Author Archives: Alissa Mosier, CPDT-KA

HELP! My Puppy is JUMPING!

How cute are puppies? And let’s be honest, we love that they love us, and want to see us, and want to see our friends and family. But, when that comes with jumping, it gets less adorable as they grow older, and bigger. But we have to acknowledge why your puppy is jumping. They areContinue reading “HELP! My Puppy is JUMPING!”

HELP! My Puppy is PULLING!

Let’s be honest, when puppies are little leash manners are not always a priority. They are small, it doesn’t hurt that much when they tug, they are easy to control and who wants to distract them when they need to pee. But, the fact is puppies do not come knowing how to walk on leash,Continue reading “HELP! My Puppy is PULLING!”

HELP! My Puppy is BITING!

The worst part of puppy hood is the little needle sharp teeth. I cannot wait for them to fall out and for their adult teeth to come in – except during that transition the puppies become little baby sharks who are seemingly out for blood. It is so frustrating. But for puppies, the biting isContinue reading “HELP! My Puppy is BITING!”

HELP! My Puppy is CHEWING!

I am going to let you in on a little secret – puppies chew, a lot. It helps with teething, it soothes them, it entertains them, it is a part of puppy development. The way human children explore their environment by sticking their hands in everything, puppies explore their environment by putting things in theirContinue reading “HELP! My Puppy is CHEWING!”

Relaxed or Hostage?

I recently saw a video of a trainer teaching relaxation, the dog was tethered to the ground, muzzled, and in both a prong and shock collar. The dog was trembling, any experienced dog person would recognize the tenseness, the stressed eyes, the trembling – it was the farthest thing from relaxed. Was the dog down? Yes. But was it relaxed? No.

Giving Thanks for a Prepared Dog

Thanksgiving is coming – it is my favorite holiday! Mainly because of the stuffing, but also because we get to gather with family, friends, and relax and enjoy some great food. Thanksgiving for the dogs can be tricky for the same reasons though: lots of temptation and not a lot of supervision, and sometimes wellContinue reading “Giving Thanks for a Prepared Dog”

Preparing for Halloween and Dogs

I love Halloween! I currently live in the country and no longer get trick or treaters and I miss it, I love seeing the costumes and talking to the kids and prepping fun things to hand out (pencils, slime, candy, etc!). When I lived in Albany it used to be a steady stream of kidsContinue reading “Preparing for Halloween and Dogs”

My Position on The American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior’s Training Position

The American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior has strengthened their position statement on training methodology and has come out to say they recommend reward based training methods only for training. You can read that position statement here. What does that mean in English? No shocks, no prongs, no mother’s bites, no choke chains, no “stim”Continue reading “My Position on The American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior’s Training Position”

Magdalina Conchetta Wrinkles

A few days before Halloween in 2019 a little hairless gremlin entered our lives. She was an emergency intake for a local rescue, and the only time I’ve brought home a dog without letting my husband know before hand. He should have known then he was in trouble. Hairless, smelling of yeast, bleeding, intact andContinue reading “Magdalina Conchetta Wrinkles”