Dog Training, Animal Welfare, And Taking Credit

If you are committed to a noble cause, you dedicate your life to finding solutions. That is the way of life: you see many needs, one in particular gets your attention, you make a decision, and then you act. Animal welfare can be one of those causes... (MORE)

Dogs: The Foxfire Book

“Many had at least one “plantation dog” whose whole job was to keep the hogs and cows out of the corn… Lots of times cows would push over th’ rail fences and turn th’ whole herd into your corn. Or hogs would slip in. Dogs would gram’im, and he’d squeal like he’d not come back for a year after they turned them loose, and then he’d be back th’ next day… Since cows and hogs were grazed on open range, mountain families often trained “ketch dogs” also. Their job was to help round up the stock when the time came to bring it in for slaughter or sale. And then there were hunting dogs – the pride of many families… Blue ticks, black and tans, and redbones, for example, were popular coon dogs. Plots, curs, and Airedales made fine bear dogs. Feists were used by many for both squirrel and deer, bulldogs for boar, treein’ walkers for fox, beagles for rabbit, and so on… The most important rule was to goa with him on a hunt, stay with him, and get what you were after If he got on a track, treed the animal, and couldn’t find where the coon had gone, the hunter / trainer would point up in the tree, show him, and then shoot it out. Once they got one coon, the dog would see what he was after, and he would be a coon dog for life.”

- The Foxfire Book

Can A Dog Be Made Childproof?

Can a dog be trained to be 100% safe around all children, no matter what the child does around or to the dog? I get these inquires in some form or fashion about once a year... (MORE)

Is Your Dog Any Good?

Is your dog any good at...

Coming when called?
Greeting guests?
Meeting strangers and strange dogs?
Not destroying your home?

If not, why not? Yes, I know training takes time. Training takes money. Training takes effort. We all have limited amounts of resources.

What are your priorities? Do you want to solve this stuff, or keep passing the blame onto the dog? People spend stupid amounts of time and money on hobbies, but often don't spend anything on their dogs, but then complain or are rough on their dogs as a result.

Makes no sense to me.

Dog Training The One Thing

What one thing could you do, starting today, to improve your dog’s behavior? Consider this… (MORE)

Dog Training When Teasing Becomes Aggression

It is never a good idea to tease a dog. Teasing is different than play… (MORE)

Dog Training When...

I find that I often am a better trainer / coach when I'm tired. My work is smoother with the dogs and the people. I had a long day yesterday, and today I was tired all day. However, each lesson went well, each dog and owner got a great lesson. Something to think about.

Another thought: I see too many people in animal rescue get too complacent when working with troubled dogs, and eventually get bitten. Maybe the fatigue goes the other way for them, I don't know. You have to keep your wits about you and trust your gut more when dealing with potentially dangerous dogs. Fatigue can result in a trip to the ER. Just sayin'

Dog Training Breaking Points

Every dog has breaking points, physically and mentally. Thus, it is wise to set limits as to what stimuli your dog has to deal with… (MORE)