A Little Secret About Dogs

Come here … a little closer. Little bit closer. I want to tell you a secret. A secret about dogs that you may or may not know. A secret that may help you understand your dog better while you are training … or dealing with issues. There are NO perfect dogs. There, I said it. ThereContinue reading “A Little Secret About Dogs”

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”

Who Says it HAS to be That Way?

I am very much a “if it works, do it”, kind of person. I don’t like made up terms for things that have been around forever, I really don’t like inside the box thinking and parameters that you MUST follow in order to gain success. I don’t like naming and creating new problems and pickingContinue reading “Who Says it HAS to be That Way?”

Hand Feeding et al

I’ve been reviewing, in my mind, feeding, and all the specifics that people may tell you to do with it. The typical is; schedule feed, for puppies, three times a day, for adult dogs, once or twice a day. Never free feed. Stick your hand in the bowl while they’re eating (please DON’T DO THIS),Continue reading “Hand Feeding et al”

Old Dogs

I am blessed to have clients that have been with me since the day I started this business. Over the years, some have lost their dogs, some have dogs who are now old and some have acquired new dogs. I’ve had the opportunity to watch them grow and develop from a very young puppy orContinue reading “Old Dogs”

Keeping An Open Mind

I think it’s important, being a teacher, to be open to all different methods of training and working with students. Here we are shaping a sustained head in bucket performance (for no specific reason other than its cute and it entertains me). We are using shaping and initially started with luring to the extent ofContinue reading “Keeping An Open Mind”

Whistle Recall Mini Session

As promised, here is a quick video of us getting in a few reps of the short leash recall to clean up the response a bit. I don’t whistle well in the cold. My lips may have frozen at one point. Let’s hope spring comes sooner than later.

Whistle Recall Second Outdoor Session

Well, when you train dogs, you should always expect the unexpected. I know better than to have things go perfectly as planned (not that I did much planning other than to wake up and go outside). I know better than to expect a terrier not to lull me into thinking they “know” what they areContinue reading “Whistle Recall Second Outdoor Session”

Whistle Recall

Join us to learn how to layer over a whistle on your recall. I decided to try this with our youngest dog, so you will see some practice with us and what we’ve accomplished in two short sessions. Whistles are a great option for recalls for those of us who don’t have very loud voicesContinue reading “Whistle Recall”

Say It Once! Always?

This is something you will hear a lot when training dogs. Only ask the dog once, for a known command, and if they don’t do it, follow through. So, essentially, if I say SIT, and the dog doesn’t sit, it’s either physical placement or a correction that follows. I get the premise behind it. We’dContinue reading “Say It Once! Always?”