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We put the following slide series together for Pain Awareness Month in September but wanted to put it here on the blog too so it’s available year round. Pain and behavior is such an important topic in the dog behavior and care field. The degree to which pain issues are under diagnosed and under treated is massive. Awareness is growing but it can still be an uphill battle to get dogs the help they…
ARE YOU READY FOR A DOG? It may not feel like it with all of the cute dog photos saturating the internet but it’s okay if the answer to this question is no! It’s also okay if the answer is no to adding an additional dog to the dogs/other companion animals already in your home right now. Anyone who follows us knows we’re big advocates for adoption and fostering of pups in need but we also know that…
It is hard not to notice the parallel trends in the dog behavior and animal welfare fields matching a lot of the bigger picture trends happening in the US and among humanity in general. That’s always been true to some extent, human behavior and societal trends and pendulum swings being what they are. But the last few years have felt more extreme and more disheartening in just how much sustained…
We hear variations on this phrase A LOT. If not verbatim during consults with fearful dogs, they often sound something like… “I don’t know what happened. The dog was letting me/the visitor pet him but then he snapped.” When engaging with dogs, we *always* want to honor consent when it comes to touch and the level of social interaction a dog is ready for. This is especially true for fearful dogs.…
What is it that we mean when we ask this question? And is there a better way to think about what it takes for dogs to live safely with young children? Absolutely there are dogs who are more comfortable and savvy with children than others. That is most typically because they have successful prior experience around children but there can be other factors at play too. But what we need to be careful…
With some exception to this last handful of years, there is quite a lot to love about the direction companion animal culture has moved in recent decades. In many ways, we’ve become kinder, more empathetic, and more driven to ensure the animals in our care are living happy lives. There is still A LOT of misinformation out there and it can be hard for the average dog owner to navigate. But most of…
It would seem that the answer to this question is a no brainer. Of course shelter dogs do not deserve less. But as the shelter and rescue world struggles under the weight of the last few years and cracks in the system that were never truly filled widen, a lot of old ideas that had largely fallen out of favor for good reason are looking to some like a means of relief and hard won progress on…
With intake closed or heavily restricted at Austin’s city shelter since 2020, local good samaritans are finding themselves navigating a sometimes piecemeal safety net when they encounter a lost or stray dog. And as the number of dogs on the streets seems to be increasing, more and more households have found themselves taking in dogs with nowhere else to go. As frustrated as we are by the animal…
Dog lovers, we have a problem. In fact, we have a slew of them and we know they aren’t all exclusive to the care of our companion animals. Bad information is everywhere. But boy oh boy is the dog behavior field saturated with it.
Behavior change has to be sustainable and stress is an ingredient we want to minimize, not pile on. Try to integrate your dog’s behavior modification into your daily routine in as natural (and enjoyable) a way as possible, take breaks when you need them, and reach out to your trainer for help.
