Does your dog hate riding in the car? Here are some tips to help make car rides a more enjoyable activity for your pooch. Improve the positive to negative ratio: For many dogs, car rides mean one thing – VET VISIT. This means that they associate getting in the car with going to the vet, whether that is the destination you have in mind or not. You can teach your dog to enjoy the car more by simply changing this association. My rule of thumb? 10 positive experiences for e

Halloween is just around the corner, and there are few things cuter than a dressed up doggy. Here are some fun and unique costume ideas to try out this year. A quick disclaimer on costuming your dog: As with any kind of harness, halter, muzzle, etc., it is essential to train and desensitize your dog to accept wearing a costume. Don't force your dog to wear a costume if he/she doesn't like it. Take it slow and respect your dog's preferences. Make sure that your dog's vision

Owning a fearful dog can be very stressful and confusing for pet parents. It is not always clear how or why the dog became fearful, which can make treating the condition quite challenging. Fearfulness manifests in a number of ways in the canine world. Some dogs are more passive and their fear causes them to retreat, cower and avoid the things they are fearful of. Other dogs become defensive and their fear triggers what appears to be an aggressive response - barking, lungi

If you’ve stepped into the world of dog training and taken a look around, even briefly, you’ve probably noticed that there is a great deal of controversy surrounding the various training methods. Perhaps one of the most controversial of these methods is the E-collar, also known as a shock collar or remote collar. This device would fall into the category of aversive/punishment-based training methods. Essentially, the dog learns to be obedient in an effort to avoid something

Working with reactive dogs is one of my specialties, and as much as I love helping rehabilitate dogs with this issue, I wish that it wasn't such a common problem. It is agreed upon by many dog trainers that reactivity is now the most prevalent behavioral issue, and the rates of occurrence are still on the rise. I recently wrote a blog post on techniques to help heal a dog that is already experiencing reactivity issues - but the best strategy is prevention. Here are some t

Welcome to the first installment of K9 Holistics Dog Training Q&A. If you have a question about dog training or behavior, you can submit it via email or through our Facebook page (please include your email address, dog's breed and age). Today's question comes from Claire Papargiriou via Facebook. Claire writes: "5yrs. Neutered Eng. Bulldog male. Rescued at 11 months, lives now w/ fixed bossy female, Maltese. Not dog friendly. Can't go to vets without him barking & pulling t

Separation anxiety is a fairly common problem for today's modern dog. There are many factors that contribute to this specific form of anxiety, and it is an issue that typically takes a lot of persistance in fully resolving. If your dog is suffering from moderate to severe seperation anxiety, I would strongly advise you to seek the help of a professional. For mild cases, or for the sake of prevention, here are some tips to help ease the symptoms of this problem. 1. No big

"Hi there, my name’s Christine Fasan and I’m the owner and dog trainer at K9 Holistics. It is a beautiful, rainy, thunderous day here in Florida, and I thought I would take the opportunity to talk a little bit about thunder phobias. I see it all the time, it’s a very common problem, and if you live somewhere like St. Petersburg, Florida where we have thunderstorms pretty much daily, that can be a really challenging situation for you and your dog. Obviously there can be a