“Cortisol, a glucocorticoid (steroid hormone), is produced from cholesterol in the two adrenal glands located on top of each kidney. It is normally released in response to events and circumstances such as waking up in the morning, exercising, and acute stress. Cortisol’s far-reaching, systemic effects play many roles in the body’s effort to carry out its processes and maintain homeostasis.” Dina Aronson MS RD. Cortisol is an important part of your immune system. But like…   Continue

I have a new client this week and it brought me to the whole Cortisol problem. They wanted me to ‘train’ the reactivity out of their dog. Their exact words were ‘he needs some discipline to teach him some manners.’  I cringed, and tried to explain. One of the hardest things to explain to people is that: Your dog cannot help being this way Your dog does not enjoy feeling stressed Your dog is not…   Continue

I wanted to share my experience with my Cane Corso Cairo. After extensively researching which breed would suit our lifestyle best we decided we wanted a CC. We understood and accepted that this dog would be a huge part of our lives and looked forward to being involved with some sort of sport and training with him. While waiting for a litter we found an add for a beautiful 5 month old that needed to…   Continue

Harley was attacked by a large dog at a dog show, May 2015. The dog attacked her crate throwing it around until it could be pulled off. I was at the ring, and the person who was watching Harley was so upset they didn’t tell me because they were afraid I would be angry at them. No one did any redirection or comforting for 3 hours. This left Harley extremely reactive to everyone, dogs and…   Continue

One of the most exciting, and controversial therapies in the dog world is play therapy. Can you overcome fear and aggression using play? If you ask a wolf researcher they will tell you that packs with ‘good’ leaders, where play is contagious, there is an absence of many behavior problems. If you ask some of the world’s renowned canine behaviorists like Susan Clothier they will agree that play counter condition’s fear. It is the premise…   Continue