Dog Training Blog

Dogs do not have any understanding of cause and effect that correlates to a human understanding of the idea. But they do have a...

Dogs are at once surprisingly complex and simple; they live in a rich world, but if we satisfy some basic needs they tend to do quite...

While retractable leashes are sometimes used for specific purposes by highly skilled handlers, the use of a retractable leash is highly...

Discipline” is a scary word for some people. Given the experience some of us had with public education, and in the workplace, this is not...

Obesity is a leading factor among many of the pet dogs that are brought to me with behavioral problems. And with almost equal regularity...

I get a lot of calls about “rescue” dogs with problem behaviors. I listen to stories about the dog’s history and why it acts this way,...

It's never good to anthropomorhize with a dog, but where I see the most serious and long-lasting damage is when the new human owners...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthropomorphism From the ancient Chinese classic Chuang-tzu: And have you not heard this?‐‐ Formerly a...

Dogs have been bred over time for specific purposes, so we have hundreds of breeds. All of these breeds are the result of emphasiziing or...

Dogs are are capable of all of the same basic emotions as humans except for guilt and shame, which they are physiologically prevented...

Dogs like to be paid for working, just like people. What each dog finds rewarding will vary; some dogs work for food, some for play, some...

Dogs learn in context. Until a dog learns to generalize, a change in context can be challenging for them. Just because a dog can perform...

Touch is more complex than initial appearance may suggest. Touch is expressive and communicative. Touch can be patting, stroking,...

Effective and humane training is based upon clear communication, and because the dog can't understand human language, we have to do our...

Dogs and humans have evolved together for at least 28,000 years. While dogs don't understand human language, they can instinctively...

With a certain amount of levity I have elsewhere suggested that we don’t bribe dogs for the same reason we don’t bribe people – because...