Once in a while I get a client that pre-phrases her or his need for help with a: ….”I have owned dogs all my life….” kind of statement. And to this kind of statement I feel like responding in oh so many ways. I wonder first why then are they calling me for help? Do…
Part of living with a dog implies brushing their coats, bathing them, teeth cleaning, nail clipping, as well as any handling needed in order to administer medicines or veterinary care. The list is a long one with most of these activities potentially stressful to most dogs. It is quite unfortunate that we cannot explain and…
We recently decided to head out early for our regular hike with the dogs. As we are heading outside our property, we hear a pack of coyotes that have taken “residence” not too far from us. It is hard to know exactly where they are because the canyons around us make the sound bounce. John…
If you are at all in the dog “circle” you have unmistakably heard about mental stimulation. What I think sometimes trainers, like myself, forget to do is to explain to people a couple of important factors about mental stimulation. First off, I would like to define mental stimulation. It is any activity that your dog…
Shouldn’t an adult dog know where to go? Ideally, yes. And dogs are naturally clean animals. Given a choice, they will go to the bathroom well away from where they sleep and eat. But it is not at all obvious to dogs that carpets and floors are inappropriate toilets—or that the bathroom rules in one…
I was thinking about this topic on a snowy morning when I announced to John that we should go snow shooing with the dogs! We got ready and headed out the door. We were in awe of the amount of snow just outside our front door. I love outings like this, but today it was…
Have you ever traveled with your dog and really needed her to eliminate, and have found yourself doing laps around and around the hotel grounds because your dog is having such a fun time and she not ready to eliminate? Or, how about when it is raining or snowing, and your pup decides this is…
Most dogs have a fascination with food and any object that smells like food. They also have predilection for items by which they can exercise their powerful jaws by chewing on them. And then we have our very naughty pups that love to steal an item and show their owners how smart and cute they…
John, my husband, is looking for a “new” truck. He is looking in lots of different places just for the “right” truck at the “right” price. He actually goes and drives a couple that appear to be promising. After one of those drives, he pronounces — in between giggles, that the one he just drove…
I often get asked if it is “okay” to sleep with a dog in bed. This is one of the issues that is actually quite personal. Some people – I would say most people, love sleeping with their dogs but other folks would rather not. And sometimes the “rather nots” do not know how to…