One of the common topics during lessons is distractions. Dogs can be distracted by other dogs, people, wildlife, cars, leaves-shaped-like-animals or even just the smells in the area. It can be very frustrating on our end because we are perceiving the world so differently than our dogs. With most distraction Read more…
I’m thinking about rewards all the time. Unwanted behaviors are typically maintained through reinforcement and we can use reinforcement to create new behaviors or change feelings. I help new students come up with some reward options prior to our first session and we do some additional planning after our first session Read more…
Over the next few weeks I am sharing the most frequent advice I gave over the year. Unsurprisingly, over-excitement/reactivity was the most common reason for families to reach out over the year. Many dogs will bark, lunge, jump, or vocalize about something in the environment such as people, dogs, cars, or Read more…
As usual we have had a very busy year. Every time I think we’ll get caught up – more exciting things happen. We can’t say no to interesting opportunities.
The dogs and I spent about six weeks with my parents at their farm in Granville. If we don’t think about all the not so great things happening in the world at that time, or now, we had such a great time. Without a full schedule or any schedule, we Read more…
I want Griffin to be happy and comfortable for as long as possible. Early in the winter he had a noticeable decrease in range of motion. We’re really lucky in that the local veterinary teaching hospital now has a functioning sports medicine/rehab department which means we don’t have to do Read more…
Our central Ohio weather is finally feeling like spring! Even though it’s been a mild winter, it hasn’t been quite nice enough to be as enjoyable as some other years. If you’re going on more outings with this nicer weather, here are a few training games to help your dog Read more…
Griffin’s favorite thing in 2019 was going to a Senior Dog Class at OSU. One of the behavior department veterinarians is doing a project involving senior dogs. Part of it was hosting a class specifically for senior dogs and their owners. Some of our time was getting information about the Read more…
Last weekend I went up to Cleveland to attend a judge’s seminar for AKC obedience/rally. I’ve intended to go for at least 10 years and never made it until now! I’m really glad I took the time to go. While judging AKC obedience/rally is not my goal – I do Read more…
That’s a really great question – and something that’s recently come up in a few different professional contexts. In some ways “certified” has different meanings to dog trainers vs to a dog owner. There are many variables depending on “completed a program” vs “showing a minimum competency” vs “completed a Read more…