The sport of Dogs is growing by the minute.  Every time I pick up a dog magazine I read about a new sport or activity for owners and their dogs.  What was a past time enjoyed by a few is now a past time enjoyed by a few million.  People are now realizing that owning a dog is not only about feeding, giving fresh water and walking but about utilizing the natural instincts in their specific breed for fun, exercise and for mental stimulation.   All dogs are working animals and your average person now realizes that if their dog is mentally and physically stimulated, many normal, household problems will fall…

What is Dog Training?  Training consists of (1) teaching your dog commands and (2) re-teaching him new behaviors to replace bad habits.  In essence, training is creating habits in your dog.  Going outdoors to relieve themselves, sitting on command, heeling next to you on a leash, stealing food from the counters, jumping on people; they are all habits.  There are three very important phases to training dogs: (A) The Teaching Phase; (B) the Correction Phase and (C) The proofing phase.  The Teaching Phase:  This phase consists of creating the association between a command and an action on the dog’s part.   This phase is sometimes taught by you, the owner, because the completion…

Anyone who has been to one of my classes has heard me say that dogs are opportunists: If they think they can get away with something they will try. This is true. It is also true that most dogs want to please their owners. These two facts may seem contradictory—if a dog wants to please its owner, why would he try to get away with something? In other words, if my dog wants me to be happy, why does he disobey? There’s No “I” in “Why?” (But there should be.)There are a number of factors that can contribute to a dog’s failure to obey commands. None of them indicate a…