…And away from your friends, your family, the pizza on the kitchen counter, the ice cream cone in your child’s hand and the unstable neighbor dog. Great effort has always been placed on training your dog to come to you. It’s even very common these days to see training classes specifically dedicated to “Training a Great Recall,” or getting your dog to come to you on cue, especially amidst distractions. And rightly so. This could be the single most important thing that you instill in your dog, and could very well be a lifesaver in an emergency situation. With all the emphasis on asking dogs to come to us, I believe that it might be arguably as important to train your dog to move away. Have you ever been bombarded by a pogo puppy immediately upon entering the house from a long day at work? Boing! Boing! Boing! Have you … Read More
One-Armed Positive Training is Easier
Easier than what, you ask? Training with leash-corrective methods, like choke chains. Let’s face it… we’re Americans. We’re always looking for ways to make life easier, aren’t we? This musing is really not intended to be disrespectful or a slam on anyone. My honest opinion is that choke chains aka slip collars are challenging to use. You must have exceptional timing to effectively change your dog’s behavior through positive punishment (adding punishment to change unwanted behavior). And two, you must be of sound physical strength and stature to use this training tool, as intended. Before we get to the real issue here, let’s go back one step. A good friend and colleague had said recently that it was refreshing to see a new generation of dog owners come through her obedience classes, one where individuals have no idea what it means to make a collar correction. If you fall into … Read More
There’s Somethin’ Happenin’ Here – Training Wars
I was struck yesterday by an extraordinary ordinary moment while bringing in the groceries. A man I had never seen before was walking his 5-month old or so, extremely adorable Labrador Retriever down the street towards my house. As he approached, a couple things stood out. One, his dog had a very clean and tagged brightly colored flat buckle collar around its neck. Two, he was walking on a black Easy Walk anti-pull harness. Nothing too unusual here, but very pleasantly surprising. As the man approached closer with his pup, I notice one other thing. He had a green treat pouch around his waist. I couldn’t be any prouder of this man if he had been a client of my own. “Cute puppy!” I shouted to him as he walked by the porch. As I went inside and bent down to start putting the groceries away, I heard a very … Read More