Rowan's Dog Training

05/31/2026

05/29/2026

𝗧𝗢𝗣 𝗤𝗨𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦 𝗜 𝗚𝗘𝗧 𝗔𝗦𝗞𝗘𝗗

Most new puppy owners ask me what to do about 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗽𝘂𝗽𝗽𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗴.

It’s no secret that puppies can be annoying

Just like teenagers don’t want to hang out with babies, lots of adult dogs aren’t interested in babysitting a puppy- or being chewed up by one.

Less is more, absence makes the heart grow fonder when it comes to relationships with puppies and adult dogs.

What I have all my clients do is watch the adult and make the puppy leave them alone when they tell them to.

So this takes learning a bit of dog body language so you know when to step in.

Keeping a leash on your puppy all the time really helps you to catch them and pull them away before they take a chunk out of your older dog’s tail ( or ear or foot or floof )

As always, I’m happy to answer follow up questions.

And if you want more detailed, specific guidance about what YOU should do to get YOUR puppy to be a polite family member, just send me a message and we can start to figure that out :)

05/28/2026

Product Help: Dog Toys

Dog toys serve the purpose of occupying your dog’s teeth. Which is very important, because if a toy isn’t in their mouth, their teeth are likely to end up on you.

Dogs can have particular preferences, so you should take the time to discover what your dog likes.

I don’t want you spending tons of money on one type of toy that your dog never picks up.

My dogs don’t care at all for tennis balls. Almost zero interest.

My Chloe didn’t like toys that squeaked, she wanted the toys that honk.

Tough toys don’t interest Riley. He wants to rip things apart.

Ziva always wants a toy in her mouth, and isn’t too picky about it, but when she was a puppy and looked at my husbands leather shoes longingly, be bought her a suede toy of her own.

She also had a longing for wood furniture legs, so we got her many gorilla wood chews that she absolutely adored.

You can find toys that are stuffingless, that make all sorts of noise, that are made of kevlar, everything is out there.

Riley and Ziva really like the toys that crinkle.

So before you buy a bunch of toys,

1️⃣Think about the variety you are offering.

2️⃣ Think about what your dog has been getting into trouble with, and if you can buy them something they will enjoy that can be theirs

I hope this pro insight was helpful and saves you money.

If you want to know specifically the brands / items I personally use and recommend then head over to the “shop products” page of my website or feel free to send me a message.

And if you want a puppy raising partner to put you on the right path, and keep you there so your puppy becomes a polite family member asap and doesn’t develop problem behaviors, I’d love to have a conversation 🙂

I also don’t just work with puppies and am happy to talk with dog owners who want to live more happily with their fur babies.

05/26/2026

Did you know too much exercise can be a bad thing?

I don’t think puppy parents usually think about this one.

Puppies are fragile, and growing obviously, but do you think about how the way they exercise could be detrimental?

Here’s what you need to know.

When you look at puppies front legs especially, you can see the extra bump that isn’t their wrist. That is where they are growing, their growth plate.

Those bumps go away as they reach their full grown size.

Those areas are extra sensitive and we want to protect them.

If you’ve done any sort of agility or competition work or have a friend who does I know they never stop talking about it 🙂

The biggest concern is with impact, jumping off of things or jumping up to catch things.

Landing is dangerous, and the higher they jump or jump from, the more stress that falls on those sensitive growth plates.

Because of this, you’ll see recommendations to limit exercise to 5 minutes per month of age 2x a day.

I think that’s a fine starting point, but I focus on impact.

Jumping UP on a bed or couch is no big deal, soft gentle landing.

Jumping DOWN off the bed or couch or jumping high to get a ball or frisby then landing… That’s what I do my best to avoid with dogs under 18 months.

So keep your tosses low and get stairs or help your pup off the furniture so their legs grow straight and strong.

That’s what I can think of on this topic for now!

I truly hope this was helpful for you and if you have follow up questions, please ask!

If you want support and a partner as you raise, train and live with your dog, I’d love to talk to you. Simply send me a message and we can talk about how I can potentially help.

05/22/2026

𝟰 𝗠𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝗴 𝗼𝘄𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗽𝘂𝗽 𝗶𝘀 𝗠𝗶𝘀𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴

1️.They yell their name in a harsh tone - What does that mean? Their name is supposed to mean “look at me” not be a bad word.

2️.They only say “no, stop that!” - they don’t offer an alternate behavior. It’s not enough to say what is wrong, you also have to tell your dog what is right.

3️.They aren’t consistent with their feedback - sometimes jumping is bad, but sometimes it isn’t? That’s REALLY confusing and can make dogs anxious.

4️⃣.They allow the problem behavior to happen when they aren’t around. If your dog gets to practice being a butthead when you aren’t home, it’s harder to get them to stop overall. If you make it impossible for them to make mistakes, and always tell them the right thing to do, they can quickly change their behavior.

Let me know if you make these mistakes, or if you plan to change YOUR behavior now that you have read this list 😀

And if you need help 𝘯𝘰𝘵 implementing these things, send me a message or give me a call and we can talk things through ❤️

05/21/2026

Product Help: Leashes

If you are looking into buying a new leash for your dog, or a leash for your new dog, here is what you actually need, skip the new flashy crap.

Get:
💚A solid length of leash.
💚I think 6 feet is the best length for general walking and cotton is my favorite material.
💚Just make sure there isn’t a bungee in it, and please please don’t get a retractable leash.
💚If you want leather or biothane, that’s fine.
💚If you want it to have a second handle in the middle, that’s fine.
You don’t need a leash with two clasps.

Avoid:

❌Retractable leashes
❌Bungee leashes

Bonus points:

🟣Get a 6 foot and a 15-30 foot leash for more opportunities for fun and training.

I hope this is helpful and saves you some money.

If you want to know specifically the brands / items I personally use and recommend then head over to the “shop products” page of my website or feel free to send me a message.

And if you want a puppy raising partner to put you on the right path, and keep you there so your puppy becomes a polite family member asap and doesn’t develop problem behaviors, I’d love to have a conversation 🙂

I also don’t just work with puppies and am happy to talk with dog owners who want to live more happily with their fur babies

05/19/2026

Have you heard of Bloat?

I was reminded yesterday of this serious danger to dogs that I know all about, but that not everyone does.

It’s really sad because for those in the know, it’s easy to prevent and avoid, but knowledge takes a while to spread.

You just don’t know what you don’t know..

Which is why I talk and share so much :)

Let’s be sure everyone knows what bloat in dogs is and how to prevent it.

First, Bloat particularly affects large chested dogs. Not just large breeds, but large chests. The top ten highest risk breeds are:

Great Dane
German Shepherd
Standard Poodle
Weimaraner
Irish Setter
Saint Bernard
Boxer
Doberman Pinscher
Irish Wolfhound
Akita

Smaller breeds with higher risk are:

Dachshunds
Yorkshire Terriers
Pekingese

Bloat is a condition where the stomach wiggles around in the body cavity and twists / flips, cutting off blood circulation and is often quickly fatal.

There are many things you can do to prevent bloat, so don’t panic.

First, in the highest risk categories ( so for me and Ziva ) I elected for a gastropexy surgery.

At the same time as when she was being spayed, they did an extra surgery to connect her stomach to her body cavity, so that if a situation happened where her stomach wanted to flip, it wouldn’t actually be possible.

They did the procedure laparoscopically and described it as “tacking” her stomach with a few stitches to hold it in place.

The recovery for this was a little longer than just for her spay. They encouraged me to feed her 3-4 meals a day instead of the traditional 2, so they were smaller and I needed to restrict her exercise for 2 weeks I believe.

It was pretty simple and I have a lot of peace of mind now.

In addition to the surgery, there are some simple things I work into my routine and keep an eye on.

Dogs who eat too fast can develop bloat, so I make sure if that’s a concern, I slow them down.

A stomach full of water can cause bloat, so watch dogs playing in water carefully, and on hot days, don’t exercise your dog a lot so they drink a lot of water.

Lastly, simply playing/ running on a full belly can cause bloat. I have calm time 30 minutes before and after eating so their stomachs are settled.

That’s what I can think of on this topic for now!

I truly hope this was helpful for you and if you have follow up questions, please ask!

If you want support and a partner as you raise, train and live with your dog, I’d love to talk to you. Simply send me a message and we can talk about how I can potentially help.

05/15/2026

7 Best brands of dry dog food to look into...

Nature's Logic
Dr. Gary's Best Breed
Farmina N&D
Nulo Challenger
Stella & Chewy's
Fromm four-star
Zignature

Have you heard of these?

Do you know one I should add?