Pawsitive Companionship LLC

12/26/2023

Great information from Eileen Anderson for ways to prepare your dog for the upcoming fireworks on New Year's Eve.

6 practical ways you can start today to ready your dog for fireworks. Including the best single thing you can do: see your veterinarian. Please call now.

12/23/2023

Hygge and I wish for you good health, happiness, and enjoyable times with your canine companions in 2024! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

12/15/2023

Hygge’s eye was bothering him. Trip to the vet reminded me of the importance of helping our dogs be comfortable and relaxed with handling of all kinds, especially after watching the vet examine and remove anything suspicious from his eye. Best to teach them to fully take part in or cooperate in their care. I started doing this with Hygge when he was a puppy. It’s never too early or to late to help your dog feel relaxed with handling and vet visits. I’d be happy to help you with your dog.

12/08/2023

Pearls of wisdom from Patricia McConnell.

11/23/2023

Happy Thanksgiving! May your day be filled with love and joy as you gather with family and friends. Hygge wants everyone to know that afternoon naps are the perfect way to end this wonderful day, especially when one’s belly is full!

11/22/2023

Important information about mystery illness in dogs. Consult your vet for more information.

Pet expert Steve Dale on a mysterious respiratory illness sickening dogs, and sometimes fatally, across the US. What is known and not known

11/10/2023

Clever idea!

Check out this handy way to keep your pet’s foot bandaged!:

10/31/2023

Hygge wishes everyone a Happy Halloween!

10/26/2023

Check out these tips from Fear Free Happy Homes for a fear-free Halloween:

Reading Time: 3 minutes Share onWhile Halloween may be an exciting time for you and your family — costumes, candy, carving — it can be frightening for your dog or cat. From ringing doorbells to monstrous masks, these new sights and sounds can create high anxiety for pets. However, when you follo...

09/27/2023

For those with puppies, building resilience is so important. Check out this webinar.

🐶 "Do not forget the value of low-level exposure! Too often we try to build big exciting associations when we are wisest to simply allow our puppy to process something at non-triggering levels."

Puppies with big experiences grow into dogs with big worlds. But what happens when our puppies are afraid of the experiences we are trying to provide? How do we build their bravery without scaring them? How do we know we are over-facing them?

📆 Date: Tuesday, October 17, 2023
🕒 Time: 6pm to 7:30pm EDT (USA and Canada)
Enroll now: https://behaviorvets.mylearnworlds.com/course/raising-bold-puppies

🐕❤️

09/17/2023

Here in this house...

I will never know the loneliness I hear in the barks of the other dogs 'out there'.
I can sleep soundly, assured that when I wake my world will not have changed.
I will never know hunger, or the fear of not knowing if I'll eat.
I will not shiver in the cold, or grow weary from the heat.
I will feel the sun's heat, and the rain's coolness,
and be allowed to smell all that can reach my nose.
My fur will shine, and never be dirty or matted.

Here in this house...

There will be an effort to communicate with me on my level.
I will be talked to and, even if I don't understand,
I can enjoy the warmth of the words.
I will be given a name so that I may know who I am among many.
My name will be used in joy, and I will love the sound of it!

Here in this house...

I will never be a substitute for anything I am not.
I will never be used to improve peoples' images of themselves.
I will be loved because I am who I am, not someone's idea of who I should be.
I will never suffer for someone's anger, impatience, or stupidity.
I will be taught all the things I need to know to be loved by all.
If I do not learn my lessons well, they will look to my teacher for blame.

Here in this house...

I can trust arms that hold, hands that touch...
knowing that, no matter what they do, they do it for the good of me.
If I am ill, I will be doctored.
If scared, I will be calmed.
If sad, I will be cheered.
No matter what I look like, I will be considered beautiful and thought to be of value.
I will never be cast out because I am too old, too ill, too unruly, or not cute enough.
My life is a responsibility, and not an afterthought.
I will learn that humans can almost, sometimes, be as kind and as fair as dogs.

Here in this house...

I will belong.
I will be home.

~Author Unknown

04/09/2023

Happy Easter! Hygge hopes you are having a hopping good time!

02/16/2023

Will be there talking about stress, emotions and how they affect decisions our dogs make.

12/31/2022

So true!

This image pops up on my timeline regularly. And there’s no logo or copyright so I have no idea who to credit for creating it. But, whoever you are, thank you. (EDIT: thank you to Elspeth Rose Design for this beautiful image)

Our dogs have no choice who they live with.

It’s the luck of the draw whether they find themselves with someone who understands that they are a dog, and that they need to do (& should be allowed to do) dog stuff. Someone who understands their dog is doing their best with the cards they’ve been dealt.

Or with someone who wants their dog to suppress behaviour & obey ‘commands’.

When a dog has a human who has empathy they automatically become a ‘good’ dog.

12/23/2022

11/24/2022

Did someone say "turkey"? Hygge and I want everyone to have a wonderful, happy, joyous Thanksgiving with family and friends.

10/08/2022

Do you have a new puppy family member? Here’s a great free resource to check out.

We're just days away from the kickoff of The Puppy Summit hosted by Marilyn Mele. This FREE summit is packed full of information that will help all puppies thrive. And much of what you learn can be applied to adult dogs too. Gaining and keeping a puppies attention is possible! I'll be speaking on October 18th and sharing tips and techniques to help your pup give you undivided attention so that you're set up for a lifetime of fun learning together. And it'll set you up to begin training the lifesaving skill of a Rocket Recall™—teaching your dog to Come. Register here: https://bit.ly/LL-WAGGONER

10/03/2022

Just completed Pat Miller's (Peaceable Paws) Advanced Training and Behavior Studies academy, a 6 day course that was filled with great discussions on a variety of topics and training with Hygge that explored and used different behaviors and concepts, including the true behavior chain -- a set of behaviors in which you cue the dog to do the first behavior in the chain and that behavior serves to cue the next behavior and so on until the dog completes the chain and is reinforced. I can't wait to complete Hygge's behavior chain. He and I were both exhausted but thoroughly enjoyed our time here, meeting other trainers, and learning more from Pat, my mentor. I am grateful for all the education I have gotten from her. While I don't have photos from the class (Pat took lots but I have to get the photos off the flash drive using a PC since my Mac doesn't recognize it), here are a few from Hygge and I's fun time with John after the class finished. Hygge attempted to cross the Potomac and then practiced his Parkour skills while we hiked.

09/06/2022

So true! Speaking as someone with an adolescent dog!

08/26/2022

Hygge wishes all dogs everywhere Happy National Dog Day!!

06/22/2022

Dogs and their humans have different expectations on walks. The best walks for our dogs are sniffaris. Let them enjoy the scents and smells.

We often hear complaints from dog owners that their dog is doing too much sniffing and its making walks too long!

Here's our top tips to let your dog have an outlet for their natural behaviours and you both have happy walks:
✅ Remember it's your dogs walk and time to have fun
✅ Train a find it cue so your dog sniffs on a release cue
✅ Create sniffari's at home and find spaces on walks for sniffing
✅ Vary your walks so your dog experiences new smells - There's nothing like a pee-mail to make dogs happy!

04/30/2022

Our view from the backyard of our weekend retreat.

04/14/2022

Always worth reposting this important information

I've had some requests to repost the "Better Never Bitten" handout for National Dog Bite Prevention Week. Please let me know, by direct message, if you'd like a copy of the pdf, and thank you for your ongoing interest.

Edit: PLEASE send a direct message to me rather than leaving a comment below, and allow 24 hours for the pdf. Thanks again.

04/11/2022

Dog trainers are often asked what can be done to keep a dog calm while they recover from surgery. But what about when the human has surgery? How do we keep our dogs calm? For tips, check out my recent blog post: https://www.pawscompanion.com/what-to-do-with-your-dog-when-you-are-recovering-from-surgery

Dog trainers are often asked for help when a client’s dog has surgery and is confined to a crate for several weeks. To ensure the dog doesn’t lose his or […]

03/13/2022

Oh what fun it is to play in the snow with your frisbee!!

03/13/2022

Hygge is staring down his buddy (my husband) in the hopes John will toss the frisbee to him again. But then playing with the frisbee in the snow just might be more fun!
Video in next post.

02/24/2022

What a wonderful email to receive! I have been nominated by a client and need your help. Please use the link below and scroll for my name. You'll find it in the As since name are listed in alphabetical order by first name. Voting ends 3/4.

https://form.jotform.com/220466155218049

Thank you! and Happy Thursday and Happy training!

PS: Hygge hopes to be able to brag to his furry friends that his mom is one of the best positive reinforcement trainers in our area!