I just made the joy-sucking error of looking at the website of a dog trainer who seems to love aversive tools and, by their own proclamation, “We don’t use any treats in our training methods”. In case the hapless reader was unclear, they add for clarity purposes that they “Never reward with treats”. If you happen to be a new reader of mine, let me clarify my position, and the position of the vast and heaving mob of modern, educated, and credentialled dog behaviour professionals: using food to change a dog’s behaviour and emotional state is valid, useful, welfare-forward, and easy; and to avoid ..read more

My dog, Timber, was an adorable, hilarious, puppy. As he grew into a lanky teen, though, things changed. I’ll be frank: he turned into a giant pain in the rear. In my rear, metaphorically, and in other dogs’ rears, literally. He started out high-energy and cute as a youngster, all giant feet and oversized ears. But when he became socially mature (which is sort of like puberty for dogs, and often when aggressive behaviours pop out), he started to fight. A lot. All over the place. He started out fighting with one dog, but then like some oddball diet fad, it spread. Soon, all of our dogs were fai ..read more

See below for a disclaimer—this article is about separating dog fights, after all! Whether you have multiple dogs of your own or your dogs play with glorious abandon at the dog park or at play dates, squabbles can be a real concern. However, most dogs’ great ability to ‘pull their punches’ and bite without maiming force means that occasional tiffs, while needing to be humanely and rapidly stopped, are not a welfare issue and are not a reason to avoid supervised loose play time. Separating dog fights humanely and quickly is possible, and good technique can protect both you and your do ..read more

A guest blog by Jane Wolff of Good Wolff Dog Training Scratches on the floor, extra sharp greetings when you get home and the tell-tale click clack as they walk around the house — these are all frequent reminders that your dog’s nails are getting too long. You know they need to be cut, but you know your dog hates it. Even so, you to feel the pressure to “get it done” even if it is a struggle. You’ve seen a whole slew of tempting gadgets and hacks that promise to make it easy and quick but you’re still struggling with basic nail care. And your dogs still hates it. If your dog struggles to tole ..read more

It’s so easy to pay attention to just the things that we dislike about our dogs, isn’t it? The problem behaviour, or in many cases, the problem behaviours. The whining, the barking, the dreaded jumping up… the snarling, the embarrassing cue-ignoring at the dog park, the urinating inside during that last holiday meal. Problem behaviours such as these are often first and foremost on the “let’s talk about it” list with my dog training clients, and for good reason: problem behaviours are almost always what brings a dog trainer into their lives, so of course they want to talk about it! Problems are ..read more

Training your dog to touch their nose to your hand is...well, handy. It's also easy. Read on. Steps one and two Hide a bit of cheese or another dog treat under your thumb, with your hand otherwise flat. Put your hand about two inches from your dog's nose. Your dog will almost certainly investigate and touch her nose to your palm. As soon as her nose makes contact, say "yes!" and open your thumb to allow her to eat the treat. After doing this ten times, you'll fake your dog out a bit. Put your hand out in the same way, but with no treat hiding under your thumb. When your dog makes contact this ..read more

I recently took an “introduction to roller derby” class (non-euphemistically called “fresh meat”), wherein I learned to somehow stay reasonably vertical whilst wearing no fewer than eight tiny wheels on my feet and engaging in a full-contact sport with some mildly terrifying athletes. It was, as you can well imagine, hilarious fun. On my first rumble-tastic day, I wore a t-shirt that shows a dog wearing a cone with the text “It’s all fun and games until someone ends up in a cone” beside it. When I posted a video on my social media, a dog trainer friend of mine pointed out how that shirt’s mess ..read more

I know next to nothing about hockey (I’m considering writing a book called “Everything I Know About Hockey I Learned From Letterkenny”, but…ok, the title is essentially the entire book, and I believe that is frowned upon by the literati), but I do know what chirping is. Chirps are the insults that hockey players sling at each other, to try and undermine the emotional state—and therefore physical performance—of their opponents. Today, for absolutely no good reason at all, I was thinking about chirping. More specifically, I was thinking about what my dogs might chirp at me, during a training ses ..read more

This month at the Academy for Dog Trainers, we are doing a “heroes month” celebrating all the people who have inspired and motivated us to be better dog trainers and better advocates for dogs. I have so, so many heroes in my life: my mother, who taught me that science matters and women can do anything they put their minds to; my bosses, who are both clever, dedicated women making strides through the rather mucky situations they’re presented with in their separate realms; my wife, who carries in her heart a dedication to securing an adequate local supply of good food; my university profs, who m ..read more

I live in a relatively small farmhouse with oodles of sled dogs (currently seven, but I’ve been lucky enough to share my home with 13 of the rascals in the past). With the (rather formidable) exception of the need to sweep up a lot of hair, it’s a wonderful way to live. The dogs mostly get along, playing and gamboling together in our large fenced yard and on daily hikes. They have a lot of fun with each other, and we—the humans in the house—have fun with them, too. Like pretty much any dog owner, I talk about my dogs with anyone who will listen: my poor guests generally hear a tale or two, as ..read more