Seattle Metropolitan Magazine has an annual Best of the City issue. As the founder of Ahimsa Dog Training, I was featured as the “Trailblazer” in Seattle Met. Fox chose three of the Trailblazers to feature on their morning show and interviewed me with my dogs at the training center in Seattle. (The dogs are Sagan - pit bull / boxer, Peanut - border collie / whippet, & Spoon - border collie / hound). Click here to see the Fox “Best of the Best” Interview. The video is sometimes broken, and refreshing the Fox website seems to help.

There’s a big 3D picture in the Seattle Metropolitan magazine (page 96). You’ll see me in the foreground and Amanda Brothers in the background. Amanda was really teaching the class - I just slipped in to borrow some puppies for the photo. Thanks again to the puppy class students for putting up with us!

Written by Grisha Stewart, Ahimsa Dog Training, Seattle

Liked This Article? Please Bookmark It!
StumbleUpon   del.icio.us    Digg It   Facebook   Technorati   

The AKC reported 30 dog thefts for January-March 2008, compared to 10 in the entire year for 2007.

I don’t know the rest of the trend (maybe 2007 was a really low year?) but the AKC is worried and so am I.

(more…)

Written by Grisha Stewart, Ahimsa Dog Training, Seattle

It’s official. The “Dog Whisperer” TV show uses outdated, inhumane dog training methods. I’m so happy to have found out that it’s not just me, or the many, many dog trainers that I know - in Seattle and around the world - that think the Dog Whisperer show has done more harm than good. Everyone has been so afraid to say anything possibly libelous, but it’s just the truth, and we need to stop hurting these dogs.

The American Humane Association, founded in 1887, officially announced late last summer that they found the techniques on the “Dog Whisperer” inhumane, and stated that the National Geographic Channel should take Cesar Millan’s show off of the air as soon as possible.

(more…)

Written by Grisha Stewart, Ahimsa Dog Training, Seattle

CityDog Magazine had it’s annual readership poll for TopDog in various categories. In 2006, we were voted TopDog in the Dog Trainer/Behaviorist category. In 2007, CityDog wrote that we were a “close second” to a facility in Woodinville. When I asked my clients for suggestions for what to say about Ahimsa getting the most votes of any dog training facility in Seattle proper, here’s what one of them wrote: (more…)

Written by Grisha Stewart, Ahimsa Dog Training, Seattle

I could have used the headline that others used, “Pit Bulls maul sleeping woman…” but I think the more important detail here is how this happened. It’s not the breed, it’s the fool who chained them up outside. Yes, some pit bulls are dog aggressive. And yes, they are powerful. But I have seen dogs of all breeds that are aggressive to dogs and to people. And “Pit Bull” isn’t even a breed, it’s a description of several breeds of dog. When a pit bull gets into trouble, “Pit Bull” is in the headline. When it’s a labrador retriever, like the mauling of that woman in France who got face surgery, they don’t usually even bother stating the breed.

(more…)

Written by Grisha Stewart, Ahimsa Dog Training, Seattle

The Seattle Dog Play Classifieds have made news twice lately. They were featured in Seattle Metropolitan Magazine’s “Best of the City” issue, July 2007) and in the Seattle Times (”It’s a Dog Meet Dog World,” August 2006)

In the Seattle Dog Play Classifieds, you just list your dog or search for friends, based on play style, age, location, etc. The service is completely free and is used by dogs, puppies, and their humans throughout the Puget Sound. It’s open to the public, not just students of Ahimsa Dog Training.

I originally created this service as a way to find play friends for my own dog, and it worked! I’m glad to have a chance to help other dogs find friends, too!

Click here to visit the Seattle Dog Play Classifieds.

Written by Grisha Stewart, Ahimsa Dog Training, Seattle

Liked This Article? Please Bookmark It!
StumbleUpon   del.icio.us    Digg It   Facebook   Technorati   

A visit with friends turned tragic when a child approached a family dog with a bone. You hear about this sort of thing all of the time, but too often, people “correct” the dog by telling it not to growl, rather than changing the emotionally charge of the situation. Now the dog is still angry or fearful, but it’s been told not to growl at people any more. Then we get the Silent Biter - the dog who shows no warning before biting. (more…)

Written by Grisha Stewart, Ahimsa Dog Training, Seattle

I was interviewed by Susan Paynter at the Seattle PI about what’s new and interesting in the dog world. Click here to read the article. Wilson is now taking classes at Ahimsa.

This was one of the few times that I felt well-represented by a news article, probably because I was interviewed for a good amount of time and Susan had a chance to see what we do in person. Still, it’s rare, and I’m grateful!

Written by Grisha Stewart, Ahimsa Dog Training, Seattle

Liked This Article? Please Bookmark It!
StumbleUpon   del.icio.us    Digg It   Facebook   Technorati