Get a Grip

06/22/2025

Here is an excellent example of analyzing dog food.

Looking for an honest take on Victor Dog Food? In this video, we dive deep into a comprehensive review of Victor Super Premium Dog Food, exploring its ingred...

06/12/2025

This quote by Portia de Rossi is so telling when it comes to our relationships with dogs as well!

06/11/2025

It doesn’t look like much but when you know Indigo’s history this floors you! This girl who for a long time couldn’t step outside her house and backyard without a mental breakdown is choosing to sniff and roll in a place she has never been before with a group of dogs running around and some people. One person was new as were several of the dogs, but she adjusted well.
I am so proud of her and grateful for her dedicated foster mom!

06/11/2025

Stuffing time!

The stuffed, frozen items are especially important for home-alone time and crate time.

You can see different stages of stuffing. The order of which I add items is not entirely random. I tend to put yogurt or whipped cream cheese first so it can anchor the next parts like fruits, vegetables, biscuits, pieces of bred etc. I usually finish with a firm pate style canned food and/or peanut butter last to kind of seal things in so they stay until frozen. For the Woof Pupsicle balls I do the opposite so they have the right shape when going in the Pupsickle.

06/11/2025

https://www.earth.com/news/dogs-are-evolving-to-fit-the-modern-lives-of-humans/

Modern human lifestyles are driving a third wave of dog domestication, evolving their companionship roles.

05/25/2025

We can do a lot to make things easier for everyone but in the end we owe it to them to do right by them and accept them as dogs.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1EdSdBRAtS/?mibextid=wwXIfr

If you are going to have a dog, you are going to have to make sacrifices. You cannot expect to have an animal that was designed to live primarily outside and bring it into your house and not have to make changes or adjustments. A dog is not an ornament, a commodity or a display. A dog is an animal. You are sharing your life with another species. This is life with a dog.

Your yard will not be pristine. The grass will get burned from their p*e. Holes will be dug, bushes shredded, mud will come in the house. You cannot ask them to not p*e in your house and then also try to control even their outside bathroom. Please see how unfair this is. This is life with a dog.

You house will need management. Your counters will need to be clear. Shoes will need to be put away. Laundry room blocked. Kids toys picked up. Some things will get destroyed anyway. This is life with a dog.

They will bark at noises. They will protect their territory. Sometimes fiercely. They will not welcome strange people into the home easily even if you “know them” because this is in their genetic DNA. They don’t understand family gatherings and they don’t always see things the way we do. They won’t love playing with every dog they meet. This is life with a dog.

They will need enrichment and work and productivity. They will need training that is kind and fair and consistent and then maintenance to maintain that training. They will need guidance and coaching and lots of reinforcement to help them perform unnatural behaviors against their natural phenotypes. This is life with a dog.

They will mature and change and modify in their likes, behaviors and preferences as they age. Their behaviors aren’t guaranteed. They are not robots and they can be mercurial as they grow into their own personalities. They are allowed to change their mind and shift naturally just as we do. They need to be seen for what and who they are, not what and who YOU want. This is life with a dog.

Life with a dog is not a human right. It is a privilege and a responsibility and an education. They are animals and should be treated and expected to behave as such. That doesn’t make them any less loved or family members and it doesn’t make them any less deserving of respect, in fact it makes them more so.

Enjoy your life with a dog, and help them enjoy life with a human.

- Helen St. Pierre

05/21/2025

Yesterday morning’s session was fantastic for me, my client, and her dog! Indigo is one of the most anxious, panicky clients I have ever had and not because of trauma. It has been a long, slow process and she is far from “normal” but she now exhibits healthy, functional behaviors. To see her able to meet a couple of new dogs (and one she met before), to be curious, to engage in exploratory behavior, and to follow off leash without spooking and bolting over some little thing was so heart-warming!

05/21/2025

Last week, his owner and I took Toby to the dog park for the first time. Not because we like dog parks in general but it provided a fenced area to safely meet strange dogs off leash as well as him practice following his people and coming when called.
The training that led to this was started a while ago: see and pass other dogs calmly, greet other dogs respectfully, walking with a loose leash, following directions, coming when called, and walking away from things that bother him rather than engage - not necessarily in that order.
The results was a low-stress, pretty uneventful visit that, while not thrilled, Toby handled well.

05/14/2025

Dog sport are great for dogs that need more mental and physical stimulation than being a pet can provide. It is particularly helpful when the sport allows the dog to engage in behaviors it is made for but in a more acceptable environment than at home. On top of that it really creates a strong bond between dog and owner.

Kiki is learning herding which includes controlled chasing, and Amos got to dig and jump up on things when trying Barn Hunt.

05/14/2025

I was supervising a rescue puppy meeting a child during an adoption event. She was already skilled with dogs but I reminded her to always pet dogs under or on the side of the head or shoulders, never on top. This is less threatening to the dog and also makes it easy for it to pull away. A dog that feels trapped or threatened might bite; we don’t decide whether it is reasonable to be afraid, the dog does.