ARTICLESOur Dog Blog

In 2013 we worked on teaching hand targeting (“touch”) and targeting an object like a target stick or plastic lid in our play groups.  This month we’re going to expand on those skills and work on targeting a specific place, in this case the landings by the back doors.  The end result will be dogs...

Why train tricks? Tricks can be fun to teach and show off to friends, but they also can develop foundation behaviors for basic manners as well as specific skills needed for canine sports (agility, freestyle, treibball, and more!). Many dogs enjoy learning tricks for a variety of reasons – they’re learning new skills (often offering...

This month we’re continuing to work on “Stay” in the Doggy Business play groups by teaching a fun game called the 4-Corner Stay. This game incorporates two behaviors – asking your dog to stay in a sit or down while distracted (in this case the distraction is the trainer walking away) and asking your dog...

Last month we discussed how to teach a bungee stay (a sit stay while you moved 1, 2, or even 3 steps back from your dog), and this month we’re working on a more advanced version of stay, the Circle Stay.  As with the bungee stay, the Circle Stay is another great tool for teaching...

Sit and down stays are very useful behaviors for dog training. A stay can help prevent a lot of impulsive behavior. For example, imagine parking your dog in a down stay on a mat while you answer the front door (no jumping on friends and neighbors!) or cook dinner. The Bungee Stay is a great...

This month instead of focusing on one behavior or skill set, we thought it would be fun to talk about some canine sports that can provide a great opportunity to mix up your training routine.  Canine sports offer new options for working on basic obedience skills and skill sets specific to the individual sports. There...

Dog Training Is Fun In February we discussed how to teach your dog to hand target (to touch your hand with their nose), and this month we’re focusing on how to transfer that behavior to objects – like fixed targets, target sticks, or the balls used in the canine sport of Treibball!  Object targeting can...

Teaching a dog to leave it – to not eat a piece of food or other object that they’re interested in – is a critical skill for the safety of your dog. How often have your seen those chicken bones on the sidewalk during a walk? Or dropped a piece of food that may be...

A good recall is a wonderful skill for a dog to have. Not only does it allow us to call our dogs away from dangerous or unwanted interactions, it makes us feel good when our dogs come when called. It is a very fancy skill but one that usually takes more time to train than...

Who doesn’t love dog tricks?? Does your dog know sit? Probably. For most of you when you ask your dog to sit, your dog will likely put their bottom on the ground, often directly in front of you. It’s an excellent start. What about when there’s a distraction, for instance if your dog sees another...