Hi all, Big news! I’m excited to announce that starting on December 1st, I will be teaching a six-week online class through the Fenzi Dog Sports Academy about behavioral disorders in dogs. The class is open to anyone who wants to sign up, so feel free to join us if this is a topic that interests you! You can sign up for a silver-level spot if you want to participate in class by doing the homework assignments, taking part in…
Not too long ago, one of my training clients told me about an unexpected problem she was having with her dog. She had recently moved from a rural area to a more suburban neighborhood, and had begun taking her dog for daily walks on-leash. They both enjoyed their walks, apart from an issue they were having with a particular house along their route. There was a dog who lived in this house, and he barked at them through the window…
When my dog Remy was a puppy, many years ago, I set about teaching him a sit-stay. As any trainer can attest, this is usually a fairly straightforward exercise. I was still in veterinary school at that time, so I had less training experience than I do now – but as a student assistant in OSU’s puppy kindergarten classes twice a week, I had taught dozens of pups the basics of how to sit and stay without any difficulty. My…
For today’s topic, we’re going to delve a little deeper into an oft-repeated myth about positive training. Namely, the idea that in order to train a well-mannered companion, you need to do two things: Reward what you like, and ignore what you don’t. Seems easy, right? Chances are, if you’re a dog owner, you’ve heard some version of this mantra somewhere along the way – from a well-meaning friend or neighbor, perhaps, or in an online training group. And really,…
As a veterinarian in general practice, seeing a brand new puppy for a wellness check-up is one of my favorite parts of the job. (I’d wager this is true for most vets – ask anyone!) Puppies are cute, and obnoxious, and very, very busy. They sniff all around the exam room, jump up to say hello, and try their best to eat my shoelaces. They chew on my stethoscope while I auscult their hearts. They eat treats eagerly when offered,…
Hi all, I’m excited to announce that I will be doing a set of webinars on the topic of behavior medications in dogs on Thursday, August 9th through the Fenzi Dog Sports Academy. These are open to anyone who wants to sign up, so feel free to join me if you’re curious about behavior meds and how they work! **Note: you DO NOT have to attend the webinar live, if it doesn’t fit with your schedule. As long as you’re…
Last time, we talked about behavior chains – what they are, how they work, and why it’s so easy to accidentally train your dog to do something you don’t want. We had some great discussion in the comments section of that post, and several readers asked for some additional information about how to apply this concept on a practical level. Namely, if we’ve inadvertently trained a behavior chain that includes unwanted “links” like jumping on visitors or pulling on the…
My family got our first dog, a long-legged sable Sheltie named Duncan, when I was sixteen years old. As a brand-spanking-new trainer, I had lots of enthusiasm but very little actual skill. We went to classes and dabbled in a few different dog sports – including, most notably for today’s topic, competitive obedience. In the novice obedience ring, one of the exercises that dogs are required to master is the formal recall. This involves leaving your dog in a sit-stay,…
All right, gang. Today we’ll be discussing one of the most common and versatile training tools in a dog owner’s arsenal – the crate. Also called a cage, or kennel, I find that the humble dog crate often doesn’t get the respect it deserves. Some owners, especially if they’ve never used one, worry that confining their pup to a crate might be cruel or scary for them. Others may take the crate for granted (“Dogs like dens, right?”), and simply…
Hi all, I’m excited to announce that my new podcast is officially up and running! The first two episodes are up – show notes and download links can be found here. It’s also available on iTunes (as well as most other major podcast directory sites), so feel free to search for it there if you prefer 🙂 Not to worry, the blog is still going strong! I realize that some of my readers may not be interested in the podcast,…