Training You With Your Dog

10/08/2025

Since June, I have been very busy with personal things - helping a friend who is recovering from spinal fusion, trying to give my knee a break from being bounced on by various dogs. I’ve, yes, consulted an ortho who works on knees; I’ve tried steroid injections (first one worked, second one did not), then another type of injection that hasn’t helped. My ortho has agreed to knee surgery (may be happening last week of Sept-first week or two of October), and so…you have guessed it. I won’t be returning to in-person training for a while! I had expected to be back working this month. Now it looks like I won’t be returning to work with client dogs until after the knee surgery and after the ortho gives me the ok.

In the meantime, I’ll update the website to reflect this info. And then I’ll use this page to communicate with folks.

And Miss Ginny, no worries, as soon as I can (I’ll drop you a message) be back to work with you!

Picture: Joe, who would like me to do more with him.

01/04/2025

Dr Pachel’s talks are worth it!

31/07/2024

It's HOT out there! ☀️ 🔥 Please be cautious about having your dog accompany you to outdoor events (especially if they are on pavement!) and be sure they have lots of shade and fresh water when they do need to be outside. Do you know how to recognize signs of heat stroke in dogs?

If you observe these signs, get your dog out of the heat and to a veterinarian immediately - heat stroke can escalate fast!

Read more about it here: https://otto.vet/pawsitive-heatwave-solutions/

15/07/2024

Blue-Green Algae - it’s a hazard to dogs.

Some types of blue green algae can be toxic to dogs in tiny amounts with symptoms appearing and progressing quickly.

13/07/2024

Another hot weather tip: Water intoxication

Stay hydrated! Especially during hot weather. But is it possible for your dog to drink too much water? Here are the dangers of water intoxication in dogs.

11/07/2024

Personal time off coming up due to surgery and 4-6 weeks of recovery time needed:

First week of August through Labor Day.

I will be taking new clients (and returning clients) starting September 9.

I will be available for separation anxiety clients starting August 19.

11/07/2024

Remember with the high temps to:
* bring extra water for your dog, even on short walks
* try to walk on grass instead of concrete or asphalt
* don’t leave your dog in the car!

also:
* exercise early, or late, when the outside temperatures have dropped
* if your dog has health issues, keep a closer eye on them.

26/04/2024

emotions! So important to understand and react appropriately.

Dogs experience deep emotions, but do they get angry? Canine experts answer "Is my dog mad at me"—and explain what you can do about it.

13/03/2024

This is quite fun to read!

http://www.kristibenson.com/blog/2024/2/28/get-thee-gone-thief-of-joy-curses-to-use-for-dog-trainers-who-wont-reward-dogs-with-food?fbclid=IwAR1I4GhTiczQa1jTPCfVmkXYmZKROQg9LxsRVII4Bf5eMdVOQZUcpfU4oJc_aem_ASa26V7cFdReKGNJF5_B89DiLsyJFoHfwsCH5_voVBMHJiuo-QI3bVvl1VbeslsZbIo

I just made the joy-sucking error of looking at the website of a dog trainer who seems to love aversive tools and, by their own proclamation, “We don’t use any treats in our training methods”. In case the hapless reader was unclear, they add for clarity purposes that they “Never reward with ...

13/03/2024

My dogs have these crates! Easy to keep clean as well as being safe.

The dogs walked away shaken up, but completely unharmed.

07/02/2024

Dog Longevity: Influence of Size, Nose Length, S*x, and Breed
By Caroline Coile

How long do they live? That’s a question savvy new dog owners want to know about the breed of their choice. And to a certain extent, we’ve always been able to answer that, although just about every source overestimates the typical age of every breed. But in general, we know that little dogs live the longest and big dogs the shortest; that females tend to live longer than males; and that certain breeds don’t live as long as they should.

Now a huge study from Dog’s Trust UK confirms that, and more–and did it in a big way. The researchers studied data from over a half-million dogs to investigate how breed, body size, s*x, and face shape influence life expectancy.

They found the median life expectancy for all dogs was 12.5 years. The breeds with the longest median lifespan were Lancashire Heeler (15.4 years), Tibetan Spaniel (15.2 years), Shiba Inu (14.6 years), Papillon (14.5 years), and Lakeland Terrier (14.1 years)...continue reading: http://caninechronicle.com/?p=280748

12/01/2024

Are you creating your dog’s food? Here’s help …..in understanding their nutrional requirements!

Learn the fundamentals of dog and cat nutrition from expert veterinary nutritionists.