This is a follow up to my post called “Foundation Cracks at Fear Free” after I got to speak with their Chief Operating Officer ..read more

Remember COVID? There was one good thing about that period - everyone got a dog! How are they doing now ..read more

When I was a new dog owner (I don’t love the term “owner,” but it’s easily recognized so I’ll go with it for now), I ran across an ad for “anesthesia-free teeth cleaning” services for dogs. I was intrigued. It cost less, it was fast, and it avoided the risks that are inherent with the use of general anesthesia. So, I gave them a call and asked lots of questions. The person I spoke with seemed knowledgeable about the process and struck me as honest and forthcoming. The visible part of the dog’s teeth would be scraped to remove tartar - but no tartar would be removed above the gum line. I asked ..read more

Lazy_Bear/stock/adobe.com I highly recommend The Puppy Diet. Step 1. Get a puppy You’ll weigh less due to the loss of blood. You’ll get steps in taking the dog outside to pee and poop (alternate option: skip going outside and get more stretching in by bending and kneeling to clean up accidents). And, as my friend Kristin Lucey (attorney, dog trainer extraordinairre, and caregiver to former-puppy, Obed) pointed out, you won’t have time to eat. Even if you don’t look thinner, you will be too tired to care. * The claims in this blog post have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug administr ..read more

Preeya/stock.adobe.com Last week, I wrote to dog breeders. This week, I’m writing to another great source of pet dogs - rescues and shelters. As a whole, I have great admiration for these organizations and I really admire the people who do the work that is often physically and emotionally exhausting. I’m not qualified to tell you how to run your organizations and I hope it won’t sound like that’s what I’m trying to do here. But, as a person who gets called in to help the owners of those dogs who once passed through your doors, I do believe I have some insight that could be helpful. You likely ..read more

Irynah/stock.adobe.com I’m a fan of intentionally-bred dogs – heck, we have two of them here at our house. And I believe that many many breeders work hard to produce the healthiest puppies possible, both in terms of physical health and also temperament. I have the good fortune to work with so many of these solid, healthy, happy dogs of various breeds. So, I admit that I have a high regard for breeders who work to produce better and better dogs – often at great expense, sleepless nights, and time spent on on-going education. You do health testing, carefully select dogs to mate in hopes of gett ..read more

Javier Brosch/stock.adobe.com I’ll bet if I think long and hard about it I’ll come up with even worse things, but I think that one of the worst things to happen to dog training is the creation of tv shows about dog training. I was a kid of the 70s. TV shows back then included Happy Days, The Waltons, MASH, The Mary Tyler Show, Welcome Back Kotter, and many others that are now considered “classics” (which is a very kind way of pointing out how old we are if we watched them when they first aired). These shows were generally light-hearted or downright funny. Yet, they often dealt with serious is ..read more

    Buy a dog from a backyard breeder or puppy mill to increase the probability of getting a dog with genetic health or temperament problems. Use a shock collar, prong collar, or choke collar to control your dog because an uneducated “trainer” convinced you that it doesn’t hurt, mimics the mother dog’s “gentle corrections,” and failed to disclose the potential for increased fear and aggression issues (this may be the best way to teach a friendly dog to bite children). Try to keep convincing yourself that it’s okay even though it wouldn’t change the dog’s behavior if it didn’t hu ..read more

Daniel Rodriguez/stock.adobe.com We’ve heard this phrase before. And most of us have come to understand that it means not to dig up unnecessary trouble. For instance, it might be best simply not to ask a question that’s going to stir up turmoil in the family. Just “leave it alone.” (Note: I’m a dog trainer, not a family counselor - don’t take my advice about how to run a family! I’m just trying to explain the meaning of the idiom.) But sometimes, we should take it literally. Don’t bother a sleeping dog. Doing so risks getting bitten. I hear about this from time to time with my clients. Heck ..read more

  Joker - waiting for me to get dressed one recent morning   Most of my work these days is with dogs who are fearful or aggressive. I’m happy to help those dogs and their families. But sometimes I really miss just teaching a dog to “do things” - like sit, stay, come, lie down, drop it, spin in a circle, or fetch. When I get the chance to do those types of things, people are so impressed by their dog’s ability to learn (and they should be!). Sometimes they say that I’m a “dog whisperer.” One person looked at me and said that I was practicing black magic! But really, I have no magic a ..read more