Katy's K-9 Training and Behavioral Services

02/20/2025

🧑‍🎓 Had an amazing S.T.A.R. Puppy Class graduation tonight! These pups are on their way to living up to their full potential with their amazing owners.

02/12/2025

🚨🐾Therapy Dog Class CANCELLED for this Evening!! If you planned to bring your kids I’m sorry but due to weather we have reschedule for next week. I want to be sure everyone is safe.

02/12/2025

I am so lucky to have Allie with me for her internship! She is amazing with dogs and has been a very helpful assistant so far in my training classes.

📣 We're continuing to shout out our students for their Field Experiences in HOL 5300 Seminar in Animal Assisted Services!

Our next student to celebrate is Allie, who is in her final semester of the Master's of Music Therapy program at WMU College of Fine Arts. (woohoo!! extra cheers for the final stretch!🎓🎉)

🐾For her field experience, Allie is working with Katy's K-9 Training and Behavioral Services in Paw Paw, MI learning about dog behavior and training!

🫶Thanks to organizations like Katy's, we're able to provide unique opportunities to our students that build upon the curriculum through experiential learning. Thank you Allie and Katy for being part of our Field Experience family!

💛🐾🤎

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WMU College of Health and Human Services WMU College of Arts and Sciences Western Michigan University Unified Clinics WMU Graduate College

01/22/2025

🎉Congratulations Baxter, with handler Lisa, on achieving full certification as a therapy dog team. It was a pleasure having you in my last therapy dog class and witnessing your successful interactions with children in school settings.

01/22/2025

Although cinnamon won’t kill your dog it does contains coumarin, a chemical that can cause liver damage over time shorting your dog’s life… is it worth that when their lives are already short?

Onions are very bad for dogs and should never be fed to them; they contain a toxic compound that can destroy a dog's red blood cells, leading to anemia and potentially serious health complications, even being fatal in extreme cases

Garlic, whether raw or cooked, is toxic to dogs. If a dog eats enough garlic, it can eventually kill them if they do not get medical treatment. Garlic, onions, and leeks are all in the Allium genus of plants. Dogs are not allergic to plants in this genus, but the plants contain N-propyl disulfides and thiosulfates . When these are metabolized by the pet’s body, it causes damage to their red blood cells.

Cherries can be bad for dogs because their pits, stems, and leaves contain cyanide, which is toxic to dog

Lemons are bad for dogs. They contain acids, essential oils, and compounds that are toxic to dogs

Avocados are bad for dogs because they contain a toxin called persin that can cause serious health problems

Keep your pups safe!

01/21/2025

Pleased to welcome these outstanding pups and their owners into the Katy’s K9 Training family!

01/15/2025

When you’re ready for your dog to be a therapy dog contact me. 😊

Therapy dog visits can be a great way to brighten someone’s day. The magical effect dogs have on humans is undeniable, but we cannot forget about the other end of the leash. The handler is a big part of a successful therapy dog visit. In order for therapy dogs to do their job well, it is important that handlers are prepared and proactive. Check out our recent blog post on 5 Steps to a Successful Therapy Dog Visit:

https://www.therapydogs.com/a-successful-therapy-dog-visit-starts-with-you/

12/28/2024

🐾 Next Therapy Dog Class starts
January 15, 2025 in Paw Paw, Michigan. It will be held every Wednesday from 6-7:30pm for 5 weeks. Only 4 spots left so message me asap!

10/10/2024

Reminder: Kids night at therapy dog training tonight in Paw Paw! Can’t wait to see everyone. If you want to come but didn’t rsvp yet message me.

10/06/2024

Kids needed to help train therapy dogs this Thursday from 6-7pm in Paw Paw! Will be paid in puppy snuggles and cookies. Message me or comment if your kiddos want to come.

09/20/2024

09/12/2024

😵‍💫Yes!! Healthy real world Stress and problem solving is GOOD for your dog!

How do you feel about exposing your dog to stress?

This young Weimaraner started a board and train recently. During the drop off, I informed his owner, he'd be living under some different rules at my house than what he'd been used to for the past few months of his life.

He would be subjected to some "healthy stress.”

Among other things, he would be sleeping in a crate at night, learning to walk nicely on a leash, and participate in proprioceptive exercises to build body awareness.

Essentially, he would be learning some problem solving skills and because of it, develop greater resilience.

The first day here he found himself stuck on the opposite side of a pole than the side I was on.

Can you guess what I did?

I did nothing. I stood there, not moving, not applying more pressure to the leash, not coochie-cooing him...I just waited.

It took him about 90 seconds of wiggling, and whining to figure out what to do to get himself free.

Once he did, he was darn proud of himself, prancing about for a few seconds and then we moved on and enjoyed a short game of fetch.

The stress was short lived. He learned how to relieve it and was proud of himself as he discovered his power to problem solve.

We do our dogs no favor by immediately bailing them out of every little problem or struggle they encounter.

So often I hear, "My dog doesn't like the crate,” or "My dog doesn't like to be brushed,” or "My dog won't potty while on leash.”

As a woman who has raised two (now grown) children, I could not have imagined saying to my kids dentist..."well, they don't like having their teeth brushed so we just gave up." 🤣

I have news for you, there are very few dogs that immediately enjoy their crate, or being brushed and bathed, or being restrained on a leash.

It's our job to teach them to tolerate the realities of life in the human world.

For most things the teaching recipe is simple:

A bit of skill, applied over time, mixed by a healthy dose of patient persistence.

If you don't have the skill, the time or the patience, you can pay people like me to do the foundation work for you. It is like having the dentist clean the kids teeth...but if you don't maintain what the professional did, it's not going to become good habits that serve for a lifetime.

The main thing to understand is that stress and learning will be part of life. There is no avoiding it. It is how we learn to work through it that makes the difference.

By taking time to teach your dog how to tolerate some stress and learn to problem solve, you set them up for increased confidence, improved manners and an overall healthier mindset.

09/01/2024

Interesting article about asking our dogs to “sit”.

http://www.turid-rugaas.no/sit.html?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR33sr-IPxBSTsSTwuS-AKpQ0nAq6lqlSHCkf1DZI-lbuLCN-7pSLpIcnHM_aem_SBCpgVEHM2YlHP_dkIcT4A

Sit is usually the first people teach their puppies, without thinking about the consequences or why they do it. We wanted to know more about the sit, so many years ago we started the sit study...

08/27/2024

🩵🐶Happy National Dog Day to my doggies and all the dogs I am training and have trained! It was the first day back to school for Loki and Trixie as therapy dogs and they were so happy to see all the kiddos again.

08/21/2024

Loki and I are having a great day presenting to educators about therapy dogs in school at the annual VBISD Mix and Mingle today. We love getting the chance to educate people about how therapy dogs can be properly trained, certified, and used in educational settings to engage student and staff.
He even has his little friend Mako here with him.

08/17/2024

🐕‍🦺🛁 Doggies are Ready for School✏️📚
Big thanks to Jessica and Ryan of Get Fluffed Dog Grooming! They did an awesome job grooming my Loki and Trixie so they are ready to head back to the schools this coming week. They can’t wait to greet the students and staff as they all return for the new school year and now they will have nice soft hair for everyone to pet.
😉Get Fluffed is offering and incredible deal of 50% off to therapy dogs right now so definitely don’t miss out if you need your therapy dogs groomed as well.