Building Bonds

11/02/2026

🎉🎉🎉Exciting Announcement! 🎉🎉🎉

Dr. Hilden is presenting with Kim Silver of Building Bonds.

Kim, a Fear Free trainer, speaks with Dr. Hilden, your Caring Ways Fear Free veterinarian, about how they work together to help your dog love going to the vet and why creating a low-stress veterinary experience for your dog is so important.

See the attached flyer for details and more information. November 11th at 9:00 am. GVR East Center Auditorium.

10/31/2026

Congratulations to all our graduates today: Buster, Maia, Spooky, Dulci, Julio, Teddy and Tikal! Spooky celebrated Halloween with his festive spooky ghost costume!

10/26/2026

We had a blast on the last day of our Novice Parkour class! We got to practice the skills outdoors, which is where Parkour is meant to be done! The humans worked on their Parkour eye - the ability to see objects in the environment as obstacles. Walks will never be the same again for these pups when so many things present an opportunity to practice their skills!

10/25/2026

Congrats to today's Puppy Kindergarten Level One grads, Luca and Emma!

10/24/2026

10/22/2026

Klimb & Chill starts Sunday, November 1st at noon! There are two spots left.

You do NOT need to own a Klimb platform to work on this skill at home. You can use a mat, a towel, a bed, or anything else that gives your dog a place to chill. I will also share some ideas for a cheap DIY raised platform.

Whether you want a dog who can chill on their platform while you cook dinner, greet guests without chaos, hang out while you’re working, or simply learn some serious self-control, this class will give you practical skills you can use every day!

Over five weeks, your dog will learn to:
-Happily get onto their platform
-Relax and settle while staying on station
-Stay put while you move around
-Ignore distractions like people, dogs, food, toys, and activity
-Practice real-life situations like guests arriving and doors opening
-Build focus, impulse control, and confidence

Register at this link - https://portal.busypaws.app/customers/building-bonds?booking_id=2198314

10/16/2026

🛹 Meet Julio, rolling into parkour class like a pro! 😎

Building confidence, exploring new challenges, and having a blast on his skateboard. Parkour may include jumping and climbing but it’s mostly about movement, problem-solving, body awareness, and building skills at your dog’s own pace.

Way to go, Julio! ❤️🐾

10/14/2026

Sundays @12 PM starting November 1st.

Does your dog think stay means “stay… until something more exciting happens?”

Welcome to Klimb & Chill, a fun five-week class where your dog learns to hop onto a raised platform, settle in, and confidently stay there—even when the world around them gets interesting!

We’ll turn the platform into your dog’s very own “place to be” while building skills that are incredibly useful in everyday life. You’ll learn how to teach duration, distance, and distractions in a positive, game-like way.

Over five weeks, your dog will learn to:

Happily get onto their platform
Relax and settle while staying on station
Stay put while you move around
Ignore distractions like people, dogs, food, toys, and activity
Practice real-life situations like guests arriving and doors opening
Build focus, impulse control, and confidence
Take their new stationing skills home and put them to work
Don’t have a Klimb? No problem! You can still join the fun. I’ll provide options for suitable alternatives to use at home, so you can participate fully without having to purchase a Klimb.

Whether you want a dog who can chill on their platform while you cook dinner, greet guests without chaos, hang out while you’re working, or simply learn some serious self-control, this class will give you practical skills you can use every day.

Come for the Klimb. Stay for the chill.

10/14/2026

What Does Reactivity Really Mean? That’s a good question! Depending on where you look, there are many different definitions of the term. If we look at the research on emotion, one definition of reactivity comes from the concept of affective style, originally developed by Richard Davidson. Affectiv...

09/30/2026

What do your dog walks look like?

There is no standard for what a leash walk should look like.

In one clip, my dog is walking beautifully beside me.

In the next, my scent hound is completely absorbed in a scent trail, nose to the ground, following information that I can’t even begin to detect.

And you know what? Both are good walks.

A leash walk is not a performance, and it doesn’t have to look the same from one dog to the next.

Breed, temperament, comfort level outside the home, physical abilities and individual preferences all matter. So does the environment.

Did it rain?

Is it 90 or 60 degrees?

Are we on pavement or dirt?

Are there kids getting dropped off at school, bikes and scooters flying by, buses, cars, dogs, construction or a million other things happening around you?

All of those things change what your dog is capable of doing in that particular moment.

So please don’t compare your leash walk with your dog to someone else’s leash walk with theirs.

That comparison is a recipe for frustration and can set you up to think you’re doing something wrong when your dog is simply being your dog in that moment.

Instead, work with the dog who is actually at the end of your leash.

Every walk.
Every environment.
Every moment.

Sometimes that might look like a beautiful, connected walk beside you.

Sometimes it might look like stopping to sniff for five minutes.

Sometimes it might mean giving your dog more space, changing directions, slowing down or heading home.

The leash walk is dynamic.

There is no one “right” way for it to look.

The goal isn’t to make every dog walk the same.

The goal is to help your dog navigate the world successfully, safely and comfortably.