Constellation Canine Dog Training & Education

06/11/2025

Comments must be submitted TODAY by 11:59PM EST.

Click the link, click Comments, then click the blue button that says "Comment" - this can be submitted anonymously if desired.

This is a huge move that can and will affect pets across the United States. Please submit your comments on the website- I will have one you can copy & paste in the comments below.

🚫 Don’t Let Organic Pet Food Become Livestock Feed!
The USDA is proposing to roll back organic pet food standards, undoing protections passed in December 2024. If this rule is eliminated, organic pet food could be regulated like livestock feed—allowing meat from diseased, condemned, or uninspected animals to end up in your pet’s bowl.
Pets are family. They deserve the same quality standards we expect in our own food.

📅 Deadline to comment: June 11 at 11:59PM ET. Submit your comment, or this one:
The rule titled “National Organic Program; Market Development for Mushrooms and Pet Food” must be preserved to protect the health of companion animals. Repealing it would revert organic pet food to outdated livestock feed standards, allowing substandard ingredients like meat from diseased or uninspected animals. Organic pet food deserves regulations that reflect its intended purpose—feeding pets safely—not loopholes that compromise quality and trust.

The deadline is TOMORROW…please don’t put this off! ✍️ Submit your comment to the USDA RIGHT NOW🙏🏼:

https://www.regulations.gov/document/AMS-NOP-22-0063-3399

06/04/2025

Getting the correct breed for your lifestyle matters! This also applies to mixed breeds.

Getting a dog based off of looks alone is a dangerous game. Their breed traits MATTER. Their genetics MATTER.

A Heeler will nip. A Livestock Guardian isn't going to like other dogs or strangers and isn't a house pet. Retrievers will put things in their mouths. Shepherds are going to be defensive of their territories. Terriers are going to bark incessantly.

Each dog IS an individual and must be respected as such, but that doesn't mean we ignore their breed makeup and what that may mean for their behaviors and lifestyle needs.

05/27/2025

Say it with me:

👏🏻 RESPONSIBLE DOG OWNERS DON'T LET THEIR DOGS ROAM NEIGHBORHOODS. 👏🏻

👏🏻 RESPONSIBLE DOG OWNERS DON'T ALLOW THEIR DOGS TO HARASS LIVESTOCK, OTHER PEOPLE, AND PETS. 👏🏻

👏🏻 RESPONSIBLE DOG OWNERS TAKE ACCOUNTABILITY FOR THEIR DOGS. 👏🏻

05/18/2025

I don't know who needs to hear this, but "Paw" or "Shake" are not basic obedience commands.

It's a trick, and quickly becomes an annoying habit.

If you want your dog to slap you for attention for the rest of its life, then teach "Paw" or "Shake."

Now, there are obvious exceptions to this, such as pairing the behavior for a Service Dog alert or to assist in Cooperative Care for veterinary purposes...

The amount of people that have said their dog "knows the basics" and then list out Paw or Shake as the first "basic" command, only to tell me the dog "sometimes sits, doesn't down, comes to them sometimes" is appalling.

But they know Paw! They can Shake paws!

Basic Obedience commands your dog should know (in our Professional Opinion and Experience):
Sit
Down
Stay
Come (Recall)
Leave It
Heel*
Loose Leash Walking
Off (get off of an object, also works for jumping behavior)
Wait (different from Stay)
Release Word (releases them from command, ie "Break" or "Free")
Marker Words ("Yes", "Good", "Uh-Uh", and "No")

*Some people prefer Heel to be taught, but as long as your dog knows how to properly walk on a leash, Heel isn't necessary outside of Sports.

05/10/2025

⚠️ IF YOUR DOG GETS LIBRELA, read this! ⚠️

A new study was published and the results are TERRIFYING.
Dogs receiving Librela injections are 9 times MORE LIKELY to develop worsening musculoskeletal issues.

https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/veterinary-science/articles/10.3389/fvets.2025.1581490/full

05/09/2025

So the dog has no manners, can't settle, has zero respect for personal space, is destructive (toys and furniture), pulls like a train, and can't be with other dogs, pets, or children.

Sounds like an utter nightmare...

Yet people eat posts like this up.

He'll be adopted, and then likely returned or someone won't read between the lines and will end up hurt or someone's pet or child will pay the price.

The solution is simple- train your dogs!

04/28/2025

Just a friendly reminder.... we are not accepting new clients at this time.

Our focus has shifted from training services to providing Owner Education in order to better prepare dog owners to help their dogs live their best lives alongside them.

While we understand that this may be a disappointing directional shift, it comes from a place of love and desire to better the future of dogs and their owners long-term.

Our founder and head trainer is currently pursuing a career in Veterinary Medicine, with the goal of getting into Vet School in the next few years. There is significant overlap in health and behavior, and the hundreds of dogs we've helped over the years has shown that there is a need within the Veterinary Community for more behavioral understanding and integrative care for our pets.

In the meantime, stay tuned for more educational posts, resources, and more.

We thank you for your support and understanding, and would love to have you along for our journey.

-Brittany & the Constellation Canine Team

04/24/2025

NEVER leave your baby, toddler, or young child unattended with a dog, EVER.

Dogs are opportunists and infants and toddlers are, at their core, prey.

Infants make sounds like squeaky toys and erratic movements like prey animals... which is a recipe for tragic disaster if you leave your little ones unattended and unsupervised with dogs.

Your dog can be the BEST DOG EVER and you still shouldn't trust them with a child unsupervised.

Prevent the tragedy from the start- separate, train, supervise.

I recently read an article about a tragic situation. A 7 month old baby, who lived with her family’s 3 dogs, was attacked and killed by one of them.

An interview with the mother had her reiterating that she didn’t know what happened, as her baby had been around the dogs with no problems since they brought her home.

Sadly, as someone knowledgeable about dog behavior and dog bite prevention, I immediately knew exactly what happened, why it happened, and that this death was sadly very preventable.

1) (and most extremely important) The mother stated they didn’t even know which of the dogs was responsible, which means THE DOGS AND BABY WERE TOGETHER, UNSUPERVISED. When I say never, ever leave a baby and dog(s) unsupervised, I mean this: do you need to p*e, run out and grab the mail, go move the laundry to the dryer? ALWAYS separate the dog and baby. Put the dog into the backyard, have baby gates ready to separate, or bring one of them with you. It’s like leaving a mobile baby alone next to a pool. Not for 2 seconds. Not ever. And I really don’t recommend leaving any child under the age of 8 unsupervised for a minute, even with a single, trusted dog. Not even YOUR dog (who is the most likely dog to bite your child). Not even your gentle, dog-saavy kid.

2) The mother stated these dogs were “always with” the baby from the time she came home. In animal behavior/dog bite prevention, we call this “magnetizing” the dog and baby to one another. Kids should not be petting and interacting with dogs until they can follow simple directions - not for worry they’ll hurt or bother the dog, but because it is teaching them that dogs are for touching. A toddler who sees a dog and automatically moves to pet it is a danger to themself, and that behavior comes from parents acting excited whenever a dog approaches.

Letting a dog sniff, lick, cuddle up to your baby the minute you bring them home is teaching the dog that they’re entitled to the baby’s space. They learn they get praise, attention, etc from interacting with the baby in that way…which becomes a problem if the dog is later made uncomfortable and struggles to put space between themselves and the baby because they are “magnetized”. A dog that rushes to be with/near a baby the minute they’re set down is not cute, or their first “bestie”, they’re a liability.

3) 7 months old is an age where baby becomes more mobile, more vocal, and more aware of their surroundings. A newborn can’t pull fur or ears or use the dog to stand and cruise. They can’t squeal like a prey animal in a dog’s ear. They can’t come rapidly crawling, face level, towards a relaxing dog. That is why a vast majority of bites from familt dogs occur shortly after a baby becomes mobile - either learning to crawl, learning to walk, or starting to run and climb. Many dogs are fine with a newborn or infant…until that infant can approach the dog, touch them, or move suddenly, startling the dog. These times in a baby’s development require extra close supervision - I’d argue an adult should be in arms length.

4) The mother stated this attack came out of nowhere. Sadly, I’d be willing to bet everything I have that someone educated in canine body language and behavior would have seen this coming. Unfortunately, there are an excessive amount of myths and urban legends regarding dog training and behavior, and many dog owners have very little education or exposure to current, science-backed information on the subjects. “It came out of nowhere” is translated by dog trainers as “I wasn’t aware of what the warning signs looked like.”

~~~ so what could have prevented this tragic death? A combination of proper supervision (and making it known to parents to NEVER leave a baby and dog alone together), a more appropriate standard approwxh to introducing dogs and young children, combined with education for dog owners and young children on canine body language and stress signals.

04/22/2025

USE A LEASH- and NOT a retractable one!

Retractables are great for swimming, open space exploration, and building a solid recall... not for walking Fluffy down the street or in a dog-friendly store.

Retractables are extremely dangerous and have caused loss of human limbs and dead dogs.

Get a quality leash, and stop blaming veterinarians for price-gouging.

04/03/2025

DO NOT GIVE BENADRYL FOR SNAKE BITES!

Have you been seeing the post below?

🏆 Like, share our post & follow our page 🏆
We will randomly pick 2 people on Friday @6:00pm pst and will send you a certificate for a free session with us at any public class. Share must be public so we can see them!
Let’s stop this myth in its tracks—spread facts, not misinformation!
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🚫⚠️ DO NOT USE BENADRYL TO TREAT SNAKE BITES IN HUMANS OR PETS ⚠️🚫

It happens every spring—an old myth gets dusted off, spreads like wildfire on social media, and suddenly, bad advice is everywhere. This particular myth about Benadryl treating snake bites has been floating around since at least 2019, and it’s not just wrong—it’s dangerous.

Benadryl is an antihistamine. Snake venom is not a histamine. Your body is not reacting to it with histamines. That means Benadryl does absolutely nothing to stop the effects of a snake bite. At best, it wastes time; at worst, it could cost a life or a limb.

👉👉 If a person or pet is bitten by a snake:
Remove any restrictive clothing, jewelry, or collars and seek immediate medical or veterinary care.

For reliable, expert-backed guidance, check out:

🔹 National Snakebite Support (also on Facebook) – Run by doctors and toxicologists. https://www.nationalsnakebitesupport.org/

🔹 Snakebite Foundation – More detailed info on why Benadryl isn’t the answer. https://www.snakebitefoundation.org/blog/benadryl-does-not-fix-snakebites

02/28/2025

This is why puppies should NOT have unlimited access to your home and should ALWAYS be supervised when out! If you cannot (or won't) supervise, then your puppy needs to be in a crate.

This goes for adult dogs too! If you have a chronic counter-surfer, trash shark, sock snatcher, or wannabe-hoover vacuum for a dog, then they need to be confined when left alone.

Crates save lives AND your personal belongings, as well as your wallet. I can guarantee this surgery was EXPENSIVE.

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! 🥩