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Exposure to new things: Romeo and the lambs
During the critical development stage for puppies, it's important to expose them to as many new and different people, animals, places and things as we can. It's just as important to expose them in a [...]
What does sheep herding have to do with dog training?
Ever tried your hand at sheep herding? Not with your dog, just you. Not something most of us would think of trying ourselves, but I got my opportunity quite unexpectedly the other day. We were [...]
Have you heard of the sport of K9 Nosework?
It's no secret that our dogs' sense of smell far surpasses our own. Most dogs love to sniff when out on walks, sometimes to the point that it becomes difficult to get much exercise. At [...]
Testing off-leash readiness, revisited
In a previous post, I discussed testing off-leash readiness with our dogs. As I described in that post, I am working toward off-leash reliability with Romeo, my Vizsla. At that time, he wasn't quite ready [...]
What is the epitome of adolescence?
At the time I wrote this post (May 2011) I was working on my first book. . . I am making revisions and hoping to get the final draft completed this month. I'm not sure [...]
Does your dog have trouble with stairs?
I recently worked with a couple of clients whose dogs were having trouble navigating stairs. In both cases, the families live in split level homes with several stairs but not full flights of stairs. In [...]
Reduce anxiety by teaching your dog to focus on you
Romeo and I attended our Rally drop-in class again on Friday (April 2011). The last time we were there, it was crowded which resulted in my post about looking out for your dog's safety. This [...]
How good is your dog's memory?
If you think your dog doesn't have a very good memory, just try walking past the spot where he found a dead animal or other equally smelly and enticing (to our dogs) object the other [...]
Are you looking out for your dog's safety?
Are you a safety advocate for your dog? Do you step in when needed to ensure your dog not only IS safe but FEELS safe? If we want our dogs to remain calm and not [...]
Does stress affect your dog's performance?
We know that our own stress can greatly affect our performance and ability to function, but do you ever consider how your dog's stress level might affect his/her performance? Not only your dog's stress level, [...]
Practice makes perfect – or at least more pleasant!
One of the things I miss about being in the suburbs (perhaps the only thing!) is the variety of dog-walking routes we had available. Although we had some favorites routes, I tried to make sure [...]
Keep your senior dogs active!
Senior dogs often get the short end of the stick when it comes to our attention, exercise, training and bonding activities. Since they are usually easier-going and less problem-causing than our younger dogs, it's easy [...]
What is your dog's hunting style?
Anyone who knows me knows that I am not a hunter, but I do allow my dogs to practice their "hunting" skills with no intent to actually kill anything. It's a great energy-burning outlet for [...]
What does your dog hear?
Dogs can hear sounds up to four times the distance that we can. They can also hear a wider frequency of sounds than we can. Sometimes I wonder what they are hearing that I am [...]
Do you expect perfection?
I have pretty high expectations for my dogs. I have specific goals and expectations for what Romeo will eventually be doing. (Note: I originally wrote this blog post when Romeo was under 2 years old [...]
Lessons learned when the instructor becomes the student
I'm itching to get competing in Rally Obedience with Romeo! In preparation for competing, I needed to find some drop-in classes where we could perform some practice courses with other dogs around. Either there are [...]
How many cues does your dog know?
How many cues does your dog know? Have you ever counted? I did, and I'll get to that in a minute. But first. . . If you have done any training with me, you've probably [...]
Address your dog's real behavior problem not the symptom
I often have clients contact me after their attempts to resolve a behavior problem on their own have been unsuccessful. What I often find is that people are attempting to address the symptom (which itself [...]
Testing off-leash readiness
How do you know if and when your dog is ready to be allowed off leash? Many people want to be able to take their dogs hiking off leash but aren't sure how to know [...]
Learning opportunities at dog events
The Rocky Mountain Cluster Dog Show used to be held each year over the Presidents' Day Weekend in Denver. I made a point to attend every year. Only dogs who are competing are allowed in [...]
Celebrate the successes!
It's easy to get caught up in the "what my dog is doing wrong" scenarios, but do not forget to celebrate your successes too!! In my previous post, I shared a setback in my training [...]