I met Johnnie at age 8, shortly after he’d been re-homed. His new family called me because he’d been “a

Hand Signals & Settle Mats Dogs are more likely to comply with our requests when they’re comfortable. I recommend using

I’ve had great results coaching puppy guardians on using real or artificial grass pads for house training. The greatest house

When dogs get highly aroused/go “over threshold,” they’re often unable to release that arousal when the trigger is out of

The single most important behavior for puppies learning to enjoy their crate is the ability to walk into the crate

Familiarity with scent prior to direct exposure reduces anxiety in dogs, in my experience. They’re less likely to react and

Leashed walking is the puppy skill that guardians who contact me seem to struggle with the most. Few puppies are

In a recent post in a puppy behavior group, virtually everyone said the ONLY solution to this problem is to

The easiest enrichment happens at meal times. Puppies need to eat 3 or more times a day while they’re young.

Easier Overnights Puppy whining, crying and barking overnight rattles the whole house, costing busy parents valuable sleep time. In order

I read a lot of posts on social media from puppy owners distraught because their puppy barks at strangers, chewed

Dogs are hardwired to seek “dens” for sleep. A den in this context is a small space they can curl

This is Bret. He won the dog lottery. When Bret was adopted, he was in a fragile emotional state. His

I met Johnnie at age 8, shortly after he’d been re-homed. His new family called me because he’d been “a

The first step in desensitizing a reactive dog to the presence of a trigger is determining how far that dog

There are many myths and urban legends surrounding house training on the Internet. Many involve potentially damaging ideas like correcting/punishing

Dogs don’t come pre-programmed for calm. It’s a learned behavior, especially in stimulating environments. For dogs to learn to self-control,

Dogs are primarily physical communicators (body language). Humans are primarily verbal.  When our dogs fail to respond as desired to

NOVEMBER 2, 2023 Do you regularly play with knives? Stick your hand in a running blender or mixer? I don’t,

Reactive dogs don’t stop being reactive because they’re punished. Yanking a leash, or yelling “no” at a dog can interrupt

The stories of an antibiotic-resistant respiratory disease that’s been fatal in some cases has many dog guardians rethinking their normal

Below are my top tips for flirt pole success for draining energy, fulfilling instincts (enrichment) and reinforcing behaviors, below, followed

When I walk dogs, I get into a zone where it can be hard to carry on a conversation in

If you think of the leash as a conversation between you & your dog, it’s easy to understand why pulling

Separation anxiety is a constellation of behaviors that result from underlying anxiety and insecurity. Resolving this complex issue requires a

For our dog to truly develop a new habit, we need to practice the behavior consistently and frequently over a

How we introduce something new to a puppy can make a big difference in how the puppy perceives the new

As a puppy specialist, I’ve worked with a lot of puppies and owners in the last 25 years. Almost everyone