June is National Adopt-A-Cat Month, and to celebrate, we are sharing some tips for picking the right cat and bringing them home.

What to consider when adopting a cat

• Age - There are pros and cons to adult cats and kittens. With adult cats, what you see is what you get. They might be a little timid in a shelter environment but, in general, you know what their energy level and temperament are, and you know any health issues they have. The added benefit is that they (usually) are already litter box trained. Kittens, on the other hand, are more of a blank slate. You can shape their personality to some extent, but you also need to train all of the other behaviors you want, too.
• Your home environment - Do you live alone in a quiet home or do you have a chaotic house full of people? Cats are really sensitive to the energy level inside a home, and you want to do your best to match energy levels. A low-key cat does best in a low-key home. A house that is full of life and energy needs a cat...

When was the last time you used a five-minute down stay with your dog? I'm willing to bet that it was the last time you practiced that in a training class.

There is a lot of stuff that is taught in training classes that seem contained just to the class. I have talked to a lot of people who have never used half of what they learned in their training classes after the course was over. That's crazy!

It is not their fault at all though. It is the fault of the class they took. Do I think they were learning things that were pointless? Not at all. I think they were being taught out of context.

I was guilty of this when I first started training. I would go over the mechanics of specific cues and that was it. A sit was a sit. A stay was a stay. I would show people how to do all of these things with their dogs but never took the next step of showing them how to actually use it.

Now, all of my training has a context. Sit is no longer just a command, it is a tool. We go over how we...

We officially got our designation as an essential business from the Department of Economic and Community Development today!

That means we are back to being allowed to take care of any pets not just those belonging to essential workers.

What services are we currently offering?

• Dog walks - walk around the neighborhood
• Training walks - walk focused on manners on leash
• Online dog training - full courses and private coaching
• Visits are only available for essential workers at this time

What precautions are we taking?

• We are sanitizing our hands before getting out of our cars and when we get back into them. That means we are sanitizing twice between appointments.
• We will be using a new pair of gloves for each appointment while we have a supply of gloves. As with all protective equipment there is always the risk of a supply shortage.
• We are providing our own leashes to reduce the risk of any viruses going either way.
• Any staff member will take their temperature prior to...