New Neighborhood, New Challenges, New Success!
It has been a while since I wrote about my dogs so before I dive into this dog’s big success today, let me explain a little bit about his history. Loker, this 5.5yr old husky/shepherd mix, spent his first 2.5 years of life in a shelter and was adopted out twice (and returned twice) before…
Traveling With Pups
This past year has been a year of learning. I started a new job at a dog daycare/school facility, attended my first APDT conference, started a new blog, and ended the year by deciding to move across the U.S. At the end of March, we packed up everything we owned into a trailer and loaded…
Ariana’s Crossover Over Journey: Going All In
This crossover dog trainer shares her story. Ariana Rodriguez, ABCDT, has generously shared her story with us. She owns and operates Stellar Canines in Texas. She has been training for over 5 years and competes in AKC Obedience and Rally. What prompted you to start learning about positive reinforcement training? Dog Scouts of America Texas…
My Experience As A Puppy At The APDT Conference in Hartford
This week I attended my very first conference. The 2014 APDT Conference is an annual dog training conference held by the Association of Professional Dog Trainers. They had over 900 attendees! Here are the 5 best things I got from the conference. Networking This benefit is a given, but I don’t mean to use the term “networking”…
The Realities of Raising a Gremlin.. Err… Puppy!
As someone who doesn’t want children, raising a puppy has solidified those feelings. After all, at least I can crate a puppy! Raising a puppy has taught me a new level of patience and frustration. Unfortunately and fortunately for me, I chose a working-type puppy to raise the first time around. He has amazing work…
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…
Must Love People
I got into dog training in order to help dogs stay in their homes. Dog behavior has always fascinated me and I love teaching them new skills. However, when I leave the home of a client, I find myself thinking about how thrilled I am that the people caught on and had the “light bulb…
The Principle of Availability
I recently came across another blog that talked about the “Principle of Availability”. Unfortunately, I forgot to bookmark that blog and I can’t remember which blog it was from. I loved the idea, so I have to talk about it. Please feel free to share if you find out where it came from! The “Principle…