Constellation Canine Dog Training & Education

01/19/2025

Obesity in pets is an epidemic.

Fat pets aren't cute- if your dog or cat is overweight, you are subjecting them to additional health issues, joint issues, pain, and a much shorter lifespan.

Certain medical conditions can cause weight gain and retention so talk with your vet and make sure you have updated bloodwork on your furry friend!

If you need help with your pet's diet, comment below! 🥩

01/12/2025

⚠️ IF YOUR DOG GETS LIBRELA INJECTIONS, READ THIS ⚠️

A class action lawsuit alleges the maker of canine osteoarthritis drug Librela has failed to adequately warn pet owners of the dangers of the treatment.

01/12/2025

Our hearts and thoughts go out to those affected by these horrendous fires in Southern California.

We have developed numerous resources for veterinary care professionals to utilize during disaster response. Additionally, our veterinarians collaborated with Vetstream to develop a guide for pet owners so they can protect their pets from wildfires and smoke inhalation: www.flipsnack.com/vetstream/wildfires-and-smoke-inhalation.html

01/04/2025

There are MANY reasons for behavioral issues in our pets. Poor diet, poor nutrition, pain, allergies, genetics, illness all contribute to behavior.

Could your dog's behavior be a sign of illness? 🐾

With so many dogs🐶 and cats🐱 struggling with behavior issues, many pet parents turn to behavior medications.💊 However, underlying physical health problems, like pain or illness, can contribute to these issues.

Studies show that up to 83% of dogs referred to veterinary behaviorists have an undiagnosed physical issue. Research found that 73% of dogs with excessive licking behavior had an underlying GI disease, and dogs with atopic dermatitis are more likely to have behavior problems. And it’s not just dogs — research has shown that 38% of cats seen by a behaviorist for urine marking also had a physical problem.

This highlights an important point: behavior issues in pets are often more complex than we realize.

Today, on a Saturday edition of the Inside Scoop we're tackling this crucial topic with Dr. Lisa Radosta, a board-certified veterinary behaviorist. In this episode we're discussing the often-misunderstood world of behavior medications and answering key questions like:

🐶 How do you know if your pet needs medication for behavioral issues?

💊 When should you reach for meds, supplements, or diet changes?

📆 What risks should you consider when using behavior meds long-term?

🌿 How effective are supplements for managing behavior problems?

Tune in today at 12pm EST to find out the potential benefits of behavior meds or questioning whether they’re the right choice for your pet. We’ll also cover the complex factors that influence behavior, from genetics to life experiences, and how they intersect with treatment options.

Comment SCOOPERS and I'll message you the link to join Inside Scoop, a Planet Paws monthly subscription group. All live podcasts are recorded and available to watch later. You’ll also be able to watch over 5 years of content including: past live podcasts, interviews, ebook downloads, and more!

01/02/2025

Multiple Open Farm products listed!

Multiple products withdrawn.

12/26/2024

⚠️ Raw Diets are fantastic for your dog or cat when they are properly balanced and complete, but if you are feeding RAW POULTRY, RAW COW MILK, OR RAW EGGS to your pets, you may want to hold off for right now. This also goes for poultry-based commercial raw diets- NORTHWEST NATURALS just issued a voluntary recall after a cat that died and tested positive for H5N1 ate their food (Turkey) and their food tested positive for the same strain that killed the cat. ⚠️

GENTLY COOKED poultry is fine (NO BONES), as cooking kills the H5N1 virus.

🐱 Cats are more susceptible to H5N1 than Dogs 🐕

Alternatives you can substitute for your pet at this time are non-poultry proteins, rabbit bones, goat milk, kefir, and baked egg shells crushed into powder. Again, all sources seem to indicate COOKED poultry is safe- just be sure to account for nutrition lost through the cooking process when balancing.

If feeding a commercial raw diet, see if gently cooking is an option or not. Some brands are able to be cooked, most are not.

Stay up to date on H5N1 outbreaks in your area if possible. Remember that commercial products are often sold nationwide so even if an active outbreak is not in your area, you may still have products that are positive for the virus available to you.

December 24, 2024 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (H5N1) Image This information is updated as events warrant.Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) is a disease that is highly contagious and often deadly in poultry, caused by highly pathogenic avian influenza A (H5) and A (H7) viruses; it is als...

12/25/2024

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from our pack to yours 🎄🐾

12/17/2024

Remember no one is arguing the need for sterilization, it's the surgical technique that should be reevaluated. Hysterectomy and vasectomy achieve the same goal but leave important hormones intact according to science.

"The association between gonadectomy and timing of gonadectomy, and the risk of canine cranial cruciate ligament disease: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract
Objective - To determine if gonadectomy in dogs is associated with the risk of cranial cruciate ligament disease (CrCLD) and to quantify the magnitude of the association.

Study design - Systematic review and meta-analysis.

Sample population - Comparative studies with gonadectomized and entire dogs, with CrCLD as an outcome measure.

Methods - A systematic search of the primary and gray literature was performed. The effect size of the outcome measure was defined as the OR and 95% CI. Subgroup analysis was performed with s*x, breed, and age at gonadectomy. A pooled OR (95% CI) was generated from meta-analysis of relevant studies. Certainty in the body of evidence was rated with the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) framework.

Results - The literature search yielded 1398 results and 24 relevant studies were included for synthesis. Gonadectomized female (pooled OR = 2.293, 95% CI = 1.768–2.945) and male (pooled OR = 2.117, 95% CI = 1.665–2.691) dogs were both at increased odds of developing CrCLD in comparison with entire female and male dogs, respectively. Subgroup analysis showed that gonadectomy at 1 year or less was consistently associated with an increase in odds of developing CrCLD in both s*xes. Overall certainty in the evidence was rated as moderate. All included studies were observational and no controlled trials were available.

Conclusion - In data with moderate certainty, gonadectomy is associated with increased odds of developing CrCLD in both s*xes, particularly in dogs gonadectomized at 1 year of age or less.

Clinical significance - This study provides an estimate of the true effect size of gonadectomy on the odds of developing CrCLD, which may be useful for clinical decision making surrounding gonadectomy and the timing of gonadectomy."

12/16/2024

11/12/2024

The dog training industry is facing a mass exodus of skilled trainers, driven away by cancel culture, unrealistic client demands, and the pressures of social media. In this raw, honest piece, I share my personal journey navigating the industry's toxic dynamics and explain why I’m stepping away to focus on holistic services that support the animals I love. If you’ve ever wondered what’s really happening behind the scenes, this is an eye-opening read.

The dog training industry is losing skilled trainers to burnout and toxicity. Here’s why I'm stepping away to focus on holistic pet care.

11/12/2024

Thank you Veterans 🇺🇸
Both 2 and 4-legged alike.

11/10/2024

Retractable Leashes have their place but 90% of the time, that place is in the garbage 🗑

10/13/2024

For low-income and homeless owners and their pets.

Free Pet Wellness Clinic coming to Carson City. Info in link: https://www.carsonnow.org/reader-content/10/12/2024/free-pet-wellness-clinic-coming-carson-city

09/16/2024

At this time, Constellation Canine Dog Training & Education will no longer be taking training program clients until further notice.

All current clients will have their contracts completed and fulfilled, please do not worry about that.

Consultations for Nutrition, Holistic Health, and Aromatherapy will still be offered.

Day Training Programs are still an option, but we will not be doing any new Board & Train programs or Private Lesson Programs at this time.

Thank you for your continued support and patience during this time of transition for our team.

09/11/2024

Never Forget.

Our hearts go out to those affected by the events of this tragic day, both on US Soil twenty three years ago, and those later in Benghazi twelve years ago.

Your memories will not be forgotten.

To the First Responders, SAR teams, Medical Staff, Volunteers, and Citizens- thank you.

To the Working Dogs- thank you.

Twenty-three years ago, hundreds of specially trained dogs were deployed to participate in search, rescue, and recovery efforts at Ground Zero, while therapy dogs on-scene provided comfort to rescue workers. The heroism and devotion of these dogs and their handlers became a source of comfort to first responders. Today, we remember those who lost their lives on 9/11 and honor the first responders and four-legged companions for their dedication and sacrifice.

09/11/2024

⚠️ LEAVE YOUR PETS AT HOME ⚠️

September is Service Dog Awareness Month, and I'd like to share an incident that happened recently while my Assistant Trainer and I were out with our Service Dogs.

We had gone to Target in Carson City to grab some Starbucks and do some refresher training with our Service Dogs. While we were sitting at the table, a man walked in holding a kid in his arms, with a young dog in the cart, and got into the line at Starbucks.

Our girls ignored the dog, not even lifting their heads.

The guy's dog then put its paws up onto the side of the cart and started barking at our Service Dogs- who continued to ignore him. The dog's owner then said "Not right now, they don't want to play with you," to which I replied with "because they are legitimate Service Dogs, not pets."

Another customer at the counter then got involved, and began yelling at us and said that we were "too young" and carried on for a while being very rude and argumentative when we knew our rights and the law pertaining to Service Dogs.

I left to get a manager, who ended up being less than helpful.

After explaining what had happened- with the dog still barking and the other customer that made herself involved coming up behind me to yell at the manager about us- the manager told us that Target's corporate policy was that THEY WERE NOT ALLOWED TO ASK IF DOGS WERE SERVICE DOGS, NOR WERE THEY ALLOWED TO REMOVE DOGS FROM THEIR STORES.

This was upsetting and unbelievable; attempts to educate about the Americans with Disabilities Act were met with remarks about how he wishes he could bring his dogs everywhere and that our girls- who were alerting to our medical needs the entire time- were obviously well-trained and legitimate Service Dogs.

We left the store and called Corporate and filed a complaint, because it's inexcusable what happened. So many laws and rights were violated. We both ended up having medical episodes that our Service Dogs tasked for as a direct result of the issue we dealt with.

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Service Dogs are not required to be vested or marked as such.

Service Dogs are trained to mitigate or alert & respond to a person's disabilities through specialized tasks. Comfort is not a task. Emotional Support is not a task.

Service Dogs are not allowed to be placed in shopping carts, nor are they allowed on furniture.

Any breed of dog can be a Service Dog. Not all dogs have the ability to be Service Dogs based on temperament and genetics.

Businesses are allowed to ask two questions: Is that a task-trained Service Dog and what tasks is it trained to perform?

A business may ask a Service Dog be removed for uncontrollable behavior such as barking or marking.

Pet Dogs are not allowed in places that serve or sell food items. Stores like Target are NOT places to socialize your dog or puppy.

All it takes is ONE TIME for a Service Dog to be attacked by a pet dog in a store for that Service Dog to develop reactivity or fear and be washed from Service Work entirely, all because someone wanted to bring their pet dog with them instead of leaving them at home. That's THOUSANDS of hours and dollars wasted because of selfishness.

Don't be That Person. Leave your pet dog at home when going to non-pet-friendly stores.

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Picture of Astrid, my semi-retired Service Dog, in a down-stay at Starbucks inside Target off of Jack's Valley Road in Carson City. She is not vested but has a leash wrap that says "Working Service Dog - Do Not Approach" over her Sidekick Leash. This was taken several minutes before the incident in the post occurred.

09/09/2024

Attention CVVH friends 🐕✨

The Nevada Humane Society is reaching out for donations to support pets displaced by the Davis fire. They need pet food, treats, and blankets/towels to help these animals feel safe and loved.

If you’re interested in helping or want to know more about their specific needs, please get in touch with them directly. Their phone number is 775-856-2000 and they are located at 2825 Longley Lane Suite B in Reno, NV

Let’s show our support! 💖