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Essential Skills

Why the Best Trainers Always Go Back to Basics

Why the Best Trainers Always Go Back to Basics For those of you who aren’t familiar with the animal behavior industry, there’s a very well-known and influential trainer and consultant named Ken Ramirez who once said, “Advanced training is basic training done really well.” Even though this quote is well known and often repeated among animal behavior professionals, it also merits a lot more attention and consideration. We as humans are so eager to reach our goals and achieve expertise, but we often miss the fact that reaching goals and achieving expertise is accomplished by becoming fluent at the foundations.

January 5, 2026 No Comments

Essential Skills

How to Teach Your Dog to Calm Down

How to Teach Your Dog to Calm Down I would be remiss if I didn’t start this blog by stating how vital the skill of self-regulation is for our pets. The intensity and distress of a household in a constant state of hyperarousal is where I often feel the most imminent need to establish quick relief. The outcome of much of our dog’s behavior stems from adequate rest. Without the ability to calm and settle, pets are preventing themselves, and their families, from receiving quality rest, a cornerstone of health and wellbeing. How often do you look at a dog

December 29, 2025 2 Comments

A small, long haired, white dog sits inside of a cardboard box, which is on top of a small stack of similar boxes.

Essential Skills

7 Tips for Moving With Pets

7 Tips for Moving With Pets Big Change, Little Paws Moving is complicated. It can be exciting, and it can be terrifying. It can bring desired change and opportunity, and it also brings routine disruption, stress, and the unknown. My partner, our dogs, and myself have moved across the country multiple times in the last 15 years. Each move brought with it a new life stage, and new opportunities. And each move was stressful, whether we were excited or not. At this point, between my own moves, and helping clients through the moving process, I have some tips to share

December 22, 2025 No Comments

A fluffy brown and white dog looking into the camera while he relaxes on the bed.

Essential Skills

Navigating Transitions With Kids and Pets

Navigating Transitions With Kids and Pets This blog is coming at ya from Corinne: trainer, behavior consultant, former teacher, and (among many other things) mom of 3 (2 human, 1 fluffy). My dog is 9 and my kids are 3 and 5 years old and it feels like every 6 months we’re hitting a new milestone/struggle/personality trait/anything to make you laugh at yourself when you thought you had it all figured out. People. Having kids is hard. Not like oh, how do I keep them alive and what do I do with them when they misbehave, kind of hard but,

December 15, 2025 No Comments

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Enrichment

Set it and Forget it: Enrichment Strategies for Busy Times

Set it and Forget it: Enrichment Strategies for Busy Times Cover image courtesy of Sam Pierce (Dognitive Behavior and Training) Life sure is funny. It seems like just yesterday that I was talking to you about preparing the household for the transition of returning to school and here we are again, preparing for yet another transition. Holiday season, winter doldrums, arctic freeze, anyway you slice it, things are in the process of changing…again. And if you have been following us for any length of time, you will already know that we are particularly passionate about three things around these parts:

December 8, 2025 No Comments

A scruffy white and dark grey dog looking over the back of a car seat.

Essential Skills

8 Tips for Dogs Who Won’t Get in Cars

8 Tips for Dogs Who Won’t Get in Cars Years ago, I worked as a behavior consultant at an animal sanctuary. One of the skills that the facility thought was super important was for their dogs to feel comfortable getting into a car, to the point where it had a name: “car training.” It made sense; getting into a car is something that the average adopter assumes will happen. After all, how else will they get the dog to the vet clinic? Or, for that matter, home? So, as part of the behavior team, one of my duties was to

December 1, 2025 No Comments

Human Enrichment

This Isn’t a Normal Time. Let’s Talk About It.

This Isn’t a Normal Time. Let’s Talk About It. It’s dark out there. I mean both literally (hello, The Long Dark of Seattle) and figuratively. We had an entirely different topic slated for this blog post, but as I write it on October 31st, it feels tone deaf. So, I’m going a little off script in this one. Because, as Allie and I talked about recently on the podcast, the goal isn’t to sweep the darkness under the rug in the name of gratitude. We need to leave space for the dark to be, to exist, and to pass. The

November 24, 2025 No Comments

A grey dog with long, floppy ears sitting next to a human at a computer.

Behavior Problems

Troubleshooting Pet Behavior

Troubleshooting Pet Behavior: How to Work Smarter, Not Harder Arrgghhhh! What is going on?! Why is my pet doing this thing they’ve never done before?! Hang in there buddy, take a breath. You likely already have the skills to work through this– or at least to get you started on a plan. This blog’s all about troubleshooting, so get your thinking caps out for how this can work for you. We’re going to be drawing upon the skills, observations, and resources that you’ve already collected so you can work smarter, not harder, towards your goal. If you can take your

November 17, 2025 No Comments

Behavior Problems

Spicy Dogs, Big Lessons

Spicy Dogs, Big Lessons: Finding Gratitude in Daily Life With a Behavior Case Dog If you have read any of the blogs I have written, you have undoubtedly had to read through my many accounts with my highly opinionated, big-feels girl Olivia. I talk about her so frequently because so much of my life truly revolves around her. For me, my husband, and Olivia, certain aspects of our lives have to center around her for us to be able to cohabitate peacefully and still have life be fulfilling and enjoyable for all. We have to prioritize certain days, times, and

November 10, 2025 No Comments

Enrichment

The Ultimate Dog Foraging Roundup: Activities, Reasons, and Inspiration

The Ultimate Dog Foraging Roundup: Activities, Reasons, and Inspiration Before we get started on this roundup, let’s consult Canine Enrichment for the Real World (great book, have you heard of it!?) for some insight on foraging, shall we? Foraging is the act of searching for and working to obtain food. Dogs’ undomesticated ancestors foraged for their food, consuming just about anything that was edible. Feral dogs today are also expert foragers. Most pet dogs will forage if given the opportunity; almost every dog owner has experienced dogs who counter-surf, pre-wash dirty plates in an open dishwasher, and vacuum up the

November 3, 2025 No Comments

A group of people dressed like ghosts in a field with a dog.

Essential Skills

Tricks and Treats: A Not So Scary Guide to Surprising Reinforcers

Tricks and Treats: A Not So Scary Guide to Surprising Reinforcers It is once again upon us my friends; my favorite time of year. Yes, that’s right, it’s officially spooky season! I’m not going to pretend to be all adult about it either. Everything about this time of year makes me feel downright giddy. I love turning the lights down low, lighting the fire, snuggling under a comfy throw and watching spooky scenes unfold on a big screen. It might in fact surprise some of you to learn that I adore this time of year and not necessarily because the

October 27, 2025 No Comments

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Uncategorized

Return of the …

Return of the … : How to Vanquish The Recurring Monsters in Our Lives I have a confession: back when I was a vet tech I could be a little bit… judgmental. One of the things that would bring out my biggest judgmental feelings was when clients would stop doing something that worked because it worked and then when it would stop working because they stopped doing it, they would be upset, shocked, confused, and frustrated. Common scenarios included: “My cat’s infection started getting better so I stopped giving him the antibiotics but now the infection is coming back.” “My

October 20, 2025 No Comments

Why the Best Trainers Always Go Back to Basics

How to Teach Your Dog to Calm Down

7 Tips for Moving With Pets

Navigating Transitions With Kids and Pets

Set it and Forget it: Enrichment Strategies for Busy Times

8 Tips for Dogs Who Won’t Get in Cars

This Isn’t a Normal Time. Let’s Talk About It.

Troubleshooting Pet Behavior

Spicy Dogs, Big Lessons

The Ultimate Dog Foraging Roundup: Activities, Reasons, and Inspiration

Tricks and Treats: A Not So Scary Guide to Surprising Reinforcers

Return of the …

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