YOU CAN’T JUST BE FRIENDS WITH YOUR DOG
Some of you think you are not training your dog unless you have enrolled them in a class. Or you are not training them unless you have treats in your hand and are teaching them tricks.You could not be more misinformed. EVERY moment of your dog’s life is training. EVERY interaction you have with your […]
PUTTING YOUR DOG IN “TIME-OUT” IS WASTING TIME
Feeling a little frustrated with how your dog training or puppy training is going? Giving your puppy lots of time-outs in the crate but that doesn’t seem to be doing anything? Well, I’m here to tell you why.Dogs and puppies do not have the ability to make connections between intelligent concepts. They do not understand […]
YOUR DOG DOESN’T FEEL BAD FOR BAD BEHAVIOR
Bad dog!We have all said this to our dogs before. Whether we have lost our temper at a puppy piddling on the carpet, or reprimanding our dog for another chewed up sock, these words have probably crossed our lips.What I find interesting is what happens AFTER we yell at our furry friends. Their shoulders hunch, […]
WHAT NOT TO DO TO YOUR BARKING DOG
I was out on a walk with my dogs the other day when we passed a young woman walking her dog as well. The second we came into sight her dog started barking and pulling on the leash trying to reach us, even though we were a good 50 feet away.Glad for my two obedient […]
TO CHOOSE, OR NOT TO CHOOSE….A DOG?
When I was 13 my church group had us write down a few characteristics of the type of person we would like to marry. Being a teenager my first three were: tall, dark and handsome. Ha ha.Once I got past that, my next few items were: smart, funny, compassionate and loving. While this list is […]
IGNORING BAD BEHAVIOR IS BAD ADVICE
Yup, we’ve all heard it.“Just ignore your dog’s barking/jumping/biting and they will stop.” As Dr. Phil so elegantly puts it: How’s that working for you? Well, I don’t know about you, but it never came close to working for me.Ignoring bad behavior is not just bad advice, it’s dangerous advice. I would never tell my […]
EXERCISING A DOG WILL NOT CREATE A CALM DOG
“I take my dog on 2 walks a day, and we play fetch in the backyard, and he runs around the house all day, and STILL my dog does not know how to be calm. What am I doing wrong?”Does this sound familiar? I hear this all the time from my clients. It seems logical […]
YOU ARE KILLING YOUR DOG WITH AFFECTION
Okay, okay. This title might be “click bait”. But hear me out.Killing your dog with affection sounds extreme, but it’s really not. I saw it happen all the time with my foster dogs. These dogs would come to me with no chances left. They had bite records and massive anxiety….all because of too much affection.I […]
YOUR BACKYARD IS NOT A BABYSITTER
Listen up, people. Stop putting your dogs and puppies in the backyard unattended. Does this sound a little harsh? Maybe. But a vet bill for $1000+ when your pup ingests a pillow from the outside lawn furniture sure feels a lot harsher.My clients come to me and want me to help with stopping their dogs […]
FEELING LIKE YOUR VOICE DOESN’T MATTER?
I don’t know about you guys, but it seems more and more the voice of the “little guy” matters less and less. From cell phone carriers throwing extra fees onto your bill, to restaurants not caring enough to get your order right…you feel lost and overwhelmed.While big change takes time and comes slowly (if at […]