Category: Author Annie

What Do You Do When a Dog Really Needs to Be Rehomed?

If you find yourself saddled with a suddenly-homeless dog, don’t panic. Here are some ideas to help you find that pup a home. [Read the complete article on Dogster.com.]

Are Petco’s Dog Training Methods Outdated?

Recently there’s been rumbling online regarding the death of a young English Bulldog in a Petco dog training class, and it’s getting hard to ignore the noise — though Petco is doing its corporate best to do just that. The facts are that Michele Moccia and Michael DiMaggio took their dog, Sophia Belle, to a puppy class… Read more »

Why Dogs Dig and What You Can Do About It

  There are many reasons dogs create unattractive holes in your backyard — unattractive to you, anyway — though one of them is not to irritate you, as many people seem to mistakenly believe. Here are just a few reasons your dog is trying to make it to China before you get home from work… Read more »

Have You Ever Met a Dog Who Is Terrified of Leashes?

In my work as a professional dog trainer, I specialize in helping difficult, stressed dogs cope with their lives in a human-run world. After working with a delightful woman and her rescued dog, she told me about two puppies her daughter recently rescued and hinted that they were a handful … Check out the full… Read more »

How Trainers Can Improve Classes

  Here’s another article over at Dogster: http://www.dogster.com/lifestyle/8-things-ive-learned-from-dog-training-clients Before I became a professional dog trainer, I sat through countless hours of classes with my pet dogs: agility, herding, obedience, rally, puppy classes — you name it. Most of my own dogs have been rescues and came to me with unique behaviors, to say the least. But… Read more »

What Loving My Dogs Taught Me About Empathy

Dogster.com just published my latest article! Growing up in a gravely dysfunctional household where coldness was the prevailing sentiment, I turned to animals for unconditional love. Even a mound full of Texas fire ants became friends. I brought them Popsicle sticks not only for ant bridges but for the sweetness left on the sticks. They… Read more »

Full Throttle Trinket

Dogster.com has just published another story in the ongoing adventure of training Trinket. Check it out!

The Five Most Critical Dog Skills

I’ve got a new article at “Motivate Your Dog“, titled “The Five Most Critical Skills to Teach Your Dog”. Here’s a sample: 1)    Sit means “please.” There is an accurate saying in dog training – you get what you reinforce. When a professional trainer shows up at your house, we know right away what you have been reinforcing… Read more »

You’d Think a Trainer Would Have Perfect Dogs, Right? Hah!

I’ve just had a new column published on Dogster.com! Here’s a taste: It’s the same every day for this dog trainer: Wake up. Let dogs out. Stumble toward the Keurig. Stop halfway to let a dog back in. Attempt to drink coffee, but another dog needs in. (They sarcastically refuse to use the dog door… Read more »