Services

BOARDING/HOSTING

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 and 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 the live/work-mostly-from-home lifestyle at Kinfolk Canine.

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. Please email for specifics.

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. The galleries here picture some larger groups gathered together because, for many years, Kinfolk Canine housed a complete quartet of resident (host) dogs! Rest in peace, Bhalu, Chaska, and Tuk Tuk!! Talula the Chihuahua mix and Theodorable the Pomeranian mix are the living legacy of those three big-headed, huge-hearted terriers who inspired us to pursue this totally 'dogified' way of life.

TRAINING/COACHING

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 above, 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 all 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. 

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BUILDING TRUST

It's the basis of all communication. Trust thrives when we use the same words in the same ways and tailor our expectations to each context.

ACCENTUATING THE POSITIVE

Focus on what we want dogs to do, not what we don't want them to do. Provide timely feedback.

PREVENTING PROBLEMS

Manage access to temptations and risks. Set 
dogs up for success by developing skills and relationships gradually. Use solid incentives.

Laura has sought out knowledge and know-how from world-class
dog trainers and academicians at various venues:

Scent Detection Dogs in Conservation Research
Center for Wildlife Studies (online, July 2021)

Canine Science Symposium
San Francisco State University, CA (April 2019)

Canine Science Symposium
SPCA in San Francisco, CA (April 2018)

First International Canine Science Conference
Arizona State University in Tempe, AZ (October 2017)

IACP Annual Educational Conference
Ontario, CA (September 2016)

Let's talk!

A lure and mechanical marker in action!