Between working as a dog walker for years, owning two dog walking companies and teaching countless dog owners how to leash train their pups, I've learned a thing or two about how to solve leash-related problems and improve the walk experience. If your walk could use a little work, read on 'cuz this one's for you! 1. Treat walks as a training session, not a free for all. Your dog is always learning - learning how to do things you like, or learning to do things you don't lik

One of the first changes I make when working with a new client is I have them switch from bowl feeding to hand feeding. To a lot of people, it can seem like a tedious switch to make (aka a lot more work!) but there are so many advantages to adopting this routine with your dog. First of all, hand feeding reinforces a leadership dynamic and teaches your dog that all good things in life come through you. This has nothing to do with outdated ideas about the domination/submissio

Owning a fearful dog can be very stressful and confusing for pet parents. It is not always clear how or why the dog became fearful, which can make treating the condition quite challenging. Fearfulness manifests in a number of ways in the canine world. Some dogs are more passive and their fear causes them to retreat, cower and avoid the things they are fearful of. Other dogs become defensive and their fear triggers what appears to be an aggressive response - barking, lungi

If you’ve stepped into the world of dog training and taken a look around, even briefly, you’ve probably noticed that there is a great deal of controversy surrounding the various training methods. Perhaps one of the most controversial of these methods is the E-collar, also known as a shock collar or remote collar. This device would fall into the category of aversive/punishment-based training methods. Essentially, the dog learns to be obedient in an effort to avoid something

When I first began training dogs and learning about training methods, it was very common to hear things like "say as little as possible", "don't use words, use your energy" and "the more you say, the more confused the dog will be". There was a time when I even followed this (misguided) advice. And let me tell you from experience....it ain't workin! The notion that words (aka COMMUNICATION) do not belong in dog training is a popular and prevalent one. But when you actually thi