It’s 4 am and there is only one reason I am awake. My dog heard something outside and started barking. I live in a rather rural area surrounded by wildlife. One of the benefits of not having neighbors close by is the peace, quiet, and tranquility that comes with the territory. I think it’s also been good for my dog. No longer are the days where he is stimulated with all the people walking by with dogs and other distractions in my old neighborhood. But, then there is the occasional deer, skunk, raccoon, in the middle of the night that gets his attention and he finds it urgent to wake me with loud barking. No complaints. Sanchez is a fabulous watch dog - he barks, finds me, we check it out, I reassure him all is safe, and he stops barking.

Sometimes you use a body cue to elicit behavior, and you'd like to transfer the cue to a verbal cue.  Alternatively, you may want to transfer your verbal cues to body cues, note cards with words for behaviors written on them, whistle cues, even scent cues.

When selecting a new cue, make sure it is both easy for the dog to perceive and distinct from existing cues (For example, "bow" and "down" sound very similar; this can be confusing for dogs.  If you have a verbal "down" as your cue to the dog that she should lie down; you may want to call a play bow "greet" or "curtsey").

Regardless of what type of cue you currently use to elicit the behavior, you can always transfer the cue to a new/different cue.  Let's say that we have a body signal as a cue for Mokie's sit behavior (hand extended out from waist, palm up, move towards shoulder) and that we want to transfer the cue so that she will respond to the verbal cue "sit."  Here's the protocol:

I recently heard someone say that they weren’t interested in training dog, but rather in living with dogs.  They mentioned lifestyle and relationship as things separate from dog training.  My reaction was to cock my head at the statement, chuckle, feel confused, then say to myself, “But they can’t be separated.”

To try and separate living with dogs from training dogs is like…hmmm…trying to separate living with children and raising/teaching children.  It can’t be done.  If you live with a child, you are teaching them things constantly, whether you intend to or not.  It works the same with dogs.

This can be a serious issue, as it is often the lessons we DON’T intend to teach that cause us the biggest problems!  It’s these same unintended, nearly unconscious lessons that land so very many dogs in shelters.

Bonjour! There are so many interesting things to see when walking around Paris, from the art nouveau signs on brasseries and cafes, to the lovely architecture and, annoyingly enough, those amazingly well put together, thin, chic French women. (How do they pull that off with all those baguettes and pastries around? But I digress…)

Although I’ve seen some amazing sites in Paris, one that has really struck me as a dog person is the sheer number of off-leash dogs walking calmly alongside their owners. Now, keep in mind these are Paris streets; narrow sidewalks wind sinuously through the city, as manic drivers fly around blind curves with the assumption that pedestrians have the reflexes to get out of the way fast enough. Yet at least a third of the dogs we’ve seen have been off-leash, from tiny Yorkies to the ubiquitous French bulldogs, all the way up to the many Labs and Goldens.