We walk, think, and dream dog...

Seems our dog brains rarely power down, and there has to be a depository for all our musings. We hope you enjoy this ongoing collection of our training thoughts, with a bit of CNC news thrown in here and there.

Lisa practicing loose leash walking with Keaton during a dog training class

Your Dog Thinks Loose Leash Walking is Silly

No matter what you call it—polite walking, loose leash walking or walking nicely on leash—if we asked a dog’s thoughts about the necessity of walking slowly on leash next to their human, they’d shout out loud and clear, “Absolutely not!”  When do you ever see a dog walking slowly in

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Cailie add her head tilt of approval to new dog training books

Newly Released Dog Training Books for Dog Lovers

My favorite expression is, “You don’t know what you don’t know till you know it.” That was true when I sought dog training information in 2003 before I became a certified professional dog trainer. Luckily, I found my way to modern, scientific, humane dog training information, which led me to

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The Magic of Teaching Your Dog to Go to Mat

Teaching your dog to park himself on a mat might be one of the most useful skills you could ever train. Once your dog has learned the skill, there are countless ways to use it. For example: When your dog is a little too excited and needs to settle, the

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Dog Behavior Capturing & Putting it on Cue

Good news! There are so many different ways to teach a specific dog behavior. Thankfully, with positive training, you can quickly and easily guide your dog to the final goal behavior, all without the use of force, fear or intimidation. The most common methods are luring, capturing and shaping and

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Strange New Things – Helping Your Dog Learn to Love Them

When introducing new things into a dog’s environment it’s important to consider how a dog will perceive the new object.  Dogs, like people, learn through association (classical conditioning) and develop a positive, negative or neutral emotional response to new people, places or things. Any new first interaction and experience needs

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No Trainer Is An Island

When I opened my new dog training and behavior consulting business four months ago, I reached out to local veterinarians, groomers and boarding facilities. I also took a little time to research other trainers in my area to see who was out there and what kind of services were being

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Rocket Recall Workshop: If you BUILD it, they will Come!

What is it?  That glorious moment when anytime and anywhere you say Come! and your dog immediately and enthusiastically turns on a dime and bounds rapidly to YOU! Register Now for the March 28 & 29, 2015 workshop in Florida at The DogSmith in Wesley Chapel, FL. Registration Form and Payment Information HERE Let

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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

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