SPRING FEVER
SPRING FEVER Grab your leash and let’s go for a walk! The sun is shining, the birds are chirping and it’s time to get re-introduced to the great outdoors. Spring is finally here and everybody is itching to get out of the house. We may even find that we need to brush up on our […]
Poisoned Praise
Poisoned Praise I’ve often pondered why experienced handlers who seem to be doing all the right things – enthusiastic markers, good technical personal play concepts, no obvious or heavy-handed corrections, good core training techniques – yet have dogs having a hard time. From dogs who shut down to dogs who look bored to dogs that […]
SCENT 101
SCENT 101 A lot of brain power goes into how a dog interprets all the smells in the world around them. A dog has more than 100 million sensory receptors in the nose, even higher in some dog breeds, compared to around 5 million in humans, and it is estimated about a third of the […]
Disc Sports: A fun way to stay active and bond with your dog.
Disc Sports: A fun way to stay active and bond with your dog in the summer months. By Nicole VaughnPhoto by Lianne Matieshin Photography Does your dog enjoy chasing plastic or fabric discs, or do you think they might? Let’s check out the world of dog disc sports! Competing in disc dog sports can be […]
Life and Love: Lessons Learned from a Reactive Dog
Life and Love: Lessons Learned from a Reactive Dog By Sidney Chow As I sit here writing this article a little, speckled, dog lays at my feet. She is upside down, sound asleep, snoring, her paws paddling as she dreams of chasing rabbits. I smile. This month marks three years since this spunky, little, blue […]
Choosing The Right Equipment For Your Dog.
Choosing The Right Equipment For Your Dog. By Emily Garland Every dog and handler team needs to weigh the pros and cons of their equipment. Even in a home with several dogs, not all my own dogs use the same pieces. When choosing, it’s important to notethe following: Training is Necessary While it would be […]
K9 Body Language: Learning to speak ‘dog’.
K9 Body Language: Learning to speak ‘dog’. By Mary-Lou Halliday I have always been an observer. I was shy and quiet as a kid, so I would just sit and watch, and analyze people and situations. Little did I know this would turn into a useful skill I would later utilize in my dog training […]
365 Days of Training: How valuable are you to your dog?
365 Days of Training: How valuable are you to your dog? In controlled environments, you may have the most perfect, well-behaved and obedient dog, but what happens when you are in a new and exciting place with many distractions? As soon as your dog finds something more motivating and rewarding than you, then you have […]
Working Dogs: Therapy Work
WORKING DOGS What are Therapy Dogs and how do you train one? By Makayla Stephenson Therapy dogs are utilized in many different places and for many different purposes. They bring some much-needed serotonin to people who love dogs in times of high stress, loneliness, fatigue, fear and anxiety. Therapy Dogs are people’s beloved pets who […]
TWO SIDES TO EVERY LEASH
TWO SIDES TO EVERY LEASH A discussion on leash etiquette By Emily Garland, CPDT-KA, MFA Social Etiquette is something we don’t tend to think of too much as humans, unless it’s blatantly obvious someone has made an error. We naturally give each other space. Even in crowded places like grocery stores we tuck into aisles, […]