Salata Golden Retriever Diaries

12/15/2023

12/13/2023

12/13/2023

Check out PillarsSeniorLiving's video.

11/25/2023

“Fixed”—one of the most deceptive, unsophisticated, and maddening words used in dogs training.

We all know that dogs will only ever be as good as their environment demands them to be. A well trained dog returned to a household which doesn’t replicate the rules, structure, consequences, and overall lifestyle the dog was trained in—will swiftly return to their prior state of mind and behavior.

Which is why the claims that you’ve “fixed” a dog are the obvious utterings of an unserious and/or deceptive person. It reeks of shallow bravado and/or extremely shortsighted awareness of reality. They may be aware that they’re falsely boasting in order to engender some cheap status increase, or they may not—it doesn’t matter either way. It should simply be a red flag.

An honest and insightful trainer will always relay to you—in no uncertain terms—that you are the only fix. They’ll let you know that they can give you an incredible head-start, fill you in on what’s happening and why, and how to best navigate (tools/training/attitude)—but they’ll be quick to remind you that the aspects of their work which created all the progress, which aren’t replicated by you, will very quickly fade.

The desired new behaviors created will become shaky and unreliable, and the undesired old behaviors removed will become stronger and eventually return to their former intensity. It’s that simple.

So now that we know what really goes into “fixing” a dog, perhaps we’ll be a bit more cautious in how we throw this most unnecessary and unhelpful word around.

11/23/2023

10/06/2023

09/26/2023

All Star leaders!

09/26/2023

Put me in coach!

09/18/2023

High traffic area training

09/08/2023

Dorian and Murphy

08/14/2023

08/14/2023

08/01/2023

It saddens me to say that I found out today that Apple passed away earlier this spring. She was my first show dog and we enjoyed several years as a team showing in AKC events for obedience and confirmation. She was also my first breeding dog and that was an incredible experience bringing new life into the world and her trusting me to help her through. She was loved and will be missed dearly by all that knew her.

Dear Residents, Friends, and Family,
It is with great sadness that we write to inform you that our sweet Apple passed away peacefully this morning. Apple was not feeling well yesterday and was diagnosed with a mass around her heart. Apple was a constant source of joy for everyone here at Shorewood Landing. Please join us in praying for Apple, Gail, Apple’s owner, and of course all who loved her. We love you sweet Apple girl 🍎🤍🕊️

05/11/2023

💯💯💯

04/14/2023

Morning Leader stand up at POPP

04/03/2023

Cleo chose to go have fun in all this snow with her friends and build a self portrait statue… We think they look quite a lot alike!

02/26/2023

Cleo

02/10/2023

Hello! (As he rakes it across the bars like a prisoner)
Such a drama queen, Riggs!

02/05/2023

Perfect day for a walk! We hope you got to enjoy today’s heat wave as much as Cleo did!

02/03/2023

Shopping for Louie's

01/31/2023

Louie's future is so bright he's gotta wear shades!

01/28/2023

I'm not that close with my sibling!

01/26/2023

I put some treats, a baby carrot and broccoli in Rigg's crate with him this morning. He's definitely not a vegetarian

01/25/2023

Cleo is enjoying a story

01/19/2023

Riggs thinks training is exhausting!

01/12/2023

When will we realize that the absence of the less fun, self-rewarding (for us) stuff, is actually the stuff which helps create dogs who not only are stable, well-behaved, great additions to society—but also dogs who are comfortable in their own skin/minds?

Chaotic, frenzied dogs aren’t just obviously problematic behaviorally, they’re also suffering mentally and physically from the overload of inappropriate stress/anxiety/options/freedom/enabling.

Folks just see the poor behavior and assume that’s the totality of it all, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Come spend some time with trainers dealing with dogs who are truly a mess, and you’ll see extremely clear examples of suffering—both mentally and physically.

The good news, if owners are willing to see the reality of this, they can adjust their lifestyle and aporoach, and gift their dogs not just the freedom and inclusion that comes from being well-behaved, but just as importantly, they can gift their dogs mental and physical comfort, and the ability to enjoy a far richer quality of life.

Sadly, many dogs will never receive this gift.

01/09/2023

So many memories with my girl Cleo! She's going to love her retirement/new job as a facility dog at The Pillars of Prospect Park in Minneapolis. All the residents, staff and family members with so much love and attention all for her. We have accomplished much together and she has made me so proud to have been there with her through the years!

01/08/2023

Welcome home, Cleo!! We are over the top excited to have our newest "furiend" join our team! Cleo is a trained, five year old Golden Retriever and our new Community Ambassador ready to welcome you home too!

01/08/2023

And then there were 2

01/08/2023

Maple (Barbie's yellow girl)

01/08/2023

Don't miss out! Order today at www.Pawtree.com/salatagoldens

pawTree

01/06/2023

If you’re not seeing the game being played, you’re either not paying attention, or you prefer the game to reality.

The PP/FF training world is consistently unable to deliver what are extremely rudimentary/simple training results—never mind anything that is actually somewhat challenging.

With that being the case, is it any wonder that the focus/attention is placed elsewhere? When you’re unable to provide the service claimed to be on offer, you’d best find something else to convince/persuade/assuage your current or prospective clientele.

Which is precisely why you’ll find these trainers leaning so hard on studies, credentials, and appeals to emotion. The studies are there to divert attention. The credentials are there to divert attention. The appeals to emotion are there to divert attention.

And why would they do this? Well, when results are in short supply, you better find something else to convince/persuade/assuage. And so they do. Ad nauseam.

Is there anything inherently wrong or deceptive with studies, credentials, appeals to emotion? Not necessarily. But when they’re used as a shield to divert focus from the elephant in the room—a deeply flawed training ideology/belief system which continuously causes owners and dogs to struggle and suffer needlessly—then these “shields” need to be called out for that they are: tools used to mislead.

So owners, if you’re shopping for training help—whether in person or online—look to what you’re being persuaded to focus on. Are you being fed a continuous diet of convoluted studies and science, a parade of fancy sounding credentials, and overt emotional manipulation, or are you being offered straightforward, common sense suggestions, and observable results?

Remember, the diversion isn’t a bug, it’s a feature.

01/05/2023

Trying to help Cleo at her new job as a facility dog at the Pillars Community is exhausting