ve seen homes with 10 dogs live harmoniously. I’ve seen people purchase dogs from breeders and have incredible companionship, and I’ve seen people purchase from breeders and have awful problems. I’ve seen people rescue dogs who have been nothing short of amazing, and then others who have had terrible experiences. I’ve witnessed dogs live well into old age, and others pass far too young from disease. Dogs who have overcome immense trauma, and some dogs who have created it.

When I open myself up to be vulnerable and honest and transparent, it leaves a lot of things for people to see negatively, gossip about, and use their energy in ways that are unproductive. Sometimes it’s because they don’t understand it, but sometimes it’s because they are LOOKING to cast judgement and unkindness somewhere. It used to upset me so much, and now I realize that it’s usually always the people who aren’t transparent themselves, who have such a hard time with people who are.

Yes. I have a lot of dogs. Yes, I have had to make decisions for my dogs that I wouldn’t wish on anyone. Yes, I’ve had things be unpredictable and stressful and difficult. BUT that’s just as possible with one dog as it is with 10. I also have so much joy and love and humor that I wouldn’t trade this for anything, even when it’s hard. I share everything because then it’s not terrible or taboo for YOU to talk about rehoming or rescuing a dog or working with a breeder or behavior euthanasia or muzzling or reactivity or wanting to murder your dog during adolescence. There are many many paths you may end up going down with your dog, and if I can shine even a shred of light on them to help you not get lost or feel alone, then I’ve done something good for dogs everywhere.

My dogs are loved, my dogs are healthy, happy (Chess doesn’t count) and they are my life and my work, but most importantly they are my family. It’s super easy from the cheap seats to gossip and spread all the rumors and negativity you want, but that’s a reflection on your choices. Not mine. I urge you to be as honest and transparent about your life with your own dogs, and then when the playing field is level, we can have a conversation.

Thanks for reading.

11/02/2025

911 what’s your emergency?

Yes hello. We’re all starving to death

Who is starving

Me and my friends. We’re dogs

Oh okay, and where are you?

At our house

And no one is feeding you?

Well we haven’t eaten since YESTERDAY

Are you alone?

No. The humans are here. But they are sleeping and we are STARVING.

Okay - it’s 5am. Im sure they will be awake soon

THEY ALWAYS ARE AWAKE BY NOW I THINK THEY ARE STARVING US.

It’s daylight savings going back to standard time.

Is that human talk for starve your animals?

It just means they are an hour behind.

HEAR THAT EVERYONE?? We’re all going to die!

BARKBARKBARKBARKBARKBARK

11/01/2025

Best demo dogs ever