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HELP! My Dog Will Not Settle Down!
Does your dog seem like they’re powered by espresso shots? Do they pace around, react to every little sound, and seem to never stop moving? You’re not alone—and good news: there’s a skill you can teach to help them learn how to settle and relax, even in busy environments. Some dogs naturally relax more easily…
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Markers in Dog Training
A video to follow along with this post is coming and will be linked here. To put it simply, Marker Training is a training methodology that uses words or sounds to mark or bring attention to a very specific behavior. There are both reward markers and no-reward markers – or NRMs. Reward Markers:A Reward Marker…
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My TOP 3 Most Important Behaviors!
You just brought your brand new dog home. Whether you just purchased or adopted a puppy or an adult, you’re probably wondering, Where do I start? Well, this post is designed to help you answer that question! Of course, this is purely my own opinion, and you may find other trainers suggest other behaviors. We’re…
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3 Games That Work Your Dog’s Brain
If you’ve already read my previous post on Mental vs. Physical Exercise, then you already know that I’m a huge fan of mental exercise! In other words, I’m a big fan of anything that really works out your dog’s brain. The reasons why are listed in the above post, but I’ll quickly list them here…
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How to Handle Feeling Frustration in Training
Everyone has dealt with feeling frustrated during a training session. We want our dogs to be perfect because we see perfect videos of perfect dogs made by perfect trainers all over the Internet, right? What these videos don’t show you is the process that the trainers went through. Even my own videos show a finished…
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Mental vs. Physical Exercise
I hear it all the time. “I walk him for an hour, but…” “He can swim for forty-five minutes, but…” “She can run around in a field for two hours, but…” “… he (or she) can’t calm down!” I’ve touched a little bit on teaching dogs to be calm in this (kinda lengthy) blog post:…
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Give In! To Leash Pressure!
In my previous post talking about loose leash walking, I described my usual go-to for teaching a dog to walk on a loose leash. If you haven’t read it already, check it out here: My Dog is Dragging Me Everywhere! Teaching your dog where to walk – right next to you – is going to…
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Rewards, Lures, and Bribes; Oh My!
Yes, dear readers, as the title suggests, today I will be talking about the differences between Rewards, Lures, and Bribes. There are many people – owners and trainers alike – who make the claim that using food in training is “bribery.” Many believe that using food will create a dog who only works – or…
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Humans and Canines: The Unfortunate Side Effects of Miscommunication
Today, I am not writing a how-to. I’m not going to teach you how to train your dog to behave the way you want her to. Today, I’m going to tell you why it’s important for you to behave the way your dog needs you to. Today, I’m going to be serious. I’m going to…
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My Dog is Dragging Me Everywhere!
Training a dog to walk nicely on leash can be difficult for many owners! Walking nicely seems to be a foreign concept for so many of our beloved pets, and many owners learn to just deal with being dragged around because nothing seems to help! Dogs have what’s known as the Opposition Reflex. This means…
Espresso Dog Training 