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Overcoming setbacks in training
Last Friday (February 2011), Romeo and I met up with our good friends Mary and August at the dog park in Larkspur to burn off some energy after being cooped up inside so much with [...]
I should have spent more time training. . .
I used to post to my blog two or three times per week. This past week (February 2011) I got tied up with other things and didn't post as often as I "should have." Which [...]
Want a “handy” training tool?
Want a handy training tool? Try hand targeting. Hand targeting is teaching your dog to target or touch your hand with his nose. What use could you have for hand targeting? Think about the times [...]
Walking your dog – is it really good exercise?
Many people think of walks as the main means of exercise for their dogs. But is a walk really the best form of exercise for our dogs? For some dogs, walks are great exercise. For [...]
Side effects of punishment, part 3
This is part 3 in my series on the use of and side effects of punishment. My source is Murray Sidman's Coercion and Its Fallout. In the last post, I quoted from his chapter on [...]
Overcoming a dog's intense reaction to the vacuum
I bet everyone has either lived with or known of a dog who seems to hate the vacuum cleaner. I'm not sure what exactly about a vacuum gets dogs all riled up, but some will [...]
Getting in touch with her inner Terrier
We had a 6 month old Cairn Terrier stay with us. (January 2011) She's probably the easiest-going Terrier I've met in a long time. While every dog is an individual, Terriers in general tend to [...]
Side effects of punishment, part 2
In my posts from December (2010), I quoted Murray Sidman's Coercion and Its Fallout on the effects of punishment. I want to continue with some of the points in his book, namely the potential side [...]
Is your dog feeling under the weather?
My husband came down with a cold while we were in Minnesota over Christmas. He's feeling better now, but still dealing with the lingering effects. I thought I had dodged that bullet, when just last [...]
New Years Resolution – for your dog
The new year is a time when many people make New Years Resolutions to exercise more, lose weight, or do other things they want to accomplish to make improvements in their lives. Whether or not [...]
Does one adolescent dog and four young boys mean chaos?
Picture this. . . It's Christmas Eve (2010) in Minnesota. Ed and I have Jahzara, our Greyhound, and Romeo, our Vizsla, settled in at my parents' house. It's cold outside, there's a lot of snow [...]
Is your dog a retriever?
Romeo was not a natural retriever when he was young. He liked to take things and run off with them, but his natural inclination was never to bring things to me. I knew I wanted [...]
Side effects of punishment, part 1
In a prior post, I quoted Murray Sidman's Coercion and Its Fallout on the effects of punishment. I want to continue with some of the points in his book, namely the potential side effects of [...]
Is punishment necessary in training?
An ongoing debate among dog trainers is the use of and need for punishment. Some trainers use primarily punishment to train dogs. Some use primarily positive reinforcement and try to avoid using any punishment. Most [...]
What's in a name?
I'm always interested to hear how people come up with names for their dogs. Some go with the popular names while others use the opportunity to be more creative. When I hear an unusual name, [...]
What does it take to wear out your dog?
As you might know, Romeo was neutered a couple of weeks ago (December 2010), so he was on limited physical activity for while. Last Friday was the first time since his neuter that I took [...]
Set your dog up for success over the holidays!
The holiday season tends to be very hectic for most of us. This means some of our usual routines go out the window. Unfortunately, for our dogs, this often includes training, walks and other important [...]
The science of sniffing
Following is an excerpt from Alexandra Horowitz's Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know. (If you want to learn more about how dogs experience the world, I highly recommend reading this book.) [...]
Why does snow make dogs go crazy?
Growing up in Minnesota, I was used to snow staying on the ground all winter. The first snow was always exciting - we could go sledding, make snowmen, have snowball fights, or just play in [...]
Romeo's recuperation – no running or jumping?!
I've counseled lots of people on how to help get through times of mandatory R&R for their energetic dogs. This week (November 2010) has been my chance to put that advice to the test. Romeo [...]