People often ask why I am still obedience training my 4 dogs—after all, they have been trained for many years ever since I took them in. My answer is simply that I enjoy having well behaved dogs around me. If I couldn’t rely on them being under control, friendly and outgoing towards everybody, their daily…

First and most important rule: “Nothing in life is free.” Make your dog work for EVERYTHING that is valuable to him: his meals, treats, going outside, being walked, his toys. Every time he gets any of the above make him do something first – sit, down, stay, a trick etc. In the wild he would have…

One of the most common reasons for dog owners to seek professional help due to a behavior problem is separation anxiety. The symptons include but are not limited to destructive behavior (even if that means for your dog to get hurt or injured) during the owner’s absence, urination and defecation in the house, extreme attachment…

Here is a summary of some things to do in order to help your dog overcome his thunder/noise phobia: Get an audiotape with thunderstorm noises, etc. Start playing this tape at very low volume as a background noise while doing fun things with the dog (feeding, play fetch, give him a very special chew toy…

Dog parks have become a popular thing in our dog loving culture, at least where we live. I personally visit dog parks regularly with all of my dogs and also clients’ dogs, but I’m the first to forewarn friends and clients about the downsides of it. Well-socialized dogs playing in a safe, fence-in area is…

The majority of dog attacks (61%) happen at home or a familiar place. 77% of bites come from the family or friend’s dog. In kids under 4 years half the time (47%) the attacker was the family dog. 44,000 facial bites are reported each year in the U.S. Kids (especially boys) between 5 and 9…

The caller seemed truly surprised by what I had just told him. “Well how am I going to do all this, I have a full time job? And you know, I have kids, too, who need my attention. Really, I don’t think that’s possible.” Right about now is when I usually have to take a…