Moon Dog Consulting and Services

11/06/2025

My Basics 101 virtual class is now open.

There is no age limit for this class.

11/05/2025

Would you do something for free?

Not likely, dogs are the same. Rewards don't always have to be food, they could be praise or doing an activity. Teaching with a reward-based system not only allows the dog to learn a little quicker, it also allows them to retain what they have learned for longer.

Reward-based methods aren't just for sunny days and easy dogs and puppies. They are for all dogs. And for all cats too, I might add.

11/05/2025

In between clients and I get a large visitor outside my office window..... 😁 This little girl is this year's calf, so she's only a few months old.

10/31/2025

Sniffing is a low-impact, low-cost and very valuable mental workout for dogs.

10/29/2025

Great News!!!!

Our Online Basics 101 Course is now open!

The online course is a 6 week program with a classroom interface. We meet virtually once a week for an hour. The class includes handouts, videos, and printouts to help you on your dog training journey.

This course is offered as a private class and starting in January will be offered as a group class.

The Basics 101 course sets the foundation and creates the building blocks for a well balanced life with your dog. Sign up today!

10/27/2025

*Preventing unwanted litters is a goal we all share—but it's time to rethink the surgical approach. Hysterectomies and vasectomies, which preserve hormonal balance, can safely be performed as early as 8 weeks of age, making dogs sterile without disrupting their natural hormones.

New peer-reviewed study published in Nature:

How a dog’s lifetime exposure to his own hormones (before being neutered) affects how well he handles aging and frailty later in life.

Study Background

• Frailty = when older dogs (and people) become weaker, less resilient, and more prone to illness and death.
• Most research looks at how to prevent frailty — this study looked at what makes some dogs bounce back better after frailty sets in.
• The focus was on the HPG axis — the hormonal system that produces testosterone and controls reproduction.

Key Findings

• Dogs neutered very young (before 2 years old) had:

o A much higher risk of death once they became frail.
o About 16% higher mortality for every small increase in frailty.

• Dogs kept intact longer (more than ~10 years) showed:
o No increase in mortality linked to frailty.
o Their hormones seemed to “buffer” the negative effects of aging.

• Each extra year of natural hormone exposure reduced frailty-related death risk by ~1%.

What It Means

• Hormones from the te**es may protect against the worst effects of aging later in life.
• Removing them too early could make dogs less resilient to age-related decline.
• Frailty isn’t just about getting old — it’s also shaped by early-life events like the timing of neutering.
• This supports a “life course” view: what happens early in life affects health decades later.

Why It Matters

• The study suggests timing of neutering might influence how well dogs age.

10/25/2025

10/24/2025

We will be here tomorrow! Come out and say hi!

10/24/2025

There is a new newsletter article out!

This article is one of thanks. Not only do I work with behavioral modification with domestic dogs, I also have worked with many species - most is captive situations. This story is of one of those captive animals, a red fox and when I met a wonderful person who has recently passed: Dr. Jane Goodall. Thank you Jane for what you have taught me and how you have shaped how I look at things today.

https://moon-dog.org/2025/10/23/have-you-ever-seen-a-fox-cry/

10/22/2025

10/20/2025

I don't share too many actual scientific papers, because I don't think most people read them. But this is a newer one that happens to be really good about scent work. It's worth at least a skim.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168159125003351?via%3Dihub&fbclid=IwdGRjcANjeABleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHmU7AgMO-nr7U-310P9tyvnLz_-c6abCtHc-EpuyT-TT-jhQc8ivZ7liIWH__aem_SOEZNdnB54Qgh_nm-5rujw

10/19/2025

This is a very good opportunity if you need any of the required vaccinations for your pup.

Please click the link to complete this form.