I see countless posts on social media begging for help with veterinary costs, or complaining that vets “don’t care” because they won’t give a stranger credit or care for an animal without pay at all. Don’t be ridiculous. Most vets don’t make ridiculous amounts of money to begin with, and they have all of the… Continue reading Establishing A Relationship With A Vet
Crate training, redirection, and keeping a dog busy in general can be a full time job. Fortunately, some humans have proven to be smarter than our furry companions. We have developed food puzzles. This is the doggy equivalent of humans eating crab legs out of the shell: it takes longer and is therefore more delicious.… Continue reading Food Puzzles (Destruction, Crate training, and Anxiety)
OK, so let’s all use get the “EWWWW!” out of our systems now. Dogs do some really gross things. Like snack out of the litter box and then lick you in the face. After they’very strewn litter from here to next year. And no, your vacuum is never gonna get all of that up. Just… Continue reading Litter Boxes
As a trainer, I have the unique opportunity to train Jasmine in a huge variety of circumstances. You may remember the term “generalization” from another post. Generalizing is the understanding of a concept, cue, or task in multiple environments. For instance, a dog might understand that jumping on you delays dinner so he sits quietly… Continue reading A Lesson in Subtlety and Thresholds
This week I have heard no fewer than 3 people brag about how quickly other trainers have trained their dogs. “I sent him my dog and the dog knew beginner obedience in two weeks!” My thoughts? Oh? Is that all? In positive reinforcement training we have a saying: “Fast is slow and slow is fast.”… Continue reading Time To Train
I work with a LOT of different dog breeds. Often, I have dogs with lots of white around their eyes and mouths who have stains in their gorgeous fur. Having never owned a “pretty” breed of dog which required significant grooming, I only recently learned that this is preventable. Several of my clients have recommended… Continue reading Angel Eyes
I am so excited about our new class. After much procrastination, I finally decided that instead of waiting on me to finish the equipment before I posted a date, I’d work better with a deadline. I should have known this all along. I always get goals accomplished faster if I set a deadline. Better yet,… Continue reading Agility
This is my favorite tongue twister. “Generalization”. So. Many. Syllables. Honestly though, it is a word I use almost daily. It is defined as “a general statement or concept obtained by inference from specific cases”. In training we use it as an indication of an animal’s understanding of a concept or cue. For instance, training… Continue reading Generalization
Breeding is probably the single most determining natural factor that influences a dog’s behavior throughout his life. A dog’s breed determines his instincts and his behavior his entire life. Dog trainers are constantly bombarded with pleas from desperate owners of shepherding dogs–make him stop chasing the children! Or from golden retrievers–get him out of our… Continue reading Breed Significance
I have so many people ask me what we teach in beginner obedience class. Group classes vary slightly from class to class, but private lessons are world apart. I’ve decided, for my convenience more than anything, to make a list of cues we teach in beginner obedience class and their meanings if needed: Sit (Lay)… Continue reading 15 Beginner Obedience Cues
