Our dogs are observing us (and the world around them) all of the time. Sometimes their ability to put those observations to good use astounds me (and makes me laugh, very hard). I’m the morning person in our family. I…
Pavlov’s Dogs
The lack of external cues has been throwing our household for a loop. While I’m generally rather good at creating routine, none of us realized just how much the dog’s feeding routine and cues were based on external triggers. Like…
Routine
As with the rest of the world, these past few weeks have required adjustment. We are now past the 2 week mark and with my spouse working from home for at min the next month we’ve learned somethings about our…
Best Cue Ever
It’s the weekend. The corgi is bored. I am otherwise engaged. She is standing, staring at me, willing spontaneous adventure to begin. “Zora, go find William.” She turns tail and determinedly trots off through the house to find her other…
Don’t Take Good for Granted
With all of the millions of behavior choices available to our dogs in any given instance, it never ceases to amaze how frequently the behaviors they chose are ones that are pretty darn wonderful. That isn’t to discount the moments…
Falling in the Pond
Often when we look at or make plans for behavior modification with our dogs the focus is on management and gradual exposure to stressors that allow the dog to practice alternate coping skills below threshold working to change the dog’s…
Practice saying, “No.”
What phrase have I said more than any other phrase in the past week? “No, but thank you so much for asking!” Can anyone guess the question my response is answering? If you guessed, “Can I pet your dog?” You’re…
The Magic of Space & Time
Frequently, it feels, we are all so often rushing, rushing, rushing. And with that rushing, putting pressure on those around us, including our dogs, to hurry up and be who we need them to be. We give small credit to…
Agility Side Changes
In the beginner agility program I teach, the 2nd session of classes is devoted to directional skills and crosses. It’s the class I start hearing references to dancing and having two left feet from the students, and is is where…
Lead Outs
In dog agility most folks are familiar with the concept of a lead out. For those uninitiated, a lead out refers to the stay that you ask your dog to do at the beginning of the course, before the 1st…