Shake On It Pet Behavior Consulting

04/11/2025

You've likely heard the phrase "give your dog a job," but what does it really mean? And what qualifies as a job? This post aims to move beyond this simplistic advice and provide a more thorough explanation of this vital concept.

In this post I explain what "give your dog a job" is intended to mean and some guidelines on how to pick an appropriate job for your dog.

03/22/2025

Pro Tip: Did you know that dogs are motion activated? If you are jogging, running, or riding a bike, scooter, skates, etc., out around dogs, you should understand that you will need to give dogs A LOT of space, like... A LOT. If you zoom by a dog too close, you risk activating them into chasing you which could lead to a bite, lunging toward you, barking at you, or pulling their handler down and potentially injuring them. Best practice is to slow down and give space!

03/21/2025

Could not have said it better myself!

03/19/2025

My profession is not regulated, and I have a recent example of how this hurts dogs. It's not the first time I myself have come across this type of situation either.

I have a client whose dog is having some sporadic aggression issues. They went to shock collar trainers before they found me. The dog was put on a shock collar amongst other aversive things, to suppress the aggression and learn obedience via do it or else tactics and tools.

This was not working (3 years). They found me. I am trained to look at the whole dog; learning history, genetics, environment, and self (breed, age, health, diet, etc). I urged the client to get the dog examined by a vet. It's important to rule out pain or health issues in aggression cases. But going to the vet is no easy feat for a potentially aggressive dog. This is something my client desperately wanted to do, but did not receive any support to help make it happen. We built a plan, he did well, and he finally got a thorough look over.

It turns out, this dog has hip dysplasia likely from birth, an ear infection for an unknown amount of time, and a broken tooth with nerve exposure, on top of allergies. He's been feeling like SH*T for a long time. And all of this most certainly plays a major role in his aggression.

Thinking about how this poor dog was put on a shock collar to "fix" his aggression on top of all his pain infuriates and disgusts me. Be careful who you seek help from with your dogs. I don't blame my clients. They are victims of an unregulated industry that is saturated in pseudo science.

03/18/2025

Kittens are like potato chips. You. Should. Not. Have just one.

Get Two Kittens or go home

03/05/2025

It’s okay to choose management over training sometimes! 🐶

Setting up safe spaces for dogs and kids helps prevent accidents, reduces stress, and allows for safety regardless of your dog’s current training 🐾

Don’t feel guilty for using management rather than focusing solely on training!Sometimes, you don’t have the time when juggling your dog, baby and toddler to train a specific skill!

Instead of focusing on the skills that your dog may not currently know once baby arrives, let’s focus on implementing success stations instead! ✅

Did you find this post helpful? Please like, comment, save and share to help others become more dog aware!

02/24/2025

With a little creativity you can make your yard or home into a place you can use to physically and mentally enrich your dog when you can make it out for a walk, run, or hike.

01/26/2025

Pro Words Of Wisdom: It is really difficult to survive canine adolescence, raising a young dog with young children, or integrating dogs with a new baby/toddler, without embracing environmental management. Management can be anything from exercise pens, baby gates, and leashes, to food stuffed toys like lick mats and Toppls. Management means you're setting things up so that the dog, kids, and family can be successful. Management also means you're avoiding unwanted behavior to be rehearsed. Rehearsal leads to habits.

12/14/2024

A great example of fixing the environment to solve a problem rather than always looking at behavior through the lens of training. This girl has been scared to use these stairs for a long time and all it took to help her gain some confidence was laying down some towels. Ultimately, carpeting these stairs should do the trick long term. Good job miss Hazel!

12/14/2024

Long lines for the win!

Why do I use and recommend long lines over retractable leashes? What are the pros and cons of both leash options?

12/08/2024

So proud of my clients! They've been working hard on integrating their two cats who were, prior to connecting with me, stuck for 8 months in a holding pattern of not getting along and low in confidence. We've finally reached the bonding stage! They are learning how to play, starting to rest together, allo-groom, and build confidence! I'm so excited for them!

10/31/2024

So proud of my client! It's been a long journey and a lot of work to find the right strategy for getting Dexter to let my client care for his nails and we've finally made it! This photo marks the exciting moment of their first time using a Dremel on Dexter's nails. Good work everyone!

09/30/2024

Today's walk was challenging. Loads of off leash dogs to dodge that had no business being off leash. I have things to say about this very controversial topic.

There's a lot to consider before you let your dog off leash.

03/30/2024

It's been a long time since I've posted a pro tip!
Pro tip: I recommend that when taking your dog out on walks or other outdoor adventures that you always bring something to reinforce your dog throughout the dog’s entire life. Reinforcement = anything the dog values. Food is simple and easy but favorite toys also work. Though in some situations toy reinforcement is not always practical.
Why?
The outside world supplies a constant flow of distraction and reinforcement for your dog via interesting smells and sights that are always changing. Thus dog owners should also always be a source of reinforcement to help their dog connect and focus on them while out and about.
My Toshi is 6 now! And I always have a bit of high value food or his favorite frisbee with us wherever we go. His connection and focus and listening skills are beautiful! He can always rely on me as a source of fun and food, not just the environment around him.

At the very least though, dog owners should have reinforcement with them at all times for the first 3 years of their dog’s life. Throughout the entire adolescent period and using it to reinforce good decisions and provide positive association with new sights and sounds and experiences.

02/04/2024

Proud of my Toshi boy! He's doing so well with his rattlesnake avoidance and alert training. Rep 2 in this short practice session is particularly awesome because you can clearly see when he notices the snake scent. If it had been a real snake, it would have rattled (hopefully) and he would have cued on that. But it's really cool that when he noticed the scent, he stopped barking at the birds (his favorite thing ever), didn't approach the source, came to me, and alerted.

The goal is that as soon as he notices the scent of the rattlesnake I've hidden, he should come to me and alert me by going between my legs. He successfully ...

12/18/2023

12/15/2023

Dancing with your dog is pretty fun I must say!
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT8udjfYt/