Your dog goes through three general phases of learning: 1. “The Learning phase”: This is when the dog learns to understand what a command means. You use very little correction at this phase, and may use toys, balls, or food to motivate (not bribe!) the dog into doing and understanding what the command means. The problem with most amateur dog trainers is that they feel their dog is trained, once he understands a command and has gone through the “Learning Phase.” 2. “The Reinforcement Read more [...]

Actually it’s pretty simple, but when you think about all the applications of the concept, it clearly becomes a huge part of your success or lack of it in training. Basically, how your DOG perceives something is all that matters. Regardless of the handler’s intentions, regardless of what the handler was thinking about at the time, or reacting to, or paying attention to… if the dog isn’t thinking about it at the same rime, reacting to it or paying attention to it – what the handler perceives Read more [...]

PERCEPTION — I get asked about all sorts of different dog-related problems and I always do my best to answer the questions truthfully and to the best of my ability.  But although I might be able to answer somebody’s question, from that point onward… the end result is up to them. “You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink.” And I can tell you how to teach your dog to do such-and-such, but I can’t actually make you do it. It’s up to you to go away and spend the necessary Read more [...]

Over the years I have occasionally encountered dogs that, for some reason had very little or no interest in playing with a ball, a tug, or a Kong. These dogs were missing the sheer unadulterated joy of chasing a ball, playing a game (Two Ball), playing tug, and the chance of more meaningful interaction with their people. Fortunately we can use the dog’s own inherent, innocent greediness to build his drive (or desire) for the ball, toy, tug, Kong, etc. We will refer to this as “the object of his Read more [...]

You have gotten the dog of your dreams, your head filled with Norman Rockwellian images of him (or her) dozing peacefully at your feet in front of the fireplace or enjoying a leisurely stroll along the beach on a clear, crisp morning. But wait… this dog, your “dream” dog lunges, pulls and drags you along, jumps, and ignores your pleas to sit, down, stay, and come. Your Norman Rockwell is indeed Norman Bates. Welcome to the world of the untrained dog, a world where about 70% of the dogs in animal Read more [...]

Do you own a monster-puppy? I did. As of today, Gidget the Belgian Malinois puppy is exactly six months-old and I am happy to report that she has successfully made the transformation from monster-puppy to a well mannered adolescent dog. Below are some of the behaviors she has learned, using the same techniques I outline in my book, “Secrets of a Professional Dog Trainer!” – She has learned to sit quietly and accept praise without biting, barking, nipping or jumping. – She has learned to walk Read more [...]

If you’ve been following my series about raising a Belgian Malinois puppy to be my next “demo dog”…  then you’ll know she’s about 4 1/2 months old. And four months of age is when I like to start with formal obedience training exercises. Everything until then is just done to build positive associations to command words, but without strict enforcement because of the puppy’s lack of maturity. But once you see those adult teeth come in– usually at or around four months of age– HALLELUJAH! Read more [...]

The wind was blowing hard and Juan Valdez, our Golden Retriever, still needed to be taken for a walk. I put the Belgian Malinois puppy, Gidget, in the exercise pen and then locked up the house. Juan and I started on our walk and about a half mile down the road, we engaged a man who was admiring another neighbor’s garden. Me, Juan and The Man were standing around shootin’ the breeze when a woman walked up with a 7 year-old Black Labrador. The Lab was pulling on the leash, and he came toward Read more [...]

Carla and I set up a garden this year. We decided to experiment with Mel Bartholomew’s “Square Foot Gardening” system– which means setting up 4′x4′ wood raised beds and filling them with a special soil mix of 1/3 vermiculte, 1/3 compost and 1/3 peat moss. … Everything a big-hearted dog would love to dig, roll and pee all over. But that’s not going to happen to our garden… and it shouldn’t happen to yours, either. Here are some dog training commands that we’ve found useful for Read more [...]

Carla and I were in San Rafael, Marin County/California last week.  We got lost looking for a burrito place my sister had recommended for lunch and overshot “High Tech Burrito” by about three blocks.  As we were making a U-turn I almost drove into the Guide Dogs For The Blind sign. For some reason, I had completely forgotten that the world-famous Guide Dogs For The Blind was headquartered in San Rafael, California.  Maybe it was dumb luck or divine intervention… I don’t know? But this Read more [...]

By Lynn Stockwell If you are the type of person who, like me, spends a lot of time on video sites watching various trainers work their magic, you’ll probably notice that most of them allow comments. These comments can range from “Great job with that dog, keep up the good work” to “Why not use [other training tool], you’re being abusive” or even, my personal favorite, “That dog doesn’t look happy.” I would like to know, here and now, what exactly is a “happy” dog and how Read more [...]

The article about my dog not really having any desire whatsoever to listen to you was written before Thanksgiving. On that particular day, we had significantly more guests than normal, one of which included a small child, 8 years old, and her adoptive parents, being of some distant relation to my own. Keep in mind that Mal is the family dog and not mine. Otherwise, events would have gone quite differently. She is fine with smal children, provided they are calm and quiet around her–indeed, Read more [...]

By Lynn Stockwell — Before I became a veterinary professional, I was pretty much convinced that the role of vets was to get to the bottom of the matter and treat the issue at hand. A prime example of the dog that has vomiting and/or diarrhea. Vomiting and diarrhea are not things to simply be treated. These are symptoms of a more underlying problem, and it is the vet’s job to find out why the dog is exhibiting these symptoms. Sure, we can give Reglan, butorphanol, Cerenia, diphenoxalate, Read more [...]

1. Rawhide bones or chews:  Rawhide does not break down in a dog’s stomach apparently, so dogs have a hard time digesting and passing them. One veterinarian I talked to said that they have at least one client-a-month who they need to operate on, in order to remove a piece of rawhide that was lodged in the dog’s stomach.  Another veterinarian told me that, “In 30 years, I’ve never seen one come in with a problem.”  I have no idea why there would be such a discrepancy between veterinarians… Read more [...]

Christmas from your dog’s perspective:

Rhiaanon posted a comment on one of my Youtube videos: “I had a doberman puppy some years ago. I am looking to get another doberman. However, I am considering adopting an adult. Would it be okay to adopt this particular breed at an adult age?  Thank you for any advice!” Dear Rhiaaaaaanon: No.  They are a dangerous breed.  Their brains grow too big for their head, and they “turn” on their owners.  If you get two or more of them together, they will form their own gang and start Read more [...]

You’re out in the park with your dog, minding your own business… Perhaps you’re doing some dog training. Or maybe you’re taking a nervous dog out for a potty break… Sooner or later, you’ll find some reason to leave the house with your dog. You simply can’t train a dog in your own backyard and expect to have fantastic obedience when you eventually leave your property. When you train your dog around real-world distractions and environments… that’s how your dog gets better. I frequently Read more [...]

Please be sure that you have read parts I and II to this series. The one problem people run into when attempting to correct their dogs without having been taught the hows, whys and what tools will make their lives easier, is mostly a matter of consistency and clear communication. Motivation is also a problem, as is timing (if you have read the Secrets book, these words should look mighty familiar!). Usually, by the time these people are pulling back on the dog’s collar, they are reacting to the Read more [...]