This week’s question was: Does your dog need to play with other dogs to have a completely fulfilled life? Many people who responded in the comments section of the post that posed this question or on Twitter didn’t necessarily advocate dog parks as a venue for play, but suggested alternatives because, the consensus was, dogs…
Training Tuesdays: Hitting a Wall
A friend asked me the other day, “So, how’s the dog training going.” That gave me pause. Not because I have any doubts about our trainer, Crystal Saling, who is talented, smart and an advocate (as I am) of positive methods. But at the beginning of the first session we had after my trip to…
Friday Focus: Dog Meet Dog?
There’s been a lot of discussion of dog parks lately at a couple of my favorite sites, two at Dog Star Daily (see Dog Parks and Why You Should Avoid Them and Rethinking Dog Parks) and one at Kenzo The Hovawart, titled Kenzo Stopped Visiting the Dog Park. The talk centered primarily around good dog…
Fido & Wino*
It should have been clear from yesterday’s post that Canine Cognitive Dysfunction has not affected the essential personality of Archie, my friend Clare’s dog. Here’s more proof. Just as, before he got diabetes, I used to give Frankie a treat every time I sat down to eat, Clare got into the habit of giving Archie…
Training Tuesday: Suck it Up!
As those who have been keeping up with my Training Tuesday series know, I have been working with trainer Crystal Saling to get Frankie over his fear of the noisy outdoors. The ultimate goal: to get him to my car, parked in the driveway of my house which fronts a busy street, without stress. Methods…
Training Tuesday: Are You Sabotaging Your Dog’s Training Without Knowing It?
This week I’m turning my blog over to Crystal Saling, a font of wisdom about the dog training process in general, and first-hand observer of how Frankie and I are dealing with it in particular. We inspired her to wonder: Are you inadvertently sabotaging your dog’s training? It happens so frequently that even professional dog…
Training Tuesday: Will Not Work for Food
First, the good news. The counter-conditioning portion of the get-Frankie-into-the-car-comfortably program is going great. I demonstrated last week how our trainer, Crystal, is accustoming Frankie to street noise by having him associate it with eating. I served Frankie his meals semi-alfresco, moving his dish closer and closer to a door that was opened progressively wider.…
Friday Focus: Music to their ears?
It’s said that “Music has charms to soothe the savage breast.”* Does it? If so, what kind of music? And for how long? And how savage a breast can be soothed? I know, that’s too many questions. So let me distill that into: Can music really calm a dog that’s upset? Do share your experiences…
Training Tuesdays: Owners need reinforcing too
Positive training can be frustrating. We all want to see results RIGHT AWAY — which is why certain programs that show behavior changing dramatically in a single (highly edited) segment are very popular. I’ve been discouraged because I’m a clicker clutz, because my body positioning is off, and because I’m an impatient person who doesn’t…
Six Dog Training Myths, Part 1
When I first got Frankie, I knew virtually nothing about dogs. Who was I to question the common wisdom that was offered up about how to deal with one? Slowly, after much reading and research, I began to sort out the truth. But, some five years later, I’ve realized how firmly entrenched a great deal…