The Real Life Dog

04/15/2026

Feeling like someone needs to read this today…
Congratulations on your new pup 🥰 Thank you for giving someone a home!

A few notes to consider:
When you bring a new dog into the home, they NEED to get to know you and their new space BEFORE you start taking them all over creation, into stores, around lots of other dogs & people like a group walk or a dog park or event. And please limit guests to only those super trusted friends/family who understand that your pup gets to approach them, they don’t approach your new dog.

Let’s take the pressure off these dogs to fit into every single section of our world. WE are already comfy in that space, but your new pup needs time & it’s our job to make sure we make every environment as safe feeling & comfy as possible for them. Their new world can feel quite big and overwhelming.

Let’s help them by keeping things mellow and allowing them to take their time. What will help them most is creating a nice quiet area where they can be alone when they choose, as well as time & space to sniff, explore, and learn that YOU are their safety.

Our new dogs don’t need to go everywhere and meet everyone right away. Giving them a couple weeks to just learn you and their new space is a wonderful time to spend observing and trying things so we also learn our new pup. Enjoy those initial bonding moments and save the rest for later & please go slow. There’s literally zero reason to rush and taking this time now versus dealing with an overwhelmed pup is a ton easier!

If you need support with your new pupper, I’m here for you. Contact me anytime 626-673-7978 [email protected] or DM on IG or FB.

NEW classes coming soon to Taos, NM & online sessions Thursdays 5pm Pacific/6pm Mtn/8pm Eastern only $49/month. Contact me for info & to sign up!

Vinney The Whippet

02/12/2026

Say hi 👋 to the beautiful, kind, Gater!

Gater was the most feral dog who was living with a dozen other dogs on Straight Arrow (a road in Taos County, NM known for stray, abandoned, wandering dogs). She humanely trapped herself while I was just starting out with . We had to let her go for lack of space, then she did it again, so we created an extra space for her and brought her in to the rescue life.
Gater hated being by herself and wouldn’t even look at us, hiding in the corner as small as she could make herself. We eventually humanely trapped one of her sisters and kept them together, which helped a lot.

Feral dogs are not the average pup and they often require an extended amount of time to help them figure out how to feel safe around humans. Gater is no exception. She’s been in rescue for over 600 days and is still getting the hang of being touched, asking for pets, making choices, and feeling ok with a leash attached.

Gater is such a special girl, the very sweetest, loves to play with her sisters, loves learning new tricks and confidence boosting exercises, and is food, toy, & kind interaction motivated. She loves her routine and her trusted 3 people, and is really well-behaved & so much fun!

If you or someone you know is looking for their next best pup family member, has a fully fenced yard, familiar with semi-feral, fearful dogs & helping them feel safe, and can bring in a new dog who needs a lot of decompression time without expectations, please reach out to Taos Hound Underground at 575-613-3066. Gater’s potential adopter would be able to spend plenty of time with her before deciding to adopt her and would receive 5 FREE sessions with me and a lifetime of behavior support and Taos Hound Underground would, of course, take her back for any reason for the rest of her life.

Please share Gater and help me find the very best person for her! She really is so so sweet and ready to expand her world ♥️🐕♥️

***We can transport just about anywhere, but Gater’s initial meetups must be in Taos.

07/22/2025

Our words will always matter ♥️

07/13/2025

Pretty cool stuff! Our dog’s noses are crazy powerful ♥️

Dogs are truly heroes—not that you needed any convincing.

06/24/2025

Tell me you’re a 🎾 addict without telling me you’re a 🎾 addict.

I see this a lot in pups who carry, chew, or play with tennis balls or tennis ball material covered toys.

Just one more reason to prevent obsessive play or chewing of 🎾s. Those little brown spots are the insides of this dog’s canines and could eventually cause some serious pain.

It can look like a ton of fun and we might think chasing a ball over and over again is good exercise and wears our dogs out. That old saying, “A tired dog is a good dog,” is just that…old. We know more, now, that actually makes that statement obsolete.

I try to focus on a balance of brain + body exercise so there’s a lower chance of injury and higher chance of my pup learning something or building his brain muscles just as much as his body muscles. He doesn’t get that toddler, “I’m so overtired but I don’t want to sleep so I’m just going to have a hard time and get angsty on you until I can rest.” behavior thing that body overtired dogs can get.

Anyway, if your pup is looking a little cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs for a 🎾, consider changing it up, lowering (not increasing for satiation cuz it never comes) the amount of throws, adding some stepping up, standing still on a platform, lowkey tug or tricks, swap the ball for something softer, etc. Teaching our pups how to just be, to do nothing, to relax on a mat can also be super helpful. Something a little less intense and repetitive 👍 You got this 🤩

And if you don’t feel like you’ve got this, DM me and let’s chat. You can also head over to for her Magic Mat info! It really works and Sarah is fantastic 🥳

Oh, and consider having those teeth checked by your favorite vet 🥰

06/13/2025

had a good time working out what to do on the hamster steps. He figured out how to walk up each little step and it was so dang cute! He did a little backing up onto them, too, which was quite impressive.

He moved over to his Adirondack chairs then decided the loveseat was a nice place to rest for a bit 🥰 Then it was time for dinner 👍

Vinney is such a fun boy and I love that I can throw anything down and he finds something to do with it 🤓

Hamster steps 🤣

What object do you want Vinney to try next? Let me know in the comments 👇 or DM.

06/08/2025

A couple things I got out of Covid times:
•opportunities to observe dog body language cuz y’all posted a gazillion dog videos.
•the ability to create dog fun out of literally cardboard, take out containers, a piece of paper, just about anything…ANY. THING.

Late last year, I started working at (groomer/doggy daycare) and I have had so much fun integrating some of my favorite things like the Klimbs and my body language skills in order to help each pup have a positive and fun experience while with us.

Because it’s not a training job, where I’m expected to teach dogs things, it’s pleasantly surprising and exciting when they show me something new. Like Finn and Cooper automatically stepping up onto the Klimbs in photo 2. So fun!

Late 2023, I started a dog hostel/rescue that has added humane trapping & foster support. I’m using my skills every single day with the dogs in our care. It’s super cool to see them building confidence as they learn tricks that are actually really nice behaviors that translate to everyday living with humans 💞

I still do training but am limited to online classes right now. In Trick Squad today, we chatted about all sorts of fun, but ended with a nice challenge to teach a pivot. I teach it using individual tricks then chain those tricks together. First two tricks are step up and nose target.

Pretty sure those who have followed my account for any length of time know I LOVE to find the most off the wall stuff for my boy to step on, balance on, back up onto, jump over. The lower the cost, the better! Talking to you, enthusiasts.

Today, I found some hamster steps at ! You guys! Hamster steps! 🤣

Let’s see how this goes 😬 I’m so lucky my dog is as nerdy as I am when I bring crazy things home ♥️

Have you tried using weird things to offer dog fun? Comment below👇



1. Vin on a kids chair
2. Finn & Cooper on Klimbs
3. My weirdo cat, Swish, on a dog cot
4. Nadia on an upside down water trough
5. The hamster steps!

04/13/2025

Why are we (dog trainers) STILL recommending and using harnesses that cut into the pits and cut across the shoulders? Especially those of us who truly understand how discomfort & pain affect our pups?

Of course, safety is a big factor, especially with a dog who pulls and is big & strong. Ticking both the comfort & safety boxes is super important, so how do we do that?

Haven’t we been doing that for decades while also promoting pain free training? Why would it be any different for what a dog wears while walking? We come down hard on prongs and shocks/e-collars because of the fallout we know to be true. Why is it different for harnesses that cause discomfort and hit some very sensitive areas on our dogs?

The ONLY two reasons I can think of for using a harness that isn’t comfortable for a dog is for control of their movement/suppressing behaviors and accessibility/cost prohibitive. Right? If we claim it’s for safety of a dog’s person because the dog is big & strong, thats still using a tool in order to suppress behaviors. Let’s say it like it is. True, it can be extremely dangerous for anyone to be pulled by a dog, I’m not saying anything different. I’m just saying that if that’s the reason, then we need to admit we are suppressing behavior by the use of an uncomfortable piece of equipment.

The first 3 photos are of solid, strong, powerful dogs wearing a comfortable and safe harness and not pulling even though one is reactive, one is a young puppy, and one wants to chase everything that moves. It’s not that it can’t be done or taught.

The last 2 photos are of two very popular harnesses used on just about every dog in my local area and highly recommended and sold by trainers. I make no apologies for saying we need to do better before recommending products that do the exact opposite of what we stand for (or claim to stand for in some cases-again, not sorry).

I’ll be at TAOS JAVA today from 10-12 with my dog Vinney The Whippet’s harness if you’d like to check it out and discuss a different way of having better walks and offering our pup’s more comfort and less suppression.

DM me if you’re not local and want more discussion.

03/11/2025

I’ve noticed a small, subtle behavior change in Vin over the last few months and was thinking it was discomfort or pain either from his teeth or his lower back. Did the vet visit and he got a clean bill of health except for gum recession above his upper incisors, requiring dental x-rays and dental at some point. Doesn’t seem to be causing pain, however.

Yesterday, he was able to join in on a case study for a friend studying Osteopathy. She located his pain source and we are starting on a solution. He already is moving better and his back, pelvis, and hips are moving nicer and I can tell he feels a bit better.

I talk about health effecting behavior in us and our dogs all the time…Vinney is a great example of this. My friend asked me what I wanted for my dog and the first thing that came out of my mouth, without thinking, “I want him to be comfortable.” And then, of course I cried and shared that I hate that he’s in pain and my desire to remove that pain so he can feel better.

Here I am, again😬, encouraging us all to pay attention to behavior change as it coincides with a possible body change, underlying health issue, or injury. Many of the clients I work with explain behaviors that could very well be due to changing health, growing, aging, or injury. Sometimes, traumatic for the dog events.

When it’s clear pain or discomfort in a dog’s body is present, it’s so wise to seek veterinary care first, before trying to train the behavior change out of our dogs. Listening to their bodies and what their body language/behavior is telling us is a wonderful gift we have full control over.

Here’s Vin enjoying a big duck neck after visiting our friend and the rest of his night of relaxation 🥰

12/29/2024

Here’s your friendly reminder that food deprivation in order to achieve behavior change is animal cruelty.

Using food as a lure to help get a pup started with learning a new skill is not deprivation. Using food as a reward for something well done is not deprivation. Using food to reinforce behaviors we love is not deprivation.

Withholding food until a dog is so hungry they’ll do anything for food is deprivation. Giving only a small portion of food to keep the dog hungry so they appear eager to train is deprivation. A dog visibly losing weight during a board n train because the “trainer” only offers food during “training” sessions is deprivation. Making a dog stay in one place, not allowing them to move, tethered to the wall, setting them up to fail by calling them over for food that they are desperate for, and shocking them when they try hopelessly to get to the food is deprivation. And all of that is cruel. All of it.

If your trainer or board n train is telling you to feed only a very small portion of your dog’s regular meal so they’re extra hungry for sessions, ask them why that’s necessary. If they are only luring with food but not rewarding with food, ask them why. If your dog is at a board n train who uses food to coerce behavior change, ask for photos every day. A full body side view and from the top so you can see any visible changes. If you’re not sure about methods of behavior modification prior to dropping your dog off, ask a lot of questions and if you don’t get answers that make science sense, do more research prior to dropping your precious pup off. You’re paying big money for this service, your dog deserves to be treated with understanding, compassion, knowledge, and kindness…not cruelty.

Once I receive the okay to share my top two board n trains, I’ll edit this post. In the meantime, a couple green flags:
•clear and regular communication including photos/videos
•clear understanding of methods and tools used with your dog (positive reinforcement, fear free, force free, welfare focused, punishment, e-collar/shock collar, martingale, harness, flat collar, slip lead, prong collar, etc)

Discuss in the comments.