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Interactive Product Review 1: Quado

Rachel Friedman | Tue, 12/21/2010 - 14:54

Leave Me Out of It!

Cindy Bruckart | Tue, 12/21/2010 - 10:17

This is the time of year when trainers are answering a lot of questions about how to manage dogs during holiday festivities. My answers to those questions depend a lot on the age, experience and personality of the dog.

Puppies (birth – 5 months): By all means use this time of year to socialize your pup! All of your holiday guests should be handling the pup, giving her treats, practicing sits & downs and saying the puppy’s name. It’s especially important to give the pup plenty of positive exposure to children, but it MUST be supervised in order to protect the puppy. It’s also important to remember that the pup will need constant supervision to maintain house training habits and will also need frequent crate breaks with a nice chewy to avoid over-arousal.

An "Off" Switch - Blog to go along with the Vlog below.

Chirag Patel | Mon, 12/20/2010 - 16:03

This is a great skill to teach all dogs. You can teach it in many different ways; In this blog I discuss one way to start this very useful exercise which you can progress as shown in the Vlog below.

1. At the start set your dog up to succeed. I would suggest that you start at a time when your dog is not excited and already relatively calm.

2. I would also start with a leash on your dog, which I suggest you place under my foot, giving the dog about 2/3 foot of leash. This will also becomes a cue for your dog to settle and relax, so when you are out and about with your dog and need him to settle you can just drop the leash and step on it, this should cue your dog to chill.

3. Once the dog starts to relax you can drop a treat for them or provide the with an pre-stuffed chew toy.

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Don't forget the "Off" switch!

Chirag Patel | Mon, 12/20/2010 - 16:01

This is part of a training session with Cody, where we are working on practicing a settle from play. This is a great skill to teach all dogs. You can teach it in many different ways; In the blog above I discuss one way to start this very useful exercise.

Shameless Plug - Cleveland - You Gotta Be Tough

Rachel Friedman | Fri, 12/17/2010 - 15:54

The near blizzard of earlier this week forced a slow down, bringing to the surface with an ice cold punch the kind of awareness weather can have on limiting outdoor time for some of us in humid continental climates. Yet the active mind of the canine who might not be getting as much outdoor walking or frolicking when the bitter cold stings still needs challenging -- even in the well behaved pair that inhabit my abode peacefully since Bosco found his new home last week.

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Teaching your Dog to "Drop"

Chirag Patel | Wed, 12/15/2010 - 13:45

This video takes a look at a slightly different approach to teaching your dog or puppy to drop something out of their mouth compared to the traditional swapping approach. Using a more classical conditioning based approach I believe you can get very effective results as I demonstrate with my Kelpie, Cody.

You may have another variation or preference, love to hear more ideas on teaching this behaviour.

Extreme Nose Work

Eric Goebelbecker | Wed, 12/15/2010 - 07:28

It's the final few weeks of the year, so the BBC World Service is running some of their older radio stories. This is a good thing, because I missed a great one in October.

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Lures & Rewards - Teaching Sit, Down and Stand

Chirag Patel | Mon, 12/13/2010 - 02:13

This is one way to teach these behaviours and others which allow you to work with your dog without any physical force.

Now! Now! Now!

Cindy Bruckart | Fri, 12/10/2010 - 11:12

At this time of year it’s easy to remember being an impatient child counting down the days until Christmas. Oh how excruciating the wait could be! I was often guilty of carefully unwrapping and re-wrapping gifts. This was always followed by an Academy Award level performance on Christmas Day as I pretended to be completely surprised.

I can’t remember how old I was when I stopped peeking at presents. Somewhere along the line I learned that the true surprise that came from not knowing what was inside the package was worth more than the instant gratification of giving in to my curiosity.

Some Things Are Meant To Be

Leslie Fisher | Tue, 12/07/2010 - 12:53

As the morning sun dances over the graceful boughs of our douglas fir Christmas tree, as my three labs slumber nearby, I reflect that some things are meant to be. How very meaningful that the man I share my life with, loves Christmas equally as I do. Argil, the man in my life, adopted all three of the labs, or, "the kids" as he call them. The house we share is located amidst my old stomping grounds. Years ago, I worked down the road at Windfield Farms, and spent hours birding the marshes and fields nearby. Often I stood at a location across the creek from his home. Some things are meant to be. Arriving here has been coming home again. We are both certain that I was meant to be in this place. Glancing again at the tree, I wish meeting Argils` Mother had been possible.