One Writer Mom. One Teen Kid. One Brilliant Australian Shepherd. One Comical Border Collie Mix. One Dog in a Maine Coon Cat's Body. And Latest to the Party — One Cuddly Cavalier.
Posted in Dog Training, Dogs in General on Mar 21st, 2010
Crufts is the largest dog show in the world. It’s held in March every year. And while it has all the usual judging of Best of Breed, etc., I love watching the agility and freestyle parts of the program. Talk about a working and playing partnership with your dog…! Here are this year’s winners, Richard [...]
Posted in Dog Training, Dogs in General, Funnies on Feb 7th, 2010
Posted in .My Dogs and Me, Dog Training, Dogs in General on Nov 1st, 2009
Over the years, many people have asked for help on how to pick the perfect dog. I’m always happy to assist when I can. I usually start by asking: How many dogs old are you? Huh? you say. Are you asking me how old in dog years I am? No, it’s not a sneaky way [...]
Posted in Dog Training, Dogs in General on Jun 28th, 2009
In my earlier post on Operant Conditioning: Part 1, I explained how it can be used with great success at motivating 2-leggeds and 4-leggeds. I shared the example of how, at Cait’s suggestion, I used +R (Positive Reinforcement) along with -P (Negative Punishment) to help motivate her to change an undesired behavior (chewing with mouth [...]
Posted in .Cait and Me, Dog Training on Jun 7th, 2009
When I was young, I was quite shy and never liked drawing attention to myself. One of the ways this manifested was that I spoke very softly. My wonderful father was bothered by this trait and took it upon himself to remedy the situation. Anytime I spoke, he’d interrupt and insist that I speak more [...]
Posted in Dog Training, Dogs in General on May 31st, 2009
Maybe you’ve seen this ditty passed around in an email: Ten Rules for Being Human 1. You will receive a body. 2. You will be presented with lessons. 3. There are no mistakes, only lessons. 4. Lessons are repeated until learned. 5. Learning does not end. 6. “There” is no better than “Here.” 7. Others [...]
Posted in Dog Training, Dogs in General on Apr 26th, 2009
Having lived with and loved a rescue dog who came to me with aggression problems, and having been around the block with various training philosophies to find one that worked, I’m happy to see that progress is being made in the understanding of what actually helps and what hurts. While I know there are many [...]
Posted in Dog Training, Dogs in General on Apr 24th, 2009
Hey guys, want to make your smart dog famous? I’m writing a book that will include stories about how dogs demonstrate their intelligence. I’d like to include a story about your Doggy Einstein if you’ve got a good one. If you think for a moment, I’ll bet you can recall several stories. To help jog your memory: [...]
Posted in .My Dogs and Me, Dog Training, Dogs in General on Feb 18th, 2008
Nutmeg saved her old dog, Ezra’s life today. From all the way across the front yard and down across the street! Ezra, Nutmeg’s beloved 12 year old boxer, got out the front door and wandered across the street, before Nutmeg had a chance to realize. With four kids and a busy house, it happens. But [...]
Posted in Dog Training, Dogs in General on Jan 17th, 2008
Every encounter we have with our dogs is a training session– whether we know it or not. So I start training consciously right from the very first day I get my puppy home. This keeps me focused on my behavior and interactions with my puppy, as well as hers with me. Doing so makes it [...]
Posted in .My Dogs and Me, Dog Training on Nov 26th, 2007
It’s been a loooooong time coming. Three years, to be exact. Graidy loves to run — lives to run. And, for years, was happy doing laps around our fenced three acres. But, recently, he’s been interested in expanding his horizons, and has acquired a new favorite running buddy — Andrew. (I’m too slow for him. [...]
Posted in Dog Training, Dogs in General on Nov 15th, 2007
There is a trainer who shall remain nameless who believes in controlling a dog by what she calls the “Down Restraint Technique.” Translation: Alpha rolling a dog and keeping it pinned to the ground with an elbow in the dog’s throat, leaning on it’s side and having several people hold down the feet spread apart–yep, [...]
Posted in Dog Training, Dogs in General on Nov 5th, 2007
If you’re sick of hearing ccchhhhhtttttt, you’ll be happy to know that Dogwise is offering this DVD by Ian Dunbar and Jean Donaldson. If you haven’t seen it, it’s well worth viewing. Here’s the blurb and link from Dogwise: Many trainers today find themselves facing questions and comments from clients like “Why don’t you do [...]
Posted in .My Dogs and Me, Dog Training, Dogs in General on Oct 29th, 2007
To continue on the Bus Stop theme, I thought I’d share how I got my dogs to stop barking like maniacs every time the bus rounded the corner. But first a little background on how I came upon the solution: I have a friend who I aspire to be when I grow up. She is [...]
Posted in Dog Training, Dogs in General on Aug 9th, 2007
There are lots of trainers out there. Some certified, some not. Some positive, some traditional. Some good, and some bad. So how do you go about finding a good one that meshes with your values on dog rearing and training protocols? If you’ve been a regular reader of this blog, you know that I favor [...]
