How to Use Food to Motivate Your Dog During Training

Posted by

Here’s a question I recently received from a reader:

I want to start training my older dog to do dog sports. I think she would enjoy it — and so would I — because she loves to run and jump and try new things. The problem is that she doesn’t seem to care about food rewards, and that’s how I want to train her. Any tips on how to get her food motivated? — Kathy, Atlanta

Dog trainers can sometimes have a snarky response about using food in training — even those of us who feel it’s the fastest and fairest way to train a dog. I admit to some previous snarkdom myself. In the past, when clients would tell me that their dog was just not food motivated, I would smirk a bit and retort: “Your dog cannot starve himself to death. You simply haven’t found the food that truly motivates him.”

[ Read the rest of this article on Dogster.com … ]

Is My Dog Trying to Dominate by Going Out the Door First?

Posted by

Image by Shutterstock

Here’s a question I recently received from a reader:

I have a new, very large German Shepherd I recently adopted. He’s great in every way, but he does rush out the door in front of me. I have read that this is a sign of dominance. Is that true? How do I get him to stop doing this?

– Robert D.

Dear Robert,

I love German Shepherds! I have shared my life with seven of them (so far). What I don’t love is the misguided, outdated, irresponsible, harmful, inadequate, demoralizing, and scientifically refuted concept called dominance theory. Thank you, Bob, for asking me about it, so I have the opportunity to clarify why it does not exist.

[ Read the rest at Dogster.com ]

Leash Your Dog. It’s the Law for a Number of Very Good Reasons

Posted by

annie-client

Let me be blunt with you, dear reader. We have a big problem in the canine community, and it’s ruining dogs.

We require leashes for valid reasons, No. 1 being safety for all concerned: safety not only for you and your dog but for all of the dogs and humans out and about.

There are leash laws in most cities – you can be fined for not using one in places that require it. And yet … some of you dog owners have decided that this crucial law does NOT apply to your dog …

[ Read the rest at Dogster.com ]

Leash Your Dog. It’s the Law for a Number of Very Good Reasons

Posted by

annie-client

Let me be blunt with you, dear reader. We have a big problem in the canine community, and it’s ruining dogs.

We require leashes for valid reasons, No. 1 being safety for all concerned: safety not only for you and your dog but for all of the dogs and humans out and about.

There are leash laws in most cities – you can be fined for not using one in places that require it. And yet … some of you dog owners have decided that this crucial law does NOT apply to your dog …

[ Read the rest at Dogster.com ]

What to Do When an Off-Leash Dog Approaches Your Leashed Dog

Posted by

annie-radar-echo

The most “liked” column I have written for Dogster was about why it is critical to observe leash laws. Nearly 20,000 of you clicked that button. The article struck a nerve because owners who flaunt these laws exist from coast to coast. Some of them angrily responded to my article, insisting they had every right to allow their dog to run amuck and molest (“he just wants to say hi!”) other dogs and humans. Many more of you wrote to tell me about the severe physical and psychological damage your dog has suffered because of a run-in with an unleashed dog …

[ Read the rest at Dogster.com ]

Sanity in a barking-mad world

Posted by

Steve Lewis/Durango Herald

Steve Lewis/Durango Herald

In January, five irrepressible dogs stood with their silent, nervous owners for Day 1 of Growly Dog Class. Despite careful partitions preventing the dogs from seeing each other, all four-footed creatures were nonetheless growling.

The only human unperturbed by the canine cacophony was Annie Phenix, the formidable instructor and founder of Growly Dog Class.

“Whenever they want to growl at something – dog, human, air – we’re going to make chicken fall from the sky,” she cheerfully bellowed over the barks.

On Phenix’s orders, the owners released food onto the ground and clicked a clicker whenever their dogs started growling, forcing the dogs to break eye contact with perceived aggressors – which, apparently, were everywhere.

[ Read the entire article at the Durango Herald … ]

Are You One of the Few Who Train Their Dog?

Posted by

Less than five percent of owners attend a training class with their dog. We offer resources for the majority who don’t.

Are you part of the five percent that ensures their dog receives professional training?

Are you part of the five percent that ensures their dog receives professional training?

As a professional dog trainer, I find it tragic that less than five percent of owners take their dog to a class. I don’t find it tragic for business reasons, as I live in a dog-crazy mountain town where I run at a fast pace to keep up with demand. The tragedy is that dogs who never receive proper socialization and training can end up paying for it with their lives — after being abandoned, turned in to a shelter, or seized because of a bite incident.

[ Read the entire article on Dogster.com. ]

Ask a Trainer: What Makes You a “Responsible” Dog Owner?

Posted by

It’s Responsible Dog Ownership Month, so we’ve made a shortlist of 10 things that make a responsible dog owner. Do all these apply to you?

annie-phenix-dog-hike_0

So, September is Responsible Dog Owner Month, at least according to the American Kennel Club (AKC). I guess it is nice that an organization making millions by championing dog breeding in a time when there is a huge pet overpopulation problem devotes one month to responsible pet ownership, while the other 11 months are apparently reserved for wholesale breeding. I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.

(Read the entire article on Dogster.com … )

Meet Paul Owens, the Original Dog Whisperer

Posted by

whisperer

Are you surprised to learn that there are, in fact, two dog whisperers? And that their messages are at opposite ends of the dog-training spectrum? Professional dog trainer Paul Owens first called himself the Dog Whisperer more than 17 years ago. He has helped more than 10,000 dog owners train dogs using a nonviolent and compassionate approach. Owens has been written about in a wide variety of national media and in numerous dog training industry periodicals. His calm energy emanates kindness, compassion, and a true understanding of how animals learn.

[Read the entire article at Dogster.com!]