Last year I shared Running With a Dog That Pulls and included a ton of other running tips I've picked up along this slowwwww journey of ours.This weekend, I'll run my longest distance yet--a 10k--with sights set toward a half marathon in the fall. That, btw, is my uppermost … [Read more...]
A collar is not a steering wheel
May I please vent for a moment?There are few things that bother me more than when I see someone using their dog's collar to steer, drag, pull, or otherwise force their dog into going or doing something.I'm not talking about an emergency situation where, like, a bicyclist … [Read more...]
Glacial progress adds up when training reactive dogs: Coop’s big win!
Last week, as we walked laps around our favorite park, one of the social workers from our adoption agency called John. They had a professional photographer lined up for Saturday to snap some photos to decorate their offices. Were we interested... oh, and bring your dog!We … [Read more...]
Is your dog ever “trained”? Are you ever finished training?
Cooper is a good dog.Cooper is a smart dog.He knows all sorts of things, from the basic obedience cues like sit and stay and down to more complex cues like shutting cabinet doors and performing tricks. Based on what he knows at this point, anything else I teach him is … [Read more...]
Setting Realistic Dog Training Goals: Mat Work
Last week we talked about limits: figuring out what our dogs' limits are and how to honor them.The other side to that coin, though, is knowing which limits to push and how. Otherwise, you risk becoming stagnant. Pushing limits, too, helps expand your dog's world bit by tiny, … [Read more...]