RotNDog Training & Behavior Consulting

10/31/2025

New Blog Post on Halloween Safety 🎃

Halloween can be a fun time for humans, and yet it can also be a scary and dangerous time for our pets. Here are some important reminders to keep them safe and happy on Halloween night.🎃 Keeping your pets inside is the safest thing to do.Exercise your dogs early! Feeding them dinner a little bit ...

09/06/2025

Coconuts are a pretty safe “toy” that can be given to dogs to play with, chew, and shred (provided they are not trying to consume all of the shredded husk). They can last for a bit and the best part is they are free!

Deegan here is thoroughly enjoying his.

Warning - coconuts may also cause zoomies!

09/05/2025

I hear from a lot of clients who get a second dog so their first dog “could have a friend.” The reason I’m usually called in, is because things aren’t really going too well.

If you want to get a second dog, these are the two biggest points I would consider:

1) Does your current dog display sociable behavior and enjoy the presence and interactions of other dogs? If yes, then ok, your dog might benefit from a friend. If your current dog displays aggression towards other dogs consistently and has never had a known dog “friend,” then bringing home another dog will not magically make your dog like other dogs. This is a recipe for fights in the home, hence why I get called. But at the end of the day, it wasn’t fair to the first dog.

2) Are you happy with your current dog’s behavior and would you want your second dog to act like this dog, too? Then yes, ok, getting a second dog might be a good thing. But, so many people get a second dog thinking it will improve the behavior of the first dog. In this case usually people end up with TWO “badly” behaved dogs. And that’s again why I end up getting called. If you’re not happy with where your current dog is with their behavior, don’t get a second!

Having more than one dog is not just about what you want, but also about what your current dog(s) want, and how their future relationships and behaviors will feed off of one another.

09/04/2025

One way to pair a dog’s favorite things with their crate is to keep some of their most valued toys for in the crate only. However if the crate door is open, it’s pretty easy for the dog to just take the toy out of the crate. So what’s the solution? Zip ties!

This dog’s favorite toy was Lamp Chop, so we secured her to the side of the crate with a couple of zip ties. Now in order to snuggle/hump/chew/whatever with Lamp Chop, he must enter into the crate, and enjoy her there.

This can be done with stuffed toys as well as some bones and other long lasting chews. It works especially well for when we want to pair rewarding high value items with the crate, but also still have the crate door open.

09/03/2025

When people say that “ignoring bad behavior doesn’t work” … there’s an important part that’s missing.

While there can be a lot of varying motivations behind particular behaviors, when your attention is the motivator, the WORST and most PUNISHING thing you can do to the dog is… ignore them!

Almost every single client I see with a dog who displays attention seeking behavior attempts to stop it by doing something that they perceive as punishing - usually in the form of verbal or physical corrections. And yet - that gives the dog the very thing that they want: your attention.

When we yell at a dog, we’re still looking at them and engaging with them. When we shove a dog off of us and push them away, we are still touching them and they often times view what you’re doing to them as fun rough housing (especially the bully breeds and working breeds).

What actually works to decrease the behavior (by definition, therefore punishing the behavior) is to completely ignore them when they display the attention seeking things. Ignoring means to pretend they are invisible - no eye contact, no talking to them, no touching them. They don’t exist, until they give up the undesired behavior, reset, and display a more desirable one.

If your dog is barking at you to get your attention, this is when we ignore it to decrease its occurrence. If your dog is barking at noises outside your home, ignoring it will not make it go away, as the motivation is not directed at you.

It’s very important to know the difference.

09/02/2025

DOG TALK TUESDAY: Pacing

Pacing - where a dog is walking or trotting back and forth, either in a repeated pattern or in various unpredictable patterns, is sign of stress especially when accompanied by a lowered head, ears back, tail down, stress panting, eye whites, dilated pupils, etc. While some dogs can pace in anticipation of something potentially good, even in those situations there’s some stress involved with the frustration of not “getting the thing” that they want, yet. The dog videoed here is actually still fearful of certain members of the household, even after a year of adoption.

Dogs can pace when they are uncomfortable or fearful and don’t know what to do instead. They don’t feel safe and they don’t feel comfortable staying still. Pacing is a behavior that can often times make anxiety and stress worse, as it can create a snowball effect when allowed to continue for long periods of time without an intervention.

As always, when reading body language we have to remember to read it like we would read a sentence. Understand that it’s all the words together that create the meaning of a sentence, not one word alone. Thereby we also need to take all of the dog’s body language signals combined to create a meaning, and not focus on one single body part by itself.

09/01/2025

MUZZLE MONDAY

Ari’s owner has started calling this his “magic muzzle” because it has been instrumental in allowing him to safely open up his circle of friends. Muzzles can allow for behavior change that either couldn’t occur or would occur much slower without it being used as a tool.

Magic muzzles for the win!

08/31/2025

Time and time again I have clients who choose not to crate train (for whatever reason), and then I tell them that they really need to crate train for the situation at hand, and then they get a crate, and then the dogs are like, “THANK YOU - finally.”

Two dogs in the open crate and a third near it definitely shows how some dogs can benefit and you may not even know it until you try it.

And yes, they have more crates then just this one now, as well!

08/30/2025

That moment when your dog and cat are sharing the couch together after starting off with slow, short introductions with muzzles and leashes is truly gratifying.

Dog/Cat dynamics can be incredibly challenging. There’s certainly times where true predatory behavior around cats just isn’t worth the risk. But sometimes, everything works out and the hard work pays off.

Betty and Peter are quite comfortable coexisting now.

08/28/2025

When incorporating training into your walks, even a short walk can expend all of your dog’s energy because they are utilizing more energy by also having to think - where do I move in relation to my person, paying attention to the leash, responding to cues, anticipating rewards, etc. This is very different from walking aimlessly without intention (though there’s absolutely a time and place for that, too).

Bow’s owners live in an apartment building and began to bring her in and out of the building via a stroller because of her reactivity on the leash. We went out and did a full walk on leash through the building, outside, and back. Even though the walk wasn’t very long, we got enough practice in for them to understand the new routine and Bow passed out cold as soon as we got back.

08/27/2025

WHY RESCUES/SHELTERS SHOULD CONSIDER ADOPTING CHALLENGING DOGS TO FIRST TIME DOG OWNERS

“What?!” I’m sure you’re saying to yourself. But this is actually something to consider. Here’s why.

If you have a challenging dog that is being adopted out (this could be simple working breed and energy level all the way to a complicated behavior case) AND you have resources to provide (training plans, training support, or trusted referrals to give) then often times new first time dog owners want to LEARN. They want to do it right, they want to hear what they should do, and they are like sponges to gather and retain new information. They are also less likely to try things on their own without seeking assistance.

“Experienced homes” on the other hand can sometimes be a nightmare to work with. They don’t want to hear what you have to say, what you are suggesting, or what the experts are telling them because “they’ve had dogs their whole life” and they “know what they are doing.” It’s the experienced homes who can often times blow you off and not listen to your instructions.

Some of my BEST clients with the WORST dogs have been the easiest to work with over the years because they have trusted that they need to learn and take guidance from an expert.

Some of my WORST clients with the BEST dogs have been the hardest to work with over the years because they would fight my suggestions tooth and nail because it was so different from “how they’ve always done it.” Even though if what they always did, always worked, I wouldn’t have even been called in. It’s these homes that often times return a dog for not working out.

So I always tell my rescue groups not to knock new dog owners for the more challenging adoptions. If you see that they are eager to learn and be committed, give them a chance!

08/25/2025

MUZZLE MONDAY

One of the reasons we always want to choose a basket muzzle for training is that we never want to restrict a dog’s mouth in the event that they need to vomit. If a dog is wearing a muzzle that closes their mouth, and they need to vomit, they could aspirate. Basket muzzles (although it’ll still very messy) can at least allow for the majority of throw up to be pushed out.

I experienced this with one of my own dogs when he bloated. When I took him to the vet and we were waiting in the lobby, he had already been agitated from not feeling well plus if you know me you know the dogs I have and why I have them - so he absolutely needed to wear his muzzle. And while waiting to be moved into the room he started vomiting profusely. Thankfully, because he had his basket muzzle on, we didn’t have the additional medical risk of aspiration.

Basket muzzles are always the best option.