Adding a new dog to your home could be one of the most challenging things you might have to do with your existing pup (s). But it doesn’t need to be so. If you plan ahead and follow a few simple rules, your dogs will stand a better chance of getting along and even becoming…
I am having dinner while both dogs are chewing on their nightly chewy. Rio is sort of waiting for Deuce to finish his so that she can go explore to see if there is anything left that she can have. I notice this from the corner of my eye as Deuce comes into the kitchen…
One of my colleagues and I are having a conversation about the state of affairs in the world of animal training- specifically we are talking about dogs. We both have reached the conclusion that hearing about misconstruction, inhumane methods of training in the name of helping animals wears really heavy on us. We agree to…
How does your dog tell you that he wants to go out or come in when let outside? Does she scratch at the door? If so, here is how you can teach your dog to stop scratching at the door or even barking, and instead politely lie down to have the door open. First, you…
I don’t know about you, but I really do not like to walk dogs that pull on leash. I find that when this happens the walk just lost its relaxing quality. Perhaps other people do not feel the same about their dogs walking on a loose leash. Dogs pulling on a leash is so ubiquitous…
We are on our regular walk with the dogs. One of the things that we do while hiking with them is practicing coming when called. If we want reliability, we must practice. If we want reliability, we must also pay the dog. Deuce is really, really reliable at recall, and that makes me smile with…
One of the things on some dog owner’s list is to crate train their dogs. Most of my client’s dogs are either crate trained or are in the process of being so. Besides the added benefit of helping a puppy with house training, crate training an adult dog comes with a lot of perks for…
Even in the world of training, concepts are thrown around with the implication that everyone else knows and agrees with the definition of said concept. When it comes to training, and setting behavior goals, it is so much more valuable to be as specific about what we can observe in our dogs instead of labeling…
Few of us have the forethought of getting ready in the event of a natural disaster. Here in the Santa Fe area, our biggest concern are fires. With summer days here and temperatures on the rise, the risk of a forest fire also increases. Yet, how many of us have a plan in place for…
Cutting-edge research in psychology has helped us understand the importance of play in general and social play, particularly for the rehabilitation of timid and fearful dogs. I define social play as the engagement between a person and their dog that is voluntary and with no purpose other than to have a “good” time and “connect”…