Daily Tip! Finding the root of your dog's behavioral issues. Have you ever heard the saying "when mom's not happy, nobody is happy"? When mom is upset, stressed, angry etc. the children and husband tend to feed off the same vibe. When mom is happy, everyone else is as well. When it comes to dogs, it's very similar to this. Just like children, dogs need stability in order to behave accordingly. When a dog is in a household and there is nothing but chaos and no structure, this

Daily Tip Always be Consistent One of the biggest mess ups when training a dog, is not having consistency. This could be not using the same command or correcting the dog only sometimes when he does something wrong. This only causes confusion for him and he will not know what you are wanting him to do. Ex. When training your dog to stay off of the furniture, make sure every family member in your household are using the same command. If one person is saying down, while the ot

Daily Tip Always be Rewarding When Your Dog Follows Through When you are training for a job, you wouldn't take to well to someone yelling at you or hitting you for not doing the task you were given correctly would you? Probably not. Dogs are the same way. They are very sensitive to the vibes we put off. They can read our every emotion. When dogs are learning new commands, they are trying to figure out what is right and wrong. Rewarding your dog for completing the command buil

Daily Tip When to Use Treats in Training. Treats are like any other tool used for training. Not every training tool works on every dog. We have to figure out what method works best for each dog that comes in to training. Some dogs are hyper, excited, up beat, just full of energy. Typically we do not like to use treats or food for this type of dog. Reason being is because the drive to work is already in place. It's a matter of finding what will calm him down so he will be mo

Day 8 of How to Ruin Your Dog. Is your voice always in a soft tone? When we were kids and our parents would correct us, they always changed the tone in their voice. Their tone would be deep and strong versus soft and sweet. When we correct our dogs, we have to do the same thing with them. Dogs understand tones and body language better than they do english. Using the right (stern) tone while getting on to your dog will reinforce the correction you are giving. Using the wrong (

Daily dog training tip #2. It's human nature for most of us to want to nurture what we love. Babying or nurturing an insecure or nervous dog will only deepen the insecurities of the dog and will only make it harder to correct the misguided behavior. The best way to help an insecure or nervous dog is to use positive reinforcement at every available opportunity. Gradually allow your dog to meet new people and other dogs. When he shows confidence and not nervousness, reward him.

Listen to Your Dog! Sometimes your dog is better at reading other people and dogs than we are. If your dog does not immediately greet someone or another dog, be patient. Your dog just might be trying to tell you something. It could be as simple as " I need a minute to figure this person or dog out." Always listen and pay attention to how your dog is reacting. You will build a much better relationship with your dog if you just stop to listen. #helpinganervousdog #puppynochewin

Yes. RELAXING is part of our training. Rufus here has a huge fear of cars. So we are learning to"chil-lax" next to the busy road. Training your dog doesn't have to all be go go go. Actually, getting your dog to relax more is better than physical activity. Your dog should be getting somewhere around 30min-2hours of physical activity a day depending on the energy level of your dog. The rest of your day, you should be practicing calming exercises. Working your dogs brain is ju

Are you on a roller coaster with your dog? Rufus came to us because he had bitten 3 people, all in different situations. He also didn't like moving vehicles, especially the mail guy or the big delivery trucks. So, we are working on his impulse control. We have him in place while these delivery guys brought in the new washer and dryer. All dogs should know how to control their impulses. Just like we, humans, do. We are taught at a very young age, no hitting, no biting,