Alabama Dog Academy

08/28/2026

Autumn is a time for new beginnings, and for a lot of families that means getting a new pet! Bringing a dog into the family can be fun and exciting, but there are a lot of details to consider to select the *right* dog.

Need help figuring out what kind of dog is right for you? Contact me for a Find a Pet consultation!

Learn about selecting a pet dog that's right for your family.

08/17/2026

I’ve seen lots of conversations lately about Emotional Support Animals (ESAs) and it’s alarming how much bad information is spread about what ESAs are and what they are not.
- A person can designate their pet an ESA if they (1.) have a mental disability, (2.) need the animal to help them feel better in relation to their disability, AND (3.) are looking to live in a rental that doesn’t allow pets. There is no other situation in which an ESA designation is useful or necessary.
- The landlord is legally allowed to ask for a letter from a doctor or mental health professional who has been treating the person on an ongoing basis. The landlord is not required to accept a letter from a professional who does not have an ongoing professional relationship with the tenant.
- Landlords cannot charge a pet fee for an ESA. An ESA must be well behaved toward other tenants and not cause damage to the property.
- ESA laws are covered in the Fair Housing Act as an accommodation for people with disabilities.
- In the past months the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) made policy changes that allow landlords to prohibit ESAs in certain circumstances. These policy changes are not law so they don’t yet hold weight in court. But to fight them the renter would need to go to court which is a slow and potentially expensive process. Personnel changes within the HUD could mean an easy reversal of these policies.
- ESAs are allowed to be any species of typical pet: dogs, cats, fish, guinea pigs, etc. To get an accommodation for an exotic animal or one that’s not a “typical” pet, the renter must provide proof about why that species is uniquely suited to be their ESA.
- There is absolutely no requirement for an ESA to be “registered,” “certified,” or otherwise recognized through an online database. ESAs are not required to wear a vest or other equipment that designates them as an ESA.

08/15/2026

Happy ! If you’re having trouble getting your dog to relax, you’re not alone! Daisy here came to Board and Train to learn obedience cues but also to learn how to RELAX! It’s important to make sure your dog has enough exercise and mental enrichment, but sometimes more targeted training is important too. Looks like she’s enjoying it too!

07/25/2026

WARNING about dogs jumping:

Few things make me cringe more than watching a dog jumping up and down on a slippery floor.

Take the pictures below: these are still shots from a video about this dog jumping over a progressively higher hurdle. When the dog jumps, she uses her back feet to launch herself up and over. Notice in the first photo her back feet are on the hardwood floor. Hardwood floors are slippery - especially for dogs with long hair covering her toe pads - and she barely manages to get over the hurdle.

In the next attempts, she launches with her back feet on the rug and gets much more height and length to her jumps. The owner didn’t instruct her to do this, she just figured it out on her own.

What the dog knows, and the owner seems not to know, is that being able to grip the surface before jumping is MUCH SAFER, easier on her joints and muscles.

Playing jumping games like this is super fun and enriching for dogs. But please keep the hurdles on stable surfaces such as carpet, rugs, grass, yoga mats, etc.

And while we’re at it, the same rule applies to anywhere the dog wants to jump up: is he allowed on the couch? Make sure there’s a rug for him to grip before he jumps up and down. Same if he’s allowed on your bed. Does he jump on you at the front door when you’ve been gone a while (and you’re ok with this)? Put a large rug there so he doesn’t pull any muscles in the excitement. When you let him out of the crate does he shoot out like a rocket as fast as he can go? Put a rug at the entrance of his crate so that he keeps his footing.

Having solid footing is 100% about keeping your dog healthy: preventing muscle strains, ligament tears, arthritis, hip dysplasia, etc. Let’s do what we can to make sure our dogs feel good their whole lives. ❤️

07/23/2026

When I started out as a dog trainer and observed body language in dogs, my mentors would describe subtle movements they noticed in the dogs: the tail moved down, ears went forward, the body turned slightly, muscles tensed in the shoulders, etc. Literally, even as a professional trainer, a lot of the time I thought my mentors were making up things they thought they were seeing to make themselves sound smart. Turns out, I just didn't know the language yet. Fortunately I kept listening and watching anyway.

Over the years I've tried to learn everything I can about dog body language. I've attended conferences and workshops from nationally and internationally recognized experts, supervised hours and hours of dog play groups on my own and with my mentors, completed thousands of temperament evaluations on shelter dogs, and trained a whole lotta dogs on top of it all. Now I finally think I'm fluent enough to know pretty quickly when other people misinterpret body language and sometimes there are dire consequences.

I'd recommend everyone - dog owners, groomers, trainers, daycare attendants, etc. - recognize that what you expect your dog to be saying may not actually be what he's saying. Then start studying: watch videos from credentialed sources like the ones cited in this article; find an experienced trainer to mentor you; and most importantly, just watch dogs. Dogs at the park, on leash on the sidewalk, at the pet store, in agility and obedience competitions, the more you immerse yourself in dogs, the better you'll start to understand what they're saying.

Life with a dog is a matter of give and take, especially when it comes to communication. With no common human-dog language, our ability to communicate relies on understanding and reading our pet, and vice versa. That process can seem simple: You give your dog a treat, its eyes say, “I am delighted...

07/18/2026

“Don’t do that or the dog will BITE YOU!” is something I hear parents say to kids all too often.

It makes me cringe because first, it teaches kids to be scared of dog bites.

Don’t get me wrong, teaching kids a healthy caution around animals they don’t know is a good way to avoid injuries. But as a dog behavior specialist, I don’t believe we want kids to be *scared* around dogs. A scared kid makes dogs feel scared too, and a scared dog is way more likely to injure a kid.

Instead, parents should teach their kids how to interact with dogs in a way that makes the dogs feel *comfortable* and *happy*. Not because that’s how they avoid getting bitten, but because that’s the right way to interact with all animals and humans too.

Teaching rules like the ones listed here are a great start. Even better is to use dog interactions as a model of appropriate interactions with other people as well.

“Don’t pull on Fido’s ear, see how he backs away when you pull on his ear? He doesn’t like that.”

“Leave Fluffy alone when she’s chewing on a bone, she’s afraid you’re trying to take it away from her.”

Just like all rules we teach kids, they need to be able to understand the rules and follow them. If kids are too young or not able to understand and follow the rules, they should always be supervised around the dogs so that you can work on enforcing the rules. And if they can’t be supervised, the dog needs to be in a safe space physically separated from the kids: in a crate, a separate room, behind a baby gate or expen, etc.

It’s not about preventing a bite. It’s about teaching dogs and kids how to be happy together.

07/10/2026

Translating Adoptable Dog Descriptions

When writing descriptions of adoptable dogs on their websites and social media pages, dog shelters and rescues have to thread a needle of being truthful about a dog, while "selling" it to potential adopters. When you've read about and met thousands of adoptable dogs, you start to be able to translate those descriptions to what we really want to know:

"This playful girl is full of youthful energy and joy. She loves running, playing, and would be absolutely thrilled to have a canine buddy to romp around with." Translation: no reasonable human will be able to exercise her enough.

"She’s also great with people and would do well in a home with older children who can join in the fun and give her the attention she loves." Translation: it will take more than one adult to handle her.

"Meet Baxter—your good ol’ Alabama brown dog with charm for days!" Translation: quit asking us what breed he is, we absolutely don't know.

"Pepa prefers a calm, peaceful environment where she can feel safe and comfortable." Translation: If you have kids, other pets, a spouse, a roommate, or a mailman who knocks on your door, she'll never come out from her hiding spot under the bed.

"She has a heart of gold for the people she loves." Translation: She will try to bite everybody in the world except the two people she's decided are safe.

"If you're looking for a devoted companion who will be your biggest fan and constant shadow, she may be the perfect match." Translation: she'll try to bite your feet every time you stand up, and if you dare to leave she'll destroy your house.

"This sweet hound mix has a voice to remember—if you’re lucky, she’ll treat you to one of her signature songs (encore requests encouraged)." Translation: don't think about applying if you live in an apartment. Or have neighbors.

"Gets along with other dogs but would also do just fine being your only fur baby. She is house-trained and sleeps in a crate at night." Translation: She's friendly, easy-going, comfortable being alone but also appreciates your company. She's the dog first-time (or experienced) dog adopters should be looking for.

07/08/2026

THIS IS SHOCKINGLY DANGEROUS.

Slip leads are designed to tighten without limit around a dog's neck. They're ok if you need a quick leash and don't have a collar for the dog, like at a shelter or vet clinic. But the key is to keep the leash SHORT.

Because a dog can go from 0-25 miles per hour in about three strides. This leash is 6 meters long, about 6-12 strides. If the dog bolts at top speed and hits the end of a slip lead at 25 miles per hour, ESPECIALLY with the leash adjusted to the top of the dog's neck like the manufacturer recommends (!), the dog very well could get a crushed trachea, fractured vertebrae, slipped disks in the neck, thyroid damage, etc. These injuries are documented in dogs that pull while being walked on a "short" leash, it's only logical it'll be way worse on a 20 foot leash.

07/07/2026

I’ve been thinking a lot about Fear lately, especially with young dogs.

My puppy, Benny, just turned 2 years old so he’s not so much a young dog anymore. But when he was younger, there were two issues I noticed when we went on walks: he was scared of cars passing beside him on the street, and he was afraid to get his feet wet in creeks and puddles.

As a trainer with decades of experience helping to desensitize dogs to fearful situations, what did I decide to do to help Benny with these fears?

Basically, ignore them.

He’s scared of cars passing beside him on the street? We stayed on less-trafficked side roads, on sidewalks on the left side of the street so that I was between him and the cars.

He didn’t like getting his feet wet? We walked around puddles and didn’t walk through creeks.

My intention was not to wrap him in bubble wrap and make sure nothing in the world ever scared him. Sometimes scary things happen and dogs do need to be able to accept that.

But how do I want him to handle fears? By trusting me to keep him safe and help him through it. That as long as we’re together nothing bad’s going to happen. And building that relationship with a young dog sometimes means just avoiding things you know he’ll be scared of.

And you know what? I almost forgot that he used to be scared of these things. Because now, as a “mature” dog (as mature as silly Benny will ever be 🤪), he’s no longer afraid of these things like he was when he was young. I hope that I taught him confidence that we’ll face the world together and have fun in the process. 😌

Does this mean this is what everyone should do with your puppies? No, not necessarily! But at the same time, try not to take little fears too seriously.

And as always, contact a Force Free trainer to help if your dog is experiencing a lot of fear!