Star Dog Training

Had a great time up in Jackson Hole, Wyoming for a week training two lovely lab clients. These lucky kids’ guardians flew me up to do training for a week with a focus on trail manners and recall. I worked with the black lab, Jell-O when she was a puppy and now have the pleasure of working with the lovely yellow lab, Ham.

Trail Manners are such an important part of enjoying the outdoors with our animals. Recall, Leave-it and appropriate greetings with other dogs and people on trail can make the adventure so much more enjoyable for all!

If you would like to work on your animal’s trail manners head over to my website www.stardogtraining.org and fill out a training request form to get started!

Star Dog Training Based in Taos, New Mexico, Star Dog Training prides itself on using scientific, evidence-based training to help you, as a dog owner, communicate more clearly and effectively with your canine companion.

Happy to announce my Fall Group Manners Class is now open for enrollment! It’s a fun class focusing on foundational behaviors like sit, down, stay, come when called, and leave-it.

Call or head over to Stray Hearts Stray Hearts Animal Shelter - Taos, NM to sign-up now!

Check out my latest article in this week’s Taos News!

https://www.taosnews.com/opinion/columns/our-pets-body-language-what-does-it-mean/article_71119855-0217-53a6-aeba-c471d5fd6a17.html

Ricky and Pumpkin having a blast during big yard play time!!!

They are both wonderful doggies looking for their forever homes! Please share far and wide to help them find their dream lives. 🙏🏽♥️🐕

New article in My Turn in Taos News

https://www.taosnews.com/opinion/my-turn/the-4th-of-july-festivity-for-humans-terrifying-for-pets/article_931f88e1-74a0-54a5-83d1-615ff9fb7db3.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=email&utm_campaign=user-share&fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR1aHpIPPioOy74WRfCN_2TBd-An1xTC5fNNo8u9UgAWT9J3053XHLHV7mM_aem_Of_uDfYalbiCdsqMABGVUQ

The 4th of July: Festivity for humans, terrifying for pets The Fourth of July is tomorrow, and while it is a time of enjoyment for us and our families, it can be incredibly terrifying and overwhelming for our pets. The

Meet adorable Albus! He is a purebred Newfoundland. Look at those puppy eyes! Being that Albus is going to grow to be a BIG dog, his guardians want to start him off on the right paw. They signed up for my Rockstar Puppy Package. We are working on normal puppy behaviors like play biting, jumping up, stealing items like shoes, and general manners. His guardians are dedicated and give him a wonderful life. He is going to grow up to be a great adult dog.

Sometimes the bites puppy stage can be overwhelming! I am here to help.

Check out this week’s Taos News for My Turn column about the importance of Mental Enrichment and species specific behavior written by me! Let me know your thoughts!

https://www.taosnews.com/opinion/my-turn/brain-games-for-companion-animals/article_fabc9443-5421-5bac-8131-c0043c41044f.html

Sissy was adopted earlier this year from Stray Hearts Animal Shelter - Taos, NM. She just finished up her training package with Star Dog. She is such a sweet soul who loves people, dogs, play, pets and fun! Sissy’s guardian wanted to build a good foundation of functional behaviors to help Sissy thrive in her home and the human world she lives in. She was a rockstar!

Star Dog Training, Stray Hearts Animal Shelter - Taos, NM and finished up their flagship Animals and Empathy Program. This 6 week program brought members of the Veterans Corps Program to Stray Hearts once a week to spend time with the animals, learn about how they think and process the world, animal body language, and build an empathetic connection with them and in turn each other. It was a fabulous program!

If your or your organization would like to talk about starting a similar program, send me an email, [email protected]!

Look at this cute face! This is Zoe. She is a Lagotto Romagnolo. These dogs are bred for truffle hunting. Zoe’s guardian was concerned that she wasn’t very happy or living a fulfilled life. She wanted her to play with toys but Zoe was not interested. Cue breed specific Mental Enrichment for the win! Since Zoe was bred to sniff out truffles in the underbrush we got to work developing tons of fun sniff games and exercises for her to do in her home and around the property. Zoe was THRILLED! Her and her guardian now have a ton of fun searching for hidden objects and food, utilizing scent work exercises.

Dogs need opportunities to engage in species specific behavior like sniffing, digging, dissecting and more! Giving them opportunities to do so meets their instinctual needs, challenges their brains, builds confidence and more! Google Mental Enrichment ideas for dogs for tons of awesome ideas or email me and we can get a specific plan on board for you and your dog!

Meet Mr. Mc Mooks, otherwise known as Mooky! This adorable little bundle of hilarity and cuteness is new to Star Dog Training. He can be a little nervous with new people and this presents as charging and barking when they pull up the driveway or walk by his home. He is small but he is mighty! Mooky is learning to focus on his guardians and when people drive or walk by and he gets paid handsomely for it. He is a smart little dude and has learned fast.

Does your dog charge and bark at people coming on to your property? Have they shown nervousness around novel people? I am here to help! Visit my website or email me [email protected] to get support today.

Meatball is the bestest boy. He has stolen my heart. Please someone find space in their home for this goofy, loving boy.

Join us this Saturday to meet some of our great dogs!

Let's mingle and connect and have some fun together. We'd love to see you!

Come by and say hi even if you aren't looking for a new family member! We love to connect with the community and it's healthy for the dogs to socialize in new places with new people!

Please share to spread the word!

So happy to be able to continue and expand the behavioral work I do with Taos Mesa Taos Mesa Animal Sanctuary!!

Let’s celebrate!!!!

We were honored a 5K grant from Taos Community Foundation for our behavioral program for traumatized dogs!!

Eva Perrigo with Star Dog Training is the head of our behavioral program.

Pictured here is Emi Wall, our kennel staff withJoey and Dev who happily await adoption!

We are psyched!!!

As a force free trainer, who does not employ the use of aversives, meaning pain, fear, or intimidation, I feel this is an incredibly important topic. I so appreciate Zak George pushing this conversation forward 

Our community has been successful in sparking an industry-wide conversation over the last few days regarding ethics in our field. The question before the entire dog training community right now is this:

Should professional dog trainers recommend or endorse methods rooted in fear and pain for training and behavior modification of the public’s dogs?

(Note: We are not talking about immediate emergencies. That is not dog training or behavior modification, it’s emergency management.)

The question is NOT whether professionals or non-professionals should be using fear/intimidation on their personal dogs. That is a separate issue. We are concerned with how people who call themselves dog trainers are advising the public.

Using fear, intimidation or pain for training may lead to “immediate compliance” but the side effects of those methods can include increased fear, anxiety, mistrust, and aggression. These are not small time or easy to reverse side effects, and should be taken very seriously by professionals.

Aversive methods carry a significant risk of harm, and they are now known to be unnecessary. Effective, humane alternatives exist that consider a dog’s entire emotional existence.

Major organizations like the AVSAB, AVMA, and ACVB do not endorse the LIMA (Least Intrusive, Minimally Aversive) protocol as a standard for animal training. LIMA is often used to justify using fear, pain and intimidation in the dog training field.

Some want to discuss how LIMA can be applied more or less humanely, but that doesn’t change the fact that it is no longer supported in the larger animal behavior profession.

As professionals, we must prioritize the well-being of the dogs and people we teach and that includes not creating unnecessary, additional side effects.

Can we agree that using pain and fear should be out of bounds for any professional in this field when engaging the public and their dogs?

This conversation is huge for the dog training industry. I would love to hear ALL of your thoughts in the comments!

A good reminder!

“Dogs are not their reactivity. Their response to environmental stimuli shouldn’t define them. Like all others, these dogs are multifaceted, sentient beings with preferences, desires, and rich internal and external lives. So, if you’re a dog guardian reading this, know that you have a good dog who needs some help. Your dog deserves that help, and so do you!”

(An excerpt from a recent guest post for Leash and Explore.)

Yay for Ferb!!!

HOORAY FERB!

Ferb went into foster to adopt with the PERFECT mommy for him today! She drove up from Santa Fe many times to help create a bond (Ferb was a little wary of new people) and help her dogs get used to the idea of a new brother.

She’d bring him special toys and treats, and always brought something nice for the humans of Strayhearts too! We will certainly miss the mini Bundt cakes 😂

Good luck Ferb, we love you so much!

Taos Mesa Animal Sanctuary needs our help!!

Today is NATIONAL RESCUE DOG DAY 2024!

Consider dropping by the shelter today to meet your potential new best friend.

All of our rescues are uniquely adorable, and ready to go to their forever home!

Alternately, if you can’t adopt, consider a recurring monthly gift of $20. That’s only .64 a day that goes to help feed, care and provide love for our rescues:

https://tinyurl.com/bdfsrch5

Jess is so sweet and has SO much personality ❤️

Meet Jesse!

Jesse is out of our more sensitive pups who came to us very shy. Through the dedication and love of our staff, behavior team, and volunteers Jesse has opened up and started to let his playful spirit shine!

Jesse works on learning about a leash every week and gently takes tasty treats from the hand! He’ll need a kind and patient family that’s willing to make a few visits are the shelter to earn trust before going home but we think he’s more than worth the effort 🥰

Strayhearts is open for drop in adoptions Monday through Friday from 11-3. For more information about adoptions please call 575-758-2981

Star Dog Training, Stray Hearts Animal Shelter - Taos, NM and have partnered together to provide an integrative program for veteran’s and veteran’s families. The program is 6 weeks and is held at Stray Hearts. Attendees spend time with the homeless animals, learn about animal body language, the plight of the strays in Taos, basic training skills, emotional learning and more.

OUR TAOS COMMUNITY PET FOOD BANK is EMPTY.

Many disadvantaged Taos County pet owners use this program to feed their pets. This program has proven to be a CRUCIAL lifeline in helping to keep Taos pets in their own homes.

THE NEED IS REAL.

The QUICKEST way to help our TAOS COMMUNITY PET FOOD BANK is by making a one time DONATION using the link below:

https://form-renderer-app.donorperfect.io/give/stray-hearts-animal-shelter/treats-2024-copy

Your donation will immediately be used to purchase food for our community's owned animals.

Alternately, if you wish to donate dog and cat food IN PERSON, we will accept ANY BRANDS. They can be dropped off at the shelter or sent through Chewy.

TO DROP OFF FOOD:
Stray Hearts Animal Shelter
1200 St. Frances Ln
Taos, NM 87571

Look at this face! Makes me laugh every time! Paco is a 2 yr old German Shepherd who LOVES people and dogs. He’s quite the ham! His guardians reached out wanting to be able to walk him without him pulling, calmly greeting guests and dogs and one general manners. Welcome to Star Dog Training Paco! We are going to have such a good time!