Often times life for dogs involves a fair amount of “hurry up and wait.” Waiting for meals to get prepared, walks to happen, car rides to end, owners to return home, balls to be thrown, for neighbors to stop chatting…
It’s in the Tone!
“It has to do with your tone of voice! Dogs respond to the tone not the words!” How many times have you heard that in the past? I’ve heard it many times. Most often in reference to the way a…
Freestyle Shaping
Materials: 1 kitchen chair 1 bored corgi in need of entertainment Handful of dog kibble or small treats 1 tired human 1 comfortable sitting place for tired human preferably warm and with cozy blankets Goal: entertain corgi in silliness and…
Contact Obstacles: More Than the End Zone
This spring I’m working with a number of agility teams specifically on contact obstacles. Some of the teams are with young dogs that the handlers want to set a solid foundation for contacts on, some are dogs who are nervous,…
Thank goodness for Premack
A favorite dog of mine, Rose, who belongs to a good friend has been ill for the past couple of months. Steadily going downhill. Thursday my friend learned Rose’s symptoms were due to cancer. It beyond sucks. Rose is a…
Formula for Earning Qualifying Scores
I talk with my agility students and students considering competition often about defining what success in the ring means for them, their dog and their team. As I feel that definition can have a huge impact on not only your…
Circus Dogs!
I think I need to consider renaming my Thursday night advanced class “Mechanics.” Or maybe “Laugh till you cry” as that seems to be what we do each week. Lol. Last night, per the group’s request, we focused on teaching…
Loopy Stays
Training formal competition obedience stays is not something I’ve, in the past, been great with. Informal stays, good at teaching those. Stay on your bed, stay at the start line, moving wait, wait for release at doors, stay while I…
Dog Training Math
Dog training is my happy place. Lately one of the few times I feel happy, so I’ve been doing it a lot. Few minutes here and there throughout the day can add up quickly. I just did a loose addition…
Power of Positive Reinforcement
This is a story about my husband, W. He’s a quiet, introverted soul, with a wicked sense of humor and a tendency to perfectionism. 3 years ago he was laid off from a job with a company he’d been with…