The WPA Blog
5 Toxic Plants to Watch for When Hiking with Your Dog in the Pacific Northwest
Hiking in the Pacific Northwest with your dog is rewarding but requires caution. Learn which 5 plants are toxic to dogs, along with safety tips and preventive measures to keep your pup safe on every trail adventure.
Sensitive Paws: Prevention and Paw Care for Happy Adventures
Your dog’s paws are the foundation for safe, happy adventures. This guide covers preventive care, common injuries, and home treatment tips to keep your pup’s paws healthy and ready for exploration. Learn how to protect and maintain your dog’s paw health for every outdoor journey.
Leadership Principles for a Balanced and Happy Pack
Strong leadership is the key to a balanced, happy dog. Learn how confident decision-making, consistent routines, courageous adaptability, and collaboration can deepen your bond and guide your dog with clarity, trust, and respect. Build a leadership style that keeps your pack happy, safe, and thriving.
Small Steps Toward a More Compassionate Lifestyle
Living with compassion transforms the way we relate to ourselves, others, and the world around us. Explore practical ways to make mindful, ethical decisions that honor both people and animals, creating a life rooted in empathy, integrity, and positive impact.
Building Unbreakable Focus: Teaching Your Dog Reliable Eye Contact
Building a strong connection with your dog starts with one simple skill: reliable eye contact. Mastering this foundational training technique helps your dog focus, increases success with commands, and strengthens your bond — even amid distractions. Learn step-by-step activities to teach your dog to give and maintain eye contact, turning everyday interactions into powerful training moments.
Preparing Trail-Ready Dogs: Skills for Safe, Fun Adventures in Portland and Beyond
From solo to pack‑pro: socialize without reactivity, master recall, and build trail manners so your dog fits smoothly into any hiking group.
From Mud to Lotus: How Hardships Ignited the Creation of the World’s First Multi-Sport Dog Adventure Club
Throughout my life, I've been a dreamer and an idealist, always chasing what stirred my soul. I’ve worked tirelessly to turn my dreams into reality. While you might expect the beginnings and development of Wild Pup Adventures to be a story of unblemished positivity and inspiration, the truth is that WPA and its trailblazing multi-sport offerings emerged from profound heartbreak. It became what it is today because of this: Every single time I faced a hardship or problem, I did everything in my power to find a solution, alternative, or improvement.
Raven's Pack: Honoring A Lifetime of Love, Leadership, and Exploration
I might take a guess and say, if you’re reading this, you probably have a very special and connected relationship with your dog. That deep love leads to the desire to give our dogs the very best life we can, day by day, until their very last moment. This is something I promise to all of my dogs. The way we fulfill it changes over time, in a practical sense, and depends on age, health, and abilities. Today, I want to mark an important lifecycle event for Raven, Pack Leader, and celebrate a new project in her life.