Note: I could not have written this article as well without some clarity and structure from Susan Garrett’s training courses. What is a Verbal Cue? A verbal cue is a word that tells your dog what you want it to do. In all dog sports, except scent, luring, and tracking we want to tell the dogs what we want. Even basic obedience has cues that tell the dog what we want. Unfortunately, we tell the…   Continue

“Cortisol, a glucocorticoid (steroid hormone), is produced from cholesterol in the two adrenal glands located on top of each kidney. It is normally released in response to events and circumstances such as waking up in the morning, exercising, and acute stress. Cortisol’s far-reaching, systemic effects play many roles in the body’s effort to carry out its processes and maintain homeostasis.” Dina Aronson MS RD. Cortisol is an important part of your immune system. But like…   Continue

I have a new client this week and it brought me to the whole Cortisol problem. They wanted me to ‘train’ the reactivity out of their dog. Their exact words were ‘he needs some discipline to teach him some manners.’  I cringed, and tried to explain. One of the hardest things to explain to people is that: Your dog cannot help being this way Your dog does not enjoy feeling stressed Your dog is not…   Continue

Calming Exercises can help your dogs overcome aggression and fear based behavior issues. Dogs cannot learn when they are stressed. Sometimes they are showing aggression because they are stressed and too worried to learn. Vet Lili Chin made some great posters to help people learn how to calm their dogs    

There are so many ways to teach agility. There are many small behaviors to shape, from contact training to shaping speed. There is a method for every dog, and every trainer. When it comes to agility each handler needs to find a way that works for their dog. Dogs cannot see the full spectrum of colors. But they can see yellow and blue. This can be helpful when training agility.  I am teaching my Harley…   Continue