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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 [...]
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 [...]