Have you ever been out on a walk with your dog and had an off-leash dog, or dogs, run up to you? This can be a scary situation for humans and for our dogs, especially since our dogs are restrained by the leash, impacting their ability to communicate with the other dog, and they are aware that they are in a vulnerable situation. Not all dogs are fans of all other dogs, and even if they do like other dogs, they may not like having their space invaded in this situation. It can be a downright dangerous situation sometimes. My own dog was attacked by two loose dogs when we were on a walk last fal ..read more

How to Choose a Dog Trainer Whether you want to work on basic manners skills, or you have more serious behavior challenges to tackle, choosing a behavior professional to work with can be difficult.  This choice is complicated even further since the field of dog training and behavior is unregulated.  Unfortunately, that means that anyone can call themself a dog trainer regardless of education or experience, and that they can do pretty much anything to your dog in the name of “training”, and so it is up to the consumer to figure out what type of education and experience a trainer may h ..read more

I bet the dogs in your life sometimes do some things that you would rather they didn’t.  Maybe you have  lived with a dog who chewed the furniture, dug up the yard, barked more than you liked, jumped on you or your guests, nipped at people’s heels,  the list goes on and on right?  It’s only natural that when our dogs engage in these types of behaviors  our first reaction is to simply want them to “Stop It!”,  and don’t get me wrong,  I’m not suggesting anyone should learn to live with problem behaviors like these without trying to find a solution that works ..read more

If you have you ever said: “He only does what I ask when I have treats.” “She does great in training class, but on a walk? Forget about it!” “He knows what I want, he is just being stubborn?” “I’ll never be able to get him to recall to me if he sees something else he wants.” then this post is for you!  For dog training classes to be useful, people and dogs need to be able to use their skills in the real world, however, transferring classroom skills to real life situations can be challenging.  Let’s look at a few factors that may contribute to this challenge, and some strategies to ..read more

Most dogs love to use their noses to sniff for things including, and especially, food. Teaching a dog to snuffle and sniff for treats and putting it on cue can be one of the most simple and useful things you can teach the dog in your life.  I call this behavior “find it”, but you could call it whatever you like – sniff, search, snuffle, forage, nose down, etc.  What It’s Good For Keeping all your dog’s four feet on the floor or ground Keeping the leash loose Walking past things like people or other dogs that may be exciting for your dog Creating distance from those exciting thi ..read more

A few moons ago, when I brought Lucy, my first dog as an adult, home, I promptly enrolled her in all of the local dog club at the time’s obedience classes. In those classes I learned many things to do to insure that Lucy would not try to take over the household. One of those things was that she should walk at my side, and at the pace that I set. When Lucy was a puppy, she would sometimes sit down, or lay down on walks, but it was my understanding that was her trying to run the show and I needed to make her march right along side me. I carried that same philosophy along with the other dogs in ..read more

“But he knows sit!” In the beginning training can happen amazingly quickly which may look like magic, but it is not, and it is only half the story. Teaching new behaviors at home when not much else is going on is easy; teaching the dogs in our lives to respond to cues and perform those behaviors consistently and in a variety of environments takes work and requires thoughtfulness, patience, and consistency. Ah…if only I had a dollar for every time I heard someone say, “but he knows sit!”.  The solution to getting reliable behaviors across a variety of environments is usually pret ..read more

Do harnesses make dogs pull? Do harnesses stop dogs from pulling? Do I need a special collar to teach my dog how to walk nicely on a leash? No, no, and no! You do not need a collar at all to teach your dog the skills they need to walk at, or near, your side. You will of course want a collar or harness (a back clip harness is the safest option for most dogs) and a leash in public as a matter of public safety, public comfort, safety for you and your dog, and to be in compliance with leash laws. Focus on: Setting the stage so that you are likely to get the behavior you want to happen naturally ..read more

I was walking  with Castor the other day when he saw a couple of people, and he immediately turned away from them to run over and hop up on a raised manhole cover and watch them go by.  I have been teaching Castor a few skills that we can use  when we see new people and dogs on our walks.  One of those skills is stationing on any nearby elevated service, and so when he put himself on the manhole cover with no prompting from me, I was pleased with his choice and with his ability to navigate the situation independently.  Given that I work as a trainer (although I l ..read more

I’m sure we can all think of a time when our phone started ringing and we decided not to answer it. There are a variety of reasons to not answer a call. You might be in the middle of something requiring all your attention, maybe you are out with friends and having a great time, or possibly you have a long history of hating talking on the phone. No matter the specific reason, it “pays more” in some way to ignore the call and keep doing what you are doing. If however, you were in the middle of having a great time with your friends, and your phone started ringing and you knew that the person on t ..read more