Taking the Lead Dog Training

05/25/2026

❤️🤍💙🇺🇸

04/29/2026

Here’s a PSA on behalf of all dogs.

Stop correcting your dog for sniffing.

Stop it. Please.

How would you like it if I corrected you for looking around a room? Imagine if you raised your head to look around a new place and I popped you or shoved you or said “HEY! PAY ATTENTION TO ME” You’d get pretty upset pretty quickly I’d imagine.

Dogs don’t smell because they are ignoring you or being stubborn. We humans primarily depend on sight, but dogs use smell AND sight to assess their surroundings and communicate. People spend more time interpreting visual data than olfactory information. Dogs are just the opposite.

Dogs devote lots of brain power to interpreting smells. They have more than 100 million sensory receptor sites in the nasal cavity as compared to 6 million in people, and the area of the canine brain devoted to analyzing odors is about 40 times larger than the comparable part of the human brain. In fact, it’s been estimated that dogs can smell anywhere from 1,000 to 10,000 times better than people.

Scent gives information. Smelling is normal. Smelling is necessary and natural. Smelling is relaxing. Air scenting is HUGE for recovering reactive dogs. LET YOUR DOG SMELL!

Correcting a dog for sniffing is one of the worst things I watch people do. It’s another example of how controlling we try to be in our dogs lives. If you don’t want your dog to smell, teach him to focus on you instead for PART of the time, and then give other ample opportunities to smell. Walks on a long line on a dirt road or in a field for your dog to zig zag back and forth on to smell is MUCH healthier and more tiring for them as animals than trying to keep them within 6 feet of you on a neighborhood walk.

Please accept that smelling is normal and work WITH your dog on it, rather than just trying to suppress it. Just because that blade of grass or tree isn’t interesting to YOU doesn’t mean your dog deserves a correction. Who cares if you don’t walk the extra block - spend those 5 minutes on that one tree if you need to. Your dog doesn’t complain when you watch YouTube videos of kittens for hours or read the news or binge on Netflix, so let him get his scent binge in to.

Happy smelling pups!

- Helen St. Pierre

04/15/2026

Be BiteSmart is a program run by the Center for Canine Behavior Studies to educate kids about dog body language to help avoid biting.

03/18/2026

Clients and friends: let’s help advance the future for animals!

My colleague Spike is working towards the completion of an MSc in animal welfare and behavior at Penn Vet.

They are currently recruiting participants for a short (15 min) online survey that asks people to view videos of dogs and then rate measures related to each dog’s emotional state. It’s anonymous and anyone 18+ is eligible to participate.

I filled it out- it was short and easy, and fun for those of you who love learning dog behavior 🙂

The more participation, the better- Spike’s information is below if you have any questions! Just copy and paste the link into a web browser to get started.

[email protected]

https://upenn.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_cYiXwOzpds1srUG

Pic of my foster dog Labello, who’s looking for a home with other dogs to play with!

03/09/2026

18 years ago today I became a Certified Professional Dog Trainer! 🐾

Over the years I’ve had the honor of helping so many people build better relationships with their dogs. One thing I’ve learned along the way: being a dog trainer is really about being a people trainer. When people learn how dogs think, communicate, and learn, amazing things can happen.

I’m incredibly grateful for every client, every dog, and every lesson they’ve taught me along the journey.

02/22/2026

THIS ⬇️⬇️⬇️ is normal dog behavior! Zig zagging while walking is natural for dogs. So when it’s safe to do so, let them zig and zag to their hearts content!

My foster pup Labello does need training to learn to walk straighter, since that training keeps us both safe. But he’s still a baby, and there’s plenty of time for all that training and learning.

For now, he needs to just be a puppy! And do what feels natural to him.

He’s available for adoption thru ACCT Philly

02/21/2026

The snow is melted here in Pennsylvania with more on the way, so today’s the day to get your dogs out for a nice long walk! 

02/15/2026

How can dog trainers and behavior professionals have the most influence? By focusing on the people on the “team.”

This podcast episode with Behavior Works has great food for thought, and mentions resources like this book: https://amzn.to/4tCtWEf

“problem behavior is not inside the individual, it's in the environment”

listen: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/equiosity/id1357304644?i=1000749297334

Podcast Episode · Equiosity · 02/11/2026 · 32m

02/04/2026

“We need to know what the medical conditions are, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that treating that alone will solve the behavior problem,” says Gruen.

For example, noise phobia in dogs often gets worse with age, and this may be due to pain. “A dog who is a little bit afraid of fireworks or thunder, as they get older and have some joint pain, they tense the muscles when they hear it, it gets that much more painful, and that gets associated with the noise,” she says. So as well as treating underlying pain, behavior modification to break that association may be necessary. The same may be true for cats who associate the pain of a urinary tract infection or arthritis with their litter box.”

https://www.fearfreehappyhomes.com/pain-and-pet-behavior-learn-how-theyre-linked/?utm_source=ActiveCampaign&utm_medium=email&utm_content=See%20What%20s%20New%20With%20Fear%20Free%20This%20February%20🐾&utm_campaign=20250119_January%20Newsletter%20Shelters%20%28Copy%29&vgo_ee=s86CsvLcUAmhEEUrUjwe16BJs%2FbG%2Fu%2FyELPXvyH0MQ4MfthXXCM%3D%3A1XyDK%2BAxlpuOEQP%2FOCUpLzthsHDdMihk

01/23/2026

Look at the cool training happening at Deputy Dog!