The Art of Possible

I wrote this article some years ago and it popped into my mind again today.  I’ve been thinking about all the things I want to teach Cailie, our now 7 month old Australian Shepherd. We’ve focused mostly on tricks (fun for her, fun for me!) and family manners – the myriad of things a dog […]

Puppy Socialization, Optimist or Pessimist?

A New Addition Puppy Socialization: There’s a new puppy in the house! While we’re still grieving the loss of our amazing girl, Willow, it seems the stars aligned to lead us to Cailie.  Cailie is a now 14-week old Australian Shepherd puppy who joined our home at 8 weeks. She’s helping us create some new […]

Why Do We Train Our Dogs?| What to Consider

Here we are at the start of a new year. How did we get here so quickly? In this past year, I’ve had the privilege of working with some amazing people and their dogs. Sometimes, however, even with amazing people and amazing dogs, things don’t go as planned. Oftentimes a dog comes into the home […]

Dog Halloween Safety & Comfort for Your Dog

Dog Halloween | There’s a chill in the air, the leaves are turning and pumpkins are popping up all over the place, Halloween is right around the corner. While it’s a festive and fun event for adults and children it can be downright frightening (literally!) for your favorite canine kid. Here are 3 things you […]

The Power of Incompatibility

I had a house full of out of town friends visiting this past weekend and it sure was fun to catch up with people I hadn’t seen in quite a few years, some in over 15 years, which was prior to beginning my professional dog training career.  When someone finds out what I now do […]

We’re Thankful For You

As we reflect on this past year which has been filled with so many wonderful moments, the one commonality is YOU.   Thank you for being part of the Cold Nose College community.   It’s been such a joy working with each and every one of you whether it’s been helping your dog gain needed […]

Lollipops & Dog Training, Where the Two Meet

It comes as a big surprise to our clients when we ask them not to talk to their dog during a training exercise.  Believe it or not, dogs don’t come with an English software package installed.  We have to teach them our language.  Oh certainly, they easily learn our body cues (even when we don’t intend for […]

Shaping….a Fun and Errorless Way for Your Dog to Learn

  Shaping is an amazingly effective training technique which not only teaches your dog specific behaviors, but actually teaches your dog how to learn.  And it’s FUN.  Fun for you.  Fun for your dog! Whether you want to teach your dog to enjoy a crate, go to mat and stay,  hold a dumb­bell for Com­pet­i­tive Obe­di­ence, teach a ser­vice […]