I’m teaching a service dog, Gordie, to stay off my feet. It’s been a long process. He’s been with me since early June and I’m still having to remind him to get off my feet. For a service dog, it’s actually not the worse problem to have. If anything, he […]
In this multi-part piece, I tackle using your dog as a service dog, from different perspectives. In Part I we discussed whether or not your dog can ignore everything going on in the environment (smells, dogs, activity, everything!) and focus on you and your needs. And how the best service […]
Still a work in progress, but it looks like Gunny is taking to the new cats-only thoroughfare to their own yard
In this multi-part piece, I tackle using your dog as a service dog….from different perspectives. There are a number of obvious and not-so-obvious things dogs need to do and be in order to be successful as a service dog – and therefore be allowed to stay by your side virtually […]
Pepper is cat reactive. If she’s behind a baby gate or in the yard she lays, watches and whines while they do their thing. If she’s in the house with them, they are her entire focus; she tracks them constantly. Not something the cats enjoy….as you can imagine. Pepper is […]
Ahhh, the awareness in hindsight! Last Thursday I was explaining to a new social hour employee to never put her hands between two dogs. It’s such a natural thing for us to do, reach in, separate, grab or otherwise manage a situation. But of course when you’re dealing with dogs, […]
Amy Cuddy, a TED speaker, talks about how our body language shapes who we are. She says that if we spend just 2 minutes each day in a high-power pose: think wonder woman (hands on hips, shoulders back, chin up) or hands behind head, elbows out, body expanded – we […]
I realized recently that it’s been a bit since I’ve given you an update on shy, little Sid. If you remember, Sid was surrendered to the La Plata County Humane Society last fall and was quickly adopted. After a month with a very kind family, they returned him because he […]
Have you seen one?? A dog who takes all the toys for themselves, perhaps storing them in a crate, on a bed or in a closet? Typically no one else is allowed to play with them and in some cases, looking at them is even reacted to. I believe these […]
Hey folks the humane society has been taken over by pet food donations and supplies. Better if we postpone classes until next week so your dogs will have a chance to concentrate on class (and not all the goodies being donated LOL!) See you next Saturday 11am for Level 1 […]
