Product Review: Ruffwear Slackline Leash

SarahDog Walking, Leash Training, Product Reviews1 Comment

Loyal to leather If it’s possible to be in love with a dog leash, than this would be nothing short of true love… For years and years, I’ve been loyal to the leather leash. Afterall, a nicely worn leather leash is about as comfortable as in your hand as big fuzzy slippers on your feet. I’m also a big fan of using a waist leash to walk your dog, specifically if you are teaching loose leash walking skills. I’ve relied primarily on the leather Convertible Service Dog Leash offered by J&J Supplies as my go-to waist belt for training and running… until now. A new generation of leashes In my constant and relentless quest for tools to make managing unruly dogs easier, I found the exquisitely feature-heavy Ruffwear Front Range Harness, which was named as one of the best no-pull harnesses by The Whole Dog Journal this year. But, even more exciting than that, I … Read More

Product Review: Zoe’s Pill Pops

SarahProduct Reviews, Senior DogsLeave a Comment

Zoe's Pill Pops_St Louis Dog Trainer

Sticking with the senior dog theme in our last post, you may find that the older your pup gets, the more pills you have to feed on a daily basis. Anti-inflammatories, glucosamine chondroitin or fish oil can be large pills and difficult to disguise. Have you found it challenging to trick your dog into taking their pills? Has wrapping pills in bread, peanut butter, or even cheese lost its appeal for your pup? If so, you may be interested in trying Zoe’s Pill Pops. Zoe’s Pill Pops are a unique take on feeding pills to your dog made easier. The”test dog,” Ozzy, swallows them whole and has been successfully tricked for 2 weeks straight. Previously Ozzy had turned his nose up at cheese… CHEESE! Here are some of our favorite features as compared to some of the other “pill pop” products on the market: Comes in 3 different varieties – Roasted Chicken … Read More

Product Review: Vaun Duffy Treat Pouch

SarahProduct Reviews1 Comment

We were introduced to this versatile little treat pouch by a dog training client who was tired of carrying a plastic baggie of chicken, then clicker, her phone, a collapsible water bowl, poop bags… and then some. After some online research, she arrived to her next training session with this intriguing little Vaun Duffy treat pouch. (The name sounded a bit upscale for a treat pouch… So after some research of our own, turns out there is a Vaughn Duffy wine company, too, but spelled with an “h.” Yet another point of intrigue.) Some features of this treat pouch include: 3 options to wear it – clipped on your pants, belted around your waist or over your shoulder, like a purse The pouch itself is made of a very sturdy, woven nylon Mesh pocket in the front for holding a tennis ball, a clicker, car keys, or also could be … Read More

Multi-Part Series: Loose Leash Walking – Part 1

SarahDog Walking, Leash Training, Product ReviewsLeave a Comment

In my professional dog training opinion, loose leash walking with your dog is one of the most difficult things you might ever have to teach your dog. If there was one key to training a dog well, it’s consistency, of course. Therefore, if you live with any other people in your home (like most of us do!) and those people aren’t 100% on board with your training, this might be a challenge. Sometimes the even bigger challenge is maintaining consistency with ourselves. Remembering to do the exact same thing over and over and over again can become boring, so we humans like to mix it up sometimes. This may or may not be a good learning technique for certain dogs. Also, as we begin to see success with our dogs, we tend to become more lax in our training criteria and the learning curve in our dogs can begin to … Read More

Hot Weather Driving Your Dog Crazy?

SarahEnrichment, Product Reviews, SeasonalLeave a Comment

When you wake up at 6 a.m. and the temperature is already 85 degrees, you can be sure that it’s bound to be a rough day ahead. What’s worse is that this record-breaking heat has wreaked havoc on the behavior of otherwise good dogs across the metropolitan area. Lots of dogs just simply aren’t getting the exercise that they might normally get, due to the unusually extreme weather. So what can you do when the weather is too hot (or too cold) to get out and exercise your dog? There are plenty of things that you can do to help him or her expend a bit of extra energy. Tempers usually rise when the thermometer readings are off the charts, so a little proactivity can go a long way in ensuring you are prepared and can remain level-headed when your dog gets a little stir crazy inside the house. Make … Read More