Mia and Lucy competed this weekend, Mia in Dock Diving, and Lucy in Barn Hunt. Both girls did very well – Mia earned her Novice Dock Dog title, and Lucy earned her Novice Barn Hunt title with two first places and a second place. Way to go girls!
For the past few months, we have been fostering a Border Collie named Boo through Western Border Collie Rescue. Though I was confident that she would not be staying with us, she had other ideas. In my defense, I’ve had close to 20 foster dogs come through my house, and …
As a dog trainer, a significant part of my career focuses on methodology. At some point I had to make some decisions on what sorts of dog training methods I would be using to teach clients, what methods I wanted to learn more about, and which methods I would avoid. …
Are we holding our dogs back from making the progress we seek? No matter what we are doing with our dogs, we tell ourselves little stories about who our dog is, and what they are capable of. This happens to pet owners and sport trainers of all types – “My …
Do you have a puppy, or a dog that is out-of-control? How often is your dog on a leash in the house? Yes, I said on leash in the house. This is what trainers call a “tether”, and it is about to make your life a lot easier. Puppies especially …
I recently realized that one of my favorite songs perfectly illustrates a great technique to use in modifying problematic behaviors. The lyrics of “When it was Wrong” by The California Honeydrops describes a typical romance between two young lovers, “Wooo, baby do you remember when we were hiding out? Just …
Megan was married on May 26, 2018, and has changed her last name from Donovan to Wallace! The wedding was beautiful, and full of fun with a game theme (including a puzzle with this picture of the dogs, since they couldn’t be there) and a live band. June brought a …
If you’ve read my post 5 Tips for More Enjoyable Leash Walks, you will know that I am not a huge fan of the retractable leash. Many people use retractable leashes to give their dog’s more freedom than a standard 6’ leash allows, so I want to present my alternative …
One of the most frustrating moments in dog training is when our dog doesn’t respond the way we expect them to. We label this as stubborn, or even stupid. The frustration we experience can lead to speaking more sternly to the dog, escalating to yelling, or even physical punishments. Before …
I believe that it is in our dogs’ best interests to be encouraged to search for food in certain contexts. Let’s be clear, we are not teaching the dog to search for food, the dog is not learning to search for food, they come programmed for that. I am talking …
