Blue Ridge Dog Training Club

10/16/2026

Stretching to get ready for the weekend!

🤣

10/09/2026

Weekend coming!

Universal joy.

10/04/2026

Happy World Animal Day! 😺🦔🐥🦆 🐌

10/03/2026

Get moving, people.

According to PDSA research, a dog's perfect walk is 67 minutes long with 16 dedicated sniff stops along the way. Most owners report cutting walks significantly shorter and pulling their dogs away from sniffing to keep moving, which veterinary experts say is the opposite of what dogs actually need.

Sniffing activates the brain far more than running does for dogs, meaning a slow walk with plenty of stops is more restorative than a fast one with none. The walk your dog is trying to take is not the same walk you are trying to finish.

09/29/2026

critical

❤️𝔻𝕠𝕘𝕤 𝕒𝕣𝕖 𝕤𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕚𝕖𝕟𝕥 𝕓𝕖𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕤.

🤔That shouldn’t be a controversial statement, but recognising what it actually means should fundamentally change the way we live with, care for and train them.

➡️Sentience means dogs don’t simply respond to the world like biological machines.

✅They have subjective experiences.

✅They can experience pleasure, excitement and comfort, but also fear, frustration, distress and pain.

✅Their emotional state matters to them.

💯And that has enormous implications for dog training.

↘️When a dog growls, freezes, hides, barks, lunges or tries to escape, we shouldn’t only be asking:

“How do I stop this behaviour?”

We should also be asking:

“What is this dog experiencing that is causing this behaviour?”

⚠️Because behaviour is information.

🐾A frightened dog isn’t giving you a hard time.

🐾A frustrated dog isn’t deliberately being difficult.

🐾A dog who growls isn’t being disrespectful.

🐾A dog who cannot cope isn’t being stubborn.

🙌That doesn’t mean we simply allow every behaviour. Of course dogs need boundaries, guidance and skills that allow them to live safely in a human world.

💯But how we teach those skills matters.💯

If we ALL accept (including balanced trainers) that dogs can experience fear, pain, distress and anxiety, then deliberately using those experiences to change behaviour deserves serious ethical consideration , particularly when we have humane, evidence-based alternatives available.

✅Good training shouldn’t simply produce obedience.

🩵It should consider the emotional state of the dog while learning is taking place.

Sometimes the most important question isn’t:↘️

“Did the behaviour stop?”

It’s:↘️

“How does the dog feel now?”

⛔️Because welfare cannot be separate from training.

𝐈𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐢𝐭. 🐾

09/28/2026

Want to help dogs live longer, healthier lives? Join the Dog Aging Project Pack at dogagingproject.org!

🐾Together, we can help dogs live longer, healthier lives.

09/28/2026

Anything that you would add?

It happens faster than you think. One day they're a puppy, the next they're getting "sugar face."

When it comes to senior dogs, a little TLC can make a BIG difference in their golden years. ☀️

Drop into the comments to learn more.

09/16/2026

Do you carry pet insurance?

This study examines pet insurance trends in the U.S. Researchers analyzed survey data from 47,444 dogs enrolled in the Dog Aging Project between 2020 and 2023.

⚛️Read the publication here: https://doi.org/10.2460/ajvr.26.02.0065 and check out our Scientific Results Blog Series to learn more: https://dogagingproject.org/pet-insurance-uptake-is-associated-with-dog-and-owner-demographics-and-health-status-based-on-dog-aging-project-survey-data

09/13/2026

So take the picture.

Congratulate the person beside you.

Stay a few minutes longer after judging.

Scratch your dog behind the ears before you walk into that ring.

And every once in a while, forget about the points, the rankings, and who beat whom.

Look down at the dog standing beside you.

That was always the best part anyway. ❤️🐾

https://showsightmagazine.com/

09/12/2026

Thanks to .center for this awesome graphic. Study it, then put it into practice.