Is It Right for Your Dog? If your neutered male dog has persistent anxiety, fear-based reactivity, or physical slowing that hasn’t responded to traditional behavior modification from a qualified dog behaviorist and hasn’t responded to behavioral medication, a hormonal panel might be the missing link. Cautionary Note While it would be nice to think that…
The intention is to calm the dog. But dogs don’t process language the way we do. They aren’t evaluating the logical meaning of the sentence. Instead, they are reading the owner’s tone, body language, timing, and patterns. If the owner suddenly changes their voice, tightens the leash, or focuses intensely on the dog, the dog…
Misunderstood Forms of Dog Aggression Prefer listening? This blog post is also available as a podcast episode on the USA Dog Behavior Podcast. Aggression in dogs is one of the most misunderstood behavior problems I encounter. Most people think aggression always looks like growling, snapping, or biting over food or toys. But there are forms…
When I lost my own heart dog, a woman who ran a large and successful dog-sitting service in Dallas sent me a children’s book titled Dog Heaven by Cynthia Rylant. At that point in my life, I found it extremely comforting. Since then, I’ve sent this book to many people who have lost their dogs….
Prefer listening? This blog post is also available as a podcast episode on the USA Dog Behavior Podcast. When a family dog dies, the question almost always comes up: Do the other dogs in the house know what happened? This is part 1 of a 2-part series. In my next blog post I’ll talk about…
