Struggling with your dog? Have a dog that is stubborn, non-compliant, pushy, reactive and/or always challenging you in some fashion or another? If you have a difficult dog and continue to struggle with him or her (despite training), then more times than not there is an...
We all love our dogs- that is a given. We can love our dogs, enjoy our dogs and have a lot of fun with our dogs, but... that doesn't mean we have to allow them to do whatever they want whenever they want. No one likes a bratty child and no one likes a bratty dog. Not...
"Ignore bad behaviors (and/or simply redirect the dog) AND... reward good behaviors and the bad behaviors will go away." If you truly believe this then try it with your children: reward their good behavior and simply ignore all their bad behavior/choices- no consequenc...
As far as whether or not training can "fix" a dog with SEVERE issues is complicated. In short, the answer is "yes and no." And owners that have dogs with severe issues need to understand realistic expectations. We are dealing with two forces here: nature (genetics) and...
Just because you and your dog are "Happy-go-lucky" does not mean everything around you is. When you take your dog to a busy location, you need to be HYPER-AWARE of your dog and your surroundings.
I had a client share an unfortunate story with me about 3 weeks ago...
Be careful what you wish for and be careful anytime your dog is making demands on you. I often have clients that want to teach their dog to ring a bell when it needs to use the bathroom outside. This sounds like a fantastic and practical skill to teach. And... it can...
Society has really pushed the idea of "You have to socialize your dog every chance you get." As a result, some dog owners feel the need to have their dog meet and greet every person and dog they encounter while out in public and I think this is a mistake.
Separation anxiety is not that uncommon in dogs and ranges quite a bit in severity. More times than not it is a LEARNED BEHAVIOR that can become unlearned with following some proper strategies. However, regardless of the reason why your dog has separation anxiety (gene...
Regardless of what you want to improve and accomplish with your dog, everything starts with structured exercise. I cannot emphasize this enough for dog owners.
*Structured exercise is where we build leadership.
We are all aware of the dangers of dogs eating foreign objects: socks, plastic baggies, rocks, kids' toys, pieces of furniture, unsafe dog toys, etc but what about SAND?
Sand impaction can be a very serious condition for a dog (life threatening) and can happen qui...
