One of the most daunting aspects of obedience and rally competition is fear. “Is my dog good enough,” “am I ready.” “What if I fail?”  Most of these fears are unfounded. The long-term-diehards of the sport do not fear. They have learned that failure is part of the sport. But do you need to go to 50 trials before getting your first leg?  The answer is simple. No. There are a few ways to make…   Continue

I always wanted a German Shepherd, mostly because I think they are the most beautiful dog around but also because they are strong and noble, loyal, intelligent and protective.  In the late 1990s, I spoke to a breeder who told me a German Shepherd maybe wasn’t the best first dog because they really required a lot of work and training. So I got a German Shepherd/Labrador Retriever mix named Empress. She was the most mellow…   Continue

I wanted to share my experience with my Cane Corso Cairo. After extensively researching which breed would suit our lifestyle best we decided we wanted a CC. We understood and accepted that this dog would be a huge part of our lives and looked forward to being involved with some sort of sport and training with him. While waiting for a litter we found an add for a beautiful 5 month old that needed to…   Continue

Almost every dog training facility has a puppy socialization class. But not all of these classes are created equal. Not all classes achieve what you want them to. The problem is that everyone has a basic idea of what they want to accomplish, but the average dog owner does not know how to go from point A to point B. Objectives of Puppy Socialization To prevent aggressive or nervous behavior problems To build confidence in…   Continue

One of the most misunderstood aspects of dog training is that the trainer is teach both you, and your dog, a series of problem solving tasks. At one time trainers felt that the owner could start an activity. If the dog didn’t understand it was punished. Ultimately the dog would ‘figure it out’ and then there would be harmony. This caused several problems. The most obvious was that the dog shut down emotionally and frustration…   Continue