Dogology WNY Training and Behavior

06/20/2026

Drop in for a sniff tomorrow morning 🐾 Link in the comments to register.

06/18/2026

06/17/2026

🌿🐾 Weekend Outdoor Sniff Sessions! 🌿🐾
🐾🌿 (aka drop in classes) 🐾🌿

🐾 All experience levels welcome
🐾 Great mental enrichment
🐾 Fun for both ends of the leash

Come sniff, search, and explore with us! Spots are limited, so be sure to register soon.

🐕🌳

06/17/2026

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06/15/2026

Improvement does not occur in the presence of constant overwhelm. Dogs can't learn how to cope if they are busy trying to avoid the things that are scary. The avoidance will be the way that they learn to copy.

Busy neighborhoods are rich in triggers: unpredictable movement, proximity to unfamiliar dogs and people, noise, and limited ability to create distance. For a reactive patient, this results in repeated activation of the stress response.

When a dog is consistently over threshold:

▶️Sympathetic arousal increases
▶️Cognitive function is impaired so your dog can't learn the behaviors that you are trying to teach
▶️Defensive behaviors are reinforced through repetition without you doing anything except continuing to walk your dog

This is not exposure therapy nor is it desensitization. It is training your dog to BE REACTIVE.

Each reaction strengthens neural pathways associated with threat detection and response. Over time, the behavior becomes more efficient, more intense, and more easily triggered.

Progress happens where the brain is able to process and learn—not where it is in survival mode. If we want different behavior, we have to change the conditions in which behavior occurs.

06/13/2026

Hot off the research press - presented by at the 2026 Veterinary Behavior Symposium in Seattle this week!

CONCLUSIONS:
Preliminary results of our study indicate that Reconcile - the FDA reviewed veterinary formulation of fluoxetine may have advantages in treating behavior problems in dogs without food allergies over generic fluoxetine, particularly among dogs that have not demonstrated improvement on fluoxetine.

Ask your veterinarian about switching to Reconcile.

06/13/2026

The field of dog training and behavior is not regulated like many other professions… anyone can be a dog trainer. It can be frustrating at times for dog professionals, and dangerous for clients! Click through to see what to look for in a dog trainer or behavior consultant 🐾

06/12/2026

Start getting ready now 🎆 July 4th Weekend will likely be a rough one for dogs this year 😕

06/11/2026

A new session of Brewery & Patio Manners is starting soon!

We have ONE spot left in the “Lite” Class! This class is a smaller group and shorter class time, perfect for dogs and humans just getting their paws wet in a public manners setting.

Click the link in the comments to sign up!

06/09/2026

We’ve spent hundreds of years selectively breeding dogs for specific, functional purposes—herding livestock, guarding property, retrieving game, flushing birds, chasing prey. These behaviours aren’t quirks or bad habits. They are deeply embedded traits, intentionally developed through generations of careful breeding. We designed them.

And yet, once these dogs enter our homes, we often expect them to simply turn those behaviours off. But these aren’t training issues. These are instincts—as deeply rooted in these dogs as our own need to sleep, eat, or breathe.

When we adopt or buy a dog from working lines—dogs whose parents and grandparents were selected specifically for traits like focus, stamina, drive, and intensity—we’re not just getting a blank slate. We’re getting a dog bred with drive. And when that drive has nowhere to go, it doesn't disappear—it gets redirected. Often into behaviours we call “problematic,” but in reality, they are simply misunderstood.

These dogs aren’t badly behaved. They’re frustrated.

People often say, “I’m really active, I want a high-energy dog.” But here’s the reality: most people’s idea of "high energy"—a daily walk, weekend hikes, maybe a jog—is actually a better match for the lowest energy dogs.

In contrast, dogs bred for work—are operating on a different level entirely. Their energy is not only physical but mental. They don’t just want to move—they want to solve problems, track scents, watch movement, control environments. They were bred to work all day, often in difficult conditions, without tiring or losing focus. And the average active human can’t begin to meet those needs without serious dedication, structure, and consistency.

We need to stop thinking that we can out-exercise or out-train genetics. Because behaviour is not a simple choice. It’s biology. It’s instinct. They are behaving exactly as they were built to.