Best Of Behavior, LLC. Dog Training and Behavior Consulting

11/01/2025

Happy Howl-oween to all of our incredible clients and everyone else too! 🎃

10/08/2025

I’m So VERY proud and excited to be invited to present at the BIGGEST conference in 2026!! 🙌🥰🐾

Thank you to all of my clients 🐾 who have taught me over the last 25 years, so that I can share that hands on knowledge with many others!

We are officially one year out from CANIS 2026! 🎉

October 7–10, 2026 • Schaumburg, IL

The countdown is on for the event where the future of the dog world comes together.

Because better outcomes for dogs start with better conversations between people.

Because the dog world is stronger when trainers, behavior consultants, veterinary professionals, scientists, shelter teams, dog sport enthusiasts, and even dog guardians learn together.
Because collaboration is how we move this field forward for dogs and for the people who dedicate their lives to them.

At CANIS 2026, we are breaking silos, building bridges, and creating a space where curiosity, compassion, and connection lead the way.

Join Dr. Chris Pachel, Chirag Patel, Sy Montgomery, Patricia McConnell, Ph.D., and more than 40 speakers for four days that will change the way you think about learning, behavior, and community.

This is not just a conference. It is a movement.

Comment CANIS and we will send you the regist

08/17/2025

❗️Great cautions during the Air and Water show this weekend!

🚨 Pet Safety During the Chicago Air & Water Show 🚨

The Chicago Air & Water Show is this weekend! While it’s an exciting event for people, the loud jets can be stressful for pets and wildlife.

🐶 Dogs may freeze or panic on walks; keep them leashed, go slow, and give extra comfort.

🐱 Feral cats and wildlife may hide under porches or in unusual spots; please give them space.

⚠️ Experts caution pet owners to leave animals at home. For those living close to the action, the searing jet noise can send furry roommates into a panic... try leaving on a TV or radio for calming background sound.

🔑 And as always, make sure your pet’s microchip information is up to date.

A little patience and awareness goes a long way in keeping animals safe this weekend. 💙

08/08/2025

Pain is one of the first things we need to consider and either rule out, or address, when we are working with a behavior issue.
Sometimes that can be very difficult.
Working as a team, together, the owner, me and Veterinary professionals, we should try to identify any physical contributors to pain and/or discomfort in the individual.
Why? Because it matters. Thresholds change when pain is involved and can lead to a ‘grumpier’ animal, one that is quicker to snap or bite.

When dogs display concerning behaviours such as growling, snapping, reluctance to be touched, or sudden changes in mood or sociability, pain is a critical factor to rule out. But one common point of confusion for guardians and even some professionals is this: why doesn't the behaviour immediately improve when pain relief is introduced?

Just like humans, dogs have the capacity to remember experiences associated with pain especially if the discomfort was chronic, unpredictable, or occurred during routine activities like being picked up, groomed, handled, or walked.

This phenomenon is often referred to as pain memory, and it explains why a dog may continue to avoid or react negatively to certain actions or environments even after the source of pain has been treated or resolved. It may take 6–8 weeks or more for behaviour to begin to shift.

Here's why:

Nervous system habituation: Once that pain is removed, it can take weeks for the dog’s nervous system to trust that an action (like walking, jumping, or being touched) won’t cause harm.

Behavioural conditioning: If pain was regularly triggered during routine activities, say, being lifted into the car or being petted along the back a dog may have developed conditioned fear responses.

Emotional recovery: Dogs who have felt consistently unsafe in their bodies may need time to rebuild their confidence, even after physical healing has begun.
Because dogs are so good at masking pain and often cope quietly it’s essential to look for small, subtle indicators of improvement rather than expecting dramatic overnight change.

This lag between removal of pain and change in behaviour can make diagnosis difficult. Owners may worry the medication “isn’t working” when in fact, it’s doing exactly what it should but the behavioural shift will take more time and possibly require additional behavioural support to help the dog unlearn old associations and rebuild trust.

In other cases, if pain is only one piece of the puzzle, behaviour may not improve until both pain and anxiety or trauma are also addressed in parallel.

08/05/2025

Spring says he sure loves those Happy Howie’s treats!
(He’s had the lamb roll before and now gives his stamp of approval for the turkey roll!)

06/26/2025

I am so deeply grateful and honored to have been asked to present at ABK in England, in a couple of weeks!
I have learned so much over the last 25 years from every single one of the other presenters, so this feels a little surreal!
But I hope to bring a different perspective and approach for trainers, and their clients, to approach resource guarding challenges.
Excited to be back on my home soil! 🇬🇧

Speaker Update for ABK Conference 2025

We're sending our very best wishes to Elliot Connor, who has had to withdraw from the conference after being called in for a long-awaited operation scheduled just days before the event.

We wish Elliot all the best and hope to get him involved with something in the future once he has fully recovered.

Stepping into Elliot's place, we have the incredibe Sonia Fetherling who is going to be looking at resource guarding. Sonia is a trainer based in Chicago with an incredible depth of experience working with complex behaviour cases, and a special interest in working with resource guarding.

Sonia's full bio and talk details will be available on our website soon!

06/06/2025

05/30/2025

Just over here, sharing that breed DOES matter 🤪😉

05/28/2025

This happens quite frequently. 😥
And with CAT’S too- especially bags and food bins!!
Please take the necessary precautions to avoid tragedy!!

Getting ready for the long weekend ahead? Remember to destroy all chip and snack bags to minimize the risk of pet suffocation. Follow Prevent Pet Suffocation for more information.