Foxy and the Hound

05/26/2026

You’re with your dog every day, so it’s easy to miss the quiet progress happening right in front of you.

We tend to wait for the big moments to feel like things are improving. The first calm walk past a trigger. The first time they recover faster after something hard. The first time something that used to feel overwhelming now feels just a little easier.

But most progress isn’t always loud. It is made up of tiny shifts that happen so gradually you stop noticing them while you are living inside them.

A reaction that is a little shorter than before
A quicker check in with you
A slightly easier walk down a familiar street
A moment of pause where there used to be instant escalation

Because you are there every day, your brain adapts quickly. What was once difficult slowly becomes your normal, so it stops registering as progress but that does not mean it is not happening.

If you look back even a few weeks or months, the change is often much clearer than it feels day to day. That is how learning works. Slow, steady, and built through repetition and safety.

So today is your reminder to notice the small wins. The quiet ones. The almost missed moments where things went just a little better than before.

05/22/2026

Your dog doesn’t always need more exercise. Especially adolescent dogs.

I see so many teenage dogs being exercised more and more while their behaviour keeps getting worse. Pulling harder. Barking more. Struggling to settle. Reacting bigger. Getting labeled as stubborn, crazy, dramatic, or “too much.”

And yes, exercise IS important. Dogs need opportunities to move their bodies, explore, sniff, play, and engage with the world around them.

But rest and enrichment matter just as much.

A lot of adolescent dogs are actually chronically overtired and overstimulated. Their nervous systems never fully come down. More activity is added on top of an already overwhelmed dog, and the behaviour escalates instead of improving.

Adolescent dogs are going through massive emotional and physical changes, and a lot of them are overwhelmed, frustrated, dysregulated, or uncomfortable.

And honestly, pain is a WAY bigger contributor to behavior than people realize, despite the age of the dog. Some young dogs, can be in pain. Some dogs who run and play and seem like “normal, active dogs” can be in pain.

Dogs who are sore, growing quickly, uncomfortable, or dealing with underlying pain can struggle with:

• Reactivity
• Arousal
• Leash biting
• Handling sensitivity
• Sudden aggression
• Excessive barking
• Inability to settle
• Avoidance
• Shutdown behaviors

Sometimes your dog is not “bad.” Sometimes they are stressed, confused, overstimulated, overtired, or hurting.

Training should support the dog in front of us, not just try to exhaust them into behaving. 🖤

05/18/2026

Hey, it’s your friendly neighbourhood VTS (behaviour) 👋

If you’re new here; welcome.

I’m Shelby, and I work in animal behaviour, focusing on helping animals who are anxious, overwhelmed, or just struggling to cope in a human world that often expects too much too fast.

This is Foxy 🐾 and Eddy 🐶 (the hound), my two sidekicks who are usually right in the middle of it all; whether that’s training sessions, field work, or mountain adventures like this one.

My work is all about understanding the animal in front of you, not just the behaviour you see. I focus on reducing pressure, building safety, and teaching skills in a way that actually makes sense for the individual animal.

You’ll see a lot here about:
• dog behaviour & body language
• anxiety and reactivity
• training that prioritizes welfare over compliance
• real-life, messy, honest work
• and probably a lot of my time with my own fur kids

At the end of the day, I want pets to feel understood, not just managed.

Thanks for being here 🖤

05/18/2026

Dogs are allowed to communicate.

Somewhere along the way, society started expecting dogs to behave like silent little soldiers. Never bark. Never react. Never feel nervous. Never need space. Never make people uncomfortable. Just exist quietly and tolerate everything at all times.

And when they don’t?

They get labelled immediately:“aggressive”“bad”“untrained”“reactive”“dominant”

Sometimes for doing completely normal dog things.

A bark is communication. Moving away is communication. Growling is communication. Stress signals are communication. Dogs communicate constantly… long before behaviour escalates into something more serious.

The problem is that many people only consider communication acceptable if it’s convenient and easy for humans.

Being in the mountains recently really highlighted this for me. It was beautiful being surrounded by dogs out exploring with their people, but it was also frustrating seeing how many tourists expected every single dog to love strangers instantly, tolerate being approached, ignore staring, stay neutral in crowded environments, never vocalize and never need space.

That simply isn’t realistic.

Dogs are living beings navigating an incredibly human-centered world. They are constantly expected to suppress discomfort while still being considered “good dogs.”

But a dog barking does not automatically mean a dog is dangerous.

Sometimes barking means:
“I’m uncomfortable.”“That startled me.”“Please give me space.”“I’m overwhelmed.”“I’m excited.”“I don’t know what to do here.”

And honestly? We should want dogs to communicate.

Because when dogs learn that communication is punished, ignored, or corrected, they often stop giving warnings altogether. That’s not safer. That’s just quieter.

The goal should never be to suppress dogs into emotional neutrality. The goal should be helping dogs feel safe, supported, and understood while teaching them skills to navigate the world successfully.

Advocacy matters. Listening matters. Respecting communication matters.

Dogs are not robots. They are animals. And they deserve the ability to communicate safely too.

05/08/2026

Hi. This is important. Thanks!

05/05/2026

Summer is filling up quickly over here and my availability is becoming more limited as we head into the busy season. That said, I am currently booking into June.

Along with regular sessions, I’ll also be completing a detailed separation anxiety course this summer, and I’m fully booked with existing pet sitting clients (on top of having to schedule in time for my own family). Because of this, my overall availability for training is limited.

If you’ve been thinking about getting support with your dog’s behaviour, now is the time to get on the schedule. Spots are going quickly, especially for in-home sessions.

I’d love to help you and your dog feel more confident, safe, and understood. Whether you’re working through reactivity, fear, separation-related concerns, or just want to build stronger skills together, we can create a plan that fits your life.

I also recommend booking your follow-up sessions as soon as possible. I typically suggest spacing sessions about 3 to 4 weeks apart, and those spots tend to fill just as quickly. There is wiggle room if needed for these, but it’s easier to get on the books early!

If you’re ready to get started, you can book directly through my website:
www.foxyandthehound.ca

I look forward to working with you and your fur babies ❤️

Foxy & The Hound offers in-home pet care, one-on-one pet training and behavioural modification, and group dog training for puppies and adults in Edmonton and the surrounding area.

04/23/2026

Spring walks can feel like a setback for a lot of dogs, and it catches people off guard every single year.

Over the winter, things tend to be quieter. Fewer people are outside, there is less movement, fewer dogs, and overall the environment is just… calmer. Then spring hits, and suddenly everything changes all at once. Parks are busy again, patios open, kids are outside, bikes and scooters are flying past, and there are smells everywhere.

For many dogs, that is a massive jump in stimulation.

So when your dog starts pulling more, reacting more, struggling to focus, or seeming “all over the place,” it is not because your training stopped working. It is because their environment just became significantly harder to navigate.

There is also a lot of pressure this time of year to have a “patio dog.” To bring your dog everywhere, sit calmly at cafés, and exist in busy public spaces without issue.

But the reality is, not all dogs enjoy that. And they do not need to.

For some dogs, those environments are overwhelming, not enriching. They are constantly scanning, unable to settle, and working far above their threshold.

That does not mean anything is wrong with them.

It just means we need to meet them where they are at.

Spring is a great time to rebuild foundations, lower expectations, and set dogs up to succeed in environments they can actually handle. Progress does not come from pushing them into situations they are not ready for. It comes from building skills gradually, with clarity and support.

If walks have been feeling harder lately, you are not alone, and your dog is not broken.

They are just trying to keep up with a world that suddenly got a lot bigger.



If you want help navigating that, I work with dogs like this every day.

Bookings are available through my website.