If you want a well adjusted puppy you can take anywhere, that starts with knowing your puppy, and training habits you like. A puppy’s socialization window begins to close at around 12 weeks of age. (if you’re concerned about health/immunity, check out The https://avsab.org/ ‘s position statement) While socialization classes and play groups can be […]
Category: Dog Blog
No Pull Recommendations And Checklist
Loose Leash walking can seem overwhelming if you feel like that’s all that walks are about (and they shouldn’t be! But check the other blog posts for more on that…). Something to manage pulling, like a Head Halter or a No Pull harness, can be helpful, until you can extend your training into daily life. […]
5 Tips for Nicer Nail Clipping
5 Tips for Nicer Nail Clipping Reward – use something your dog thinks is amazing and try to reward lots and generously Helper – helpers are great however if safe to do so and possible try to avoid having someone hold your dog down. Heavy restraint can add to your dog’s worries Shorter sessions – […]
Reward what you like – more effective training than saying ‘no’
When our dogs behave in ways that we do not like, we often forget to examine why, because we are so focused on the unwanted behaviour. Similarly, if we look to stop nuisance or unwanted behaviour, we also often ignore what motivates the dog to act in such an undesirable way. If we only look […]
leash walking : train it while still being able to walk your dog!
Leash walking can be one of the more challenging things we try to train; it does take time to train your dog enough so that he or she can maintain a loose leash throughout your entire walk. Our tips: train loose leash walking using a reward, a duration, and a location where your dog is […]
What role does pain play in aggression or reactivity?
Your dog’s aggression might be worsened or caused by pain. I think we have become much better at understanding pain from a medical standpoint in many areas, however we may still struggle if the “picture” looks different. We think we know what a painful dog looks like, right? They might yelp or cry if they […]
Small Dog Treat Solutions!
I had a recent conversation about options to motivate and successfully train a very small dog. This little dog was not responding to training as expected, which told me that she may need something different for food rewards (her person is using food/treats to train… other options may include toys or access to life’s rewards! […]
Why does my dog bark so much?
Somehow I feel that, in modern society, this is a question that so many of us want, and perhaps need, to know. For the purposes of this post, I’ll discuss dogs who bark inside the house, so when I say “barking”, I’m referring to specifically that. Despite those people who may claim to know what […]
Don’t start in the Park
Don’t start in the Park So why not? I occasionally have clients ask to meet me at a park, and I can understand why; it’s usually a half way point, its often pleasant, and that’s where so many of us take our dogs so often. But here’s a secret, the park is the last place […]
Three common mistakes of new dog trainers
If you are struggling to get your dog to listen or work with you… here are 3 common mistakes you might be making: 1. Free choice or access to food… Food is the most common reward used in training because it is easy to dispense, portable, offers variety, and most of us(human or canine!) can […]