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, but your own stress level can affect his performance as well. My Sunday afternoon Basic Training Class graduated recently. Our [...]
One question I am often asked is this: “How do I correct my dog when he doesn’t do what he’s told?” In our society, we tend to be quick to want to dole out punishment for “misbehavior” or doing something “he knows was wrong.” Dogs are often labeled stubborn, defiant, dominant or other terms that [...]
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. If your dog is anything like mine, he will make a beeline for that spot. While I love living in a rural [...]
Romeo and I attended our Rally drop-in class recently. (February 2012) The last time we were there, it was crowded which resulted in my post about looking out for your dog's safety. This time, there were only four of us along with the instructor and her assistant and their five dogs. It was much more [...]
In my last post on off-leash readiness, 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. (November 2011) This past week, I have been re-testing his off-leash reliability. I'm happy to say that he is doing much better! While half of [...]
