Dog Behavior Conference

I am excited to tell you that I am attending a 3-day "dog behavior" conference by Victoria Stillwell, one of the world renowned dog trainers and dog behaviorists.  I am so excited!  

Since I was a little girl, I have always been able to connect with pets in a special way, almost right away.  Like the pets had a sixth sense that I was not going to hurt them and I understood them.  I have been that way ever since. I have gone into client's home and have been told that the pet would hide and within a minute the pet came out, on it's own, and came right up to me, gave me a kiss and let me hug him. The pet was telling me that he knows that I am an animal person, that he knows that he can trust me and that I won't hurt him; and personally, that means the world to me.

I can see when a dog is in distress, is having gastric issues due to stress and anixiety and which specific breeds are prone to this as well.  I can tell when a dog is sad and can usually figure out within a short time why he is sad and how to correct it.  I have connections with certain Veterinarians that will help me diagnose what I recognize as behavior issues THAT CAN BE CORRECTED so that he beome a happy dog.  Some dog need medication and some dogs just need a change in their environment or their shedule.  

I rescued a 6 month old lab mis from Waveland Mississippi in 2009. He was emaciated, terrified of people, very fearful and didn't trust anyone.  He was used as a bait dog and was found tied to a tree, surrounded in his own feces and no water in the back of an abandoned house, that police say, was clearly used for dog fights. But that dog came right up to me, laid his head on my shoulder and asked me to help him.  He lived with me for 11 years, until he paassed away of cancer 2 years ago. He was always in some phase of rehab, never completely trusted anyone that he didn't know really well. He was never affectionate, he didn't like when I tried to give him a hug and he rarely a kisser (I love doggy kisses), but he did know that I was going to help him and never leave him. On the day that I had to put him to sleep, I sat on the clinic's floor sobbing. My dog, still always a little anxious, was a pacer...he was pacing and walking in circles waiting for that first dose to calm him down. Finally, while I was still sobbing, he came and sat down directly in front of me and laid his head on my shoulder.  He had never done that before.  This time, he knew he needed to rescue me.  

So I have decided that I am going to take my "special spidey senses" and put them to to work so that I can help other rescue dogs overcome fear and anxiety; so that I can teach pet parents what they aren't rcognizing and hopefully make the pet and the household a better place for everyone. Starting tomorrow I am attending a 3-day conference on all things dog behavior from helping an abused and rescued dog learn how to get his self-confidence back, to solving a mysterious puzzle of why dogs react certain ways to stimuli that most don't realize.  

Nonie's Pet Care's 2023 campaign is to get the dogs out of the house, get them moving on walks and to sniff all of the smells in their neighborhood, play with our ball launcher for fun exercise and lots of love and attention.  Keep those dogs healthy, not laying around the house all day an keep them out of the Vet's office.  

But dog behavior has always been my passion knowing that I had this special "spidey sense". 
And I cannot wait to get started.  
​Stay tuned.