Dog Crazy Lady - Dog Training & Behavior Consulting

25/08/2025

Someone asked a question on one of my videos where I explain about eight different reasons why a dog might behave aggressively. 

23/08/2025

“Labeling these shelters as “kill shelters” only deepens the burden. It places blame on the very people who are showing up every day to do the hardest work in animal welfare. These are not people who have failed animals—they are people who need support, not blame.”

Across the country, I see animal shelters are doing everything they can to save lives in a system strained by pet overpopulation. But not all shelters operate under the same conditions. Understanding the difference between municipal and private shelters—and the critical role each plays—can help ...

23/08/2025

This book about animal perception was just highly recommended to me, so I’m sharing with you-

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - A "thrilling" (The New York Times), "dazzling" (The Wall Street Journal) tour of the radically different ways that animals perceive the world that will fill you with wonder and forever alter your perspective, by Pulitzer Prize-winning science journalist Ed Yong
"One of this year's finest works of narrative nonfiction."--Oprah Daily

ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Time, People, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Slate, Reader's Digest, Chicago Public Library, Outside, Publishers Weekly, BookPage

ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: Oprah Daily, The New Yorker, The Washington Post, The Guardian, The Economist, Smithsonian Magazine, Prospect (UK), Globe & Mail, Esquire, Mental Floss, Marginalian, She Reads, Kirkus Reviews, Library Journal

The Earth teems with sights and textures, sounds and vibrations, smells and tastes, electric and magnetic fields. But every kind of animal, including humans, is enclosed within its own unique sensory bubble, perceiving but a tiny sliver of our immense world.

In An Immense World, Ed Yong coaxes us beyond the confines of our own senses, allowing us to perceive the skeins of scent, waves of electromagnetism, and pulses of pressure that surround us. We encounter beetles that are drawn to fires, turtles that can track the Earth's magnetic fields, fish that fill rivers with electrical messages, and even humans who wield sonar like bats. We discover that a crocodile's scaly face is as sensitive as a lover's fingertips, that the eyes of a giant squid evolved to see sparkling whales, that plants thrum with the inaudible songs of courting bugs, and that even simple scallops have complex vision. We learn what bees see in flowers, what songbirds hear in their tunes, and what dogs smell on the street. We listen to stories of pivotal discoveries in the field, while looking ahead at the many mysteries that remain unsolved.

Funny, rigorous, and suffused with the joy of discovery, An Immense World takes us on what Marcel Proust called "the only true voyage . . . not to visit strange lands, but to possess other eyes."

WINNER OF THE ANDREW CARNEGIE MEDAL - FINALIST FOR THE KIRKUS PRIZE - FINALIST FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD - LONGLISTED FOR THE PEN/E.O. WILSON AWARD

Buy An Immense World: How Animal Senses Reveal the Hidden Realms Around Us at Half Price Books.

10/08/2025

The Cruel Irony of Punishing a Dog Already in Distress

There’s a painful irony in the dog world: Dog's being punished, who are already struggling to cope, who are often reacting because something in their world already feels punishing, frightening, or overwhelming.

Instead of asking, "What’s happening inside this dog? What are they trying to communicate?" instead " lets punish the dog"

A shock.
A spray bottle or collar
A prong collar, choke chain etc.

That dog is often already in distress. Their behaviour was a symptom, not the disease. Their reaction was an attempt to say, “I can’t handle this. Help.”

And yet, people respond by piling on more stress, more fear, more aversion, and then somehow framing it as a favour.

“I’m correcting him for his own good.” “She needs to learn.” “This is how you train a balanced dog.”" Now they can go off lead and be a dog".

You can’t scare fear out of a dog, but you can shut them up.
You can’t correct trauma into trust, but you can shut them up
You can’t punish away panic, but you can shut them up.

Quiet doesnt mean coping

My approach is that dogs need understanding. They need to be heard. And we owe them the grace to ask why before we decide how to respond.

This doesnt mean i dont believe in boundaries, or guidance.

It means I believe in being fair, being compassionate, and working hard to reduce worries whilst striving for change not just shuting the undesirable behaviour down.

31/07/2025

😕

PLEASE RECONSIDER GROOMING YOUR DOG WHILST OUT ON WALKS (or in the garden!)

This - along with letting them swim in waterways - could be killing wildlife.


It's that time of year when you see random distributions of dog fluff out on walks.

Kanita is also blowing her coat, and Mohawk has been having a big coat change too recently. There's something very satisfying about gently pulling those loose tufts of hair out. If you know, you know.


I don't blame people for thinking that it's easier to groom a super floofy dog outside to save covering their house in hair- BUT if that dog receives anti-parasitic treatment, this may be harming wildlife.

A study in the Netherlands detected two active substances used in routine pet anti-parasitic treatments in the nests of great t**s- who had collected hair in order to build their nests.

Another study by The University of Sussex found that screened nests contained 17 out of 20 insecticides screened for. 100% of nests contained fipronil and 89% contained imidacloprid.
A higher number of unhatched eggs and dead chicks were associated with higher numbers of chemicals present in the nests (with dog hair being used to build the nests by the birds).


Many of these chemicals in these treatments are thought to be harmful to birds. It is also thought that they are damaging to insect populations (including bees) as well as contributing to pollution of waterways and damaging aquatic ecosystems - contributed by people letting their dogs swim in ponds, lakes, streams, rivers etc.


If you routinely use parasite control medication on your dog please do not let them swim outdoors (especially soon after treatment) and avoid grooming them outside (or bag up the hair as you groom).

There are some suggestions that oral medications are less damaging, but they don't just sit in the digestive system. They are transported around the bloodstream- which supplies nutrients and oxygen to the whole body. Toxins leave the body via excrement, urine, sweat, hair and skin cells- albeit predominantly via the former two.

Whilst topical treatments pose a greater risk - especially soon after treatment- it cannot be assumed that there is no negative affect from oral treatments. The research identified that dog hair is linked to bird deaths and that specifically states that dogs owned by volunteers donating nests received parasite control via collars, spot on and tablets.
Chemicals from Nexguard and Bravecto were not screened for in the study and thus are not ruled out as safe nor established as harmful (to birds).


The recommended frequency of use of these products continues to be called into question, as is the risk of adverse side effects in pets!

Veternarians are being encouraged to prescribe them based on risk to the individual.
Assessing individual risk is not easy for veternarians to do in the time that they have, so you can help your vet help you by intensively reading information on these products rather than administering them every 1-3 months in blind faith that it's the right thing to do and without consequence.

Our wildlife is in decline and if we care about nature- we all need to do our bit.

That may include reviewing the specific medication you purchase from your vet or you may decide to use them less frequently, such as treating as needed or seasonally (instead of across the year).
You may delay letting your dog swim post treatment for as long as possible, or consider alternative prevention such as worm counts, flea combing or natural repellents (although do note, some ingredients in these could still be toxic to some species of wildlife).


Again, whether to treat or not should be down to INDIVIDUAL RISK. What poses a risk to individuals in one area may differ to others elsewhere.

But it's also your personal choice and I want to make it clear that this post is NOT telling people to NOT treat their pets but simply to be aware of the potential impact of such treatments and to adjust our habits (swimming, grooming outside) accordingly.


Are there other things that damage the environment? Of course.
But this is a page about dogs, so content will be relevant to dogs.

You can use the fact that XY and Z also harm the environment as a justification for doing nothing, or you can consider whether there are small changes you are able to make. The cumulative effect is what causes these issues to escalate, and thus the cumulative effect is also capable of making some positive change.


Note: If you don’t use anti parasitics on your dog & groom them outside, then the hair may be beneficial for the birds. However, do consider that grooming products and other medications may pose a risk - should you use these.

These were the resources linked into the comments, but Ive opted to bring them here for ease. Within some of these you can be linked to the research on this topic and you will find much more detail on this emotive topic.

https://www.sussex.ac.uk/broadcast/read/66973

https://www.veterinaryirelandjournal.com/small-animal/359-cat-and-dog-parasiticides-and-the-environment

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969725000737?ref=pdf_download&fr=RR-2&rr=908a988c1c6d63c1

https://www.songbird-survival.org.uk/post/veterinary-drugs-found-in-bird-nests/

https://www.imperial.ac.uk/news/243875/toxic-flea-tick-treatments-polluting-uk/

https://www.pan-uk.org/garden-birds-are-being-poisoned-by-pet-flea-treatments/

https://www.broads-authority.gov.uk/looking-after/managing-land-and-water/water-quality/flea-treatments-and-their-impact-on-water-quality

https://www.kentwildlifetrust.org.uk/blog/flea-treatment-toxic-to-wildlife

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/feb/23/flea-treatments-cats-dogs-environmental-hazard

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7738705/

https://www.bva.co.uk/take-action/our-policies/responsible-use-of-parasiticides-for-cats-and-dogs/

https://www.bsava.com/position-statement/parasite-control/

27/07/2025

The weather forecasts have been sooo wrong and it’s making it hard to work outside lately

Several current and former agency meteorologists and staff told CNN they are concerned warnings won’t be issued in time as hurricane season nears.

24/07/2025

The video is circulating on TikTok, and I’m sure elsewhere. If your dog is afraid of the groomer, there is likely a good reason. Even groomers who are not abusive in this manner are often going too fast or are too rough or using an equipment that is too scary. You can do your part by working on cooperative care techniques at home and helping your dog be comfortable with handling and equipment.

⭐𝐔𝐏𝐃𝐀𝐓𝐄: 𝐒𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐞𝐱𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐲 𝐂𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬.

On Thursday, July 24, 2025, detectives with the Iredell County Sheriff's Office, assisted by members of Iredell County Animal Control, executed a search warrant at Classy Critters in Mooresville, North Carolina. Items of evidence related to the ongoing investigation of Animal Cruelty were seized. This investigation is continuing.

7/23 at approx. 5p 𝐀𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐧𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐫𝐮𝐞𝐥𝐭𝐲 𝐂𝐚𝐬𝐞: $𝟏𝟎,𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐞𝐭 𝐛𝐲 𝐌𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐣𝐚𝐬

𝗦𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗳𝗳 𝗗𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻 𝗖𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱: On Monday, July 21, 2025, the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office was contacted by Iredell County Animal Services regarding a disturbing case of animal cruelty. Due to the severity of the allegations and the compelling nature of the evidence, the investigation was referred to the Sheriff’s Office.

The case originated on Friday, July 18, when Animal Services received reports and video footage of abuse by a female employee at a pet grooming business, later identified as Classy Critters. The video, captured by a concerned coworker, depicted the employee repeatedly striking and mishandling dogs during grooming sessions. These dogs were verified to be clients' pets brought in for routine care.

Detective Sergeant P. Irwin of the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office immediately conferred with Animal Control Officers and reviewed the submitted evidence. The videos revealed troubling behavior involving at least four separate dogs being treated in a clearly aggressive and abusive manner.

The employee was identified as Kirsten Rhea Taylor, 28, of Mooresville, NC. Based on video evidence and corroborating witness statements, Detective Sergeant Irwin obtained arrest warrants charging Taylor with Four Counts of Felony Animal Cruelty.

The investigation remains ongoing. As investigators continue to interview witnesses, contact affected pet owners, and compile further evidence, additional charges may be forthcoming. While these steps take time, they are crucial for ensuring a thorough and just outcome.

Arrest warrants are active for this suspect, and deputies are attempting to locate her.

𝐒𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐟𝐟 𝐂𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐝: "This case highlights the critical importance of coordinated responses in matters involving animal cruelty. While we maintain a strong working relationship with Animal Services and appreciate their role in this investigation, it is important for the public to understand that the Sheriff’s Office does not oversee Animal Control operations in Iredell County. Since Animal Control is a separate department, certain investigative actions and responses must follow a referral process. We will always take allegations of animal abuse seriously and will hold offenders accountable.”

⭐ Follow the Iredell County Sheriff for updates on this arrest.

Anyone with additional information related to this incident is encouraged to contact the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office at 704-878-3180

21/07/2025

Looks like a Jack Russell Terrier doing what JRTs do

Our Engine 501 crew had a truly "paws-itive" rescue this past Sunday! They were called to a home on Garrison Forest Road where two adventurous pups found themselves in a bit of a pickle – stuck deep in a groundhog hole!

It took some serious teamwork, a lot of digging, gentle coaxing, a few whistles, and maybe even a little bit of prayer, but our dedicated firefighters successfully extricated both furry friends. We're so proud of their quick thinking and determination to bring these pups to safety!

This is a fantastic reminder that your fire company does so much more than fight fires and respond to (human) medical emergencies. We're often called upon for all sorts of animal and wildlife rescues, and every single one is important to us.

11/07/2025

Dogs die due to this issue every summer. Take care out there.

10/07/2025

Sometimes when I’m out driving around, I see one of you walking your dog and it makes me smile.

08/07/2025

I’ve been transparent for years about my distaste for “no kill” (and it irks me when people say “high kill”- you’ve been deceived by marketing). Check this out -

Three cases expose how America's most powerful animal welfare alliance turned lifesaving into a numbers game—with deadly consequences.