Lokal K9
150 Rykert Street L2S2B6 Saint Catharines, ON, Canada

The best puppy article I’ve read so far. An absolute must-read.

Lokal K9 Covid 19 Update Due to todays Provincial institution of a state of emergency and stay at home order throughout Ontario, Lokal K9 will continue to be closed for all in person services including boarding. Lokal K9 will continue to offer distance services (phone, text, email and conference) by appointment to both current and prospective clients. Please stay home and stay safe, I look forward to seeing all my clients in the future.

An excellent mini primer for new puppy owners. Please be sure you are familiar with the physical AND emotional needs of your puppy before you bring them home - as the first hours and days away from thier litter can be very traumatic. Contact Lokal K9 for full puppy development programs - including counselling and preparation before your puppy arrives. https://fabclinicians.org///Dog-First-days-and-nights.pdf

LIMA and Lokal K9 Lokal K9 is committed to proffessional ethics and maintaining a high degree of competency in current evidence based methodologies. With this in mind we are happy to publicly commit to following LIMA (Least Intrusive Minimally Aversive) strategies in the application of all training and behaviour change objectives. ... For a detailed description of LIMA methodologies visit the link below to the IAABC statement on LIMA. https://m.iaabc.org/about/lima/

Covid 19 Update Hello everyone, due to the Niagara Region moving into Red Zone status Lokal K9 will be suspending all in-person services until the new year. We will be keeping a close eye on safety guidelines and resume appropriate in-person services as soon as it’s safe to do so. ... Distance services are still available through phone, messaging and eConsultation. For both current and prospective clients. Stay safe and Happy Holidays from Lokal K9

To everyone that is so against relinquishing their animals to a shelter I’d like to share a story from my local Humane Society. When you post an animal on Kijiji or re-home it to a stranger you have no idea where that animal will end up and for what purpose. Resale? Breeding? Bait dog? Junkyard guard dog? When you relinquish a pet to an animal shelter you are bringing them to a safe place where they will receive medical care, be cared for by a host of staff members and vol...unteers who are there because they care about the welfare of companion animals, and will have thier new adopter screened to be sure that they can provide a safe home for your pet both mentally and physically. Shelter workers deeply care for the welfare of the animals they take in. In this case a local man recently became homeless and did the most selfless thing he could - relinquished his beloved pets because he knew they were not safe living with him in a car in a Canadian winter. Far from the callous response people seem to assume shelters take to these situations, the staff saw how much this man cared for the welfare of his pets - and started a public campaign to connect him with the resources he needed to get back on his feet; While housing his pets and allowing him to visit them. The response was amazing - resulting in an outpouring of community support which has him back in housing, local support to upgrade his skills and will soon have him reunited with his beloved pets. Support your local Humane Society. Happy Holidays from Lokal K9

Tip of the Day: It Works - But is it Right? There are no end of YouTube videos from both professional dog trainers and keyboard cowboys on how you should train or address behavioural issues with your dog. And in many of these videos you will see someone almost immediately 'fix' a dog that the owner could not handle moments before. ... These results are very impressive! And seeing is believing, Right? What I would like all dog owners to do is stop and really assess what you are watching in these videos. Is the trainer using aversive tools like a prong or eCollar? Are they using corrections like 'hanging' or 'checking' the dog? If so, then I would be very suspicious of either the experience level - or the foundational background of the trainer. It is almost never appropriate or necessary to begin with aversive methods, especially with a dog you have no previous relationship with. Science based training organizations follow a hierarchy of humane training interventions. Focusing on using the least aversive method that can be successfully applied in each individual case - while still accommodating the necessity to move towards more intrusive methods should the specific case warrant it. The link below shows an ethical hierarchy of procedures for humane and effective practice of animal training and behaviour intervention. The hierarchy is dependent on the teacher having the knowledge base to assess and appropriately apply each step. Lokal K9 highly recommends becoming familiar with this approach; applying it to your own interactions with your dog and ensuring any professional you seek to hire has the knowledge, skill and ethics to apply it in all their training methods. https://m.iaabc.org/about/lima/hierarchy/

Tip of the Day: Listen to this podcast! Anyone considering adding a dog to thier home or anyone that has or will ever have a dog should listen to this podcast. They cover a wide variety of topics relating genetic selection to dog behaviour and most importantly to how their genetic drives can effect their quality of life when expected inside a home with todays typical expectations.... Anyone who cares about the wellbeing of their dog should be well versed in these factors and be willing to accommodate the ethological needs of the animals we bring into our lives. https://podcasts.apple.com//kim-brophey-cdbc/id1521311807

Tip of the Day: Lighted Toys The use of lighted toys like laser pointers have become popular in exercise and enrichment for cats and - as commonly happens - have been marketed to larger audiences in the form of dog toys. Unfortunately lighted toys can become a trigger for a host of behaviour issues in dogs. Like light/shadow chasing and obsessive/compulsive behaviours. ... And since every animal is different and their response to light stimulus unknown until an issue develops the best practice is to simply not engage your dog in games using lighted toys or laser pointers. Stay safe and play safe this holiday season, Lokal K9

Tip of the Day: Pain and Behaviour If you are seeing an adult or sudden onset of any number of behaviours in your dog your first step should be a trip to your vet. And possibly a trial of pain management. There are a multitude of conditions in dogs that cause pain or discomfort. Arthritis, muscle strain/sprain, musculoskeletal illness or injury, nerve problems. The list is endless. And dogs do not show outward symptoms like limping, crying or slowing movements until they are... in a large amount of pain/discomfort. Commonly the initial changes due to pain will be behavioural. Things that will not be attributed to a physical cause. Irritability, wariness of people or other animals, heightened startle response, aggression - growling, snapping and biting. All of these can commonly be caused by physical pain or discomfort. The other problem is that a chronic or developing issue may not be detected upon examination. During your vet appointment your dog may be too excited, overwhelmed or fearful to show a pain response to exam/manual manipulation. Or the dog may be so used to the discomfort that thier response is not considered different from thier typical reaction. The great news is that a trial of pain medication is about the easiest medical intervention for behaviour; carries some of the least risk of adverse side effects to the drugs used and, as pain medications usually reach peak effectiveness within hours to days, is one of the easiest interventions to be able to quickly and effectively assess. Animals can not tell us they hurt. And chronic pain can make quality of life absolutely miserable - along with life for those living with someone in chronic pain. A trial of pain management is an essential tool in your first response to behavioural rehabilitation. For help in assessing new or developing behavioural issues with your dog contact Lokal K9 - we happily work alongside your veterinarian to achieve the best possible outcome.