I want to talk about driving the car. A few days ago, I was working with a client who was making a small error, an error that plenty of people make and that can be fixed pretty easily. It reminded me of a story from when I was a kid. When I was sixteen years […]
Dog Training As Insurance
In this post, I want to talk about insurance. The other day, I started to think about investing in dog training kind of reminds me of the way that people . When I say “investing,” I am talking partially about money, but I’m also talking about effort and time and engagement—everything that goes into the […]
What’s The Deal With Dog Training?
In this post, I want to address what dog training really is. I have a very linear mindset, and I’m always trying to fit things into a logical, “A-to-B” framework. When I do reduce dog training to its core, I come up with one concept: controlling outcomes. If you can manage that for a long […]
Dog Chewing and the Collateral Effect
Today, I’d like to talk about an experience I had with a client from six or seven years ago. This incident was brought to my memory today because it displays a very important concept. This client was a husband a wife with no kids, and their dog was a big-time chewer. And he chewed expensive […]
Good Dog: How To Set Specific Expectations
In today’s post, I’d like to talk about our expectations for our dogs. We train a lot of service dogs, but this advice applies to any dog. Many people say that they want their dog to watch over them or their kids. When I ask them what this specifically means, they say that they want […]
How To Think About Dog Aggression
In this short post, I’d like to talk specifically to people who treat their dogs as if they’re kids. Now, I love both my dogs and my kids. Sometimes even I feel that I love my dogs as much as my kids. But even if you do, there has to be a distinction drawn between […]
How To Understand Dog Communication
Today I’d like to share my story about a bad haircut and how it relates to your dog training. (It does, I promise!) Right now I’m in Savannah, Georgia for my bother’s wedding. I never bring a razor with me when I travel, so I really needed to shave and my hair was getting long. […]
Why Not To Compare Dogs
It’s gorgeous here in Utah—75 degrees, clear sky, no wind—and easily the nicest day we’ve had all year. Up in the Northeast, though, they have a huge storm coming in. Some places are getting upwards of three feet of snow. This winter, we had several big storms. While we were being pummeled by those, I […]
How To Deal With An Aggressive Dog
I opened up my email today and saw a question from a person looking for advice. “My dog is six months old and he’s starting to get aggressive. Do you think he’ll grow out of it?” My very frank response was “No, he’ll probably grow into it.” My experience suggests that he’ll start to do […]
How To Calm Your Dog
In this post, I’d like to devote a little time to the idea of calmness in our dogs. I know some people might want hyper, crazy dogs for hunting or other activities. But in general, most owners want a dog who is calm and controlled. One thing I’m fond of telling people is that calmness […]
Shepherds and Terriers: How To Train Your Breed
I want to talk to for a minute your about how your dog’s breed learns. Very frequently, dog owners will ask me, “Have you ever dealt with this breed before?” Sometimes I chuckle when it’s a very common breed. You’d be surprised at how many people have asked me if I’ve ever trained a German […]
Exception To The Rule: How To Train A Stubborn Dog
In today’s post, I want to talk about something difficult: your stubborn dog! I’ve been thinking about this topic a lot because Facebook was kind enough to show me a memory of a quote that I shared three or four years ago: “In order for a dog to be considered stubborn, he must first know […]
