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…
Unless the dog is dead, he/she will respond to its environment. Case in point; Deuce who is an avid Frisbee player suddenly stopped chasing after the Frisbee. I tried several things to encourage him to go after it, but he wouldn’t. He actually just stood in place looking at me as if he had never…
A while back I had a client’s dog staying with us for board & train. As I was attempting to play with Deuce and Rio and our friendly visitor, I realized that the lab is running hard after the “sacred” orange ball. Deuce and Rio are also running and now I am worried that the…
A while back I had a dog named Roxie for board & train. I was teaching her how to use the doggie door that will give her access to our back area to go eliminate, sun herself, and just take a walk of some sort. We try the doggie door by having my dogs coming…
I am exercising the dogs this morning and I notice that Rio is sort of inspecting the whippet (toy) instead of playing. We had to change toys because the last one basically tore away from the whippet. Now instead of playing by chasing the toy she is smelling and looking at it – perhaps making…
Giving the dogs food-dispensing toys early in the mornings is a nice way to get in some needed mental stimulation. Deuce thinks that every cool toy has his name written on it – actually carved onto it. He can express his preference for certain toys, like the wobbling pin for example, by chiming in with…
I am at home waiting for a home delivery. The home delivery people had called ahead of time as requested and now both dogs are in my office in their crates. I hear a knock on the front door and in unison with my “come in” I hear Rio barking. Ah, she probably wonders: who…
I hear the trainer telling attendees about his concept of “Horsenality” on a recent TV program that I am watching. He is referring to “Horsenality” as in the horse having a personality. I get it. Anyone that has spent time with an animal can attest to the fact that they are indeed individuals. However, what…
Deuce is almost flying as he’s catching the Frisbee that I throw for him while Rio takes the ‘Hound’ approach. She is strolling around the area where we are just sniffing the ground in high hopes of finding a forgotten treat from a past session. I decide to ignore her and just concentrate on Deuce…
