Sometimes There's Side Eye

This week we are talking about finding a trainer who is familiar with your dog’s breed and the breed’s behaviors. Sometimes behaviors are typical or even expected in certain breeds, which is important to understand. We also talk about the importance of trainers having a robust repertoire of skills, rather than just one solution for every “problem.” We even talk through why we enjoy training for dog sports and the benefits we see from it.

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This week we are talking about how environment can effect your dog’s behavior. So often dogs are very comfortable in their homes, but may act really different in new or different environments. Recently Trin and Heather took a trip to compete at a barn hunt event. That event looked very different than what she typically experiences at her home town events. This brought up some unexpected behaviors, which sparked this conversation. We also talk through trigger stacking in dogs, what recovery looks like and how to support your dog in novel environments.

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This week we are talking about patterns. We are addressing when recognizing patterns in your dogs behavior and preferences can be benefitional. We've both seen several examples of this in our own dogs as well as other dogs. For example, Trin does not appreciate dogs towering over her. Jaxon likes to meet strangers at his own speed. Recognizing patterns can help us advocate for our dog in a variety of ways and help us prevent behaviors we don't want to see and encourage behaviors we want to continue. You can use patterns to customize your dogs training and enrichment and provide them a more fulfilled life.

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This week we are talking about Heather's favorite subject - puppies! Kristi recently puppy sat for a few days prompting this conversation. Heather talks about what she loves about puppies, and Kristi talks through why she loves adult dogs. We talk a lot about advocating for the existing dogs in your home. This can show up in a variety of ways like management, enrichment, training, separate activities, scheduled breaks, etc. We also talk about how much you can tell about a puppy at such a young age. For example, Trin's breeder knew within weeks that she was going to be Heather's puppy. Kristi talks about the toy drive, confidence, and curiosity she saw when puppy sitting. We also talk about the kindness and understanding that we show puppies that does not always transfer to adult dogs in the same way. Are you a fan of puppies or do you gravitate more to adult dogs?

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This week is all about positivity! We are celebrating the wins when it comes to our dogs. Everything from making medical decisions with love, to how we train and live with our dogs. Heather talks about how she built toy drive and how her recall work paid off recently. Kristi talks about he experience building food drive, as well as recognizing when a dog feels a tool is aversive even if the tool is not traditionally considered adversive. We also talk about being proud of your dog in situations most of us take for granted. Additionally, we both agree that sharing positivity is the best! So when you see your friend or a fellow competitor putting in the work with their dog or doing something well go ahead and tell them what a great job they're doing.

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In this episode we are walking through a recent conversation with friends about acquiring an additional dog. This conversation lead us to discuss genetic traits, breed traits, and personality. Additionally we talk through what a dog being AKC registered means, and if that’s enough. We also reflect on our own growth over the years, which has lead to more curiosity and less judgement.

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In this episode we are talking about what we would tell our younger self (all dog related of course). Our goal is always to grow and better ourselves as we age and so we wondered what who we are today would say to the person we were in our 20's. Although we didn't discuss our ideas before recording, much of our advice was complimentary and centered around caring less about what people think, while still caring deeply about people. We talk about giving grace to others, not being so opinionated, and the joy of finding positive people you can count on. Join us as we talk through some solid advice for our younger selves and maybe learn from our experiences.

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This week we are talking about the "save them all" and "no kill" movements.  We are addressing what risks come along with these movements and how that affects the communities we live in.  We also talk about the idea of save them all versus the reality of save them all.  Where do the aggressive dogs go?  How do we keep our community safe?  Additionally, we address how saving dogs who are not fit for adoption either leads to a dog living out it's life in a kennel with low to no quality of life, or it leads to a dog who is adopted out and puts humans and/or other animals at risk.  These types of placements can and often do have long term consequences that indirectly put more dogs at risk when the community does not feel safe adopting dogs who need homes.

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The Perils of Placing Marginal Dogs by Trish McMillan

Losing Lulu - Behavioral Euthanasia Support

This week we are talking about the idea of mandatory spay and neuter. We are talking through the pitfalls of mandating spay and neuter as well as ideas to help reduce unwanted animals in our community. We all agree that there are too many animals in rescue, and the reason they end up there can vary drastically. If we require all dogs to stop breeding it may help current populations, however it will eliminate future dogs all together. We would have to be banking on some people not following the law to provide future generations of dogs, which creates additional concerns. We talk about mandatory licensing for breeders, and have a very real and unfiltered disagreement in the usefulness of this idea. However, we both agree both financial and educational resources are needed for our communities.

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This week we are talking about setting you and your dog up for success in new experiences. Jaxon and Kristi recently went on their first kayak trip and Trin and Heather are preparing for their first trip in the next week. We talk through what preparation looked like for each of us, and what we are doing to support each dog during the new experience. Although it's impossible to plan for every situation, we can prepare for most situations if we really think through things like weather, safety, how our dog learns, and even what things our dogs actually enjoy doing. We also talk through the benefits of building routines, so our dogs understand what's expected even in new situations. Supporting our dogs in the moment is just as important as supporting our dogs through building routines and training/preparation.

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