Beyond The Pasture

"My dog barks too much!" Excessive barking can be a problem. But to stop all barking would be like expecting a person to stop talking forever. It's not a reasonable expectation. Reducing how much your dog barks, though, is possible. All behavior serves a function....

Canine enrichment. This term can elicit some big feelings from people lately. I get it. I cringe a little when I hear it because I'm just waiting for someone to tell me about the newest food puzzle they've found. ARGH!!! Food puzzles ≠ canine enrichment. These are not...

Have you heard of the predatory sequence in wolves? It's a sequence of actions that the wolf performs in the process of hunting prey. It goes something like this: orient => eye => stalk => chase => grab-bite => kill-bite => dissect => consume A...

I won't come as a shock to you that I've met, and worked with, a lot of herding dogs. Before specializing in herding dogs, I worked with a wide variety of dog breeds. Hell, I live with two dogs who aren't herding dogs. Let me be very clear: GENETICS absolutely matter!...

Taking your dog, herding dog or not, for a walk in the neighborhood is just what you do, right? Your dog needs exercise. Your dog needs to potty. Going for a walk makes sense. With the exception of buying a leash and a collar or harness, it's free. Seems like a...

How would you describe your relationship with your herding dog? More importantly, when decisions need to be made, who's making them? When you need to decide right or left, who's driving the bus? Before you get the wrong idea, I'm not asking who the "alpha" is. This...

Why Does Your Herding Dog Do That? It Depends... I get that question a lot. If you ask me that about a specific dog and a particular behavior, my answer, as a Family Dog Mediator, is that a dog is a product of its L.E.G.S. L = Learning. This is the dog's experience,...

Stop me if you've heard this one before... Handler: You are going too fast! Listen to me! Dog: NO. I GOT THIS. Handler: You don't even know where we're going! Dog: GOING FAST. (Credit to Things Dog Handlers Say for that one!) All joking aside, when I was getting...

From All The Dogs to Herding Dog... My name is Suzanne, and I am a dog nerd. More specifically I am the Herding Dog Nerd. Self-proclaimed but true nonetheless. So, what exactly do I mean by that? And how on earth did I get here? Once upon a time, I was in academia. A...