SF Dog Connect by The Pooch Coach Dog Training

06/30/2025

DON’T BE SCARED!
Are you and your dog ready for FIREWORKS? 🧨

Fireworks have been going off a lot these last few days, and it’s only going to get worse through July 4th. Make sure you and your dog are best prepared so you both can get through it stress-free.

Here are our tips for desensitizing your dog to fireworks and helping them through the holiday:

https://www.poochcoach.com/helping-dogs-with-fear-of-fireworks/

Follow the pup: Musik

05/31/2025

RIP Rocco. You were a very good boy. And you were loved so deeply by Klay. 💔 

Beverly

GO WARRIORS!

Did you know The Pooch Coach worked with Golden State Warriors star Klay Thompson & his bulldog, Rocco?

Check out the highlights of the training session and the behind the scene pics & video footage only available here!
https://poochcoach.com/klay-thompson-dog-training-shoot/

DubNation !

05/14/2025

THE DANGERS OF FOXTAILS
It's foxtail plant season - beware!

These little spawns of Satan have taken over San Francisco once again. They are in every park, sidewalk, and beach. And they are very dangerous for dogs.

Foxtails get into dogs' fur, and then under their skin where they get infected. They get in dogs' noses and "private parts". And, two years ago, one got into my dog's eye!

It's hard to avoid them, but you should try. You're at risk even if you walk anywhere near them since the seeds blow onto sidewalks & paths where dogs sniff.

I suggest stopping frequently and checking to see if anything is on your dog’s face, paws or body. They come off pretty easily if you catch them right away. If your dog starts sneezing excessively, that could be a sign that one got up their nose, so take them to the vet right away!

Here is some more info and the story of how we discovered a foxtail in my dog’s eye:
https://poochcoach.com/the-danger-of-foxtails-for-dogs/

Check our story today for video footage of SF sidewalk foxtails, and our plea to clean them up. 🙏🏼

Follow the pup: Musik

05/11/2025

There are all types of proud moms. 😍
Happy Mother’s Day everybody!!

Musik 🎶 https://musikdog.com/

05/04/2025

Happy Star Wars Day!
Spread some magic. 🪄✨ 

04/27/2025

This is how well a dog actor has to be trained. Look at Musik’s concentration - focusing on her screen mom the entire time! 👏🏼

03/08/2025

[ Musik with her vet and vet tech at Smith's Veterinary Services getting blood drawn for a titer test for the distemper vaccine.]

Many people are worried about giving their dogs too much medication. For instance, San Francisco requires a rabies vaccine every 3 years, even though it’s been scientifically proven that rabies vaccine’s last 7 years!! It’s ridiculous, dangerous, and sad.

Also, some older dogs, as well as dogs with health problems, can’t easily handle vaccines, and that means it is actually dangerous for their health. In fact, most vaccines are labeled that they are not for dogs with any health problems.

Titer tests are a great intermediate step and solution to the potential issue of over-vaccinating. By testing a dog‘s blood to see if they have the antibodies still active, you can be assured that they are still protected, and therefore you can skip the vaccine at that time.

So we suggest you discuss and explore options with your vet. If they are not willing to discuss options or are not knowledgeable about titer tests, you can always seek a second opinion.

Just as with our own human health needs, we need to speak up and not be afraid to ask questions of our healthcare professionals. Always do what’s best for yourself and your pup!

Info on titer tests:

Titer testing for dogs offers a way to determine if a previous vaccine is still providing immunity, allowing for personalized vaccination schedules based on individual antibody levels, rather than relying solely on routine vaccinations.

Canine entertainment and education. 🐾
Dogs for film & ads! Manager of Musik , The World‘s Best Dog Actor.
🎥 🎶🐶🤩

Be nicer to dogs.
We don’t deserve them.

SF Bay Area's top-rated Private Dog Trainer & Behaviorist for over 20 years.

02/07/2025

Thoughts, everyone? 🥩 🌱

Complete article for those interested:

https://www.southcarolinapublicradio.org/2025-02-06/bone-appetit-dog-treats-from-lab-grown-meat-are-hitting-the-u-k-market

01/14/2025

Our hearts go out to all the people and animals who are hurting and suffering in Southern California. 

Below are ways to get help if you are in LA, or tosupport organizations aiding those affected by the fires.

For pets:

Pasadena Humane Society has taken in more than 400 animals from the Eaton Fire, and they’re urgently seeking donations to help cover the cost of medical supplies for burned and injured animals.

spcaLA is rescuing and sheltering animals from fire-affected areas.

Best Friends Animal Society continues providing round-the-clock support to local shelters in need.

For people:

American Red Cross Los Angeles Region
is connecting families and pets with emergency shelter, food and aid.

Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation
is supporting brave firefighters and first responders with vital resources.

Project Camp is holding pop-up camps for children affected by the Los Angeles-area fires.

For both:

Pet Food Express Offering low-cost pet carriers, crates, beds, bowls, leashes, and medical supplies. Their Long Beach-Bixby Knolls location (4220 Long Beach Blvd., Long Beach) is a donation and distribution center for these items.

Discounted lodging: Many neighboring cities and regions are providing special lodging rates for those displaced by the fires. You can find some here: 
https://www.discoverlosangeles.com/hotels/wildfires

01/08/2025

Get your calculators out!

Here’s the full article for people who are interested:

https://www.popsci.com/environment/what-age-is-dog-old/

12/30/2024

ARE YOU READY FOR NEW YEAR'S EVE?

NYE can be like a super 4th of July for dogs. Not only do people shoot off fireworks, but things are noisy throughout the night. People can be extra loud too - with yelling, party horns, and poppers going off all night.

So make sure you & your dog are prepared!
First and foremost, please make sure you exercise your dog extra intensely to tire them out. Many people go the other way and skip the long walks and exercise on holidays, which just adds even more stress to your dog’s experience.

Here are some tips for keeping dogs calm and training them to be OK with loud noises. If you introduce these noises softly with rewards, then they won't see them as scary on NYE.

So do yourself and your dog a favor and follow these tips!
https://www.poochcoach.com/helping-dogs-with-fear-of-fireworks/

Have a peaceful and healthy 2025, filled with love and dogs !! ❤️🐶

12/26/2024

DO NOT BUY warning.

We know all GPS measuring devices for dogs can be somewhat buggy or inaccurate. But we’ve been using variations of this Whistle device for over 10 years.

And, sadly, it used to work better.

We also used to be able to get customer service people who truly wanted to fix bugs and adjust problems - rather than continually pushing back and saying it’s not their fault and that we are wrong and can’t remember correctly or whatever. (Even when we send them screenshots for proof!)

So we figured it’s about time to give a shout out to WHISTLE, because every time their device completely messes up or they change the interface and give us bad/less data, somehow it’s our fault, or it works as it’s supposed to, or it never really gave us that data in the past - it was our imagination.

Anyway, we had another mess up today, and we’re looking forward to seeing how they’re going tell us this one wasn’t their fault either, and that we somehow went to Marin and didn’t know it. 

Anyway, don’t buy a Whistle device.
Let me know if there are any other devices out there that don’t screw up this much and, when they do, have customer service people who actually want to hear feedback and fix things.

Thanks for reading our post, and hopefully helping us… and maybe even Whistle will see this and try to improve.

Happy holidays everybody!