Certifications DogSafe First Aid and Low Stress Handling
One of the certification I am renewing this October is DogSafe First Aid course which is a wonderful compliment to any business, whether dog trainer to dog walkers. It is also a great educational course any pet owner should take. First aid is always great to know whether for human or dogs, and face it,…
Certifications-Karen Pryor Academy Certified Training Partners
Dog Trainer Certifications I always recommend the Karen Pryor course, because since I have been taken the course and become a Certified Training Partner. It is the best decision I have made for a great foundation. Any courses or extra education I have is built upon this course. Continuing education and learning is a requirement to…
Emergencies On Walks – Have a Plan Before You Leave The House
Sometimes, taking your dog for a walk, is like taking a mission, from Mission Impossible….cue music now! First off, the series of events on this walk needs to be explained to most urban dwellers. I live in a small city on Vancouver Island, part of Canada, but literally an Island of the Coast of Canada.…
So You Have a New Puppy! Now What?
Summer Time, or Any Season Really, Bringing Home a Puppy! First think through bringing home a puppy, do you have time to train? Time to teach it about life? Is everyone in the household going to help look after the puppy? If you have children, and a mom, chances are, this is one more ‘child’…
Learning is Not Breed Specific (Its Not Even Species Specific)
I can teach a cat the same way I’d teach a dog or a horse or a mouse or… You get the picture. It all boils down to motivation. Motivation is the factor that gets an animal to take action. It can be a positive motivator or a negative motivator, either way it gets an…
The Evolution of My Polite Leash Walking Technique
It’s been a long journey, but I’ve finally discovered a technique that works (nearly) 100% of the time. I want to share the experience of discovering a technique that I use as a “go-to” with all my dog training students. It starts with how I trained polite leash walking before I crossed over. Using Corrections…
Different Dog Training Techniques for Different Needs
In dog training there is always tension when trainers discuss whether they prefer to shape a certain behavior or lure it. Clicker training is a technique where we use a noise maker, the clicker, to mark/identify the exact behavior that the dog is getting the reward for. You can watch my favorite intro to clicker…
A Critique of Dog Training Techniques
There’s more than one way to skin a cat, or train a dog for that matter. What makes some dog training techniques better than others? Why do trainers with the same philosophy train dogs using different techniques? Trainers who believe in force-free training can have different approaches to teaching the same skill to a dog.…