“I’m alpha”…”No, I’m alpha!…”I’ll show you who’s alpha!”  Does this conversation take place in your home?  I don’t mean it happens verbally, but with your thought and the actions that follow.  If your dog does something you interpret as the expression of authority,  do you immediately turn them onto their back?   Does that work?  [...]

Two of my dogs can be very “dog-like!”  Try though I might to convince them that squirrel isn’t good for them and it’s so barbarian to eat it raw, they don’t listen. Last night, these two decided to stay out all night.  Usually, they come to the door and ask to come in at a reasonable [...]

Here’s a little fun…you know how we think we know people by the type of automobile they drive?  Well, I drive a Mini Cooper and a Mazda Miata.  The Miata is “old” and the Cooper newer.  I guess I like to balance life with old and new and it’s important to do it in a [...]

We can lose all reason when we look into the sweet, adorable eyes of our newly adopted dog.  It’s easy to give lots of affection and allow them to do anything they want because – well, because!  We feel guilty restricting them.  I mean, look at them, they are so cute! If, a few weeks later, [...]

I was asked by a client if they should be concerned when most every evening their dog runs excitedly around the house.  Their rears are tucked and they are moving as fast as they can.  Running from room to room navigating the house with ease.  It makes me think of the cartoon characters who are [...]

Along the lines of giving a dog a job to do, agility training uses their focus and energy in a very fun way! It’s not about them being corrected for something they did wrong. It’s about being rewarded and praised constantly for getting it right! And, “right” in this case is fun (usually for [...]