Long Lines – Dog Training Milton

I love long lines. I believe they have so many beneficial uses with dogs. The real magic of long lines comes on walks and daily outings with your dogs. I prefer long lines over flexi leads (except on rainy days) because of the fact that they can be dropped when needed and they do notContinue reading “Long Lines – Dog Training Milton”

Five Things I’ve Learned From Over a Decade of Helping People Learn to Train Their Dogs

“You’re not training our dog, you are training us!” is something I hear often during classes and private sessions. Since we do not offer board and train, we are essentially teaching owners how to handle and train their dogs themselves. Much of the work involves guiding and directing the human. We, as trainers, may beContinue reading “Five Things I’ve Learned From Over a Decade of Helping People Learn to Train Their Dogs”

Play With Your Dog

Play can be such a game changer for you and your dog. Play builds bonds, play builds drive, play builds desire and play builds focus. Play can be used as a multifaceted reward. It doesn’t always have to include a toy, it can just include you and some running and bouncing back and forth. DogsContinue reading “Play With Your Dog”

Dog Classes Coming Up In Milton

A couple classes coming up with some available spots for the Spring! Smart Dogs Intro to Rally Skillz: Sundays at 1:30pm starting in May – 4 One Hour Sessions – $180 plus HST Open to all dogs that have some basic knowledge of training (sit, down, stay, recall), for puppies and dogs 16 weeks andContinue reading “Dog Classes Coming Up In Milton”

Fun Way To Proof Stays

This game of proofing stays is super fun for your dog. It can be done indoors or out, on or off leash depending on your dogs skills, and you can either use food or a tossed toy. We want to make sure that the dog understands stay before we start this game. Here are someContinue reading “Fun Way To Proof Stays”

Dog Training Class Milton, Ontario

We’ve had a spot open up in our Wednesday March 27th Basic Class. Please contact us if you are interested in joining. Class runs 7-8pm for 6 one hour sessions. Cost is $275 plus HST. Learn how to handle your dog around distractions and build on their education: calm sits and downs, place work, recall,Continue reading “Dog Training Class Milton, Ontario”

We Need To Talk

Those are dreaded words, aren’t they? Don’t worry, I’m not breaking up with you, but we need to have a discussion about control and etiquette. Over the past couple days I’ve run into a few situations where I could only shake my head and try to be “nice”. Two involved dogs, and two involved kids.Continue reading “We Need To Talk”

Leash Tension

Leash tension is something I see a lot and it gives your dog mixed or confusing messages. Often people add leash tension when walking and they don’t realize that they are even doing it, usually a habit from trying to hold a dog in place. Leash tension means you are holding your dog back, youContinue reading “Leash Tension”

Who’s In Charge?

If we want to effect change with our dogs behaviour, we need to look at who is truly in charge. This isn’t a matter of dominance, rather, it is a matter of who is calling the shots, who is serving who and what messages are we portraying to our dogs. It is not overly commonContinue reading “Who’s In Charge?”

Holding A Position

Just a quick video about holding positions. Sits, downs, stays and places all apply. You NEED a release word (ok, yes, free, done, break a clicker … banana – whatever you like). Reinforce the position with reward. Teach the dogs that it’s a good thing to hold position. Once your dog is doing well, youContinue reading “Holding A Position”