A Dog’s Eye View

12/09/2025

A new chapter for some old friends 💙🐾

Hello everyone,

After many years spent in the world of animal care, we are beginning a new chapter with Blue Dingo Consulting. This next step allows us to continue supporting dogs, owners, and now the pet care community through the pet care and professional services we are now offering. 🐶✨

With over 40 years of combined experience in professional pet care and business, our lives and our work have always centered on the safety, well-being, and humane treatment of dogs. Many of you have walked alongside us through sensitive pups, senior companions, first-time puppies, and everything in between. Those experiences continue to shape how we think, how we lead, and how we serve. ❤️🐕

Our current services include dog training, pet sitting, dog walking, yard cleanup, and business coaching for pet care professionals. 🐕‍🦺🏡📘

We are also exploring the option of offering small, instructor-led training playgroups in 2026. These one hour sessions focus on building your dog’s skills in a guided environment with controlled distractions. They are fun and purposeful, meant to support your dog’s training progress while being separate from daycare or any drop off service. These sessions are limited in scope and duration. 🎓🐾

While this chapter looks different from the past, the standards behind our work remain the same. As always, if you or your pups need guidance or support, please feel free to reach out. We are always here for our community. 🐶✨

We are grateful for the trust and relationships built over the years, and we look forward to connecting as this next chapter unfolds. If you would like to learn more about our current services or have questions, please feel free to reach out or visit our website. 🌐🐶

With gratitude,
Erika, Cheryl, and Norah 🐾💙

12/07/2025

If you need a spot for your pups to run even in the frigid cold, check out this No Monkey Business Dog Training indoor rental. I can’t wait to load my whole crew up and check it out!

Rent the NMBDT Fun Spot for dogs and have a blast in a safe, indoor space where you can play, train and relax!

12/05/2025

I had the pleasure of taking Capri & Naples out on Thanksgiving before all the guests arrived at their house, so they were well exercised and more likely to relax with all of the holiday excitement. We hit a SniffSpot (that we had to leave early due to a very curious 😸inside) and then had a nice walk by the water.

If you have guests coming over or your attentions will be divided over this hectic time of year, I would love to take your pups on a day time adventure! I am available most of Hanukkah, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day, and most of December. Existing clients will receive priority and new dogs will need and initial meet and greet, but email [email protected] if your dogs may need a little adventure in the coming weeks!

11/23/2025

A few more wonderful dogs I’m working with…

💎Gemma- island girl with beautiful eyes and big feelings about her senior spaniel brother, Miles. We are working on building positive associations, appropriate alternate responses, and increasing outlets for her high energy and intelligence.
🌿Basil- this shy sweet boy, has a small inner circle, but we are working on his ability to cope more comfortably with new people in his home. (He swears he holds no responsibility for Mom’s hand injury that he is laying on in this photo 😉)
🎰Chancey-this awesome, happy-go-lucky little terrier mix puppy, is learning how to be the best boy in this crazy fun new world!

10/02/2025

Some more of my lovely clients…

💙Blue-this lovely corgi with big feelings and opinions about (some) dogs on leash, so smart working on deferring to his people and some self-regulation in the presence of unknown dogs.
🐾Charlie & Bubba-these seniors are working on more politely accepting guests on the property and into their home.
🦊Wynnie-this shy foxy girl is getting a new start in a new home with a yard! Working on accepting new people in her home and some cooperative care strategies for more regular pedicures 💅
🦌Duncan-this deerhound with a complicated medical history is mastering the art of Animal Centered Education (ACE) Freework to boost confidence and readiness for other training.
🐈‍⬛Mr. Kitty-joins his brother Duncan in his Freework practice.
🪙Penny-a long term client gaining confidence in wearing her muzzle, this was a shared breakthrough, she walked to the car and made it to Dunks for a pup cup without fussing about the muzzle!

09/19/2025

I’ve been a little quiet on the internet lately, but this is as good a time as any to share some of my wonderful client roster…

👯‍♀️Coco & Penny-to lovely happy-go-lucky adolescent chihuahua girls mastering house training and all the basic puppy skills.
🍞Crumpet-Frenchie from the French Quarter with a complicated and challenging medical history, working towards positive integration with a future k-9 housemate.
🏝️Capri & Naples- the island pups living their best lives working on reactivity, confidence boosting, self-regulation, cooperative care, and anything else that comes up.
💎Stella-continuing to work on confidence, enrichment, and exercise so she can live her best life in a very busy household.
🐷Finnie-currently working on expanding horizons to prepare for a long roadtrip with his amazing people!
🦭Ollie-the sweetest, though at times insecure, boy currently preparing for a new human addition.
👻Boone-a true dog’s dog, building confidence daily with his emotional support sister Penny. We are working on comfort with the leash, handling, recall, and some yard reactivity.

08/16/2025

"It doesn't hurt. He's fine."

Assuming an animal is not in pain is one of the biggest dangers to animal care and animal welfare.

When we don't know and cannot confirm if something is causing the animal pain I think we should use extreme caution.

Some things we know:

⭐Pain is different for different individuals as well as different species.
⭐Pain is unique. Your toothache may be excruciating but mine may be very mild. We cannot make a blanket statement about pain.
⭐Some animals hide pain but this does not mean that they are not experiencing pain.

⭐ Some things may not cause us pain because we understand it but if someone, including an animal is startled or does not know where a sensation is coming from it may cause pain.

Example: an invisible fence shock collar. If we try it on ourselves we understand what causes the shock. The dog does not.

The Wong-Baker Faces pain scale does not exist for animals.
We rely on behavior changes, medical changes but it requires observing.

By saying, "s/he's fine" we remove the ability to make those initial observations.
We have already turned off our observation skills.

If your vet says an animal is in pain, listen, and work with your vet to make a pain management plan.

If you are concerned that your dog is in pain but your vet is not, keep talking or seek a second opinion.

No one ever wants their animal to be in pain.
One way to help them, is keep an open mind and seek professional help.

Watch how they get up/lie down, how they move, how they react to sounds or touch. Do they scratch or itch a lot? Keeping an open mind about pain will be the first step to helping your animal.

Pain happens to all ages, not just seniors.

08/06/2025

Thanks to my friend and colleague Liz…stay open, stay teachable, no one has all of the answers. ❤️🐾

“I don’t know, but I’ll find out.”

A client recently thanked me for something unexpected: not having a quick, clever answer for every question they asked. Sure, I had most of the answers. But there were a few where I said, “Let me double check that,” or “I’d like to run that by a colleague first.”

And that moment stuck with me.

Because if you’re looking for a dog trainer, that’s something worth paying attention to and someone who doesn’t pretend to know it all.

None of us do. Not even the ones with decades of experience. And that’s a good thing.

I remember chatting with my mom (who has a doctorate in psychology) about stress, and I mentioned eustress, the kind of stress that’s actually positive and motivating. She paused and said, “Wait, what’s that?”

So here’s a quick refresher for anyone else:
• Eustress = good stress. The kind that gets you moving, challenges you, or helps you grow.
• Distress = bad stress. The kind that overwhelms, shuts down learning, or harms well-being.

Even experts don’t know everything. And good dog trainers know that.

The best ones are the ones still learning, still asking questions, still seeking out different perspectives, still checking their own work. The ones who are open to saying, “Let me think on that,” or “Let me ask someone I trust.”

Look for that in your dog trainer:
✔ Ongoing education
✔ A willingness to consult and collaborate
✔ Protocols that evolve over time
✔ And the humility to say, “I’m not sure yet, but I’ll find out.”

That’s not a weakness. That’s a superpower.

So if you’re looking for a dog trainer, find one who stays teachable.

Because your dog deserves more than ego. They deserve thoughtful, informed, and individualized care.

06/15/2025

Rufus masterfully shows joy, ability to think, and relaxation while muzzled, all things we want to see when muzzle training our pups!

06/08/2025

My Philosophy on Life with a Dog

When you bring a dog into your life, you are choosing something extraordinary- to share your life, your home, and your routines with a different species. One who never asked to be here, never consented to our human expectations, and yet shows up every day with unconditional love. That is a profound responsibility — and a remarkable gift.

Dogs are not toys or lifestyle accessories. They are sentient beings with their own emotions, needs, and preferences. They are not here to obey your every command — they are here to share life with you. They will bring great joy and love to your life, and you should do the same for them. When we choose to live alongside a species that doesn’t speak our language, it’s our job to build the bridge: through communication, compassion, and connection.

Communication means learning to understand your dog — their body language, their stress signals, their joys and fears. It means teaching with clarity and kindness instead of confusion or punishment. It means listening more than you talk and realizing that “behavior problems” are often just misunderstood attempts to cope with a world that they don’t always understand.

Compassion means seeing your dog as they are — not as a project to fix, but as a whole being to support. It means remembering that your dog didn’t sign up for apartment living, crowded sidewalks, or your social calendar. It means adjusting your expectations to meet their needs as a dog, not expecting them to just meet yours as human.

Connection is what makes it all worth it. When you slow down and really see your dog — when you honor their needs, help them feel safe, and give them choices and the freedom to be themselves — something beautiful happens. You become their safe place. And they become yours.

Life with a dog is messy and loud and full of surprises. It means muddy paw prints, torn-up toys, chewed-up socks, barking at the delivery truck, and rearranging your life around potty breaks and walks. It means early mornings, skipped plans, and constant management — not because your dog is being difficult, but because they’re a dog living in a confusing human world. You’ll lose sleep. You’ll get frustrated. You’ll spend money. You’ll feel like you’re raising a toddler who never grows up — because in many ways, you are.

But you’ll also get something rare: the chance to build a lifelong partnership rooted in trust, not control. A relationship where two entirely different species can thrive together through patience, understanding, and mutual respect.

Having a dog is hard work. It’s a responsibility. It’s an agreement to show up — even when it’s inconvenient, even when it’s hard. But if you’re doing it right, it will also be one of the most meaningful relationships of your life. You don’t just get a dog. You become someone’s person. That is no small thing. 🐕

04/08/2025

Got to love a happy follow up! Dog and people’s needs met=harmony❤️🐾

“Hi!
Things with duke have been terrific. Hes been happier and friendlier. Ive been working on making more games and ways to treat him that get his brain working, and get him outside more.
Its really like we have him back again and its been so exciting.
Hes eager to see me to in the morning and evenings.
Its just been so much better in every way.
Thank you so much”

04/07/2025

April break is fast approaching for those of you with school aged kids and those who teach. How do you plan to have your dogs’ lives enriched with or without you over the break?

Over February break, while their people were out of town, I got the privilege of spending the days with long term clients and extended dog family Guinness & TJ! It was too icey for outdoor fun, but we played training games, sniffy games, relaxed together, and did lots of puzzles. The best part of my work is developing lasting and trusting relationships with dogs and their families. ❤️🐾