Doggone Zen

09/15/2025

😂🐾

09/13/2025

🍦😢

09/05/2025

I hear from a lot of clients who get a second dog so their first dog “could have a friend.” The reason I’m usually called in, is because things aren’t really going too well.

If you want to get a second dog, these are the two biggest points I would consider:

1) Does your current dog display sociable behavior and enjoy the presence and interactions of other dogs? If yes, then ok, your dog might benefit from a friend. If your current dog displays aggression towards other dogs consistently and has never had a known dog “friend,” then bringing home another dog will not magically make your dog like other dogs. This is a recipe for fights in the home, hence why I get called. But at the end of the day, it wasn’t fair to the first dog.

2) Are you happy with your current dog’s behavior and would you want your second dog to act like this dog, too? Then yes, ok, getting a second dog might be a good thing. But, so many people get a second dog thinking it will improve the behavior of the first dog. In this case usually people end up with TWO “badly” behaved dogs. And that’s again why I end up getting called. If you’re not happy with where your current dog is with their behavior, don’t get a second!

Having more than one dog is not just about what you want, but also about what your current dog(s) want, and how their future relationships and behaviors will feed off of one another.

09/03/2025

When people say that “ignoring bad behavior doesn’t work” … there’s an important part that’s missing.

While there can be a lot of varying motivations behind particular behaviors, when your attention is the motivator, the WORST and most PUNISHING thing you can do to the dog is… ignore them!

Almost every single client I see with a dog who displays attention seeking behavior attempts to stop it by doing something that they perceive as punishing - usually in the form of verbal or physical corrections. And yet - that gives the dog the very thing that they want: your attention.

When we yell at a dog, we’re still looking at them and engaging with them. When we shove a dog off of us and push them away, we are still touching them and they often times view what you’re doing to them as fun rough housing (especially the bully breeds and working breeds).

What actually works to decrease the behavior (by definition, therefore punishing the behavior) is to completely ignore them when they display the attention seeking things. Ignoring means to pretend they are invisible - no eye contact, no talking to them, no touching them. They don’t exist, until they give up the undesired behavior, reset, and display a more desirable one.

If your dog is barking at you to get your attention, this is when we ignore it to decrease its occurrence. If your dog is barking at noises outside your home, ignoring it will not make it go away, as the motivation is not directed at you.

It’s very important to know the difference.

08/31/2025

Crate training isn’t a bad thing.

Time and time again I have clients who choose not to crate train (for whatever reason), and then I tell them that they really need to crate train for the situation at hand, and then they get a crate, and then the dogs are like, “THANK YOU - finally.”

Two dogs in the open crate and a third near it definitely shows how some dogs can benefit and you may not even know it until you try it.

And yes, they have more crates then just this one now, as well!

08/31/2025

L.O.V.E. 🐾

Animal therapy is so powerful, hospitals use it to speed healing.

Research from Azabu University found that mutual gaze between humans and their dogs increases oxytocin (the hormone of love and bonding) by about 300% in people and 130% in dogs. That’s a profound neurochemical shift from something as simple as connection!

And the benefits go beyond oxytocin. Interacting with dogs has been shown to lower stress hormones like cortisol, reduce blood pressure, and trigger the release of feel-good brain chemicals such as serotonin and dopamine.

Clinical trials have found that animal-assisted therapy reduces pain, anxiety, and depression, while improving overall well-being and even recovery outcomes.

Sometimes the most powerful medicine doesn’t come in a pill or a procedure, it comes with four legs.

08/27/2025

Good point!

WHY RESCUES/SHELTERS SHOULD CONSIDER ADOPTING CHALLENGING DOGS TO FIRST TIME DOG OWNERS

“What?!” I’m sure you’re saying to yourself. But this is actually something to consider. Here’s why.

If you have a challenging dog that is being adopted out (this could be simple working breed and energy level all the way to a complicated behavior case) AND you have resources to provide (training plans, training support, or trusted referrals to give) then often times new first time dog owners want to LEARN. They want to do it right, they want to hear what they should do, and they are like sponges to gather and retain new information. They are also less likely to try things on their own without seeking assistance.

“Experienced homes” on the other hand can sometimes be a nightmare to work with. They don’t want to hear what you have to say, what you are suggesting, or what the experts are telling them because “they’ve had dogs their whole life” and they “know what they are doing.” It’s the experienced homes who can often times blow you off and not listen to your instructions.

Some of my BEST clients with the WORST dogs have been the easiest to work with over the years because they have trusted that they need to learn and take guidance from an expert.

Some of my WORST clients with the BEST dogs have been the hardest to work with over the years because they would fight my suggestions tooth and nail because it was so different from “how they’ve always done it.” Even though if what they always did, always worked, I wouldn’t have even been called in. It’s these homes that often times return a dog for not working out.

So I always tell my rescue groups not to knock new dog owners for the more challenging adoptions. If you see that they are eager to learn and be committed, give them a chance!

08/22/2025

It’s quite possible and even normal for a dog to display sociable behavior with other dogs in groups on neutral territory (dog beaches, dog parks, on walks, in daycare, etc) yet display aggression and not accept another housemate in their home.

We can enjoy our friends when we hang out and do activities together, but that doesn’t mean we want our friends to live with us.

I deeply love many of my friends, yet I’m sure our relationships would change quickly if we had to live with one another for an extended period of time.

Because when you live with someone under the same roof, you have to share your stuff - your territory, your possessions, your time, your space, and your resources. That’s VERY different from enjoying your time with them in short spurts.

Dogs are the same. I have so many clients who can’t wrap their head around why their dog can go to daycare yet can’t accept the new dog that was just adopted into the home. And it’s not that hard to understand when you place yourself in the same situation.

08/19/2025

They speak to us in physical ways!

DOG TALK TUESDAY: ANTICIPATION LIP LICK

I’ve talked a lot about lip licking being a potential distance increasing signal when it occurs during some type of interaction. But there’s also another type of interaction where lip licking can occur and that’s within anticipation.

If a dog is expecting something exciting to happen - to receive a piece of food, to gain physical access to another, to begin some type of play, to be given the next command - they can lick their lips in anticipation of the next thing.

This lip licking usually is accompanied by excited body language with lots of movement and forwardness, ready to engage.

It’s not asking for space, it’s asking for you to hurry the hell up lol.

Pictured is Bear, licking in anticipation of getting to play with the hose.

As always, when reading body language we have to remember to read it like we would read a sentence. Understand that it’s all the words together that create the meaning of a sentence, not one word alone. Thereby we also need to take all of the dog’s body language signals combined to create a meaning, and not focus on one single body part by itself.

08/15/2025

Did you know that when a dog vomits, they can consider that throw up as a food item?

It’s gross, I know. However it’s an important piece of information to make my clients aware of when they own dogs who have a history of displaying aggression over resources - especially food and food items. Because when a dog throws up, our first instinct is to grab a bunch of paper towels and push the dog away when they approach it. And when you have a dog who has guarded food items from you in the past, there’s a high likelihood of them guarding their own vomit too, because to them it’s just something else that can be eaten (again).

It’s imperative for owners of resource guarders to know this, so they can react appropriately (depending on the dog and the situation this could include giving a leave it, go, move, place, wait, or recall cue OR to offer some type of distraction or interruption) instead of potentially getting bitten. And at the end of the day if they end up eating it, it’s not something worth getting injured over… so let them have it if that’s all you can do. Then prepare more for a potential next time.