Until recently, I didn’t realize that there are some folks who don’t know what’s out there in terms of possibilities for training. A lot of folks in the Little Rock area utilize board-and-trains, but that’s not the only option.
Dog Training Options Read More »
Cathy: Well, it’s something that comes up in certain kinds of cases that I work. I work a lot of aggression cases, and so it’s always something that is sitting in the back of my mind, but also, I found, in the back of clients’ minds, where they start to wonder, “What are my options?” And with any dog behavior issue, you really have five options.
“What Are My Options?”: Responsible Rehoming with Cathy Madson Read More »
Erika Gonzalez encourages simple activities for enrichment. “I think enrichment can be easy,” she said. “It doesn’t need to be something extravagant. It doesn’t need to be something that lasts an hour. It could be as simple as putting some of your dog’s dry food in a towel and rolling it up into a little doggie burrito and having them figure it out. … It could be egg cartons.”
“When we have happier dogs, we have happier owners”: Enrichment with Taylor McDonald Read More »
There’s a reason why a lot of puppies are taken to a shelter at about nine to eleven months. Even with adequate management, training, and socialization, adolescent dogs can be a bit much.
Uh-Oh: Tips for Making it Through the Doggy Teen Months Read More »
Jenny McCallum: “I have wanted a French Bulldog forever. I saw Renee Zellweger driving around in this convertible with a little white French Bulldog in [laughs] a magazine a zillion years ago, and I have wanted one ever since. So, Lola was the first, yeah.”
“Little Frenchies Can Actually be Pretty Ferocious”: Client Spotlight on Lily and Lola Read More »
I’ve (Elizabeth over here at Telltail Dog Training) been guilty in the past of throwing around suggestions of spay / neuter as a solution to behavior issues. With Lily and Lola, it does seem that if Lily had been able to get an earlier spay, their relationship might not have fractured the way it did when Lily went into heat. On the other side of everything, Lily’s spay didn’t automatically fix the situation. That will take some more time and behavior modification.
Spay / Neuter and Behavior Challenges and Who Can Help Read More »
I found Rosie on Petfinder at 3 am in the morning. It was one of the many, many moments since 2020 when I’ve watched the world continue to spiral while feeling pretty helpless myself.
I looked at Dobermans, Rottweilers, German Shepherds, and Belgian Malinois. I found a few to apply for, and only got a call back for one: a 2.5-year-old Belgian Malinois named Rosie.
Katie Kasten: “We at Pet Partners are very strong with our handlers during their training and then with continuing education, that handlers have to be advocates for their animals. They do talk to us in their body language and in how they say things very clearly to us. We need to be perceptive as humans in listening to them.”
“We’d Love to Have You”: Therapy Animal Registration with Katie Kasten of Pet Partners Read More »
Hallie Wells: “I think what’s important for me with assistance dogs–so that covers the realm of service dogs and guide dogs–is that there are so many different aspects of it, and it’s not just cookie cutter training. Not that training ever is, but there might be someone that needs autism support, but they also might need light guiding tasks, or there might be someone who has a psychiatric service dog, but they also need some counterbalance support. So, I really love that you can really customize the dog training and the service dog training to suit their partner’s needs and accommodate what they’re looking for to gain that independence and have that partnership with their service dog.”
Hallie Wells: “There was initially pushback, and I think it was just based on fear of not knowing. Whether it was from my volunteers or my staff, we just kind of faced that confrontation and those fears head on. Like yeah, ‘I know this is hard. It’s scary. It’s extremely difficult to change your skillset.’ But once people started noticing that they were able to tell their dog ‘Yes’ and give them information more and do it through a positive manner, they noticed their puppies were learning things faster. They were adapting to unfamiliar stimuli a lot faster. They were also learning a lot more about their dog’s body language and becoming more aware of their dog and their behavior.”