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 a straight line looking ahead? […]
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 a passionate career helping dog […]
The Poop Patrol. Steps for teaching your dog to help clean up.
Is your dog a member of The Poop Patrol? If you teach your dog to “find their poop” then it makes cleaning up much easier! When we were on vacation visiting Bob and Susan Ryder of Pawsitive Transformations some time ago, I watched Daisy help Bob clean up. I thought it was so fun that […]
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 mat becomes a place to […]
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 your choice of which method […]
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 to be a positive one. […]
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 offered in our community. It […]
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 […]
Prep Your Dog for Holiday Guests – 6 Things “To Do”
Oh no, it can’t be! Those two words that always make me cringe the first time I hear them: The Holidays. Yes, indeed, it’s that time of year again. Before I remember the warm fuzzy feelings of how lovely the Holidays can really be, my mind runs to everything I need to get done before […]
