There comes a time in many dog owner’s lives where the thought is sprung…. ‘I wonder if Fido would like a friend?’ Inextricably bound with the idea are feelings of excitement, guilt, worry because there are so many aspects to consider if you’re going to go through this whole doggy journey twice over! Let’s take a look at some of […]
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By Jenny Efimova Reactive behavior is the tip of the iceberg. It’s what we see: the lunging, the barking, the snarling, the growling, etc. It’s what’s above the surface and it’s what we often want to stop. What we don’t see and what’s driving this behavior is the rest of the iceberg below: the fear, the anxiety, the stress, the […]
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Here’s a little dog body language study. My dear Zani shows a lot of emotion, which means she is a good dog to observe. She is pretty easy to read and can teach us a lot. The short video below consists of two quick clips taken less than two minutes apart. In one clip, Zani is afraid, and in the other she […]
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Spring is a time when people work and play on their lawns. It is also when many folks apply weed killers. I did so for years and thought nothing of it. Then in 2016 I read an article in a local newspaper and learned that a nearby village was spraying a particular brand of lawn chemical in a dog park, […]
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By Sue McCabe Many years ago, at a seminar in Edinburgh, I heard Patricia McConnell say that most dog walks wake the dog up, rather than tire the dog out. ‘But why is he not tired?’ I’m often asked. ‘I’ve taken him for a really long walk.’ We’re just back from a 10km walk followed by a sandwich in the sun. […]
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By Veronica Boutelle of PPG corporate partner, dogbiz If your dream is to work with dogs for a living but you’re still toiling full time outside the dog industry, or juggling a part-time business alongside your “real” job, you need a transition plan: A plan to get you from where you are now to working full-time in your own dog […]
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By Sue McCabe At puppy class recently, we started retrieve training. Students were shown this video (below), with the steps needed to train a reliable retrieve to hand. The video compresses quite a bit of learning (weeks of short sessions) into just under 2 minutes of demonstration. ‘How long did it take to train?’ they asked. I guess the answer is […]
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Sometimes we get a little stuck in a rut, same old, same old – its easy, life is fast, time is hard to come by. Have you ever sat and thought about your relationship with your dog? Too often it’s only when things go wrong that we contemplate uh oh..what can I do here to change things! How often have […]
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By Sue McCabe I have a confession. I sometimes feed my dogs from the table. When I go out to eat with my dog we are sharing quality time, and a meal together. So as long as my dog is quiet and calm and settled, he gets to share my food or he gets a Kong of his own to enjoy. Below […]
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Once upon a time, there was a girl who decided to teach her dog some tricks. She figured out that if she gave her dog something he liked after he did something she liked, he was liable to do the thing again. So she taught him some simple tricks using food and play as reinforcement. As she went along, her […]
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