Come – Games that have your dog coming in fast
Behaviors like Come or Loose Leash Walking that require action are strongest when we use games as a tool. Because the more fun you and your dog have playing the game, the better your dog will listen and respond. Come As Fast As You Can Games Here is a list of games...
Tug – A classic Indoor Game with Advanced Options
Do you play Tug of War with your dog? Dogs, love, love, love playing tugging games. Watch a litter of 6 weeks old puppies, and they are playing tug games. The game of tug comes with some misconceptions. Some people fear tugging games will teach their dog to be...
Food Scatter – A favorite Indoor Game
Dogs thrive on hunting. They love it. If their favorite toy gets stuck under the couch, they hunt it out. When a piece of food drops on the floor or behind the fridge, they hunt for it. If your dog did not live with people, it would be hunting for its food. Hunting...
Dogs – The opportunistic thief
Ok, I was going to call this post "My Dog Ran Off With The Turkey," but that sounded like the dog and turkey eloped. No, what I'm talking about is theft. During this busy holiday season, many dogs will be stealing food. Food will disappear from counters, tables,...
Dominance – Busting the Myth
What role does dominance play in dog training? As a professional dog trainer, I get calls from people worried they wouldn't be able to train their dogs successfully. Much of the time, someone told them they "need to be more forceful" or "dominate." And that is not who...
Sprinting games contribute to misbehavior
Games or activities that cause sprinting contribute to an increase of misbehavior for dogs that are adrenaline junkies. In the past six months, we have helped train numerous dogs that were adrenaline junkies. These dogs were continually looking for their next, high...
The safety and advantages of different Types of Leashes
This morning, I was on a walk, and we ran across other dog lovers, walking and enjoying the beautiful fall weather with their dogs. I saw a lot of different types of leashes on those walks. I started wondering if the people who had their dogs on those walks understood...
Is your environment teaching naughty behavior?
Much of what your puppy or dog learns comes from interacting with the environment. This learning includes information about the people, things, and animals in their surroundings. Each little experience is a lesson for your dog. How your environment teaches misbehavior...
Come Racing To Me
Owning a dog that does not come when called can be inconvenient, severely limit the amount of fun you can have and be extremely dangerous. My goal, when I call my dog is that it comes racing to me. Do you think these dogs can learn to come when called? Neither...
Fireworks – Dealing with scary sounds
Fireworks make the 1rst of January and the 5th of July the busiest days of the year for animal shelters because dogs that are sound phobic will do anything to escape the sound of fireworks. Escaping causes many dogs to get lost, hit by cars, or traumatized, but owners...