Pawsitive Behavior Solutions, LLC

09/30/2026

🐾 Beyond the Behavior: Body Language — Part 1

Join us for the first Beyond the Behavior educational event, created specifically for individuals actively involved with rescue organizations supporting at-risk dogs.

📅 Wednesday, October 21, 2026
⏰ 7:00 PM ET
⏱️ 1-hour session
🎉 FREE first session!

Body language is one of the best barometers we have of a dog’s emotional state. This session will focus on strengthening observation skills and using what the dog is actually communicating to guide behavior and management decisions.
During the 30-minute presentation, we’ll cover:

🐾 Being objective about your observations
🐾 Why context matters
🐾 Arousal: why monitoring it is the key to behavior change
🐾 Emotional states: the gateway to addressing behavior challenges
🐾 Body language video feedback using examples submitted by rescues

The presentation will be followed by a 30-minute Q&A. Rescues are encouraged to submit videos of dogs in their care for body language review and discussion.

This event is for rescues only. All participants must be actively involved with a rescue organization.

🎉 The first session is FREE.
💲 After that, sessions are $6 per person affiliated with a rescue.

🔗 Register here:
tinyurl.com/beyondthebehavior⁠

Please share with rescue staff and volunteers who may benefit! 🐾

09/28/2026

08/31/2026

The #1 Reason I Sometimes Want to Quit Dog Behavior Consulting

Misinformation.

Not the difficult dogs, long hours, or emotionally exhausting cases - The misinformation.

Recently, a rescue asked me to assess a trainer’s ability to work with challenging dogs. Image after image showed dogs posed motionless on cold, metal platforms at Home Depot, as if stillness in chaos proved emotional regulation.

Then came the equipment: prong collars, shock collars, sometimes both connected with a carabiner.

To the dogs in those pictures: I’m sorry. Our industry was supposed to recognize when you felt unsafe and teach you the skills you needed to navigate the world.

Instead, some addressed your challenges through suppression, called your confusion disobedience and when you finally implemented a self-defense strategy, we labeled you aggressive like it was a character trait.

We affirmed your underlying suspicion -
People can harm me in the name of "rehabilitation" and my need to feel safe is secondary to showcased outcomes.

These aren’t harmless myths. Misunderstanding behavior can increase fear, stress, conflict, and aggression. Dogs aren’t robots. Behavior isn’t a moral failing. Fear isn’t stubbornness. There’s no magic “pack leader" button.

The icing on the cake? They charge three times more than I do. By the time these dogs get to me, their guardians have limited financial and emotional resources. I am then the one that has to try to cram everything into an affordable product in an effort to save this dog from relinquishment to a shelter or behavioral euthanasia.

I don’t want to quit helping dogs. I want to quit fighting misinformation to help them. But at this point, I am just tired.

07/21/2026

Over the years I've worked with dogs that would do anything for a slice of cucumber—and others that wouldn't eat the same meal twice.
We often assume a dog's intensity around food is simply part of their temperament. But is it?

As it turns out, there are many factors that can contribute to food becoming so exciting that a dog loses the ability to think, learn, and regulate their emotions. Some of these factors are even preventable.

🥕 What can create an unhealthy relationship with food?

1️⃣ Genetics. Some dogs are naturally more food-motivated than others.

2️⃣ Periods of food deprivation. Dogs that experienced starvation, neglect, or puppy mill conditions—especially during critical developmental periods—may develop lasting challenges around food.

3️⃣ Making every calorie contingent on behavior. When dogs have to "earn" every meal, they can develop a very different emotional relationship with food. Requiring increasingly difficult or costly behaviors for basic nutrition can contribute to frustration rather than healthy motivation.

4️⃣ Pairing food with high-arousal activities. If food is consistently associated with agility, sport training, or other highly exciting situations, the mere presence of food can begin to trigger that same level of arousal—even in everyday settings.

5️⃣ Training that creates conflict. When a dog experiences the fear of getting it wrong alongside the excitement of earning a high-value reward, those competing emotions can create frustration and emotional conflict around food.

🐶 So how do you know if your dog has an unhealthy relationship with food?

Stay tuned for Part 2!

07/07/2026

I am so proud of my niece, . She was on vacation in Bali with a friend and she came across this dog that was tied to a post, day and night. Instead of walking away, she fed him daily, researched and found a local rescue that would take him, diplomatically spoke to the owner and convinced him to relinquish his dog, went with him to his vet visit and was there for his first walk. He is now available for adoption! https://www.instagram.com/p/DaZWNMYEqiW/?img_index=4&igsh=MTFlMTB5bHk4bTVydA==

05/09/2026

Nala is a two-year-old Belgian Malinois currently being fostered through Anne Arundel County Animal Care & Control. She has so many positives — lovely on leash, social with people, comfortable spending time alone, and incredibly affectionate. By the end of our session, she had happily climbed into my lap for scratches and cuddles.

The one skill she was missing? Learning how to self-regulate after becoming highly aroused during activities like intense play or chasing wildlife.

With high-drive breeds, the default approach is often “more training” paired with punishment when they struggle to settle. But punishment does not teach a dog how to independently return to baseline after excitement. That is a skill that has to be thoughtfully built.

Our priorities were:

1. Identifying the subtle body language changes that showed she was beginning to de-escalate.

2. Teaching her how to truly relax on a visual target — not just hold a stay, but genuinely settle.

3. Reinforcing calm behavior consistently and intentionally.

4. Reintroducing play with structure, beginning with very short bursts using lower-value toys.

Dogs like Nala do not need to be “shut down.” They need support learning how to move between excitement and calm in a healthy, functional way.

If interested in adopting this sweet girl, contact Anne Arundel Animal Control.

04/18/2026

Street dogs of Turkey — known as sokak köpeği — offer a perspective that’s hard to forget.

I spent a week observing a close-knit group of three dogs who called the park next to my hotel room. What stood out most wasn’t just their presence, but how seamlessly they were woven into the community.

The colored tags on their ears told a story: they had been registered, spayed/neutered, and vaccinated before being released back into their territory. They weren’t “owned,” but they weren’t invisible either.

Throughout the week, I watched people pause on their daily routines to fill water bowls, leave food, or offer a quick moment of affection. The dogs moved calmly through their environment — no visible fear, no tension, no notable behavior challenges. They simply existed as part of the rhythm of daily life.

It’s hard not to reflect on the contrast with the U.S., where the way we breed, raise, and manage dogs often contributes to many of the behavior challenges we see today.

Maybe there’s something to learn from a system where dogs are allowed to just belong.

03/27/2026

We’re not entirely sure what the true function of play is, but one leading hypothesis is that it gives animals a safe outlet to rehearse natural behaviors — including predatory ones.
When incorporating play into your pet’s routine, here are a few things to keep in mind:

1. They decide what’s reinforcing.
Not all Labradors love fetch, just like not all Terriers are drawn to a flirt pole. Every animal is an individual. Offer a variety of options and observe what they naturally choose to engage with.

2. Give them choice.
We don’t want to do the same activity every day — and neither do they. Put out a couple of options, like a ball and a flirt pole, and let your pet decide what they feel like playing in that moment.

3. Play builds your relationship.
One thing humans and animals share is a lifelong love of play. Most pets won’t consistently entertain themselves, so your participation matters. Get involved — that’s where the real bonding happens.

4. Monitor arousal levels.
Both “good” and “bad” arousal can tip into dysregulation. If you notice signs like jumping, increased mouth pressure, stiff movement, or zoomies, it’s time to pause. Make the toy “go dead” and give them space to decompress. Even better, scatter some kibble and allow them to forage while they return to baseline.

Play isn’t just fun — it’s a vital part of your pet’s emotional and behavioral wellbeing.

03/24/2026

The third reason why pain or discomfort should always be considered first in a behavior case: pain and fear are neurologically intertwined.

Acute pain and fear share overlapping pathways in the brain, particularly within the amygdala—the center responsible for processing emotional responses. Neurotransmitters like serotonin and noradrenaline influence both behavior and emotional states, which means what we’re seeing on the outside may not have a single root cause.

Pain can shift emotional state. Emotional state can amplify pain.

This is where it gets complex—treating pain alone may not resolve the anticipatory anxiety that develops alongside chronic discomfort. And on the flip side, generalized anxiety can create or worsen pain through chronic muscle tension, fatigue from prolonged “fight or flight,” gastrointestinal upset, poor sleep quality, and increased pain sensitivity.

So what’s the answer?

We don’t choose one or the other—we consider both.

Addressing behavior without evaluating pain risks missing a key piece of the puzzle. And treating pain without supporting the emotional experience may leave dogs stuck in a cycle of stress and discomfort.

Behavior is never just behavior.