The Dog Blog

Hello everyone! This is my first blog at Dog Star Daily and I'm so excited to be a part of this educational forum and discussion group. I'd been pondering what to write about in my first blog and was going to write something about the holidays, but then a more pressing issue came up that I simply had to address. I was relieved when President-Elect Obama and his wife Michelle announced a few weeks ago that they probably wouldn't be getting a puppy for at least the first few months after moving into the Whitehouse. As dog trainers we all know that the absolute worst time to add a new dog to the family is during hectic, busy times, like the holidays or right after a big move. I was also hoping this revelation would give people time to calm down a bit and allow the Obamas an opportunity to reflect a bit more on their decision, do their own research, and ultimately select the best dog for their family. Ahhh, finally, the clamoring would die down.

This concept also works very well with dogs.

Just think about how many times a day you interact or pay attention to your dog/s. Then if you exclude feeding, walking and grooming try and place the rest of the attention your dog receives into one of the two following categories: 1. Attention for doing something you don't particularly want like jumping up, raiding the garbage, chewing on the mobile phone, lying on the couch and pestering you at the dinner table or 2. Attention for doing something you want more of, like lying calmly on his bed, playing with a toy or chewing a bone?

By attention I don't only mean kisses and cuddles but it also counts as attention if you are shouting at him, chasing him around the house to get that remote back or pushing him off you when he jumps up.

Long ago and far away I recognized my greatest strength in learning something new is through visual and kinesthetic experience. Hence I model for clients, handling their dog in their home, how best to achieve learning for the dog during a training and then work with the owner to transfer that knowledge to them before I leave. Practicing the newly taught skills enough, along with truly understanding a lot of useful information about how dogs actually operate (which is often antithetical to the average person), helps ensure a transition to a better behaved dog if the individual is motivated (which I assume they are by having hired me to come into their home for 3 long hours or more!). I also give a lot of written material to clients, including a manual I am always updating for those who are more reading/writing learners. But I'm always on the creative and visual lookout for new ways to inspire myself.

It's that time of the year again – the Christmas holidays are approaching. For many people their pets will play a different role during the holiday. Some people I know they wouldn’t dream of spending Christmas away from their dogs while others seek out boarding kennels as they feel that it is better for them or their dog due to the high volume of visitors and family members visiting.

Recently, a few owners have being asking me questions as to what I would suggest so their pet is not overlooked during the holidays and also about specific concerns they have. So below I thought I would share ideas on how to deal with one such concern.

“Too Much” barking at the doorbell.

There may be lots of reasons why your dog is doing what he is doing and we may not know exactly why. However I will outline a non-specific training plan that I hope will help.

If the dog barks as soon as the doorbell goes off and they keep barking then I would suggest you try the following: