“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”
Tag Archives: puppy training advice
Find It – Morning Activity
You know I love the Find It game, and it’s super useful when you have a high energy dog that needs to burn it off a bit. Morning Find It with breakfast. I can’t recommend playing this game with your dog enough. So good for mind and body, and a great constructive game that youContinue reading “Find It – Morning Activity”
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?”
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”
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.
Smart Dogs Canine Training Milton 