The first thing most puppy owners want to teach their dog is to sit, stay, heel, stop chewing, and go potty at a convenient time. Unfortunately they are missing a great opportunity to make their dogs focused, easy to train, and calm – for the rest of the dog’s life. Exposure, good and bad, in the first 14 weeks of a dog’s life will affect the way your puppy processes sensory input. That’s right –…   Continue

Almost every dog training facility has a puppy socialization class. But not all of these classes are created equal. Not all classes achieve what you want them to. The problem is that everyone has a basic idea of what they want to accomplish, but the average dog owner does not know how to go from point A to point B. Objectives of Puppy Socialization To prevent aggressive or nervous behavior problems To build confidence in…   Continue

Your puppy is a sweet bundle of fur, full of kisses and just so cute. Three weeks later it is a destructive, aggressive monster. What happened? Two things happen when you bring a puppy home. First, you can shape the puppies behavior. You can teach it how to behave in an urban environment. You can teach it that squirrels are not prey. And, you can teach the puppy that people are to be obeyed. Second,…   Continue

What are dog zoomies?  Our previous article explains a few facts about the zoomies you need to know before trying to manage the behavior. It is important to know that zoomies are normal. They are a part of growing development. Some people never try to stop the behavior. In come cases they cannot be stopped, only managed. While I am attempting to help you solve a mild case of the zoomies that your dog should…   Continue

One of the most common asked questions is ‘How to train a hyper dog.’ The Puppy zoomies, or dog zoomies turns what should be a wonderful experience into a nightmare. What are puppy zoomies? Or FRAPs – Frenetic Random Activity Periods They are typically a sudden explosion of activity in an otherwise good and trainable dog. When I say sudden explosion that is exactly what I mean. If you’ve ever had a dog with the…   Continue

Sometimes puppies make a mess when they are playing. Sometimes they are being clever, but that gets them in trouble. When you are working with a puppy you need to set boundaries ‘before’ the puppy starts acting bad. Set the ground rules and do not break them. Let your puppy know where the limits are. A puppy who is punished without knowing what it is doing wrong can develop ‘reactive issues’. These are stress and…   Continue

Leave it. A puppy who understands this has the foundation for good manners and reliable control. Every puppy obedience task is built on the leave it command. To heel well a puppy needs to learn not to pull towards things it is interested in. A long, reliable, stay cannot be accomplished unless the puppy understands the leave it command. Teaching the leave it command without using punishment is vital to building a trust relationship with…   Continue

Socialization is one of the most misunderstood aspects of dog training. Almost everyone knows puppies need to be exposed to as many situations as possible so they will grow up to be confident, well behaved dogs. Wrong This is possibly one of the main reasons why the number of reactive dogs in urban centers is high. It is also possibly one of the main reasons why small dogs are most likely to drop out of…   Continue