How to Prevent Door-Dashing
Run toward the sun In busy families, the front door seems to be in perpetual motion, constantly revolving and providing myriad opportunities for escape. Friends and clients who
New Puppy? What to Focus on First!
What a difference a day makes You and your little four-legged bundle of joy arrive home. 24 hours later you begin to question your sanity, wondering what has
Are We There Yet? How to Ease Your Pet’s Travel Anxiety
Travel trouble With many pet-friendly resorts, parks, and other destinations available, you may consider fun outings with your furry friend. But what can you do if your pooch
Don’t Socialize the Dog!
Really? That title is a typo, right? A professional dog trainer would never advocate against socialization, would she? Well, maybe! The problem isn’t with socialization itself, but with
How to Teach Loose-Leash Walking
Oh, my aching arm Get your dog to walk without pulling! But how? We are masters at allowing our dogs to drag us down the street. The most
Got Puppy Nipping? Take the Clicker Approach
Use the clicker to help eliminate puppy nipping. All puppies engage in “puppy biting,” which serves a purpose or function. Puppies may bite due to hunger, needing to go to
How to Prevent Resource Guarding in a Multiple-dog Household
Stealing and guarding—from whom? Resource guarding among dogs is an extremely common and normal behavior. Dogs are pre-programmed to not want to share valued resources with others. For pet
Ignorance Is Bliss: Real-World Use of Modifiers with a Search & Rescue Dog
A search-and-rescue start Sometimes trainers venture into uncharted training territory without realizing how novel or new it might be. I have been teaching a graduate course on animal
101 Things to Do with a Box
This training game is derived from a dolphin research project in which I and others participated, “The creative porpoise: training for novel behavior,” published in the Journal of