“OHHH Live is Good!” Most people do not understand the benefits of dopamine in dog training. It is in truth, the chemical of feeling good. It is the chemical that gives you a natural high. With animals, feeling good means survival is easy. It is what they strive for. We call them emotions. We feel…   Continue

There are a lot of positive dog training centers teaching people that if their dog reacts, shows aggression, or become over excited then all you need is to teach it to look, redirect its behavior and the problem will magically go away. There are people who say ‘teach an alternative behavior’, but if you’ve ever…   Continue

Rose has been rather tense lately. There has been a lot going on in our home. I’ve noticed that she has started to react strongly when someone stares at her, something I do not allow my dogs to do. I teach my dogs that I am the only one that makes ‘action’ decisions. This is…   Continue

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…   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…   Continue