My Sidekick Dog Training

17/07/2024

We need to print more materials! We’ve distributed everything we had 🤗
It’s really exciting to see our materials being offered in many places! Please help us continue our mission of connecting loving animal guardians with trainers who prioritize modern, ethical approaches.

We are the Humane Training Alliance, a group of dedicated dog trainers … Vikki Sushka needs your support for Support the Web Directory of Ethical Dog Trainers

06/06/2024

The liberation of q***r people is directly tied to the liberation of Palestine. Our struggles are intertwined.
Happy Pride Month 💞 FREE PALESTINE!

03/06/2024

Hi dog people! Some of my clients need these things to prevent their behavior case dogs from harming people and other animals. I am looking for some donations to help with safety and management for my low-income training and outreach clients. I offer sliding scale payment for behavior consulting/training but they also really need help with getting items like these.

- Welded wire garden fencing 3’ tall, to attach to the top of an existing fence to make it taller
- Privacy screen 6’ tall to prevent visual access to triggers and prevent people and kids from sticking their hands through fence
- Expandable pens 36” (3’) tall or higher to prevent injury to people/animals in home, and to put around exit doors and gates to prevent escape
- Auto-locking carabiners to help prevent escape while on leash

Please let me know if you are in the Detroit area and have any of these things laying around that you don’t need, or if would like to purchase them for my clients. Thank you!!! 🙏🐾💜

14/04/2024

Hey fam, this kind and caring woman and her beloved dog need to get to safety immediately. Please donate if you can and share widely!!! Link in bio

03/03/2024

Introducing the project I have been hard at work on:

The Humane Training Alliance is a dedicated team of dog trainers and animal welfare advocates, striving to standardize positive, fear-free training techniques in an unregulated industry. Despite widespread support from modern science and the American Board of Veterinary Behaviorists, many trainers continue to use harsh, harmful methods.

Our mission is to establish a state-wide database listing only verified, positive reinforcement trainers who prioritize modern, ethical approaches. Dog guardians will find our printed materials leading them to the site at their veterinarian's office or local pet store. We want to make it easier for pet owners to connect with compassionate and knowledgeable experts who will help them achieve their goals.

While searching "dog training near me" online often yields results for uncertified or harmful trainers, our database will make finding reputable trainers simpler and safer. We urge you to support our mission to shield dogs and their guardians from harmful training tactics.

Our project's initial costs have been $1,500, with an estimated first-year expenditure of $6,000. This covers web development, monthly website expenses, and distribution of information across shelters, vet offices, and pet stores. Our ultimate goal is to expand this service beyond Michigan to the entire Midwest and eventually nationwide, all managed by our dedicated volunteer team. Would you donate $20 to help loving dog guardians quickly find the qualified help they need for their dogs?

Please check out our gofundme at https://gofund.me/ba8ad5b1
Or, donate directly through Venmo or cashapp $mysidekicktraining

22/12/2023

This is one of the body’s physiological responses to stress. It’s important to pay attention to signs like this so we can do our best to help the dog cope.

When we notice this suddenly, we can likely interpret it as a response to acute stress. If the dog looks like this all the time, the dog may be experiencing chronic stress. There may be other health factors at play as well.

The context for this photo was just that my foster dog Billie saw a person from about a block away. While she didn’t have a big reactive episode, I noticed after that her coat looked like this. While I’m doing everything I can to help this girl, the world is such a big scary place for her 😢

05/12/2023

Very proud to have received my CBCC-KA! In an unregulated industry it is important that professionals seek out nationally accredited certifications. This cert demonstrates that I am qualified to take cases of aggression, fear, anxiety, phobias, and compulsive disorders. Always continuing my education to best serve you and your dogs 🐾😊

24/10/2023

I listened to a graphic and terrifying story about a stray dog attack so here’s my new emergency kit I will be carrying 🙃

Please note these are not used for training, just for emergencies

11/10/2023

It’s National Coming Out Day! I’ve been out as gay for years but last year I also came out as nonbinary! I use they/them pronouns but also she/her. I am also polyamorous. I love spending time working to strengthen our q***r community in Detroit through trans/non-binary centered events like beach days and bonfires. Celebrating our q***rness brings me so much joy! Please know that I am a safe person to come out to, even if we don’t know each other 💞

Here’s to fighting for a safer world for all of us 👊🖤🤎💜💙💚💛🧡❤️👊

***r ***rdogtrainer

10/10/2023

A reminder to be extra diligent to rule out any medical contributions to behavior issues. My special little foster dog Scottie had an appointment with a neurologist yesterday! Scottie has been with me for almost two years and it only occurred to me recently that he may have something wrong with him neurologically. I feel guilt that I didn’t think of this earlier, but also none of the vets suggested it when I explained his behavior so I’m trying to not give myself too hard of a time.
Scottie has a strange gait (he high steps with his front feet when he walks) and he also trips and falls on an almost daily basis. Scottie also has severe fear issues and although he is making progress, it has been very slow.

The neurologist thinks there may be an issue in the cerebellum that could have potentially have been caused by a viral injury in the womb or when he was a young puppy from herpes virus which may be causing the gait issues and incoordination. His wide set eyes indicate possible hydrocephalus (water on the brain) which would contribute to his fear issues. We are going to schedule a MRI to try to find out what's going on!

The cerebellum issue would not be treatable but there are some treatment options if he has hydrocephalus. Hoping we can figure something out to give my buddy a better quality of life and hopefully make him more adoptable! Thanks Do Only Good Animal Rescue for all the support as well as my anonymous friend who is donating for the diagnostics and treatment cost. 💞

04/07/2023

PLEASE SHARE WIDELY 🙏
Thank you for caring 💜

01/07/2023

Pride month is over but baby we are still Q***R AS HELL 🔥
The attacks on trans and q***r people are unrelenting. Legislative attacks are coming from every angle. Trans people are at a significantly higher risk of death by su***de and murder than most groups. We are not safe.
I am trying to stay afloat with my own mental health while also supporting my q***r family and dogs in need. It’s not easy. I’m so grateful for my amazing partner, friends and community. I’m grateful for the spaces we create for ourselves to feel safer and experience q***r joy like at
Being visibly q***r is important for me. Not everyone can be. This isn’t some rainbow capitalism BS, this is me, a q***r non-binary person, being loud and out. Because it makes me happy and because it makes the baby q***rs feel safer to come out and be themselves. We all are struggling but I will never stop fighting to make the world a safer place for us (and dogs, of course)
If you are a straight and/or cis person, use your privilege to stand up for q***r people. Ask people’s pronouns and correct others when they misgender people. Don’t let people get away with saying and doing homophobic and transphobic s**t. Do the social justice activism that many q***r people are too exhausted by just maintaining their existence to be able to do themselves. Educate yourself. Educate others. Be a LOUD ally.
If you are q***r and need a gay shoulder to cry on, I’m here. Don’t end your life. We need you. We love you. The world is terrible but I promise good times are ahead. You will feel happy. You will feel safe. You will feel loved. Hang in there.