The Bitey End of the Dog

Whether you are a behavior pro, part of a shelter or rescue team, or a pet guardian, the decisions to navigate in an aggression case can be overwhelming! It's a "solo show" where I discuss the prognostic factors in aggression cases to help clients understand the severity of their situation, and determine potential outcomes. It's also a special bonus, bonus episode all about setting expectations and determining potential outcomes in aggression cases as Season 4 doesn't officially launch...

This is a special bonus episode of The Bitey End of the Dog that is a bit off-season for the show since I typically launch each season in the beginning of each Summer, but I couldn’t resist when my friend Helen St. Pierre wanted to talk about old, senior dogs, which is a topic that isn’t talked about enough. Helen runs Old Dogs Go to Helen, a non-profit organization that cares for senior or hospice dogs, and all the considerations that go into running such a wonderful cause. We chat about...

A bite from a dog can have many ramifications. These can include the emotional impacts on the dog’s guardians, or the dog practicing an undesirable behavior, or even the potential fate of the dog. And of course in our litigious society, we often will see civil and even criminal ramifications when a dog inures a person or other animal. For this episode of Fresh Bites on The Bitey End of the Dog, I chat with Melissa McMath Hatfield who is an expert on expert witness work in dog bite cases....

Have you ever wondered what it is like training, working with, and living with a police dog? If so, then this is the episode for you! I have the opportunity to chat with Alex and Will Sessa for this episode of Fresh Bites on The Bitey End of the Dog. Alex is an experienced and successful dog trainer who owns Peach On a Leash, and Will is a an experienced and successful police canine trainer with over 15 years of service. Talk about a dynamic duo! I am sure you will enjoy hearing about what...

This is an excellent episode with another awesome team member from Behavior Vets. For this episode of Fresh Bites on The Bitey End of the Dog, I have an enjoyable conversation with Bobbie Bhambree, the director of behavior services at Behavior Vets, about veterinarian and trainer collaborations. An often important and crucial aspect of working with dogs who have aggression issues is this team approach which includes the dog’s guardian, their veterinarian, and the behavior professional or...

Did you know that children under 10 are in the age group for the highest risk of a dog bite? In this episode of Fresh Bites for The Bitey End of the Dog, I chat with Debby Lucken who is the founder of Kids Around Dogs (KAD). We explore why children are more likely to be bitten, discuss risk assessment in dog to child directed aggression cases, and take a deep dive into the many ways we can promote safe and healthy relationships between dogs and children. For additional resources on helping...

This is a great episode where I get the chance to chat with a fellow behavior consultant about, well, a whole bunch of topics! Lauren Novack from Behavior Vets joins me in a fantastic conversation where we go down rabbit holes in applied behavior analysis, consent-based training, trauma in dogs, and a whole lot of other behavior geekery. For additional resources on helping dogs with aggression, visit: https://aggressivedog.com Here is the special link to The Aggression in Dogs Master...

We’ve had some fabulous conversations on this show about aggressive behavior and how much a dog’s breed might influence these cases, and for this episode of Fresh Bites on The Bitey End of the Dog, I chat with Saara Uljas who specializes in herding breeds. We chat about a variety of breed specific behavior tendencies in herders, and how they might impact aggression. It’s an excellent episode packed with Saara’s insights and experience, and I hope you enjoy. For additional resources on...

Dogs that bark, growl, lunge, snarl, and snap when on-leash. Also known as leash reactivity, this is one of the most common issues a dog trainer may be asked to help with. In this episode of The Bitey End of the Dog, I have the pleasure of chatting with Jessica Wheatcraft, who I consider one of the best out there on understanding and working with this issue. Jessica and I take a deep dive into the topic of leash reactivity and explore advanced concepts that we can incorporate in even the...

This is a really fantastic episode of Fresh Bites on The Bitey End of the Dog, as I have the opportunity to chat with Lorenzo JW Fox from Synergy Behavior Solutions. Lorenzo brings into the conversation a diverse background in not only animal behavior, but an investment into mutual aid, abolition, and liberation for humans and animals. This all blends together for a great chat about relationships between humans and dogs, and consent based training as well. For additional resources on...

In this episode of Fresh Bites on The Bitey End of the Dog, I chat with Jessie Kasper who has an extensive background in all aspects of the rescue world. A very common issue we can face is making decisions about dogs in a rescue or shelter system that have a history of aggression. Difficult conversations are likely needed when considering the potential outcomes for dogs that do have such a history, and Jessie unpacks many of those conversations in this insightful episode. For additional...

If you asked me five years ago to work with an aggression case completely online without ever meeting the dog or client in person, I would have said, "not a chance!" Fast forward to today and I've realized that you can absolutely work with an aggression case successfully from start to finish --- all remotely. Karishma Warr is my special guest for this episode, and we chat about a number of tips and tricks for using technology to help dogs with aggression issues, and scale your business as a...

One of the most atrocious activities that I can think of that humans have asked dogs to take part in is --- illegal dog fighting. My special guest for this episode is Dr. Victoria Cussen who is the Senior Director of Applied Behavior Research for the Behavioral Sciences Team at the ASPCA. Victoria has incredible insight into the behavior and welfare of fight bust dogs, and this episode is packed with myth busting and a unique look at the behavior, and often resiliency of dogs where the past...

Have you ever lived with or worked with dogs that are fighting in the same home? Also known as intra-household dog to dog aggression, these can be incredibly stressful cases for all involved because the dogs are living under one roof together, so it can feel like you never can get a moment of not worrying about when the next fight might happen. In this episode of Fresh Bites on The Bitey End of the Dog, I chat with the wonderful duo of Christina Young and Jade Zwingli from the Legion of...

When we are thinking about positive reinforcement based training, we often envision food as the reinforcer we are using. Or perhaps we might use toys or other reinforcers such as giving attention to a dog when they keep all four paws on the floor instead of jumping up. But what about play? Just straight up play with your dog without toys. In this episode of The Bitey End of the Dog, I have a fun conversation with Dr. Amy Cook on using The Play Way with dogs, and chat about why play can go...

This is a great season for learning about systems based approaches to working with aggression cases. For this episode of Fresh Bites on The Bitey End of the Dog, I chat with Cat Harbord about her THRIVE system which focuses on using systems and linear problem solving approaches to help understand the dynamic interaction between the whole dog and the whole environment. Yes, that’s’ a mouthful and there is lots of geeking out on this episode, which is something we love to do on this...

What do you do with a dog that chases or hunts critters or other things in general? What do you do to work with predatory behavior or predation? A prevailing mindset is to stop those behaviors using an aversive or punishing the behavior. I’m joined by one of the experts on this topic, Simone Mueller, and we discuss many alternative options to punishment using positive reinforcement based strategies to work with what is often considered a difficult type of behavior to deal with. For...

If you’re on social media, or just have an interest in dog training and behavior in general, you might have seen the controversy surrounding a research article that was published around the end of April, so just a couple months before the release of this podcast episode. The paper is titled "Ancestry Inclusive Dog Genomics Challenges Popular Breed Stereotypes". It’s a bit of a mouthful, but the short summary of controversy is that many in the mainstream media or on social media were saying...

Have you lived or worked with a dog who is blind and/or deaf? It can present a training challenge all on its own when we are working with a dog who has a disability. And when we also have a dog who has aggression issues, it can create a really challenging situation for both the trainer and the dogs guardian. Tiffany Baker joins me for this episode of Fresh Bites and shares her fantastic insight with working with dogs who are deaf and/or blind, while highlighting her experience in aggression...

Stress, hormones, emotions, impulse control, arousal, cognition --- a lot of different words that get thrown around in our conversations about dogs and behavior. In this episode with the incredibly informative Dr. Kristina Spaulding, we unpack many of those terms, and why they are so important to define correctly when discussing aggression in dogs. Kristina does an amazing job of breaking down these concepts in the show, and I hope to see the conversation continue in the dog training...