Fear Free Happy Homes
Reading Time: 3 minutes When I worked as a professional dog trainer, my dog school was called “Oliver and Me.” Oliver was my dog. But I didn’t just name my school after him because I loved him. He actually helped me train. Doing private training in the suburbs outside of New York City often meant there were no other […]
Reading Time: 4 minutes When you are training many dogs a day rather than just your own, it’s easy to find shortcuts and little tricks that make training a dog easier, faster, and more fun for both the human teacher and the canine student. It’s also easier to see things from the dog’s perspective which can be the hidden answer […]
Reading Time: 4 minutes The Seek Back is used by police to send a dog to search a large area where a crime may have been committed. A trained dog will search methodically, quartering the area and searching back and forth, the way you might mow a lawn, so they don’t miss a spot. Once they find something that […]
Reading Time: 3 minutes I was playing fetch with my dog Ziggy one day and he was doing so well retrieving the rubber duck I would throw for him that I decided to video part of his workout and send it to a friend so he could teach his dog what I was teaching Ziggy. I took out my […]
Reading Time: 3 minutes Tricks are perfect for puppies. They’ll help your puppy learn to pay attention to words, and to you; they’ll demonstrate the joys of cracking a joke and making people laugh; they can reinforce training; make for a better partnership; instill confidence in a new puppy; and give you, the human partner, a chance to show […]
Reading Time: 3 minutes When your dog does something you want her to repeat, you offer a reward. You may think of a reward as a tasty treat, a cheerful “Good dog,” or a pat on the head. These are all rewards that work for most dogs, helping to show them you’re happy about what they just did. But […]
Reading Time: 3 minutes I am often asked how long it took to train my dog. I like it best when I am asked this question when I am walking Sky, who will be 14 in November, because my answer is always the same: We’re still working on it. Pet owners often like to think of training as, say, […]
Reading Time: 3 minutes Choosing a puppy is a momentous decision. Here’s what to consider. My friend Andrew wants a huge dog, a Newfoundland or perhaps a Mastiff. His wife, Jane, wants a dog she can pick up and cuddle, one who will be easy to walk and undemanding. For some people, there are German Shepherds or Border Collies, […]
Reading Time: 3 minutes When I was a little girl, we’d open the door in the morning and let the dog out. When he got hungry, he’d come home, hoping it was dinner time. In between, he played with his dog friends, hunted for crabs in the lagoons the jetties made on the beach, napped on someone’s porch or […]
Reading Time: 3 minutes You waited until the time was right to adopt, or you waited for a special litter to be born and ready to come home with you. You want your puppy to be loving and funny, but also confident, able to go anywhere you want to take him with no problems at all. But what do […]