Sometimes There's Side Eye

Currently ranked as our 2nd most popular episode! Let's remind ourselves to be kind to both ends of the leash.

Are you playing the shame game, like the rest of us? Where does shame come from and how do we combat it? Explore the subject of the shame game, and the equally fun shame spiral, that so many of us find ourselves in when the life we planned with our dogs, goes awry. Dive into the reasons we so often experience shame and ...

**Tissue alert....we discuss grief and loss in this episode***

This week we are talking to Kate Rapkoch, who runs Paws and Breathe. Kate is not only a talented and trauma informed yoga instructor, but she is also a certified end of life pet doula. We have an open and sometimes emotional talk about pet loss as well as healing after a loss. Kate is kind enough to share her experience of loosing her own soul pup Champ, and how she ...

This week we are addressing the comparison game that so many of us are playing.  We have a real and raw conversation on how comparison has been the thief of joyful moments with our dogs. We both find that we don’t compare our dogs' abilities to other dogs but instead compare our individual shortcomings to other more successful or experienced handlers. Realistically we should be proud of both our small and big accomplishments we...

In this episode we are taking on the difficult subject of behavioral euthanasia.  Both Heather and Kristi share their personal experiences with behavioral euthanasia. For Heather a suspected brain tumor created huge changes in Cash's behavior and personality.  For Kristi it was Ginny's increased anxiety that put Ginny and other dogs in the home at risk.  However, other people have to make the hard decision for a beloved fam...

This week we are talking about how hormones can drastically change behaviors in dogs.  Trin's most recent heat cycle ended up leading to some aggressive behaviors, which was a bit triggering for Heather.  However, as we have preached in the past, behavior doesn't change on a dime, and typically there is a medical issue.  In this case the medical issue was hormones. Hormones can affect individual dogs very differently and in...

This week we are talking about separation anxiety with Caitlin Wolfe.  After adopting a dog who suffered from separation anxiety Caitlin wanted to be able to help other dog owners experiencing the same thing. While Caitlin works with a variety of behavior issues, she is specifically CSAT certified for separation anxiety.  Each dog is an individual and it's important that the training can be customized for each dog.  Some dogs a...

The teen/adolescent years - regardless of the species they can be tumultuous.  So how much stock should we put into teenageadolecent dog behavior? The adolescent years for dog can be messy.  Often owners see a side of their dog they haven't seen before, or behaviors intensify during this time.  We talk through some of the behaviors that we have experienced with our own dogs and how we addressed them. Training is always going to...

This week we are talking about dog relationships and how they differ between individual dogs.  We talk through a recent play group at Heather's house that included 6 dogs of varying sizes and personalities.  There were several different play styles among the group and different interest levels between the individual dogs.  We discuss how dynamics can change when adding or subtracting individual dogs.  Of course we couldn't help but...

In this episode we are continuing our conversation with dog trainer Sunny Bravo about service dogs. In our continued conversation we talk about what to look for when selecting a dog for service work. We also talk through who should be involved in the dog selection process. Once a dog has been selected Sunny likes to start the training process simply with body language, then adds leash pressure, toys and treats from there. We addr...

This week we are talking with dog trainer Sunny Bravo who specializes in training service dogs. Sunny has been in the dog training industry for 26 years and has worked with a large variety of breeds. She has worked with everything from basic family dog training to human focused dog aggression cases. Sunny helps define the differences between emotional support animals, a therapy animal and a service animal. Service animals are tra...

This week we are addressing some of the complexities of dog behavior.  Often, we are told things like ears pinned back or hackles up mean aggression, and while this may be true for some dogs it is not true for all dogs.  Often dogs will raise their hackles due to excitement, surprise, or a number of other reasons. While there are guidelines on what a behavior might normally mean, each dog is an individual with individual nuances.  ...

This week we have Katherine Burbach on the episode talking about her relationship with her dog Dos over the years and how it has grown and changed.  Dos can have big feelings about people and dogs when he's on walks, and Katherine realized early on that she needed a plan that she could easily implement with positive results.  Stinky treats were the key to helping refocus Dos and helping him learn to be calm around others while on l...

This week we are talking about different perspectives for the same event.  This was inspired by a recent agility class that Kristi and Jaxon went to.  Kristi had an apponion on what happened, the trainer had a different oppinion, and Heather had a third opinion about the same event and behaviors.  As humans we often create a story and interpret behavior through the lens of the story we have created. When in reality we are living wi...

What is Drive? In Episode 52 we talked a lot about drive, but never really defined it.  Drive can look very different between dogs.  Often we talk about drive in reference to prey and food, but drive can show up in a variety of forms such as people drive, owner drive, etc.  Even drive within the same area can look really different.  For example Heather has three dogs with food drive, but how that motivates and presents with each do...

This week we are talking about unexpected consequences of desired dog behaviors.  We often have certain behaviors we are looking for when purchasing or adopting a dog, however many desired behaviors have an unforeseen flip side to them.  Something as simple as dog sociability can lead to reactivity if socialization needs are not being met.  Of course, there is nothing wrong with wanting an athletic dog who can keep up on hikes and ...

We are talking about a recent study that says 99% of dogs have behavioral problems.  While we disagree with that number, we do agree that behavior problems are increasing.  We also agree with a recent post Heather found stating that training has become more about educating people and less about hands on dog training.  There are likely too many factors contributing to an increase in behavioral issues to name them all, but we are tal...

*It is our 50th episode!!!! *

This week we are talking about our recent experience ata dog show cluster from both a newbie's point of view and a more experiencedpoint of view.  We talk through how much is expected of the dogs in thissituation, and how much we appreciate our dogs being able to perform and behavedespite endless distractions in a new/strange environment.  We arerecapping our highs and lows from the weekend includin...

What happens when an experienced foster falls in love with an "easy dog"?  Typically they give the dog up to another home so that they can take on a more difficult dog. In this episode we are pushing back on the idea that experienced dog people should take on more difficult dogs just because they can. We also know that everyone defines "difficult" differently, so a difficult dog for one person could be the perfe...