I am at my client’s and we are talking about how her tiny Chihuahua pup loves chewing on deer antlers – the ones made especially for dogs. “Good, good, I tell her, it is great that Katie enjoys these so much! The point I am trying to make is that giving dogs something to chew…
Author: Almudena Ortiz Cue
Timing is Everything in Dog Training
I am in the kitchen waiting for Deuce and Rio to finish their breakfast; this morning it was served in their bowls. Deuce appears in the kitchen while Rio beelines to Deuce’s dish just in case he has left something behind. Once she realizes there is nothing left, she comes into the kitchen. I give…
Clicker Training
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…
Dogs Respond to their Environment
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…
Animal Planet in the Comfort of our Home
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…
Generalization
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…
Triage of Activities
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…
Diffusing the Situation
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…
Reinforce what we want
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…