What is your dog communicating? A Guide to Calming Signals
Ever wonder how a dog trainer figures out how the dog is feeling? Calming signals are behaviors a dog may display to another animal or human when stressed or made uncomfortable for any reason. Usual calming signals are: Lip Licking Yawning Head turns Sniffing Play bows Sitting Freezing in Place Closed mouth Tight, concerned brows…
Clicker training isn’t just for dogs!
Did you know that clicker training is used for all kinds of species? Clicker training works with natural thought processes for all animals. I have a pet rat that I am going to starting to clicker trainer this summer. Her name is Fivel and she is 1.5 years old. She has no experience being trained…
Dog Parks are for People!
During the first few months I had Loker, I took him to dog parks in hopes that it would diminish his frustration on leash. I knew he was frustrated on leash because he wanted to go see other dogs. He often got compliments at the dog park about how polite he was with other dogs. He never…
Loose Leash Walking with High Distractions
It can be done! The other weekend we had another Courteous Canines group class. Our goal for this class was to walk through a few dogs keeping your dog on a loose leash. Loker used to react very strongly on leash so it was such a relief to see that it was possible to walk…
Practice Makes Perfect – or almost!
I don’t think you can really practice too much as long as you give your dog breaks. This past weekend I went to my little (high school senior) brother’s soccer game. My family was in town and I wanted to join them on the field. I knew this would be a great opportunity to work…
It’s Okay to Make Mistakes
I’m always learning and I never want to stop learning – why? Because I know there is always a way to do something better. And this doesn’t just apply to dog training! I recently tried to teach Loker a few more foundations for a proper heel. He knows how to heel, but this exercise will…
Guest Post: Using Positive Techniques with Hunting Dogs
Mallory Robinson is a good friend of mine who has experience and success in hunting dog training. Naturally, when someone came to me asking what positive techniques can work to train hunting dogs, I said I would as her! Here is the question and Mallory’s answer: Question: Someone contacted me about having no choice but…
Bicycling with Your Dog
While working on Loker’s leash manners, I needed to find a way to exercise him without having to walk him on a leash. My solution: bicycling with my dog! It is so much fun and he took to it like a natural. He gets to stretch his legs in a way that wouldn’t be possible…