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Information on Dogs and Training
Garbage in: Garbage out…
Aaargghh!!! I let rip with a fluent stream of Anglo-Saxon expletives just as my long-suffering husband walked through the door. “Problem?” he enquired, casting a wary eye on me (steaming!) and the dogs feigning sleep in their beds. “This $&*%ing thing won’t let me...
Do You Know What Your Dog is Learning Right Now?
In life (and shopping) we are led to believe that we get what we pay for – we expect that the more we pay, the better the product or service. In regards to Dog Trainers, that may or may not be the case! However, it is VERY true when applied to the actual act of...
Training vs Parenting: Are They Really so Different?
Someone made a comment to me the other day that led me to ponder on this: does the way we think about our relationships with our dogs change the way we interact with them? It seems like a no brainer but I believe it’s worth exploring further. I think it affects us in...
Got a High Octane Canine? Here’s How to Install the OFF Switch
OMG. She’s done it again. You turned your back for 5 seconds and now the trash is all over the kitchen. You didn’t realise she could get in that cupboard! …Or the garden has been re-landscaped. …Or the washing has now been sorted into ‘mud’ and ‘shreds’. Bugger....
Does Your Dog See Monsters Everywhere? Here’s Why…
We all know that kids can go through a stage where they are scared of ‘things that go bump in the night’ and other imagined horrors. It’s part of growing up and being human. So, when our dogs seem to be scared of ‘silly things,’ it’s easy to pass it off as “Oh, he’s...
Do You Know the Steps of ‘The Training Dance’?
!?!?!?! I hear you say. What on earth is a Training Dance?’ Well, it’s not really a dance – but then again, it is. Confused? Read on… It’s a truism that training isn’t something we do TO our dogs, it’s something we do WITH our dogs. In that way, it is like a dance....
Why Train Your Dog? Here are 8 Excellent Reasons…
We’ve all heard that we need to train our dogs. It’s pretty much an accepted fact of dog ownership. But have you ever wondered WHY it’s so important? I mean, plenty of dogs go through life without any formal training whatsoever and most of them seem just fine. So...
Trouble Teaching Your Dog to Focus? Part 2
This is the second part of a two part series on teaching our dogs how to focus on us in interesting places. PART ONE examined the concept of 'focus' from a dog training perspective and looked at how to teach the foundation skill of reorienting to us from...
Trouble Teaching Your Dog to ‘Focus’?
What is 'Focus'? A very frequent comment I hear from dog handlers is that their dog can’t ‘focus’. Their dog is ‘distracted’ by the environment or specific things within it. So, I’d like to take a closer look at this very common problem. This is especially true of...
4 Ways to Undermine Your Dog Training – and How to Avoid Them.
It’s such a common story: get puppy, go to puppy class, go to basic manners class, go to the next class. Give up. Your dog is still an out of control nut job who won’t listen to you outside of class or unless you have food clearly in your hand. What went wrong? You...