At Queensboro, we love puns, play on words, and logos that tickle our funny bones. Naturally, when it came time to vote* for our favorite logo of November 2008, “Sit Happens: Behavior by Design” won by a landslide. As always, I like to get the “Behind the Seams” scoop behind the logo. Heather, the business owner, was kind enough to share with me how, exactly, “Sit Happens.”

First, we had to talk about the name and the logo design. The best company logos fully represent the business and the business name, providing an instant recognition and understanding of the business brand. Heather named her company and designed her own logo to play on the idea of “designing” the perfect dog. So many times people want to plan everything out beforehand, and you can’t really do that with dogs. The dog featured in the logo is her Siberian Huski, Loki, whom Heather says taught her a lot about canine behavioral issues and gave her a chance to try out various training techniques on a regular basis. She combined the oft-used (in the dog training world) term “Sit Happens” with the measurement graphic. Her entire printed logo incorporates a blueprint paper background (a bit difficult to translate in embroidery). You can see her embroidery logo, above right, and her website, with her entire logo at
http://behaviorbydesign.net
.
Behavior by Design
Heather started Behavior by Design in 2007, with the help of her dog-training mentors with whom she has worked for the past seven years. They provide in-home private training for families and their dogs to learn basic manners and obedience. Heather also works with people who want to participate in dog performance events such as competition obedience, agility, and rally. She also trains dogs (and their owners) that have behavior problems such as resource guarding, separation anxiety, chewing, stealing, house training issues, and more. Behavior by Design also offers group classes which focus on basic manners and obedience. This classroom setting is a great opportunity for dog (and human) socialization, and provides a chance to teach dogs to focus and concentrate in distracting situations.

A Dog Funny
I imagined that if you work with dogs all day, you probably have some pretty funny stories to share. This is a little funny from Heather and one of her puppies. She says

“We’ve all see male dogs hike their legs to go to the bathroom. Well, one of the puppies I work with recently turned a year old and is just starting to hike his leg. I guess his balance isn’t so great because I was watching him when I took him out one day, and he carefully leaned against a nearby fence to balance himself while he did his business. I thought that was quite clever of him to figure out!”

Tips for Dog Owners and Potential Dog Owners
I use every interaction with our customers to learn as much as I can from them. I took the opportunity to ask Heather what some of the biggest misconceptions about dog training are, and what every potential dog owner should know before adopting a dog.

Heather’s thoughts on training: “I believe that the biggest misconception that people have right now is that to have a well-behaved dog, you have to ‘dominate them’ using forceful, coercive or punitive methods. To have a well-behaved dog, it is important to provide structure and consistent handling, but this can be done using positive, non-coercive methods. This is the focus of my business – teaching people to develop a strong, healthy and loving relationship based on trust and understanding.”

Heather’s tips for potential new dog owners: “I think that it’s so important to understand why you want to bring a dog into your life, and make sure that the breed/mix you choose fits well with your lifestyle and goals. So often, people decide on the spur of the moment that they want a dog, or choose a breed just because of they way they look, or because of those irresistible puppy-dog eyes. Without doing research, many people end up choosing pets that need more management, guidance, exercise or interaction than they are able or willing to provide. When this happens, you end up with unhappy people and an unhappy dog (often with behavioral problems) who may end up being re-homed (sometimes repeatedly). Doing research and understanding what you want and what will fit well with your lifestyle will help avoid the potential challenges and heartache.”

You Can Teach an Old Dog New Tricks
Because my dog Lucy only sits when I am holding a T-R-E-A-T or a piece of C-H-E-E-S-E, I said to Heather “I really want to know: Can you teach old dogs new tricks?” My dog Lucy is seven years old. According to the chart in her vet’s office, that is about 50 in dog years. Bless her heart (as we say in the south), Heather gave me some hope. “Absolutely, Kate, we work with dogs of all ages in our classes and they do well! It’s all about finding out what motivates the particular dog, and integrating the motivator into training by using it as a reward for new behaviors well done.” Service dog training programs often work with shelter-rescued dogs that are older, teaching them amazing new behaviors, and finding them new “forever homes.” Dogs (and people) of all ages can learn new behaviors. That’s the power of training!

Behavior by Design only Wears Queensboro
Another dog-trainer friend of Heather’s orders from Queensboro and sent Heather the link to our site. Heather said the person she referred had a great shirt done with an image of her dog, and had nothing but good things to say about Queensboro. Impressed with the work, and the great prices, Heather ordered several shirts for herself and plans to order for her staff, as well.

It was great fun to get to know Heather and her business “Sit Happens: Behavior by Design.” If you have an interesting business and love wearing your Queensboro shirts to work, visit our website and send us an email! We’d love to feature you on the blog!

*Queensboro Customer Service reps and Logo Specialists submit customer logos that have caught their eye throughout the month. Then, we vote for our favorite and the winner is featured on the blog.