Stacy's Wag'N'Train

06/14/2025

Want to polish up your dogs' manners and solve their behavior issues? I have openings for Private Lessons (and day training "Personal Trainer" sessions) in June and July!

See www.wagntrain.com for more information!

06/13/2025

This is an old video, but I love how 4Paws University with Lisa Mullinax CDBC breaks down her dog's body language to show some of the subtle ways that he indicates that he is not, in fact, "fine" with the actions of the baby.

Dogs show many warning signs around children before bites occur, yet many people think the dog is "fine" until it is too late. Here, my own dog is exhibiting...

06/13/2025

Happy Friday! Here's We Rate Dogs' Dogs of the Week!

06/13/2025

Brandy the looks like a pretty happy-go-lucky dog here, but she’s actually terrified of her foster “dad”. She is picky about food treats and won’t take them from even the hand of her beloved foster “mom”, so this makes any training program, even a simple Desensitization and Counter Conditioning program, all the more challenging. I’m still hoping we can do that D/CC, of even better yet, D/OC (Desensitization and Operant Conditioning, since Classical Conditioning will come along for the ride!) - and maybe also find her a foster home that she is already much more comfortable in!

06/12/2025

This fundraiser for Humane Society Silicon Valley goes through this Friday, 6/13!

(I wish I'd known about it when I ate there on Monday!)

06/12/2025

Iranian morality officials want to ban dog-walking in public throughout that country

The government regards pet dogs as a sign of Western cultural influence. They are also considered impure, in Islam. Now there is a crackdown.

06/12/2025

I love all my pugs and Frenchies and other flat-faced dogs - but I wish they had healthier lives and longer lifespans, on average. I hope this influences breeders - and buyers - all over.

🐾 A Historic Win for Dog Welfare in the Netherlands! 🇳🇱🐶

"Short-nosed pedigree dogs can finally breathe a sigh of relief."

On June 4, 2025, the Amsterdam District Court ruled that the Dutch kennel club, Raad van Beheer, must stop issuing pedigrees for 25 flat-faced dog breeds unless there is proof of legal, welfare-compliant breeding.

These breeds — including French Bulldogs, Pugs, Boxers, Shih Tzus, and more — are often bred with excessively short snouts, causing lifelong health issues like:
🔹 Breathing difficulties
🔹 Eye and dental diseases
🔹 Skin fold infections
🔹 Hernias and birthing complications

📣 “That pedigree wrongly gives buyers the idea that they are buying a healthy dog,” said Dr. Kelly Kessen from Dier&Recht, the animal rights organization that filed the complaint.

From now on:
✔ Pedigrees can only be issued if both parent dogs meet minimum muzzle-length standards, confirmed by a vet.
❌ If they don't, no pedigree will be granted.
💶 A fine of €2,500 per unlawful pedigree will be enforced.

This landmark ruling sets a new legal and ethical precedent and we hope it will inspire similar action across Europe to protect the health and welfare of dogs over harmful appearance-based breeding.

📄 Full verdict (PDF):https://www.dierenrecht.nl/sites/default/files/2025-06/vonnis.pdf
📢 Press release: https://www.dierenrecht.nl/persberichten/rechtbank-verbiedt-misleidende-stamboomhandel

🛑 It's time to put health before looks — no dog should suffer for fashion.

06/11/2025

Every time your dog gets a chance to react in the “old way”, he or she wears that path deeper into his or her memory. We want to not only build a new path, but we want the old path to get “grown over” and disappear entirely from the mental map.

I cannot stress this enough – if you can’t practice the training, practice avoidance.

As Dr. Robert Epstein says, “Behavior is never unlearned – under certain conditions (including extinction, stress, and frustration), it will recur.”

Henry David Thoreau said, “As a single footstep will not make a path on the earth, so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind. To make a deep physical path, we walk again and again. To make a deep mental path, we must think over and over the kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives.”

06/10/2025

Nessa belongs to an old friend of mine, someone who knows a lot about training dolphins but needs some help with her newly-adopted dog who barks at a lot of things - people passing by the house, other dogs she encounters on walks, and more. I’m reminded that one of the advantages we had as dolphin trainers is that when the training session was done, we could just walk away - and not have to worry about the dolphins getting on the bed, peeing on the guest-room rug, or charging at our guests!

06/10/2025

Today’s Training Tip Tuesday is all about the upcoming “fireworks season”! Did I say “upcoming”? Well in my neighborhood we’re hearing a few booms and bangs almost every night (despite the fact that they’re illegal, and we’re already in fire season….). If you haven’t already, it’s time to start preparing your dog NOW. Preparations could include talking to your vet about anti-anxiety medication, finding a way to escape or muffle the noise, and concentrating on a desensitization/counter-conditioning program.

See https://www.wagntrain.com/training-resources-stacys-training-tips-independence-day/ (or through the link in the bio) for how to help your dog!