Let's talk about bark collars.

This is one of the few dog training tools we do NOT recommend, and here are my top 3 reasons why....

3 years ago, I was contacted by the "owner" of this beautiful 9 year old Corgi, rightfully named Ginger. The woman was at her wits end and didn't know what to do.

The once "sweet and docile" Ginger was biting people (including the owner's new boyfriend), charging other dogs, guarding, dragging her down the street on leash, blowing her off when given any directives, and so on.

I expect more moments like this to pop up and hit me harder than a moving train.

When I had full jugs of water, I'd use them to help prop little Todd up. Eventually, I had to add a full box of recycling into the mix. My purse would prevent sliding.

Grief is funny.

I suppose we all grieve in different ways.

These last few years, grief has been a constant with all the loss.

My heart is just broken in a million pieces.

Little Todd is receiving his last red light therapy treatment.

He ate his last meal.

I washed his little bowl and his precious, food-caked face for the last time.

I've been….

Todd, aka the Todd-father, was found years ago in the BP Oil Spill.

He was cleaned up and left behind in a high kill rural Louisiana shelter.

This is, oftentimes, the most challenging part of "dog training."

For many reasons.

RIP Sam. I hope Chip was there to greet you and walk you Home.

As we move through behavioral training with folks, I can't tell you how many times we've heard how similar the principles are to child rearing.

And they're right.

With the exception of a few obvious things, yes. The principles are the same.

"Having a child" and *raising a child* are two different things.

Same with dogs.

It's important we…..

I share this as I'm working on my latest book, "The Human End of the Leash: Dog Training's Missing Link."

How we show up, the energy we're bringing into each space, whether or not we follow through, the words we speak, the thoughts we think, how we move in and occupy our space, etc. ... all is information, and all is information we're sending to our dogs (which impacts our level of relevance and what we begin to represent to them).

As Dr. Joe Dispenza says, "Thoughts are the language of the mind, and emotions are the language of the body."

No one is exempt from the experience of trauma, and there are varying degrees of this.

As I teach all my clients, "behavior is information."

And so is...

Not a dog post, but important nonetheless.

I've been following this particular Sanctuary for a while now. The difference they fight so hard to make on behalf of these horses is commendable. They do amazing, amazing work.... and need our help and support to do more.

How we humans have decided to "manage" wildlife is not ethical, moral, just, or kind. It's just disgusting.

This mindset that we "own" any land is troubling. Regardless of if we paid for it. We don't own it. The land, the earth is not just here for us... for our profits and pleasure. It's to support all of life.

We're supposed to be stewards of the planet and of the other forms of life on the planet, and we've failed. Miserably.

Round ups are brutal, incredibly traumatic for the horses, and totally unnecessary.

Biden's first GSD, Major, had a major biting problem (pun intended). He was sent away for training more than once, but the problem persisted. Finally, he was given to friends and left the White House for good.

Then…..