Loyal Leashes

26/08/2024

Happy National Dog Day!
Let’s see who you’re celebrating today 🐶❤️🦴

16/08/2024

It’s ok to need a break from something scary or uncomfortable. This is why consent and cooperative care is so important.

It’s much easier to get through difficult procedures if we feel we have some kind of control.

Sometimes we need to go ahead with things our dogs find uncomfortable because it’s a case of welfare. And we shouldn’t feel guilty about that. Dogs are amazingly forgiving and if we put enough good stuff in, the bad stuff has less of an impact.

But providing more choice and control for our dogs in as many areas we can. Can make getting things done much less traumatic for both of us.

A few of you asked to know more about consent handling and start/stop buttons after I shared it in my story. If you would like to watch my free video explanation, comment CONSENT and I’ll DM you the link.

28/04/2024

I’m VERY excited to be offering a virtual, interactive, seminar on teaching your dog not to jump as a fundraiser for Old Dogs New Digs 🙌🙌🙌

The minimum donation to attend this hour long seminar is $25 and 100% of the proceeds go to the rescue to help them help senior dogs in need 🫶

Taking place on June 6th @ 7:30pm EST you can say goodbye to those airborne greetings with my fun and helpful guide to curbing the jump-happy antics of your best dog friend while raising money for a fantastic cause.

Let’s keep those feet firmly planted and those spirits high as we embark on a journey to transform your four-legged friend from a jumping bean, into the ultimate master of canine manners In this hour long virtual seminar (a recording will be emailed after)

The seminar will include a power point presentation as well as interactive exercises you can participate in with your dog.

Registration is through my class registration page on my website (link in bio on Insta and in the comments on FB)

Please share this with everyone you know who has a dog and could benefit and let’s raise as much money as possible for some wonderful senior dogs in need!

17/04/2024

Spark is demonstrating great social behavior walking through a busy downtown.

A social dog does not mean they want to say hi to everyone. It means they are comfortable being around people and ignoring them. We don’t greet everyone we pass and your dog shouldn’t either.

My rule of thumb is your dog should greet less than 10% of the people and dogs they see.

13/04/2024

Your dog doesn’t need buttons to communicate everything. They already do a great job on their own.

Chances are you've seen the talking dog videos online recently, let's break down the science behind it.

01/04/2024

This April marks 10 years in business! I’m so thankful for all my clients over the years ❤️

10 years ago, I decided to take a big leap and quit my job to open a dog walking and pet sitting business. I took up 3 per diem jobs to make sure I could work around a crazy schedule while I built up my clientele. I did split shifts, overnights, sometimes only sleeping for a few hours at a time before my next client or shift. It was a lot of hard work and time to get things going. And it was so with it!
Lots of people ask how I got into dog training. At the time I opened my business, it hadn’t really crossed my mind to do training. But I love to learn so I decided to take a course on dog training because I wanted to learn more about the animals I worked with. Little did I know, I’d fall in love with behavior and training and eventually make it my full time career.

A few pics of my OG clients. Unfortunately, some of these guys have passed but I still think of them and I’m grateful for everyone who trusted me then and now to help your dogs 🐶❤️🐶

29/01/2024

Monday morning snow fun! ❄️☃️
Who else makes paths for their dogs? I know I’m not alone!

07/12/2023

Just a standard kind of day!

3 standard poodles today 🐩🐩🐩😁

27/11/2023

Yes! Advanced skills are just the basics done really well 👏

Stop trying to skip the basics! Some of the greatest teams I’ve had in class have taken a Basic class 2-3 times!

04/11/2023

November is adopt a senior month ❤️

November is Adopt A Senior Month

01/10/2023

My brain is full and happy 🤓🫠

Wrapping up day 3 of the Aggression in Dogs Conference
(I attended virtually) 🐶

28/07/2023

When someone tells you their dog needs space, listen to them!

Just because a dog looks friendly, and seems to be doing well in the situation they are in, does not mean that they are ready for more interaction, especially from someone they do not know.

Feel free to politely ask if you can say hi to the dog, but if the handler says no, listen!

Proceeding to approach the dog and saying that the dog is fine and all dogs love you, is rude and just plain disrespectful. It can also be incredibly dangerous.

Even if the dog loves people, but the handler does not want you approaching, you still need to respect that boundary.

If that dog bites you, who gets the blame? Who doesn’t get to go out for walks anymore? Who gets labeled as “bad?”

If the handler has to stand up for themselves and their dog, who is seen as being rude, unfriendly, or mean?

Certainly not the person who ignored boundaries and can’t listen.

Almost every reactive dog case I see, the owners ask me how to handle people approaching them and what to do if they won’t listen. It’s really sad that we have to have these conversations and prepare for people (almost always adults!) who disrespect boundaries.

So put on your listening ears and be respectful. It all comes down to those 2 basic things.

If you want to spend time with dogs and bring them joy, contact your local shelter or rescue and offer to volunteer. They’d love that and you’d be making a positive difference in the lives of some dogs who need it most ❤️

24/07/2023

"When my dog barked at your dog why did you give her a treat? She barked back. Why didn't you correct her?"

Your dog said, "oh you scared me!" and my dog said, "oh, you scared me!"
So I replied, "it's OK, let's keep walking."

So my dog got scared by hearing your dog bark and hopefully I made her feel comfortable by giving her a piece of cheese, kept walking, kept her leash loose and letting her know I have her back.

The next time your dog barks I want her to say, "Cool that dog is here again. Do I get cheese?!" 🐶 🙂🧀

But you'd prefer that I pair hearing your dog bark with me yelling, tight leash/choking and making her sit?
Why would I want to create that sort of negative association? 🐶😡😓

Dogs bark.
Dogs startle.

If you plan to punish your dog for reacting to anything in the world (all healthy living animals react to their environment) might I suggest something other than a living being as a companion?
Dogs are not lobotomized robots.

Dogs bark. Dogs react.
The only thing to take personally is how you respond to this.

Unsure how to help your dog that is over reactive? Seek out professional help that knows what to do rather than choke your dog and make them sit near something that they said is too close.

11/05/2023

This! It’s all about relationship ❤️

Here's my hot tip for having a great relationship with your dog.

Teach your dog that you are reliable.

That means:
🐾If they need help, help them.
🐾If they are confused, break it down so they understand.
🐾 Don't just ignore their request for contact and connection.
🐾If they are afraid, teach them you are safe and will protect them.
🐾Be consistent.
🐾Don't take anger or frustrations out on them.
🐾Set them up to succeed.
🐾Advocate for them.
🐾 Don't yell or push them away because you are tired or had a hard day.
🐾Meet their needs, including rest, exercise and enrichment.
🐾 Set up environments that work for them.
🐾 Understand their behaviors have a function that has nothing to do with ruining your day.
🐾 Understand that day to day routines become habits. If a dog does the same thing for months or a year, appreciate that they cannot just change today because you want them to.
🐾Go slow when needed.
🐾See them as an individual. What works for you might be different from what you saw on Instagram.
🐾Observe and listen to their feedback.

24/04/2023

Source: Physiotherapy improved dogs' quality of life measured with Milan pet quality of life scale: Is Pain involved?
Piotti et al.
2022
DOI: 10.3390/vetsci9070335
..up to 80% of cases seen by behavioral medicine specialists may have pain as the root cause for the behavior problem. In addition, a recent qualitative study has given rise to concerns about a potential link between pain and certain cases of noise sensitivities. Signs such as a generalization of fear to several stimuli and environments and avoidance of other dogs are overrepresented in dogs affected by musculoskeletal pain, as opposed to dogs without pain. In fact, the authors suggest that all dogs presenting with noise sensitivity should be screened for chronic pain. Similarly, pain is associated with certain aggressive incidents in dogs: dogs in pain are described as having a bad temperament ("Jekyll and Hyde personality").

Physiotherapy improved dogs' quality of life measured with Milan pet quality of life scale: Is Pain involved?
Piotti et al.
2022

29/12/2022

What having an old dog looks like.

It’s not pretty.
It’s certainly not the latest in home fashion.
But it’s so worth it!

Older dogs can find slippery floors to be scary and dangerous. It’s like walking across a patch of ice.

Area rugs help give the dog more traction and stability. This can help with their physical safety (prevents slips and falls) as well as their emotional safety (prevents worry and insecurity).

So, my house is full of area rugs.
And I wouldn’t have it any other way ❤️

25/12/2022

Merry Christmas everyone 🎄

24/11/2022

So very thankful ❤️

02/11/2022

Spark had a fun time shopping at Tractor Supply this morning! She was such a good girl that she got to pick out her own toy. Good job, Spark!

14/10/2022

Indoor Dig Box

Wind and power outages make Rylee very nervous. When she’s nervous, she likes to dig to relieve some stress. So here she is in her indoor dog box doing what she needs to do to feel better.

I hope everyone is safe and cozy today!

26/08/2022

Happy National Dog Day 🐶🐾
Rylee got a ball from one of her friends today.
Today is a good day 🎾😁
Share a picture of the dog(s) you’re celebrating!
🐕🦮🐩🐕‍🦺

21/05/2022

Yup

Your trainer doesn't need to see the behaviour.

"How can you possibly help unless you see my dog lunging at other dogs/nipping the postie/pinching food from the side?!"

I promise, it's never necessary to set your dog up to fail for us to be able to help you.

You see, we BUILD behaviour, we don't correct or suppress behaviour.

If you want something; build it!

By making the new option more rewarding for your dog and removing the potential for them to rehearse the old behaviour, that's how we shape lasting behaviour change.

You see, practice makes permanent.

The more your dog practices barking, nipping, lunging, counter-surfing etc, the better they get at defaulting to that particular behaviour.

Neurons that fire together - wire together.

This is the opposite of what we want to achieve!

We build skills out of the context the original behaviour occurs in, digging the foundations.

Then we put the bricks on top, by slowly slivering down the stimulus gradient, ensuring the dog has all the skills they need to succeed.

Setting dogs up to fail to demonstrate behaviours is potentially really dangerous. Frustrated, stressed out dogs don't often make good decisions and situations can escalate.

It's not unusual to hear,

"Oh he's not doing it now you're here!"

That's because we always set dogs up to succeed.

We control the environment; not the dog.

And you'll never see demonstrative before and after videos here. It's not in your best interests or your dog's best interests.

We believe you when you say they lunge and bark - and we know exactly what that looks like!

If the day we visit you is the last day you ever see that behaviour - surely that's the absolute best outcome?

06/05/2022

Yup! One shelf on my freezer door is dedicated to kongs. I usually prep and freeze about 8 kongs at a time.

This is what the door of my freezer looks like. I have 4 dogs. They have about 35 rubber toys between them.
And none of them is a puppy ... they are 2, 4, 7 and 9 years old.
Dogs of ALL AGES benefit from chewing. I cannot say this often enough. It is incredibly relaxing for them.
Have a stressed and anxious dog? Let them chew.
Have an overexcited, hyperactive dog? Let them chew.
Have a dog who is bouncing off the walls when you get home after a long day and just want to relax? Give them a frozen chew toy when you arrive!
Have a puppy? Of course, you should let them chew as well 🙂
Your dog needs to eat every day in any case … instead of putting his food a bowl, stuff it into a rubber chew toy and freeze it.
It is so easy, so quick, and if you use it wisely it can make all the difference. For clients who are really struggling and have limited time, I often recommend to feed every single meal through frozen toys - often adding up to 1-2 hours of chew time a day.
The other week I saw a client whose dog was going crazy every morning watching workers at the business across the street arrive and load up for their day - giving her a frozen chew toy now has her relaxing instead of barking frantically.
Your dog already has the built-in calming mechanism of chewing. Use it to your advantage!
And a little video on how to fill the toys and which common mistakes to avoid:
https://vimeo.com/461971805/2cd78cffe3

Happy Chewing 🙂

What's your dog's favorite filling?

13/04/2022

Spark got to go shopping today! We went to Eastern Mountain Sports and let her explore a little bit. She had a great time!


02/04/2022

Long lines are a great way to allow your dog some freedom while still having them on leash. Rylee got to run, sniff, and even got the zoomies! Much better than our basic walk down the road!
Thank you to our neighbors who let use their field for an adventure today 😁

16/03/2022

Yes!

Pro tip!

03/03/2022

Mazie is in my day training program and she’s expecting another tiny human into her family soon. Today, we practiced walking with a stroller and she did great!
The sea horse was also on her best behavior 😜

17/01/2022

Happy birthday Betty White!

Join the challenge and make a difference ❤🐾

Anna: Today would have been 's 100th Birthday!

12/01/2022

I often ask people if their dogs “chase squirrels” while sleeping. I think I’ll start referring to it as “playing the piano.” 🤣 🎹 🎵

💤

25/12/2021

Merry Christmas! 🎄🎁🎅🏼🦴🐶

Rylee is very excited that Santa stopped by last night!