Welcome to The Leash — written by once upon a time dog trainer Suzanne Lavallee. A place for curious, dog-loving readers. 💛
Join our growing community of curious readers as we explore a range of topics from both ends of the leash.
The Leash is a monthly newsletter connecting likeminded dog-lovers to people, ideas, and solutions they need through experience, research and content. My hope is to spark thoughtful and meaningful dialogue among dog-lovers.
WHY SUBSCRIBE TO THE LEASH?
You will discover all sorts of fascinating stories and useful information from someone (me!) who has been working with dogs for years and loving it.
My goal is to inspire you, to put a smile on your face, to delve into trickier conversations without judgement while strengthening the relationships we have with our dogs and each other.
THE FOUNDER
Hi! That’s me — Suzanne Lavallee, dog/adventure enthusiast, service dog advocate, and once upon a time dog trainer.
I’ve been working with dogs and their people for most of my adult life. Along the way, I’ve met fascinating folks and collected heaps of worthwhile things to know about — do’s, don’ts, and a whole lot of in-betweens.
I own an adventure service for dogs in Napa Valley called dogventures. It’s where dog daycare meets vineyard hikes and is dedicated to active dogs like mine — those with messy, awesome, exciting lives.
I’m founder and president of Stellina Psychiatric Service Dogs — a local serving nonprofit that provides psychiatric service dogs to Napa Valley residents and Bay Area military veterans diagnosed with a mental health illness.
In my twenties and thirties I used to be a professional dog trainer; I had aspirations of competing in various dog sports, but time and money were a commodity back then.
HOW DOES YOUR NEWSLETTER WORK?
The Leash is free — it doesn’t cost you a penny to receive my newsletter.
I’ll send you one newsletter each month. I value quality content over quantity and I greatly appreciate consistency. The last thing I want to do is pepper your inbox with a bunch of emails from me. I become numb to too many emails and I’m guessing you might feel the same way.
Plus, researching and writing content for any newsletter is time consuming and at this moment in my life one per month is what I feel capable of doing.
WHY DID YOU START THIS NEWSLETTER?
I’ve actually been newsletter-ing, on and off, since 2011. It helps keep my mind alight — or more to the point it keeps my brain active in ways that the dogs cannot. It’s an engaging way for me to share the wealth of information and interesting tidbits I’ve learned over several decades steeped in the dog world. One of the greatest pleasures I get from writing is a conversation with one of my clients or comments from readers. It’s about connecting in a positive and meaningful way. It fuels my engine. And thanks to Substack, writing this newsletter on their platform, is pure joy.
WHY ‘THE LEASH’?
To me, ‘leashes’ symbolize both the tangible and intangible connections we have with our dogs. We all use leashes, thereby physically connecting us to our dogs for all of life’s (mis)adventures. We clip one end to our dog’s collar, grab ahold of the other end and off we go — together as one unit into the great wide world — for strolls down city streets, for hikes in the wilderness, for getting from Point A to Point B, and all the tangled moments in between. This is the tangible connection.
Our dogs mean so much to each of us. They’re our confidants, our teachers, our cuddle bugs, the fluff that gets us through some of life’s more difficult moments, our saviors. That’s the intangible. So, that’s why I called this newsletter The Leash (plus, my five teenage nieces had the final say). Anything goes here, but I will mainly be talking about dogs in all their glory.
CAN I PITCH AN ARTICLE FOR ‘THE LEASH’?
Yes! I’d love you to contribute as a guest writer. Send in your idea, title, and a short paragraph about the piece to TheLeash.1@icloud.com. Since The Leash writes about an array of topics pertaining to dogs, their people and the intersection of our shared lives, the pitching field is pretty wide open. So, have at it!
A BIT MORE ABOUT ME 💛
I live in Napa Valley, California. Or as I’m fond of saying, I live in the land of sunshine and wine and endless summers. I am a creative spirit who embraces dirt and hard work and pretty little things. I used to write a blog and design websites. I adore outdoor adventures, small dinner parties with friends, the feeling of getting away from it all on the back of my husband’s motorbike, and greatly appreciate the amazing chef he is. I like trying to make a tasty dinner for him and know it’s all rather painful for him to watch me in the kitchen.
My dogs are my life. They bring me immeasurable joy and happiness and comfort every moment of every day (even when I end up cursing out loud which happens more often than I should admit). I really and truly love my life.
The Leash is passionately written by me — Suzanne Lavallee, dog/adventure enthusiast, service dog advocate and once upon a time dog trainer. I’ve spent my life working with dogs and their people and this is my way of sharing all the fascinating things I’ve learned along the way. The Leash grows through word of mouth. Help me unleash the love. ~ xoxo
