The Cog Dog Blog
Photo Credit: Swiftrun Photography
latest blog post
Sarah Stremming: Cog Dog Coach
In 2011 I founded The Cognitive Canine with the mission of serving people whose dogs had behavioral concerns. In 2016 I started Cog Dog Radio. In the past ten years I have allowed the business to reach its branches, bend in the wind, and change with the seasons. It...
Happy Crating
The first night Idgie came home she screamed. She didn't whine or fuss she full-on banshee-screamed. For eight hours. She didn't stop. My colleagues told me I had to wait her out. I had to be careful not to let her out of the crate if she was screaming. So I did. Fast...
Actor-Trainers: why TV dog trainers won’t get better until the rest of us do
I have breaking news: semi-reputable (or not at all reputable) professionals with pretty faces get TV shows sometimes. That's our reality, and I don't really care about it. But on occasion one of these actor-professionals will appear in my circles because they are...
If you’re drowning get out of the pool
Last weekend I was teaching Worked Up, as I often do on the weekends. I told two people whose dogs I worked hands-on with that they should take a break from their chosen sports while they worked through some problems. I hate telling people that because they hate...
The Deep Dark
I'm not sure I am sharing this with the world. There. That sentence allows me to write it. Here we go. Depression is an old friend of mine. Why "friend" and not enemy? I know it too well; I am not one to keep my enemies close. Why "friend" and not acquaintance? Same...
The Four Steps
I talk about this thing, this thing I call "The Four Steps" to behavioral wellness. These steps, as I see them, are exercise, enrichment, nutrition, and communication. My thinking is that if these four areas, these key components of mental health, are addressed in our...
Can you fix it?
Dog owners and trainers alike face behaviors in their beloved four-leggeds that cause them stress. Barking and lunging on leash, bolting out open doors, snatching food from counters, and the list goes on! Dogs do all kinds of dog things that are hard for humans to...
Close Calls
When my first border collie Kelso was a baby, around 12 weeks old, somebody tried to steal him from my backyard. My sister saw the hands reach into the fence and grab at him, she screamed out the window, they let go, and he ran for the house. They had actually removed...
Much Ado About Sniffing
I once wrote in-depth about what functions sniffing serves and why it's such a vital part of dogdom and one to be respected. You can find that HERE. Please read it first. So why am I here, writing about it again? A friend's facebook thread asking "what can we do about...