Good Sit

08/19/2024

True Love

08/18/2024

finally having a consistent private place to rent for groups has truly been a game changer in how we can handle playtime for the dogs (as well as lowering steph's anxiety levels) we can now accommodate more dogs!

we definitely miss our public park friends, but this is still nice.

08/18/2024

So you’re at an outing, standing next to your spouse or friend. Someone approaches you with a tray filled with hors d’oeuvres, and offers one to you. You look at the tray, but then say “no, thank you.” The waiter moves away.

Now, imagine if after saying “no, thank you” the waiter didn’t go away. Imagine if the waiter continued to push you to take one, and even your spouse started saying “come on, take one!” So you uncomfortably took and ate one, even though it wasn’t what you wanted. You’d probably be pretty aggravated with your spouse too. But you think it’s a one off and you carry on with the evening.

A few minutes later another waiter approaches with another tray, and the same thing happens. This time you feel yourself get more upset, especially after saying “no” multiple times. But your spouse insists also, even going so far as to take the snack off the tray and try to put it in your mouth. By the end of the interaction, you’re really on edge.

The third or fourth time you see a waiter approach you, you’re feeling either stressed, angry, or both. The waiter hasn’t even gotten all the way over to you yet and you’re ready to yell “no!” You look around for a place to escape to but your spouse/friend has their arm around you and you can’t back away. You end up physically snatching the tray from the waiter and throwing it on the ground, yelling obscenities and getting as quickly out of the room as possible. The guests look at you while your spouse simply says “I don’t know why she’s being so aggressive! They were just wanted to give her a snack!” I’m guessing you would be pretty angry at your spouse/friend by this point too. They aren’t helping support you at all. You can’t trust them OR the waiter.

You see where I’m going with this don’t you?
Try to imagine if your “no thank yous” were ignored. How many times would it take being ignored for you to get angry, get physical, or try to escape, or worse, just shut down completely. Everyone would handle it differently, but we’d all hate it.

Dogs deal with this EVERY DAY. They say “no, thank you” all the time. And we often times are guilty of ignoring that request and trying to convince them otherwise, sometimes even going so far as to force them through something because WE don’t understand. And then we wonder why dogs reach a point of aggressing or avoiding. Whether we are the waiter; trying to push something onto the dog like an interaction, or the spouse/friend not supporting the dog and backing up their request of “no, thank you” we are doing serious harm to the dogs confidence and even more harm to our relationship with them.

Your dog can only use his body language to tell you what he wants, so pay attention. If your dog says no thank you, listen. If they don’t want a stranger to touch them, support them. If they don’t want to meet a strange dog, let it go. If they want to take their time trying something different, let them take their time. I can tell you the more choice they feel they have the more likely they are to actually decide to try when they are ready. Just like you may finally get hungry enough to want a snack from the tray, but on your terms, and one that you get to pick.

Choice and consent matters in ALL species. Respect your dogs “no, thank you” and you’ll get a lot of respect back.

- Helen St. Pierre, No Monkey Business Dog Training. Please if you share give credit.

08/17/2024

labby labby lab lab lab

08/16/2024

meeting your dog's needs

ya know. my dogs borking and yelling is annoying in our apartment, and I don't want to get kicked out due to noise

however

if they're cuckoo for ten minutes tops and that gets their energy out, I'm good. they didn't get their regular pciap and exercise time with others. it would be unreasonable for me to assume that they'd be chill all night without replacing those regular parts of their day with something else (which I didn't, mom's tired.) so ya know what? let em bark a little.

then get calming activities like long lasting chew foods or enrichment frozen feeders to settle for the night.

(...I've also checked with my neighbors and continue to check in that they aren't annoyed or upsetted by my dogs' noises.)

08/14/2024

look this hot and cold s**t is ridiculous. can we move to fall now?

08/13/2024

who needs feet? mehand.bowie

08/10/2024

when being brave, don't forget to have not one but TWO toys you can chew and bring with you to new places

08/09/2024

OH MY GOSH LOOK AT HIM

08/08/2024

Braining
https://www.redbubble.com/studio/promote/163708391

08/06/2024

Worth sharing again: if you or your friends have ever thought about using a board and train for your dogs’ behavior issues, here are some things to consider when finding the right professional — and setup — for your best friend from Yes Dog

How to Know if Board and Train is Right for Your Dog and Selecting the Best ProgramRecall practice with a Shepherd/Anatolian mixIt may come as a surprise to people, but I unsell board and trains more frequently than I accept new clients. This is because I refuse to take money from clients whom I do....

07/31/2024

cannot get enough of this munchkin 🥹

07/29/2024

MonYay

07/27/2024

20 seconds of cronch to start your weekend

07/27/2024

07/26/2024

when the trainer is here to work with your sister but you need her to remember you're the star

07/25/2024

Today's coworkers helped Roscoe practice polite greetings with dogs

he'd be like hmm are you real? no... but are you? worked great for our needs.

07/24/2024

When it comes to the way a dog is built, when the genetics make them predisposed to XYZ, what is considered “normal” does not always mean that’s what is considered good health or high quality of life.

I have met many a pet owner who design their lives over accommodating for their dogs’ health restrictions. I’m not saying they aren’t doing enough. They are! But ! could these same people imagine not having to do that to help their dog feel comfortable in their own body?

Encourage your breeders to focus on function over breed standards. These dogs’ comfort is at stake.

07/22/2024

Rebekah is teaching Juno how to stay still for having her body messed with for vet checks and grooming! The key for us humans is learning how the dog says no, then to respect the no. Rebekah is teaching Juno that if she moves her head off the floor, that means NOPE STOP IT.

07/19/2024

SERIOUS BIZZNESS

Stacy did a shout out to our network of skilled, lovely trainers for help on a case, and Kaajal and I were both available and interested to help out! We got our eyeballs on the dog in question and brainstormed how to next help them feel more relaxed at home.

I think it's pretty damn cool that someone not only with a degree but also years of experience with dogs and a variety of other species asked for help, and I think it's a really great way to end the week to hang with work pals while helping a family. We all have different experiences both IRL and educationally, and it's fun to learn from each other! I tried to sponge up as much as I could from them.

Stacy is Stacy's Wag'N'Train based in San Jose, Kaajal is D For Dogz in San Jose holy crap why isn't this tagging D for Dog *shakes fist at meta business suite*

07/19/2024

If you enjoy watching videos of A. finely tuned professional obedience training or B. teeniest tinniest doggies, follow GuleKule Dogs!

07/18/2024

WE HAVE BEEN ACCEPTED

Due to Mindy and Ranger's delightful ability to destroy any and all toys, eat any food item, and my sparkling internet personality, we have been accepted into the brand rep program!

That means YOU get to save 15% on your orders on their website for slow feeders, puzzle toys, and especially made to order treats. Support a small business local to the Bay Area and get some truly fantastic, high quality noms for your pups.

WEBSITE: https://www.motherpuppin.com/
CODE: GOODSIT15
VIBES: 😎💅

Yum.

07/16/2024

DO WE STILL NEED THIS THING OR IS IT FINALLY COOLING DOWN IN THE PENINSULA SOUTH BAY REGION

07/13/2024

that bright light aesthetic but it's still basic food prep lol

I haven't been prepping my entire lit of bowls and mandalas lately, so this is what it's been looking like every few days (when I have the energy, wooooo chronic pain and illness.) Grateful for ✨️showing the light✨️ about these easy to wash bowls and trays, plus me finding silicone pouches for prepped treats to keep in the fridge and grab as needed.

the gear, left to right:
lickimat licki bowl with peanut butter and kibble
bowl with peanut butter and kibble
toppl with peanut butter and kibble
Sodapup again for mandalas and slow feeder bowls with kibbles

with water added to freeze for a more challenging eating time, fun with licking, and cool treat during these hot days

last but not least the pouches from a company I can't remember are filled with cut up meat roll by

Storage in the freezer isn't pretty but it works. Still figuring out some sort of silicone pouch that's washable for the gigantic bowls. But for now gallon bags will do, and they're reusable until they break at least!

07/03/2024

All training sessions have been canceled for this week. I believe everyone has been contacted.

Morning groups will be done as early I as I can get them rolling

Everyone please stay cool.
Shelter
Water,
Fans
Stay indoors as much as possible during sunlight hours
Freeze some kibble in water
Give ice to play with
Close all your shades
Cooling pads
And if you have AC, use it.

San Jose is offering pet friendly cooling centers, check (City of San Jose Animal Care and and Services) for more info on where.

06/28/2024

One of our peers helps with homies empowerment in east oakland by providing support and supplies to the unhoused. An encampment dog lover suffered from an attack: the intruder stabbed a couple of his dogs in addition to injuring the man, and one needs emergency care now. Hannah is asking for care programs available to help fund the care. In the meantime, they are seeking community support. Please donate what you can and share to help this sweet girl survive.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/urgent-care-needed-for-draco

DRACO SUFFERED A STAB WOUND FROM AN INTRUDER. My name is Hannah, and I volunteer wit… Hannah Senadenos needs your support for Urgent Care Needed for Draco

06/26/2024

srs lab