Canine Arts Dog Training & Behavior Support

18/10/2024

Have fun!!!

Join us for this fun seasonal enrichment activity! We love to use pumpkin puree in a lot of our enrichment toys, and now with fall here, we get to level it u...

21/09/2024

Have you noticed that your dog zigs and zags on walks? Your dog isn’t trying to drive you crazy. They’re following their incredibly powerful sense of smell, which is how dogs experience the world!

Humans have 6 million olfactory receptors, compared to dogs, who have up to 300 million!

Those zigzags (and let me tell you, Finch is the zig-zaggiest) are your dog following scent trails, catching up on neighborhood gossip, and gathering information. (If only they could share what they learn with us!)

If you start to feel frustrated on walks, remember that sniffing is essential to your dog’s happiness, enrichment, and well-being! ❤️

Alt text: A small gray dog on a blue background with a speech bubble that reads, “Walking in a straight line is more of a human thing.”

31/08/2024

29/06/2024

Every year, I care for dozens of dogs on the 4th of July holiday.

And in our area, fireworks are a big deal.

But the awesome thing is…

The dogs all do fine.

Even the ones with phobias.

In fact, getting dogs past their fears is a specialty of mine.

My dog Boston came to me with an incredible fear of fireworks and now he enjoys hanging outside with me while I watch the show.

One of the ways we do it is by creating a SAFE ZONE and letting dogs hang there during the festivities.

The SAFE ZONE is inside, ideally away from exterior doors and windows (I don’t have a space like that in my house so the living room has to do)

We flip on ALL the lights so the flashes can’t be seen (and they stay on all night)

We provide ambient noise (TV or music, AND running a fan/white noise machine)

And most importantly, we provide something to absorb the concussion of the fireworks.

We either prop their crates on a few dog beds or several blankets,…

Or we pick the entire crate up and put it on our bed (we have bunk beds at our facility that work great for elevating dogs as needed - we only do this for the nervous nellies)…

If we are at home, the dogs just lounge on the sofa (but can access the open, elevated crate if they feel the need to retreat or hide).

We don’t fret over worried dogs (I’m not going to get worried alongside them - they wouldn’t know I was worried about them and not the fireworks)…

But rather, we make a party out of it.

We play, they get their favorite bones, and I might give them a massage to help soothe them.

This combo has, knock wood, never failed me…

Even though we have some dogs with phobias (last year we had 3), they are never stressed inside and always rest comfortably through the night.

If you’d like to know how I got my personal dog over his fear of fireworks, let me know and I’ll make a post.

And FYI, I always share video to my stories of all the dogs during the festivities - I hear the new basset I have has a firework phobia so I plan to help her through it and I’ll do my best to share what we do, as we go.

How does your dog feel about fireworks?

15/05/2024

Join the fun!!!

14/05/2024

New Canine Artist, Sweet Potato, is a little dog with a big personality! He often has big feelings about big dogs who have big feelings about him when out and about in the neighborhood sooooooo what are his amazing humans to do? Have fun!!! Running in a field on a long line with his humans brought Sweet Potato so much joy that he didn’t give a thought to the giant Cane Corso who strolled by. We’ll be working on other helpful techniques as well, including pattern games, recall, and all the things new dog humans want to learn about their pup.

P.S. Sweet Potato is a fast mover and doesn’t have time for photo shoots. This is the best I could do. 🤣

26/04/2024

When you’re fresh out of sheep to herd, a red ball will do just fine.

08/04/2024

Had a few friends here for sleepovers the past few weeks.

ALSO...Bluebell the gorgeous pittie is available for adoption at Seattle Humane!

12/03/2024

https://www.facebook.com/seespotlearn/posts/809631541172873

24/02/2024

Day 2. Keira tricked me! Took me on a different route, but ended up at the stairs anyway. 🤣 At least the sun is shining.

23/02/2024

Hanging out with my friend, Canine Artist Keira, for a few days. Here she was watching some strangers in the distance just for a moment. When they got closer, Keira turned to me for a treat (as her amazing humans have taught her to do) and we then continued on our walk. And yes, she had me climb up all those stairs. 😳 She did, however, wait at each landing until I caught up with her. 🤣

12/01/2024

The Seattle Freeze is game on this weekend! If you have a small or short coated dog absolutely do not take them for an outdoor walk and medium or large size dogs should be very cautious about how much time you spend outdoors. They trust us to keep them safe. Best to keep them indoors as much as possible.

19/12/2023

Canine Artist Keira has been challenged with a debilitating fear of strangers and certain environmental changes since her incredible humans adopted her. In March of this year, Keira’s humans asked me to develop a relationship with Keira so they would be able to travel together. This would be a very slow process, working at Keira’s pace. She was okay with me tagging along on family walks, but wouldn’t engage with me otherwise. We played the treat/retreat game to start and developed a pattern for my entrance into her yard and, eventually, her home. I recommended Keira’s humans seek out a fear-free vet for a medication consult, which they did. As Keira became more comfortable with me I began using Any Cook’s “The Play Way” technique and in October, Keira and I had THE MOST AMAZING play session! This girl is a beautiful being and has learned to trust another human. Last month I spent a weekend with Keira while her humans were out of town. We played, ate snacks, played some more, and went for walks. We’ll be friends for life.

19/12/2023

Canine Artist Cali is a 6-month-old bundle of adolescence! She’s incredibly smart and super fun to work with. When a very young puppy Cali was found with her litter, abandoned in an alley. She is understandably still fearful at times and needs lots of support in building confidence. She has challenges with greetings, changes in the environment, and reading other dogs’ signals. Cali’s lovely humans are quick studies and are implementing simple techniques to support Cali as she learns to trust that they’ve got her back.