Canine Comfort, LLC

10/10/2024

Wesley Patrick is the newest member of the Canine Comfort team - he’s a darling basset hound, a hefty 60 pounds of love and affection❤️

06/21/2024

08/03/2022

"My dog went through extensive training, and he can obey me, but now he is showing aggression towards other dogs and people."

Unfortunately, emails like this make up 25% of my inquiries. Every time, the client says, "It never felt right, but I just continued with the lessons."

Dog training is unregulated, so it is up to the consumer to do their due diligence. Here are some things to keep in mind when searching for a trainer.

What competent trainers do:

√ Never offer guarantees when it comes to behavior.
√ Provide you with interventions to prevent your dog from rehearsing undesired behaviors.
√ Use motivators like food and opportunities for play to pay for desired behaviors.
√ Invite your feedback and adjust training plans based on what works for you and your dog.
√ Measure their success based your dog developing the skills they need to successfully navigate an unpredictable world.

When should you run (not walk) away from a trainer?

X They offer you guarantees with a no refund policy.
X They assign labels to your dog, like "aggressive" or " stubborn."
X They use blanket explanations like "your dog is attempting to be the alpha" for complex behavioral challenges.
X They address every behavior by punishing it via potentially harmful tools like prong and shock collars without providing any information about what they want your dog to do instead.
X Their measure of success is an absence of behavior. Your dog now does nothing in the presence of triggers.

Questions you want to ask any dog trainer:

- Do you have a certification?
- How are you going to motivate my dog?
- What are you going to do if my dog gets something right?
- What are you going to do if my dog gets something wrong?

Please, please, please remember that dog training is an unregulated field. Bad trainers can forever change how your dog sees their world.

07/26/2022

I'm a proud snack leader

To all my fellow , owners trainers and behaviourists. I see you.

I love being a I'm saying that it's literally the tip of the iceberg! I know what's going on underneath the water, I know what's going on in the background.

We do so much more than just toss food.

You are doing a great job keep it up.

People can and will say mean things. It can be demoralising and hard.
But don't let anyone else tell you other methods are better. This works. Science is on our side. We got you.

07/16/2022

When we seek help for our dog's behaviour we tend to focus on stopping something unwanted.

Our aim is to make that behaviour go away.

But there's much more to it than that.

Dogs act how they do based on their feelings and their motivations.

They can’t tell us what either of those things are unless we know their language.

Unless we identify what they need.

Then work out another way to meet that need for them.

Ethically, we can't dive in to make the dog stop doing something.

We must start by watching and listening.

Learning from the dog.

Asking the following questions.

06/02/2022

05/26/2022

Human-dog excursions can be a time of mutual enrichment.

05/06/2022

Here are some definitions of abuse!

Blaming.
Having unrealistic expectations of you.
Isolating you.
Touching any part of you without your permission or consent.
Pushing or pulling you, or forcibly grabbing.
Grabbing your face to make you look at them.
Yelling or screaming at you.
Threatening to harm you.
Using intimidation.

Here's how some people train dogs.

Blame the dog for their behaviour.
Expect the dog to know what they want.
Disallowing the dog to meet other suitable dogs.
Touching the dog over and over again without asking the dog if its ok.
Pulling on a collar or lead, rolling dogs over, scruffing.
Grabbing the dogs face to stare in their eyes.
Shouting at the dog.
Threatening to harm the dog to stop them doing natural behaviours.
Intimidating the dog to try and change their behaviour.

04/11/2022

As we head into spring and begin to think about garden and lawn maintenance, please skip the lawn chemicals to protect your pets, your children and yourself. A study published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal, Environmental Research, found that exposure to certain lawn care products, such as the nearly ubiquitous herbicide 2,4-D, increases dogs’ chances of developing Canine Malignant Lymphoma (CML) by 70%. Another study published in the peer-reviewed journal Science of the Total Environment found that “exposure to herbicide-treated lawns has been associated with significantly higher bladder cancer risk in dogs.” Synthetic pesticides and synthetic fertilizers are bad news for your pets, your children, pollinators and wildlife, and contribute to air and water pollution. If you must use any pesticides, make sure they're certified organic. Or better yet, make your own from natural and organic ingredients. The best herbicides are called hands. Use them.

READ: https://emagazine.com/dog-cancer

Homemade alternatives to chemical herbicides: https://www.treehugger.com/homemade-herbicide-kill-weeds-without-killing-earth-4858812

Homemade alternatives to chemical insecticides: https://www.treehugger.com/natural-homemade-insecticides-save-your-garden-without-killing-earth-4858819

11/30/2021

All dressed up and ready to go! On the docket today: therapy dog visits in Waukesha, Wisconsin. Fitzgerald William brings joy, peace, and comfort to all. ❤️