About Group Classes

by lennearbNo Comments
I welcomed new students to my classes this past Saturday. Every time I do that, I am reminded of the questions people have about classes, including questions about what they can and cannot do for you. So here are some quick tips. Things Group Training Classes Can Do Provide a support community. Group training classes, especially age-based classes like puppy training, provide a great place to meet other people with similar experiences who can help you with issues you might be facing. Connect your dog with playmates. Especially in puppy classes and play-based classes, you may find a good play match for your dog, even if you don't have any in your circle of family and friends. You may even find someone you can meet up with outside of class. The class will be supervised, and the instructor will provide guidance about what to look for in safe dog play. For young dogs, this socialization experience is especially important. Provide a grounding in the...
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How I Got Here

How I Got Here

by lennearbNo Comments
My parents were visiting this weekend, and that got me thinking about a question I am asked fairly often: How did you become interested in working with multi-pet households? It's a question that I am never sure how to answer because I have never felt that it was something I became interested in, but rather, that I was born into. When I was born, my parents' household consisted of three dogs and a cat. One dog and a cat were my mother's from before their marriage, while one dog was my father's. They had rescued the third dog when they found her running loose in a grocery story parking lot. While these animals were a story of integration themselves, throughout my childhood, the animal composition of our household changed several times. As exciting or painful as each change was in itself, every change also necessitated a process of integration help new and resident animals adjust to new routines. During my childhood, I was...
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5 Bad and 5 Good Reasons to Expand Your Family

by lennearbNo Comments
"Should I get my cat another cat?" a friend of mine asked me today. "I worry that he's bored." That question, and this weekend's upcoming Sliding Into Home event at the Washington Humane Society, has me thinking about when, how and why we expand our (animal) families, and when, how and why we should. 5 Bad Reasons: Some of these reasons can be fine as a secondary reason to get a new pet, but they fall short as a primary reason. Fluffy (or Fido) wants a friend. Let's start with the idea that began this post. Sure, it's easier to add a new pet to your home if your existing pet(s) get along well with others. However, new pets add new (and often unforeseen) complications to relationships between both pets and people. You need to be ready to deal with these changes, as well as the training, medical and emotional needs of your new pet. It'll teach the kids responsibility. Would you trust...
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