Why Are Private Dog Training Lessons Best?
Dog training programs typically fall into one of the following categories: group classes; board and train; and private lessons. There are two significant obstacles which prevent making significant changes in a dog’s behavior, and these are best overcome through a private lesson program. LOCATION: The first obstacle is where the dog lives. Where a dog […]
Separation Anxiety And Destructive Behavior In Dogs
Dogs are often destructive chewers when suffering from Separation Anxiety. Owners, and many dog trainers, tend to use a variety of punishments to attempt to stop the chewing. But these punishments never work. That’s because they misunderstand what is going on. One of the most important traits of a good dog owner is empathy for […]
Rotten Wood Cannot Be Carved
I love ancient proverbs, and it is good idea to know many. They can give us answers at just the right moment. One excellent proverb is: “Rotten wood cannot be carved.” There are others I have found useful, too. What does that mean in the dog training world? First, to me, it means that sometimes, […]
Environmental Enrichment For Dogs
Oh, how do you solve a problem like Maria? How do you hold a moonbeam in your hand? — “Maria” lyrics from the 1959 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, The Sound of Music. Dogs are inspiring moonbeams, with special qualities and needs that require special answers. Dogs are not problems, we are the problem. No one […]
A New Consideration Why Dogs Bite Kids
It is well established that young children are at the greatest risk of serious injury from being bitten by a dog. It is also well established that young children, when deprived of their mother’s care, can experience significant disturbed emotional responses which can escalate from protest, to despair, to detachment, and sometimes aggression. I have […]
Interviewing Prospective Dog Owners
If you are fostering a dog, it is important to screen out owners who will not provide a quality life. We can foresee how a dog’s life will be by asking, listening to, and personally observing the prospective owners concerning the way they view physical contact with the dog and the frequency they expect to […]
Should You Push Your Dog Away?
Most of the time you want your dog to gravitate towards you. But there are some times when you should ignore or push your dog away, and sometimes you must not. What do I mean by that and what is the right answer? Sometimes you will encounter a behavior that won’t terminate. For example, I […]
Are You Being Kind To Your Dog?
Every dog training era has ended up this way: dog training is abnormally mechanical and formulaic as a result of new fads that are now considered “the way”. It’s kind of like how a family makes the same recipes their parents and grandparents made, and even when some aspect of the recipe is found to […]
Dog Training Method Cookbooks
We are a long way from completely understanding how the brain works and how to fully explain, interpret and modify behavior. Yet, we have developed some good tools and insights, and it is worthwhile to invest time into the study of the latest avenues of scientific inquiry and how we got here. In the meantime, […]
Dog Training Relationship Synchronicity
When evaluating dog behavior problems, I often notice problems in the relationship between the owner and the dog. I evaluate their mutual stress levels, emotional states, communication, tendency to work together, and emotional health. In other words, are they in tune with one another. Are they mutually entwined in a healthy relationship? I got to […]