Blog
(Mostly Archived)
Littermate Syndrome
Double the Fun or Triple the Trouble? The scoop on littermate syndrome! I will admit it, if there was a Puppy Addicts Anonymous organization, I would be President and meeting leader. "Hi, I'm Tena and I'm a puppy addict." I love puppies--I don't just love puppies, but...
Hard Decisions in Responsible Rescue and Sheltering
Hard Decisions in Responsible Rescue and Sheltering Imagine for a minute that I have this awesome car. This car gets amazing gas mileage, although it only has front wheel drive, it handles beautifully in the snow, it is small enough to fit in those tight parking...
Wise Choices in Dog Sports
Wise Choices in Dog Sports Are handlers setting their dogs and themselves up to fail by listening to old wives' tales? I overheard a conversation recently at a training club that had me mentally furrowing my brow and shaking my head in disagreement (from across...
A Reflection on Resolving Reactivity
A Reflection on Resolving Reactivity The vast majority of my private training clients are dealing with some level of reactivity. Leash reactivity is something very close to home and personal for me. I've had a long journey with Shayne and her variety of "special...
I Hate Extra Warm Days in Winter
I Hate Extra Warm Days in Winter This past Friday and Saturday, Pittsburgh was gifted with a slight respite from the deep freeze also known as our winter. Nearly everyone in Pittsburgh rejoiced as we hit the 45 degree mark--I won't lie, I saw at least three girls in...
Home Alone, It's Not Always Fun and Games
Home Alone, It's Not Always Fun and Games I share my home with Shayne, Rio, Bandit (my mom's dog), Panther, Monty, and Jefferson--plus the occasional foster dog. It can be a bit much in terms of the number of critters that share the space but I am extremely fortunate...
The Power of Choice
The Power of Choice During this most recent stretch of frigid (though not quite the 'extreme cold' of a month ago), I have had to improvise the activities happening with my mid-day dog walking clients. It has simply been too cold to spend much time outside, even...
Puppy Love
Puppy Love It might be a "Hallmark Holiday," but I think the sentiment of celebrating love is a powerful one. If we placed as much value on love (not just romantic love) as we do on other more superficial things, I think the world would be a far more pleasant place....
Throwback Thursday–Gotta Buy Into Training
Gotta Buy Into Training--Throwback Thursday Originally posed on 10/18/11 How many times have you heard "I've tried everything to get my dog to ..."? I think I must hear something to that effect more than once a week from people inquiring about training or in...
Bigger is not always better
Bigger is not always better "The more tools you have in your tool box the better. If you purposely exclude a particular tool and a problem pops up that requires that tool, you won't be abel to fix the problem. I'm not one of those cookie pushers that limits their...