Resource Guarding Food Bowl: Prevention & Management March 11, 2018 What is resource guarding? Resource guarding is the behavior a dog chooses when he believes he needs to protect something of high value. This item can be the food bowl (empty or full), a favorite or new toy, a bone, a sock, his bed, your bed, etc. The list is endless because it is completely up to the dog to determine what he believes is considered “high value”. However, most commonly the behavior is seen over the following items: food, toys/bones, bed/crate, and a favorite person. This behavior can happen with any type of dog, any sex, any age, any size. Knowing the signs is very important....read more
The Advantage of Private Lessons versus Group Classes June 30, 2017 I get a lot of inquiries on why I do not recommend group classes for puppy training or behavior modification so I thought it important to share my reasons with my readers so that perhaps they too can encourage a fun and successful time training their dogs. Training a puppy: When you start training your puppy, you want to ensure that both you and your puppy enjoy and learn. The best way to accomplish this is to be in an environment where you have your puppy’s complete attention, where they can engage 100% with you, not be distracted by other people or dogs. This provides a “classroom” where your puppy will learn you are fun while ... read more
House Training Ideas - Pee Pads November 28, 2016 If you have just brought home a puppy, or are thinking about adding a new little furball to your family soon, it is important you understand the importance of house training and making it a simple and successful process. This blog series will cover the three different ways to train your puppy – pee pads, potty patches and crate training ....read more
Have Fun! October 1, 2016 Welcome to the last blog (sniff sniff) in the series of my personal 10 Important Dog Training Tips. This week, and last topic in this series, covers the most important thing to remember when training your dog…….always have fun!! Just as with any other type of training you do in your life; working out, studying, practicing an instrument, you need to have fun or you will lose the drive to want to excel. Dog training is the same way. If you don’t find yourself smiling at your dog at least 5 times during your practice session, or laughing out loud at their mistakes....read more
Don’t do it Alone September 21, 2016 This second to last blog on this topic is short and sweet, covering the important reminder that you should always seek professional help if you get stuck. Do not be embarrassed that you can not do it on your own! As with everything in life, sometimes you need a little guidance to help you achieve your goals. When working on behavior modification for your dog, it is vital that you hire a professional you feel comfortable with....read more
Follow rules of the Nothing in Life is Free concept August 31, 2016 I’m winding down this series with this week’s blog which covers the very important topic of the concept known as Nothing in Life is Free (NILF). Dog training with the NILF methods simply means that your dog must work for a resource he wants. This resource could be to cuddle with you in bed, go for a walk in the neighborhood, play fetch, get a bite of your sandwich or swim in the pool. The list can go on and on and simply comes down to that the resource is anything your dog deems important and something they wish to have. Requesting that they do something first, before getting the desired resource, means you are teaching them that good dog manners are reward with “important” things...read more
Take a Step Back August 20, 2016 This week’s blog covers the importance of knowing when to take a step back in your dog’s training. We all have had a hard time learning a subject or concept in our lives and dogs can have the same difficulties and road blocks along the way. To be proper educators, we do need to watch our dogs for any hints that they are not understanding what we are asking of them during the training phase and know when it is time to take a step back in their training. This means that your dog may not have a full understanding of the previous step of the training...read more
Have Confidence in Yourself, and Your Dog August 1, 2016 This week covers the importance of having confidence in yourself. As with most things we do in life, being confident plays a very important factor when training your dog. I can not stress this enough to my clients as I see it affect their ability to feel comfortable training their dog. What do I mean by this? If you are not confident that you are doing the right thing for your dog, whether that be your worry of your timing for their reward, that you are not being clear enough or you are not doing it right, or being too mean, all these will affect the way you interact with your dog leading you down the path of self destruction. When I train a dog, whether it be my own or a clients’, I make sure that I feel wholeheartedly that I am doing the right thing and I am confident with my request for the dog...read more
Set Realistic Expectations for You and Your Dog June 23, 2016 Welcome back to my series on the top 10 Important Dog Training Tips! This week I will cover the importance of setting realistic expectations for you and your dog during the training phase. One of the most important things to remember regarding your dog’s training and his success is there most definitely will be set backs along the way. What I mean is that your dog may be learning how to sit patiently at the door to go out for walks, and he may be doing really well at it. Then one day he won’t. This doesn’t mean he has forgotten everything, and it doesn’t mean he will never get it. Dogs, no matter their age, go through periods during the learning phase...read more
Repetition, Repetition, Repetition June 5, 2016 Week four covers the importance of repetition during the training phase. Just like when you were learning your time tables, and you would work through flash cards night after night to remember what 2×2 and 7×7 equaled, your dog must practice commands over and over to fully retain the information. How many repetitions you ask? Well, this depends on how clear you are when teaching your dog what you want and how much your dog wants to do the desired behavior. I have seen some dogs learn...read more
Choosing Attainable Goals May 22, 2016 This week covers the tip of creating attainable goals for both you and your dog during the training phase. As with anything in life, the attempt to achieve our goals can overcome our lives and destroy us if we don’t break the process down into small steps that can be achieved on the way to the greater end result. If we ignore the steps needed to take along the way, we can become quite frustrated and give up. The same can happen with dog training. How do you achieve attainable goals with your dog? Here are some hints...read more
Consistency is so Important May 17, 2016 This week covers the rule of consistency which can be interchanged with, and is quite similar to, my last topic of no grey areas. Much like the concept of keeping things black and white, consistency is vital for the success of your dog. It is one of the most important tools in dog training, no matter the sport. If you are not consistent with your requests from your dog, there will be too many “grey areas” and your dog will become confused leading to more errors in your dog’s decision making...read more
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