KINFOLK CANINE
Welcome to our neck of the woods on the web!
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Looking for a home-away-from-home for your dog(s) while you travel?
Seeking puppy or basic dog training support near Issaquah?
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HOW DOGS BECAME HER NORTH STAR
Laura began helping people live more harmoniously with their pups in the mid aughts while pursuing a doctoral degree in anthropology at Stanford. Although she'd spent much of her childhood persuading her parents to bring in canine family members, the idea of working with dogs started as a casual search for a fun, furry running buddy one foggy summer in San Francisco. She posted a Craigslist ad offering 'Jogs 4 Dogs' and went from there... As fate would have it, back in '08, Laura spotted a dashing stray bounding through Berkeley traffic. She ushered him to safety; he swiftly charmed his way into her heart and home, putting her on the path to a dog-centric life.
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Upon earning her master's, Laura sidestepped the chance to complete fieldwork overseas, opting to surround herself with dogs stateside. She launched an outings and boarding service, Town Dawg, in Oakland in '12. After a move up to Washington, she apprenticed as a dog trainer and classroom instructor at Riverdog K9 Coaching (now Jax Dog Drop) in Issaquah. In '18, Laura started teaching and training at Seattle Puppyworks (now closed) and Seattle Humane, where she currently teaches dog training basics virtually while caring for guest pups, her pups, and her art practice from home.
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SERVICES
Kinfolk Canine offers overnight care in our home on a case-by-case basis. The introductory process will address any history of fear, anxiety, reactivity, resource guarding, etc. in your dog(s). To ensure compatibility with our easygoing community of 'returning regulars' and residents, we arrange trial nights in advance of longer stays for most prospective newcomers. We also reduce risk via our fecal test requirement. For cases beyond mild shyness or "stranger danger" toward other dogs or people, please continue your search for boarding elsewhere. Thanks anyhow, best wishes! Successful candidates will also be able to remain fairly quiet and calm while staying in a crate overnight (or will be working toward that goal as youngsters) and over shorter daytime periods (four hours for full-grown dogs and fewer for pups). Upon earning confidence, many guests can graduate past the expectation for overnight crating, and all of them benefit from our homebody lifestyle. Within these parameters, boarding is open to pups as young as 8 weeks of age and to older dogs with most of the special needs of seniors. Nightly rates range according to age and, sometimes, other customized-care considerations. We will typically host three guests at most, depending on the personalities and past experiences. Occasionally, when duos or trios from the same household are present, or during popular travel periods, four overnight guests may fill a roster.
In conjunction with boarding and separately, Laura helps clients develop behavioral fundamentals in their puppies, adolescents, and adult dogs, such as: potty training, polite play etiquette, bite inhibition, handling tolerance, impulse control, reliable recall, settling ability, willingness to share resources, and respect for boundaries. She is not currently taking cases involving severe leash pulling or reactivity, separation anxiety, and resource guarding. As with boarding, for cases beyond mild shyness or "stranger danger" toward other dogs or people, please continue your search for training support elsewhere. Again, thanks anyhow and best wishes!! During and after an initial consultation, Laura can coach you on luring and shaping, establishing reward markers and error messages, and using verbal and visual cues to enhance your communication strategies. Learning begins most effectively in familiar, low-distraction contexts, moving from indoors to outdoors. You will moderate your expectations and steadily build up your dog's responsiveness to cues in contexts. Keeping this process fun makes skill building a game in itself. Laura's methods are based in the science of canine cognition. She focuses on building trust, accentuating the positive, and proactively preventing and redirecting unwanted behavior. Please email for specifics on 'board and train' packages or coaching rates, or to learn about offerings for 1:1 outings within a local service area.
