Are you still looking for the perfect gift for the dog lover in your life? Still looking for the perfect gift for a dog? Then look no further, listed below are some of my favorite recommendations! Please note, some of the links on this post are affiliate links, meaning I will make a small amount of money from each purchase at no additional cost to you! (Also note, some of these products are made to order so they will likely not make it to you before the holidays! Make sure you check delivery dates on these products!) For the avid outdoors person: High Tail Hikes is a fabulous woman owned comp ..read more

To start this post off, we'll tackle that title: what exactly are motivational states? One of the definitions of motivational states is: “… physiological internal states in the organism that play an important role in initiating behavior, selecting actions to perform, and orienting the actions to achieve desired goals”- Alarcón, 2021 Let's put that into layman's terms, shall we? Basically, motivational states make our animals more or less likely to perform certain behaviors or more or less likely to respond in certain ways to the environment. Motivational states are internal states that are eff ..read more

The concept of “stress” can be an abstract concept, but it has a very clear definition. Stress is the result of a triggering event that challenges an animal’s “status quo” and causes a physiological response that involves the release of stress hormones. The release of stress hormones prepares the body for “fight or flight”, kicking you into high gear to prepare for what might come next! The purpose of the stress response is to provide immediate energy to critical systems, and reduce the energy sent to systems that aren’t needed at the time; i.e. the animal experiences increased heart rate and ..read more

If your dog has ever growled at you, it's normal to be upset and concerned. And while we don't want our dogs to be growling, since it's a sign that something is wrong, one of the most important things to realize if your dog is growling is to NEVER punish them for it! First a note about this post: anywhere that you see "growling", you can substitute growling with any other warning signs from your dog, such as stiffening, snarling, or snapping. These rules apply to all signs of discomfort from your dog I know what you're probably thinking. "If I tell the dog not to growl, won't they understand t ..read more

Doggy daycare has become a mainstay in the lives of dog owners everywhere. According to what I was able to find on the internet, the very first formal doggy daycare was called Yuppie Puppy and opened up in New York City in 1987. Seeing how many doggy daycares there are now (it feels like a new one pops up every week!), it’s hard to believe that there was ever a time they didn’t exist! Doggy daycare can be a great opportunity to continue providing your dog with lots of social opportunities and to give them a break from boring day to day life if you are out of the house a lot. But not all dogs ..read more

Choosing a puppy training class is one of the most important things you will do when you first bring your brand new puppy home. Puppy classes are ideal for the vast majority of puppies; a good puppy training class will introduce you to the training basics, expose your puppy to a new place, new people, and other puppies, and will teach you how to safely socialize your pu p! It’s critically important that you bring your puppy to a WELL RUN puppy class. In all honestly, puppy classes are a dime a dozen, but a well run puppy class is worth it’s weight in gold! Some folks think that puppy classes ..read more

Our last blog (,found here) was all about the what and why of management. We learned that in order to effectively change behavior that we also had to make sure our dog wasn’t practicing the problem behavior in the mean time! Today’s post will go into the HOW of management. Remember, management is anything used to prevent the problem behavior from happening. The following list will include many different options for management and their uses, but the list is certainly not comprehensive! If you are working with a trainer they should be able to help you establish a management plan for all problem ..read more

When you read about dog training, you’ll often see the word “management” used in conjunction with training. This and our next blog posts will be about what management is, why we need to use it, and how to implement good management systems! So, what is management? Management is anything that can be used to prevent a dog from practicing or rehearsing a behavior. Examples of management include closing your blinds to prevent barking at people walking by, crating your puppy to prevent them from chewing wires, and leashing your dog to prevent them from running off. In truth, management is training ..read more

Controversial opinion warning, at least for my dog trainer colleagues and friends. Retractable leashes (also known as Flexi leads) have had a bad rap in the dog professional world for a long time, and rightly so. Flexi leads, when used improperly, can get dogs and humans hurt. There have been many people injured by a Flexi lead getting wrapped around their legs, arms, and hands, and if a Flexi is thin enough with enough pressure they can cut people very deeply, or give very bad rug/rope burns. Retractable leashes also allow a dog to get very, very far ahead of their owner which can lead to uns ..read more

Happy New Year from Happy Hound University! This time of year is all about new beginnings and that can sometimes look like committing to resolutions. If you are someone who likes to set goals and resolutions for yourself, you might consider adding a resolution that will directly impact your and your dog’s relationship and life together! Below are listed some of my favorite dog-centric resolutions that I have focused on in the past or have had clients choose to do! If you have a resolution in mind, feel free to share in the comment section below! 1. Spend X amount more time with your dog every ..read more