The Good Behaviorist

EVERY dog parent’s dream: a pup whose recall is solid as a rock 💗. EVen in the woods; with all the scents and noises 😭. LOVE YOU Tingston 💕. You mom and dad are doing EVERYTHING right. No notes 🥸.

To all the women who nurture, protect, and love with their whole hearts: Happy Mother’s Day. ✨🌷

Today we honor all the incredible mothers who are teaching us about showing up with love every day. We’re holding a special place today for Sibi’s mom, who is navigating the beautiful, chaotic, and rewarding world of being a first-time dog mom. This bright-eyed, smart, ridiculously playful, and talkative little Husky lady couldn’t have picked a better person to be her family.

Happy Mother’s Day to every woman who loves unconditionally. 🐺✨💕

Meet Luigi. ⭐️ A silky terrier, a total love bug. 💗

Luigi suffers from deep, overwhelming anxiety. Noises, rapid movement, even shadows trigger his fearfulness right away.

And like any living creature in circumstances that feel hard to endure, he developed coping strategies to try to restore some sense of relief and control: startle bites, resource guarding, leash reactivity, and obsessive licking that sometimes leads to painful hotspots.

These aren’t “bad behaviors.” They are a dog doing his best to survive a world that feels terrifying to him. 💙

Before his family found me, they consulted two other ‚dog behaviorists’. One recommended throwing a can of pebbles next to Luigi every time he showed these behaviors (luckily his loving attentive parents knew right away that was very wrong and decided to seek second opinion). The other told them that Luigi would most likely never be able to roam freely inside his own home.
After just one session together we proved that wrong.

Luigi still has a journey ahead of him towards building confidence and learning that things he perceives as threatening are in fact safe. But his story compelled me to share something important:

If your dog has behavioral challenges, please vet the professionals you work with carefully. Ask if they are certified. Ask whether they aim to eliminate the behavior or resolve the underlying cause. Read their websites. Look for written confirmation they don’t use harmful tools like choke chains or dominance-based methods. Ask as many questions as you can, and follow common sense, paired with your gut feeling.
You are your dog’s only advocate. You both deserve someone with the skills, knowledge and compassion to help your pup genuinely heal, not someone who will retraumatize them in the process.

This post isn’t about convincing you to work with me. It’s about making sure whoever you choose truly deserves your trust. 🐾

📩 Have questions about your dog’s behavior? My DMs are always open.

Miss Sabrina Ballerina had a blast today with Pattern Games from the brilliant Leslie McDevitt 💗