We are always worried about fading treats and rewards. Very few dog handlers worry about fading corrections, but this is the one thing you should work hard to fade. We’ve talked before about the difference between teaching and learning. Teaching a task to a dog means that we are showing the dog the task, in various environments, with different distractions, and adding duration and distance to the equation. It can take 2 minutes to show…   Continue

A lot of obedience classes teach pattern training. You are asked to have your dog complete an exercise in a specific manner, repeatedly. The dog learns the routine and by the end of the obedience course your dog can do the exercise. At least, it can do it in your home, or at the dog training center. Your dog may even be the star pupil at the training center. The problem with pattern training isn’t…   Continue

I haven’t written anything on nosework in a while. As some of our team are moving past the ‘trial’ type of searches into more advanced work I wanted to highlight some of the reasons why some dogs fail to progress as fast as their owners want them too. Stop Helping I know owners hate to be told this – but your dog is better at searching than you are. I don’t know how many times…   Continue

We started working on Canine Freestyle and Dance a year ago. It has been a fun journey. Harley and I worked through some of the beginning stages without realizing we were setting up the groundwork for dance. When I started to think about training formally I watched all the videos that were out there. I watched other performers. The first thing I thought was, “I can’t do that.”  I tried, and the first weeks were…   Continue

Look, look at me, or redirects are a common training tool when people are working with nervous or aggressive dogs. But remember that you need to build foundation behaviors. If the dog doesn’t trust you, it won’t leave the ‘scary thing’ to look at you. Teach this behavior to your dog, but if it doesn’t work within 2 weeks start working on the ‘fun’ and play part of your relationship. Remember – Dog behavior is…   Continue