A Pleasant Dog

06/20/2024

🥲Why am I hugging Prim? Because fireworks in our neighborhood are loud, and I worked late, so I am waiting for her medication to kick in.

❤️If you love a dog who is afraid of noises, please please please call your vet tomorrow to make sure you have medication to give them for Holiday fireworks. Our veterinary friends are inundated with these requests this time of year, and having sufficient medication on hand can alleviate a lot of suffering.

🎇Other things that you can do to help your dog with noisephobia include: white or brown noise to interfere with and cover the sound outside, a weighted blanket to help with panic, and access to a basement, interior room or other safe area.

🚽Remember to take them out to potty before fireworks start.

🥹And always always always comfort them if they derive comfort from attention when they’re panicking. Comforting someone does not make them panic more, contrary to urban legend.

💫This is been a PSA from your friendly neighborhood Collie mom. 💫

06/19/2024

Your friendly neighborhood school for dogs is THRILLED to announce that we have engaged Pippa as a behavior consultant. Fortunately Pippa’s plan is that all humans should carry her. Unfortunately, we aren’t sure how much that will help the rest of y’all. But look how cute she is!

06/18/2024

😔Sweet Bea has a history of feeling conflicted with dogs who correct her and low level resource guarding. She gritted her teeth and did her best to suppress those big feelings until she no longer could. Last weekend she could no longer regulate those big feelings, and she got into several fights.

😓this story is ALL TOO COMMON. Dogs use lower level rungs on the ladder of aggression to communicate and try to gain space until they are forced to escalate. Often even extremely loving families like Bea’s misinterpret these early warning singles as dogs being “submissive” or “respecting the boss.” If your dogs growl, grumble, snap or “rarr” at each other, there’s a good chance this tension is just the tip of the iceberg, even if 99% of the time your dogs get along.

🥰The good news is we can help! please reach out to have us make sure your dog and their friends and extended family stay friendly. Early intervention is always best!

🥹but don’t worry. Bea and her family are going to be just fine. We will make sure of it.

06/18/2024

Congrats to these Adult 101 grads! Kelly, Penny, Pork Chop and Ginger worked so hard these past 6 weeks!

06/17/2024

We love collies because they are one of the best breeds with children, but they are not for everyone! This breed can be very vocal and susceptible to noisephobia. Their feelings can be very easily hurt too.

If you love a collie, what do you love about them?

The majestic Collie, thanks to a hundred years as a pop-culture star, is among the world’s most recognizable and beloved dog breeds.

Why do you love the breed?

06/17/2024

This is a story about a dog’s love.

Several years ago, we helped to train a service dog named Shadow to help a young man with medical issues. Those needs changed, and ultimately the family placed him with a friend so he could be the beloved and treasured companion he was meant to be. It was a selfless act. But we lost touch of Shadow.

The last time we saw Shadow was probably four years ago. So imagine our surprise when last night we were walking down the street and a nice golden casually came up to say hello. We of course obliged, and the minute he got a sniff, this dog started, wagging, jumping, whining, to beat the band. I took a good look at him, now gray in the face and me no much younger, and realized that this dog we had met by chance on the street was sweet Shadow , and he was so overjoyed to see me, that I had to accompany him on the rest of his walk and all the way home. Dogs don’t forget. And neither do we.

06/16/2024

Birdie reacts explosively to cars. This is our first session together.

06/16/2024

It's HOT out and it's gonna get HOTTER!

For those who haven't seen yet, I wanted to give everyone the heads up that we will be in the MAJOR heat risk category next week (high temps, high humidity) (Lansing and Grand Rapids are in the EXTREME category).

https://www.mlive.com/weather/2024/06/extreme-risk-on-heat-related-illness-showing-for-spots-in-michigan-early-next-week.html

Please keep a very close eye on your dog(s). Do your walks in the mornings or late evenings when it’s cooler, shorten any walks when temps are too high, shorten outside exercise, play yard time, etc. Have dogs walk on grass as the pavement gets too Hot and can burn your dog’s feet, bring water along.

DO NOT LEAVE YOUR DOG IN THE CAR!

Remember to keep yourselves cool and hydrated as well!

06/16/2024

We are preparing to film a new music video.

CASTING CALL:

❓Do you love APD and Chappell Roan? ❓Are you free the evening of July 3?

📌If the answer to these questions is, “YES”, we will take you HOT TO GO! PM us your email, or email get .com to be added to the cast list.

06/15/2024

A Pleasant Dog is a Happy Dog. Visit apleasantdog.com for a full list of our stay and train, group class, private lessons, and Fear Free grooming options. We love your dogs.

06/14/2024

passed away today after cheating death for over three years. She was against death and dying until she changed her mind this afternoon. As usual, she approached death with her usual grace and style.

Bam was born a delightful schnauzer Boston mix at a very young age. She spied her mama walking down the street in Eastown one day, and it was love at first sight.

Bam loved treats, bossing around cows at the farm, her kitties, and most of all her family, including her mom, dad, and girl. She is survived by this family, and numerous extended family, including her grandparents, aunties, uncles, nieces, and nephews. She is also survived by Laddie, Primmy, and Sabine, the latter whom she loved to terrorize when she would visit.

Please keep Bam’s family in your thoughts as they grieve the loss of this once in a lifetime girl.

06/14/2024

Reactive dogs are good dogs too!

06/14/2024

It's a Pain!
A study reported last week at the veterinary behavior conference indicates that PAIN in dogs from bones and joints (arthritis), skin/ allergies and gastrointestinal upset all have a significant impact on increasing: Stranger and Owner directed aggression, Touch sensitivity, Separation anxiety and Excitability. Pain should always be considered/ evaluated as a factor in behavior problems in dogs. Ref: VBS 2024; Mitchum, et al, UPenn School Vet Med.

06/14/2024

It’s been six years since we got official approval to move to our Pleasant School for Dogs on Knapp. We are so proud of this community we are a part of. Stop in and see us some time!

06/13/2024

All I have learned, done, studied, taught, and researchef was because Fi needed me to find a better way.

Watch, follow, and discover more trending content.

06/12/2024

“You have given us so much hope to have a normal life.” - Scooter’s mom

Scooter suffers from severe separation anxiety, and when we first met him five weeks ago, he was incapable of being alone without heavy sedation. In just one month, Scooter has graduated to being alone for 13 minutes! We could not be more proud of Scooter and his family!

Do you have a dog with ? Call or visit us online for help today! Or purchase our founder, Jenn Gavin’s, book Pleasantly Independent, available at our school for dogs, our Etsy shop, Amazon, and other booksellers!

06/12/2024

West Michigan Dog Sports is on the hunt! We’re looking for a barn or building in the West Michigan area that could host year-round dog training and sports activities.

Here’s some of what we are looking for:
- Affordable rental costs
- Fully covered indoor space with solid walls
- Approximate area 60x80 ft floor space minimum
- Free of support posts or a larger space with minimal posts, some flexibility here
- Has some storage area as well
- Would allow for sand flooring or turf
- Heated if possible, but we have ways to temporarily heat as needed

Help us sniff out some good options by asking around with your friends, relatives, acquaintances, vets, realtors… well, you get the idea! Let us know if you have any ideas, all ideas are welcome.
Want to help our search, but don’t have any leads? Help us boost this post by sharing a photo or video of your own dog sniffing out a great find!

06/10/2024

More wonderful graduates! Yuki, Peter, and Candy had so much fun in their Intro to Sports class, along with Foxey & Bingley (not pictured). They learned a lot and got their paws wet trying all kinds of different fun activities with the help of their fantastic and supportive people! Congratulations!

06/10/2024

Wow! We couldn’t be prouder of Banjo, Brady, and Violet! They are among the few dogs to have completed our Barkour 102 class and they have some very impressive skills! Congratulations graduates! 🥰

06/10/2024

Can you believe this good boy got marker training and started stationing in his first session ever? And he’s teaching our owner and head trainer about ground manners!

06/10/2024

We are so proud of our Reactive Class graduates! These dogs and owners have worked very hard over the past 6 weeks (and let’s be real, most of them had already been working hard for a long time before class started too). We saw great progress for everyone! Way to go Shadow, Leilani, Oliver, and Ranger & co!

06/10/2024

Happy Monday! Please tell us how you spent the weekend with your Pleasant Dogs!

06/09/2024

Primmy and A Pleasant Dog are proud to endorse for 17th Circuit Judge. Charissa has our unwavering support because she has proven in her career and private life that she cares about our community and the people in it. And we believe that good judges make a difference in people’s lives. Vote strong with Huang!

06/08/2024

Please join us in welcoming Zach to our Pleasant faculty.

A graduate of the University of Michigan with a B.S. in Ecology, Zach’s first exposure to animal training was working with non-releasable wild birds of prey at Leslie Science and Nature Center in Ann Arbor, where he was teaching outdoor education programs. When given the opportunity to become a full time professional animal trainer, he moved to Florida and spent a year presenting free-flighted bird programs at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. While there, he studied behavioral science and learned choice-based training methods while working with various species — hawks, ravens, crows, cranes, various parrots, chickens, and rats among them. After obtaining his CPBT-KA certification, he returned to Michigan and spent the following year at Doghouse Ann Arbor, a local training and boarding facility, before packing up and heading west.

He spent the next seven years in Eugene, Oregon, at Cascades Raptor Center - a beautiful nature center and wildlife hospital. As a trainer, his focus was on cooperative care — using positive reinforcement training to make the lives of resident non-releasable raptors as comfortable and enriching as possible. Although Zach misses the PNW, he is excited to be back in Michigan, working with the team of amazing trainers at A Pleasant Dog. He’s committed to improving the quality of life of all animals in human care, and believes a great way to do that is by teaching pet parents how they can use behavioral science and positive reinforcement to build strong, trust-based relationships with their fur babies.

Zach spends his free time playing Irish Traditional Music on the flute and adventuring with his wonderful partner Amy and dogs Maeby the Aussie Mix and Hazel the Toller. (Edit: His cat, Loki, demanded mention. Loki is also wonderful.) ?

06/08/2024

😲We last met Leo FIVE years ago after an unfortunate misunderstanding resulted in a bite. Since then, his family has carefully and beautifully managed him, but they are back for help learning to introduce him to new people, including a future little person (in the next several years).

🥰We love to see old friends, especially when they are thriving! Leo is so lucky to have such a proactive family. We can’t wait to help him learn to be a big brother!

🔸Quick quiz. Something in this photo caused us to send Leo back to his vet for an evaluation. Any clues what that was? First person to guess gets a coupon for $25 off a behavior session!

06/08/2024

Thank you to Animal Behavior Consultants of Michigan for sharing this great snap of our very own Jenn Gavin presenting important research on our successful treatment of separation anxiety!

Successful Treatment of Separation Anxiety -

Jenn Gavin, CPDT-KA from A Pleasant Dog presented some amazing data on the successful treatment of separation anxiety in dogs at the Veterinary Behavior Symposium this week. Separation anxiety is a significant behavioral problem in dogs - it is exciting to see your great results Jenn!!

06/08/2024

06/07/2024

It’s not too late to learn agility basics this summer! Join instructor Virginia (Gin) at Cedar this summer! https://www.apleasantdog.com/group-classes