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Dog Obedience Training

Puppy Socialization – You Can Do More Harm Than Good

The sad truth about puppy socialization is that most people do ‘what they think is right’ without any study into applied animal behavior, or even reading more than a few articles on the internet. I have been studying puppy socialization, at least 100 hours a year, for three years, and I still have more to learn. Puppy socialization is the equivalent of ‘early childhood education’. A lot can go wrong and when it does the…   Continue

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Behavior Then Obedience: Why I Don’t Socialize

When you say socializing then what you mean is that you are forcing a baby to act like an adult. You really mean that you are teaching the dog that you don’t ‘have it’s back’ and that you will not protect it. The puppy is really learning that leaving the house with you is a terrifying experience. And the dog is learning that it is helpless. If it does try a polite ‘stay away behavior’…   Continue

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Why I Do Not Socialize Puppies

I listened to her explain that she has no idea why her 9-month-old golden retriever has started biting people. She went into length to explain how she socialized it. ‘Ever since it was 10 weeks old I took it to the dog park and puppy classes. All the dogs played with it and ‘taught it manners.’ Everyone petted it. We would go for walks and I would let everyone pet it. She would get so…   Continue

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10 Heeling Mistakes: It Takes Two to Tangle

Excerpt from Heeling Seminar June 3, 2017 One of the most common problems I see on a weekly basis is people whose dogs drag them, pull on the lead, or lunge and bark at other dogs or people. I’ve seen dogs brace their toes into the dirt, lean into their collar, and pull like a  weight pulling champion.  These dogs often attend class wearing harnesses, which destroy their shoulder joints. Or they are wearing prong…   Continue

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Bullying: Hyper Behavior – Aggression – Reactive

Download PDF: Bullying and Aggression One of the hardest things to deal with is bullying. I’ve seen it in lap dogs. I’ve seen it in well bred, well trained, and properly raised working dogs.  The #1 problem is that 99% of dog owners do not want to recognize bullying behavior in their dog. Any dog that pulls, bracing its legs, and tries to drag you forward then it is a bully. Any dog that growls…   Continue

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The Problem With Obedience Classes: Pattern Training

A lot of obedience classes teach pattern training. You are asked to have your dog complete an exercise in a specific manner, repeatedly. The dog learns the routine and by the end of the obedience course your dog can do the exercise. At least, it can do it in your home, or at the dog training center. Your dog may even be the star pupil at the training center. The problem with pattern training isn’t…   Continue

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Teaching Manners: Stay Quiet At the Door, Stop Jumping Up On People

When a puppy reaches 6 months, and again, 9 months, they have major changes in how they behave. Many people have the ‘perfect puppy until it reaches one of these developmental stages, then ‘all hell breaks loose.’ The problem is that the puppy is now taking all the freedom, play, and excitement you’ve allowed it to have and using it to build survival skills: hunting, fighting, running, foraging, etc..  One of the most overlooked, and…   Continue

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Training a Performance Puppy

There are many ‘world class’ agility training centers in London Ontario. We have seen many local dogs go to the Nationals. There are local judges and coaches. Not to forget mentioning MAC , Details, and Oxford. This has given us an excellent opportunity to train our dogs well. We also have skilled physiotherapists, massage therapists, and chiropractors in the area to help us keep our dogs in peak condition. But there is more to raising a…   Continue

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The Alpha Factor – Puppy Raising

The dog world has been offering proof that the alpha dog theory is a myth, and that doing alpha rolls and forceful, dominant corrections are nothing more than bullying the dog. The first proof came when people realized that 70-80% of all dogs on earth live wild. So, instead of putting dogs and wolves in confinement and trying to study ‘natural’ behavior, researchers go in the wild to see what real canine behavior looks like….   Continue

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Impulse Control and Frustration Tolerance in Adolescent Dogs

Frustration Tolerance

Frustration Tolerance (FT) is low in dogs with aggression or reactive problems. I am not discounting the fact that they may be fearful, or stressed. Yes, trigger stacking does play a major part in the problem. But, there is (almost always) a low frustration tolerance level in the dog. The problem is that most dog training methods are unaware, or ignore the problem of frustration tolerance. They dismiss its impact on anger, predator drift, and…   Continue

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