I recommend that everyone feed their young dogs out of food puzzles, when they aren’t using the food for training their puppies. There are lots of treat-dispensing dog toys on the market, and we even sell some of them, like the Tug-a-Jug and the world-famous Kong Toy. But dogs need variety, just like people, so instead of buying more and more plastic toys, you can make your own! The down-side is that dogs should be supervised with these do-it-yourself dog toys, versus the more indestructible toys, like the Kong. (more…)

Written by Grisha Stewart, Ahimsa Dog Training, Seattle

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

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My dog isn’t dying, at least no more than the rest of us are. But I have joint custody of a lovely, blue-eyed Basset Hound / Border Collie named Spoon that I see only rarely. She normally lives in San Diego, but I have the good fortune of seeing her for 6 weeks while my ex is on vacation. Most people don’t drive from Seattle to San Francisco just to see a dog for 6 weeks, but I can’t imagine doing anything else. I would have gone all the way to Maine, if I had to.
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Written by Grisha Stewart, Ahimsa Dog Training, Seattle

I just made a quick video of my dog, Peanut, at Magnuson Off Leash Park in Seattle. I have him do the same chain of ten behaviors twice in a row: wait, spin, jump, heel, left turn, right turn, wait, come, sit, and carwash. There are a few dogs that Peanut just met at the dog park, for distraction.

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Written by Grisha Stewart, Ahimsa Dog Training, Seattle

My favorite new toy is definitely the Tug-A-Jug by Busy Buddy. When Sagan gets amped up and wants to tackle Peanut (who is never in the mood for her), we have her sit/stay and then put some kibble in this fabulous invention. Sagan tires herself out and peace returns to our two dogs and their moms.

You can feed the dog’s whole meal in there and it’s very easy to put the food in. Just unscrew and dump in a scoop.

We have both sizes of the Tug-A-Jug at the training center in Ballard and in our new online store, though there are other places in Seattle to buy them now, too. I think.

Written by Grisha Stewart, Ahimsa Dog Training, Seattle

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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