Helpful Pointers for Training Your Dog
At dinner, Kiera lies by my chair while we eat. She likes to monitor my eating, as she knows she gets my leftovers when I’m done. If I take too long, she starts “talking” to tell me to hurry up.
Andrew finally gets annoyed and wants me to discipline her to get her to stop being pushy. So I remember Suzanne Clothier’s time-out lesson where you remove the dog from where you are for a few moments to essentially help … Read More
Andrew, reading the morning paper in one hand with a cup of coffee in the other, started quoting an article on one of the more popular dog trainers du jour. Every time he was about to say what the problem was, I absent-mindedly pre-empted him with the correct evaluation and training procedure.
Finally, he looked at me and said, “Why don’t you become a professional dog trainer? Any time I mention any article or magazine piece on dog training you … Read More
From the mail bag: Allie asks: Just wondering. What do you think of Jon Katz? As a person, a writer, and now a trainer?
Dear Allie, I can’t comment on Katz as a person; I’ve never met the man. And I know all too well how it can be hazardous to draw conclusions about someone who writes about pieces of his or her life. As a reader, it’s easy to think you know the whole person, when you really … Read More
Seems Cesar has a way of stirring things up wherever he goes. He’s attracted a fair amount of attention here in Shanleyville. Irma, a thoughtful reader, left a comment on why she found Cesar’s approach useful for certain situations. She brings up some valid points.
Different trainers become popular with different people for different reasons. Obviously, the Dog Whisperer show has struck a nerve. I don’t find that surprising; there are a lot of dogs who need more training. And … Read More
Okay, I have to say it. I don’t like Cesar Millan’s training methods. He’s set dog training back about 20 years.
The Alpha Roll?! Come on, really. And I don’t know of any good trainer who would EVER say, “Don’t try this at home.” Then what’s the point, I ask you? Showmanship, ego, and money. That’s the point.
It’s not that Millan is wholly without merit. There are some training techniques that even Millan doesn’t have to turn into an … Read More
When I’m training, I’m always thinking about why Kiera does or doesn’t do what she does. I’m always trying to see if I can understand it from where she is and go from there. For example, once upon a time, I wasn’t having any luck getting Kiera to remain calm when people came over to our house. Whenever someone would arrive, Kiera would go into overdrive to make sure everyone in the house was safe for posterity. I’d tried the … Read More
One morning, as I watched Kiera and Graidy zooming around the backyard together, it struck me how much of Kiera’s play was really herding behavior. Graidy would float around the yard like a piece of newspaper blowing in the wind– fluttering this way and that, skipping and hopping, twisting and twirling. Kiera would conserve her energy as long as Graidy stayed within a certain range. She’d stay in a semi-crouch position with neck stretched out and down, watching. Once he’d … Read More
