The Dog Blog

I've changed the rules at my house. I've done something that I never thought I would do. I've decided that I no longer want to share my bed with four dogs.

I've also decided that the cats in my house need some space that belongs to just them. For the past three days I have had a baby gate at the end of the hall leading to my bedroom. When I go to bed I leave my dogs in the living room where they have their choice of furniture or dog beds. There has been some confusion and even some complaining, but everyone is adjusting.

I've also converted the spare bedroom (which is bed-less) into a cat sanctuary. There are scratching posts, kitty condos, a litter box and food. The cat room is also beyond the baby gate, therefore beyond the reach of any dogs. This was inspired by my newly adopted dog who hasn't yet figured out the rules about dealing with cats.

Here is the link to the video for this blog http://youtu.be/a4kHsaUSylQ

Many dogs suffer from leash reactivity. Just many have various reasons for their reactive behavior. Additionally many dogs are a mix of fearful and frustrated and or have never been counter conditioned.

Due to their history reacting on leash and perhaps some type of sloppy application of compulsion "training" and or food rewards the humans have failed, and the reactivity has been the only real reinforcement for the dog’s feelings about stimulus in the environment.

This is the first video of many to start addressing leash reactivity. By understanding what it is we are looking for as training criteria we can have a better idea of what to train and when. 

Brandi has made great progress since this filming in July 2011. We have 4 more to edit and plan on filming a recent update.

Does your dog ride shotgun? The idea of “dog as copilot” has always been very attractive to me. I love the visual of (in my case) a woman and her dog, riding side-by-side taking on the world! (Okay, more likely taking on daily errands such as picking up the dry cleaning or a trip to the market, but you get the picture.)

Ever since I was a young twenty-something living in the big city of Chicago, having my dog in the car with me, taking him (and eventually them, as dogs DO magically multiply) everywhere I went, made me feel safe and not alone.

"The First Ten Skills You Should Teach Your Puppy" are my chosen ten skills. I believe most will agree with my choice, but if you don't, you're off course entitled to add, subtract and modify as you seem fit. In any case, I hope this will help you in your work as a puppy owner instructor or a puppy owner.

The First Ten Skills You Should Teach Your Puppy

There are many skills that your puppy must learn in order to enjoy a good doggy life in our human world. It is your responsibility to teach your puppy these skills. Opinions may differ as to what are the most fundamental skills to teach your puppy. In my opinion, you should focus on the ten skills I describe here so that both you and your puppy enjoy being together and can safely begin to discover the world.