What if you woke up in a new place and you didn’t understand the rules or the language. What if you needed to go to the bathroom and didn’t know how or who to ask? When a dog goes home for the first time, or to the vet for the first time, or out to the park or store, they may not understand the rules. This can cause our dogs to feel fear and anxiety. And sometimes it causes their dog guardians embarrassment. “Life lived without guidelines is confusing and troubling.” There a

The leaves are falling, the weather is cooler, the days are shorter and the dogs are feeling frisky. Right now life’s pretty good. Over the next few weeks, life may not be so good. Schedules will change, weather will get colder, and people (perhaps strange people) may be invading your home. What to do??? If you’re a human, you may love the magic of the holidays. Your dog may see things differently. She may panic, bolt out the door, or nip a stranger. He may bark, hide, or gro

Getting a new puppy is exciting. There’s so much to do and see and learn…together. Now is a great time to think about what looks right for you and your puppy. While your furry companion needs to learn skills for navigating a human world, as his human you need to think about what looks right – what are those skills, behaviors and activities that you want for your puppy. Your puppy is a dog. That will never change. An obvious statement, but worth keeping that in mind when imagi

Recently we had a less than spectacular human-dog greeting at my house. I was embarrassed. But I was also puzzled. Generally well-mannered dog ignores known cues – it happens. But why does it happen? Over the next few days I observed my dogs in a variety of situations. My AHA! moment happened when we stumbled upon a park we’d never investigated. New smells, different trails…the sun was shining – it was a great time to explore and practice skills. We picked a direction and hea