Austin Dog Zone

19/08/2024

We have had a few cases of mycotoxin poisoning recently. Its not a poisoning that folks are generally familiar with, so we thought we'd share the information to raise awareness.-

Ingestion of mouldy food from the bin or a compost pile puts dogs, cats, horses, livestock, and even wildlife at risk for toxicity due to tremorgenic mycotoxins. These toxins may be found in MOULDY bread, pasta, cheese, nuts, or other decaying matter like compost. Clinical signs include vomiting, agitation, incoordination, tremors, seizures, and elevated body temperature. A specific mycotoxin called aflatoxin can even cause liver failure. Be sure to keep mouldy food and compost out of your pets reach!

13/08/2024

It’s up to you how you want to train.

09/08/2024

I truly believe that if Steve Irwin were alive today, he would have a dedicated group of people who hated him for how he treated animals.

Steve always treated every species he worked with, as the species they were, not forcing them to change their nature.

More and more I find myself trying to convince people to "let the dog go outside, it's okay if they get a little dirty" or "your snake is arboreal and can't just be confined to a small tub." Or "Your working breed dog is not happy being still and lazy in your one bedroom apartment with nothing to keep them active and thinking."

It seems in this next generation of animal husbandry, we're deciding that all animals are now going to become (and be treated as) our little babies.

Now, is it okay to refer to your furry, feathered, scaly friend as such? Of course!
Is it okay to treat them as human babies...absolutely not at all.

As we see this change taking place, so to do we see more and more stressed out animals. Ones with a lack of structure and mental enrichment...but tons and tons of random toys and bags of treats.

What Steve Irwin did is create an environment that was enriching for the animals he had. Not attempt to force the animals to adjust to his environment.

Taking your Border Collie or herding, working, hunting, breed on a 10 minute walk (as long as you remember, it's not raining or just not feeling upto it) once a day, is not cutting it.

Locking your pyrenees or Shepherd breed in a kennel all day and then keeping'em in a small apartment, but still expecting the dog to be still and always cuddling...not cutting it.

Keeping your African grey parrot in a small enclosure with a few items that you've not replaced...is not cutting it.

When you bring an animal into your life. It is so important to understand what that animal is and have a structured enrichment routine and appropriate setup for the breed/species before you take in the animal.

Anything less than what your animal needs is a disservice to your best friend.

Be kind to your animals, enrich their lives (in a way that's appropriate for them). Keep them thinking. Keep them exploring. Give them understanding and structure and you will keep them happy.

~Benjamin McGill, M.C.B Owner of GoodBoy animal training.

Picture taken while visiting local aquarium store.

19/07/2024

24/06/2024

Be a Dog Detective – Dogs Do Not Like Hugs and Kisses
https://www.petprofessionalguild.com/resource/be-a-dog-detective-dogs-do-not-like-hugs-and-kisses/

20/06/2024

Loving our pets to death. :(

Body condition. It’s important. This is my dog Finn who is an AmStaff/American Bully mix found as a puppy, produced by a backyard breeder who did no health testing.

Finn is almost 9 years old and was an athlete most of his adult life. He participated in a variety of sports and was in excellent physical condition.

When he turned 7, he began to have physical problems. Limps here and there which progressively got worse. Over the course of a year, multiple vet visits, specialists, images, etc he was diagnosed with hip dysplasia, possible IVDD and eventually discospondylitis, an infection in the spine which deteriorated the discs and vertebra.

This caused his immediate retirement and a very long journey of recovery. His body condition deteriorated quickly. Shockingly quickly.

Now. Had Finn been out of condition, overweight or had no experience with body awareness his recovery would’ve been exceptionally more difficult.

These days I see far more overweight and morbidly obese pet dogs than I’ve ever seen. It breaks my heart. What’s worse is that many of these owners tell me their veterinarian has never discussed their dog’s weight with them. I’ve learned that if I bring it up, people often get offended.

This is particularly heartbreaking with young dogs. Owners are loving their dogs to death with food. Canine obesity reduces your dog’s lifespan. It increases the chances your dog will be in pain for years as the extra weight exacerbates arthritis and stiffness.

Please, please learn about Canine body condition scores and what your dog’s healthy weight and muscle tone should look like. A fit dog is much happier and healthier and our perception of what that looks like is flawed.

The photo below of my own dog probably looks okay to most people. To me he’s overweight, albeit slightly, and his muscle tone is lacking. Because he is greatly restricted in activity I have to be creative to get him to and maintain a healthy body condition.

https://www.petobesityprevention.org/pet-weight-check

16/06/2024

We’ve offered this meetup group since 2014 as a low cost outreach for our community and for reactive dogs. It’s something we are very proud of and hope to offer for years to come! :)

Weird computer screenshot, but you get the idea. 🤗

21/05/2024

It has been brought to our attention that our site through Google has been hacked. Our url otherwise is still safe and working: austindogzone.com

Thank you for your patience as we contact Google and remedy this! Contact us here, by phone or email, [email protected].

Austin Dog Zone offers certified dog training through private training, group training classes and board and train in Austin, Round Rock and Georgetown, TX.

29/04/2024

I don't care how calm or friendly your dog is.

Or how much they have tolerated from kids in the past.

Children and dogs require supervision and management.

They both act on impulse and can become uncomfortable very quickly.

So we need to start teaching children how to read dog body language as well as how to safely and pooitely interact with dogs as young as we can.

And until children understands these concepts fully, there should always be an adult supervising and moderating interactions between dogs and kiddos.

Here's a free tip:
💁🏽Teach your kids that if a dog is sleeping on a bed, chewing a bone, or eating a meal, don't approach them!

Share with a friend to increase dog and kid safety!

27/04/2024

Pupdate on Darla: Welp. The initial vet report wasn't super positive. To be specific, here's what the vet upon initial exam had to say: "With the extended history of seeing Darla on the street dragging her limbs for the past month, it is likely she has
been paraplegic and deep pain negative for more than 24 hours. The paraplegia is most likely secondary to a disc extrusion
(herniated disc). No obvious spinal instability was palpated on exam that would suggest a luxation or fracture of the spine. Since
she has likely been without deep pain for more than 24 hours, the likelihood surgical intervention will help her return to normal
function is almost zero. In her current condition, it is recommended to manage her as a paraplegic dog or to consider humane
euthanasia." OBVIOUSLY, we are not going with Door #2. Our next plan of attack is to get her to our primary vet to run some tests and diagnostics to see if we can better manage her care. In short, we are going to be working on managing Darla as a parplegic dog for as long as we can, i.e. for as long as we can give her a GOOD life.

Now, this story from us may seem VERY familiar, because, as you know, we already have Miss Ava, who is also paraplegic. So here is's a picture of both of these beautiful girls. They look so much alike. Ava is on the left, Darla on the right. Both so beautiful and full of life. We're going to have to create a fan club!

13/04/2024

29/03/2024

People hate to hear about management and how important it is, but preach!!

I have loads of amazing clients that do the work we discuss and put forth the effort to train their dogs using the advice and plans I gi...

07/03/2024

Everyone who is thinking of getting dogs should read this because you need to understand this reality:

***I am a 21st century dog.***
-I'm a Malinois.
Overskilled among dogs, I excel in all disciplines and I'm always ready to work: I NEED to work.
But nowadays I get asked to chill on the couch all day everyday.

-I am an Akita Inu.
My ancestors were selected for dog fighting.
Today I get asked to be tolerant and I get scolded for my reactivity when another approaches me.

-I am a Beagle.
When I chase my prey, I raise my voice so the hunters could follow.
Today they put an electric collar on me to shut up, and you make me come back to you - no running - with a snap of your fingers.

-I am a Yorkshire Terrier.
I was a terrifying rat hunter in English mines.
Today they think I can't use my legs and they always hold me in their arms.

-I'm a Labrador Retriever.
My vision of happiness is a dive into a pond to bring back the duck he shot to my master.
Today you forget I'm a walking, running, swimming dog; as a result I'm fat, made to stay indoors, and to babysit.

-I am a Jack Russell.
I can take on a fox, a mean badger, and a rat bigger than me in his den.
Today I get scolded for my character and high energy, and forced to turn into a quiet living room dog.

-I am a Siberian Husky.
Experienced the great, wide open spaces of Northern Europe, where I could drag sleds for long distances at impressive speeds.
Today I only have the walls of the house or small garden as a horizon, and the holes I dig in the ground just to release energy and frustration, trying to stay sane.

-I am a border collie
I was made to work hours a day in partnershipwith my master, and I am an unmistakable artist of working with the herd.
Today they are mad at me because, for lack of sheep, I try to check bikes, cars, children in the house and everything in motion.

I am ...
I am a 21st century dog.
I'm pretty, I'm alert, I'm obedient, I stay in a bag...but I'm also an individual who, from centuries of training, needs to express my instincts, and I am *not* suited for the sedentary life you'd want me to lead.
Spending eight hours a day alone in the house or in the garden - with no work and no one to play or run with, seeing you for a short time in the evening when you get home, and only getting a small toilet walk will make me deeply unhappy.
I'll express it by barking all day, turning your yard into a minefield, doing my needs indoors, being unmanageable the rare times I'll find myself outside, and sometimes spending my days sunk, sad, lonely, and depressed, on my pillow.
You may think that I should be happy to be able to enjoy all this comfort while you go to work, but actually I’ll be exhausted and frustrated, because this is absolutely NOT what I'm meant to do, or what I need to be doing.
If you love me, if you've always dreamed of me, if my beautiful blue eyes or my athletic look make you want me, but you can't give me a real dog's life, a life that's really worth living according to my breed, and if you can't offer me the job that my genes are asking, DO NOT buy or adopt me!
If you like the way I look but aren't willing to accept my temperament, gifts, and traits derived from long genetic selection, and you think you can change them with only your good will, then DO NOT BUY OR ADOPT ME.
I’m a dog from the 21st century, yes, but deep inside me, the one who fought, the one who hunted, the one who pulled sleds, the one who guided and protected a herd still lives within.
So think **very** carefully before you choose your dog. And think about getting two, rather than one, so I won't be so very lonely waiting for you all day. Eight or ten hours is just a workday to you, but it's an eternity for me to be alone.

©️ Karen Caron

27/02/2024

Shake it…shake it off…

A recent study by two researchers in France looked at sniffing, pulse rate, and leash length on walks. Sixty-one dogs were taken on three separate walks, five minutes each walk, once with a 1.5m leash, once with a 5m leash, and once without a leash at all (walk order was randomized for each dog). Off-leash dogs sniffed the most, more than 3x as long as the dogs on short leashes. Dogs on long leashes spent nearly as much time as unleashed dogs sniffing, almost 3x as long as dogs on short leashes.

This study also found that sniffing resulted in lowered pulse rates, and the more intensely they sniffed, the more their pulse rates lowered. Pulse rate was also lowered when dogs “shook off” during walks on all leash lengths. The “shake off” behavior was often seen when the dog’s pulse rate was particularly high.

Read more about it below!

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1HX77kp2HBDiTxmq/?mibextid=Le6z7H

https://www.tuftsyourdog.com/everydaydogcare/giving-your-dog-time-to-sniff-on-walks-will-literally-soothe-his-heart/

What else can we learn about dogs from their walking behavior? Take your best friend on a Sniffari and see what you observe!

20/02/2024

By Stateofmind dog training

25/01/2024

This is a very normal thing, especially as dogs mature.

17/01/2024

Little Bella is learning about the weird human world during her board and train and doing great!

17/01/2024

Beautiful Rue practicing in public!

11/01/2024

This sweet client pup used to bark, lunge and growl at other dogs on leash. She’s made tremendous progress with her confidence on leash and has learned to trust her handler that she’s safe.

Have a leash reactive dog? We can help! And we can help without shock collars, prong collars, pain or intimidation.

06/01/2024

Sharing again.

06/12/2023

Yayyyy to this sweet boy and his family. They knew going into board and train we can’t “fix” everything, but we can jumpstart their training and improve their behaviors. Clear guidance and relationship building was the ticket for this puppy to behave better. 🤗

Austin Dog Training, http://www.austindogzone.com/ Dog training for all breeds and temperaments. Sci

04/12/2023

Good training looks boring! 😍

29/11/2023

Miko has the most dedicated family!

25/11/2023

Love your dog for who they are, it’s a good thing they aren’t human. ;)

Yelling louder for the people in the back

My dog is not my child.

My dog is not my furbaby.

I am not her mother, I am her trainer. The word trainer is not a bad word, it means leader, supporter,disciplinary.. and friend.

My dog is my friend. She is my partner and my companion. To treat her like a child, to infantilize her and make it seem as though she needs my constant coddling or protection, would be unfair to her.

She is an adult carnivore that I have brought into my human world. Because of that it is my responsibility as her owner:

1) To communicate with her in a way she can understand.

2) To provide leadership, discipline and mutual respect.

3) To understand her instincts and needs, and provide appropriate outlets for them.

4) To train her and provide her the skills to function effectively in our human world, including acceptable manners and behaviors including the veterinarian.

Our dogs deserve to be given responsibility and allowed to be adult creatures, not perpetual babies. Please, don't try to make them tiny humans, they aren't and they don't want to be. Dogs are wonderful because they are dogs. Let them be dogs.

Teach them to be good ones.

I couldn’t live a day without them..