We used to call it a “command” when we wanted our dog to offer us a behaviour. I find the parallel with issuing commands to computers very interesting. Do we have unreasonable expectations about our dogs and our training with them?

Some of us are shapers, some of us are prompters, some of us even use lures. No matter how you train, it’s important to show your dog the ropes so they know what to expect when it comes to training time. If your dog needs help, be sure to provide it.

Dogs can end up in shelters for lots of reasons, some bad, some awful, and some that couldn't be avoided. Shelter workers have incredibly difficult jobs. They take in and care for these dogs, not knowing what is in their past or what their future may h...

Is my dog "over threshold?" Is she "under threshold?" Is that good? Is that bad? Do I even know what I'm looking for? Knowing how your dog is responding to their surroundings can play a key role in whether they are learning,

Sometimes all of the hashing and rehashing of this theory or approach or concept just starts to irritate me. What happened to working with the dogs to see if it works or not? We can speculate and pontificate all day long but if our dog's behaviour says it

Coming to a new understanding of dogs and dog training was a conversion of sorts for me. It has been an interesting journey. I went from skeptic to student to evangelist before finding a way to put it all in perspective. It can be too easy to try to right

People are people and dogs are dogs. Sometimes people can "clever" themselves right past their dogs while training and then get frustrated when the dog doesn't "get it." Maybe if we learn to keep it simple, we can learn to build amazing things with our do

While I have learned a great deal from books by Karen Pryor, Jean Donaldson, John Bradshaw, and many others, my greatest education in dogs and dog training came from teachers much lower to the ground. My dogs have taught me the most important things about

Training our dogs is like a game of charades. We're just trying to get them to do the thing we're trying to teach them. But who wins and who loses? Well, since we're the ones running the game, I guess we get to decide. How often does your dog win? How oft

It was Autumn and there were dogs flying up and down the hill in our back yard. It's a tradition here at our home to let the dogs get their exercise by scrambling up and down the hill in some spirited play. Their recent romp out back reminded me just how