Bond Dog Training

05/29/2026

Xylitol is a common ingredient that most people don’t know is harmful to dogs. Knowing what can potentially harm your dog and doing what you can to keep it out of their reach is vital to keep them safe!

A few other things we can enjoy safely that our dogs can’t: onions, grapes and raisins, chocolate, caffeine, and some very common plants like sago palms.

The ASPCA Poison Control hotline is an incredible resource if you ever need it!
https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/aspca-poison-control

Tonight I ended up trying to help a friend whose puppy ate a kid's vitamin containing xylitol. Simple accident: kid dropped vitamin, puppy scarfed it down. (Note: this household is knowledgeable and is xylitol free, but a relative bought the vitamins, unaware of the risk to the dogs.)

The puppy only ate *one* vitamin. Which turned out to contain 1500 mg of xylitol.

100 mg/kg is the threshold for hypoglycemia which can be fatal. At 500 mg/kg, hepatic necrosis occurs -- destruction of liver tissue.

So just ONE chewable vitamin ended up creating a serious problem for a 30 pound pup (which is not quite 14 kg).

The emergency vet induced vomiting. Thankfully, the puppy had had a meal and so there was food in her stomach. In the vomit was the orange tablet, identifiable though dissolved.

Quick thinking on the owner's part (including grabbing the bottle of vitamins) and fortunately a nearby 24/7 emergency vet hospital meant that this pup received prompt treatment, and should make a full recovery.

Check your medications, vitamins, gum, candy, toothpaste, mouthwash, peanut butter and more for xylitol, also known as birch sugar.

This is useful information to have on hand:
https://www.calculatorsfordogs.com/health-nutrition-calculators/xylitol-toxicity-calculator

ALWAYS contact vet and ASPCA Animal Poison Control center immediately!

As for everyone (the non-vets) recommending the use of hydrogen peroxide, please update your understanding:
https://www.gsvs.org/woodbridge-nj/blog/hydrogen-peroxide-for-dogs-emergency/

Pass this along. I hope you never have to use it.

05/22/2026

Shrimp was very brave (and very handsome!) for his training session today!

05/21/2026

Excellent graphic and info from AggressiveDog.com! This is a common misconception that I regularly talk about with students.

Let’s talk about the “magica hand.”

Well meaning people reach out their hand so a dog can sniff and make friends. For some dogs, that is fine. For others, it is the fastest way to get bitten.

A reaching hand can:
• Feel invasive
• Reduce distance
• Corner the dog
• Predict restraint

Some dogs have learned that biting makes the hand go away quickly.

A better option:
Allow the dog to approach if they choose.
Ignore them until they initiate affiliative behavior.
Watch body language carefully.

And if:
🚫 You are unsure about what you are seeing
🚫 There is a bite history
🚫 Handling is not necessary

Walking away is the safest choice.

Preventing bites is often about reducing unnecessary pressure.


Dog Illustrations by The Drawables, Owned By: Liz V.

04/16/2026

This is Noelia (aka Nelly!). I've worked with Nelly a few times now, and she is a very sweet, adorable and loving girl. She is also up for adoption through the Austin Animal Center!

Nelly gets along really well with her foster mom's other dog, so a home with another dog is a good option for her! She also has some fear of strangers, so a confident dog friend may be helpful. She will bark at strangers when they are too close, but prefers to leave if she has the space to do so.

She is a fast learner, and made friends with me immediately when she saw I had a treat, so I think she has a very good chance of being a much more confident girl. Once she knows you, she is a total love bug, and she will definitely be an amazing best friend for her future person or people!

If you or someone you know might be interested in adopting Nelly, her Austin Animal Center ID number is 18985 (I'll put her profile link in the comments!). You can also reach out to me and I'll put you in touch with her wonderful foster.

04/02/2026

MYTH: “He knows better.”

Aggression is not a moral failure.

It is behavior shaped by:
• Genetics
• Learning history
• Environment
• Stress load
• Physiological state

Attributing intent does not improve intervention.

Understanding drivers does.

When we shift from “He knows better” to “What is influencing this behavior?” the plan changes.

And so do outcomes.

04/02/2026

If you are in the Austin area and a dog trainer or dog training enthusiast - I'm hosting a cool local event through the Association for Professional Dog Training International at the end of April and registration is OPEN!

Those of you who know Kathryn Butts know she's an amazing and entertaining instructor, and she's doing a full afternoon of teaching for us on using scentwork as part of your training to help clients and their dogs build confidence and teamwork.
This is designed to be accessible for people even with no nosework experience.

This is a hands-on seminar if you want to reserve a working spot, and I'll also have audit spots. It's a fairly small event, with 8 working spots and 15 audit spots, so if you're interested, I recommend registering soon!

Working spots have been approved for 5.5 CEUs through CCPDT (4.5 can count as skill ceus!), and Audit spots are approved for 4 Knowledge CEUs. It's April 26th from 1-5 pm. Working spots are $150 and audit spots are $75. (Registration links in the comments!)

I'm really excited about this event and hope I'll see y'all there!

01/28/2026

I hope everyone has stayed warm this week. I’m excited to finally be able to get out of our yard and go for a walk!

01/17/2026

Congrats to Riley, who passed his service dog public access today! 🎉 Good boy, Riley.

01/13/2026

01/09/2026

Great explanation of the misconceptions around “alpha” dogs!