Learning to sit

A very simple way to get your dog to sit is to interest him in the scent of a treat. Let him smell the treat, but not eat it. The treat is your leverage; use it to guide your puppy.


Hope, a Service Dog,
ready for a person.

As you let your puppy smell the treat, and really work his nose....tilt his head slightly backwards ( nose to the ceiling). If your puppy sits, immediately reward him by giving him the treat the instant his bottom hits the ground. If your puppy starts to stand up (bottom off the ground) don't let him have the treat! Go back to the beginning of smelling, tilting, etc.

Smell, Tilt, Repeat!

I'm just a Blog

A blog about dogs and their people. I meet many people who love thier dogs but get frustrated when they try to take thier dogs for a walk or wonder why thier dog doesn't come when called.

We buy a car after we learn how to drive, We read the manual to learn about a new tv, computer, or electronic, we take classes, read books, and ask other parents to learn how to raise our kids.

A dog is a dog. Not a person, a child, or item you are born to understand, without a little learning.


 Buster, with severe heart disease,
 captured the heart of every person he met!




Like a child, the instructions are not as clear cut as learning to manipulate the tv or computer. Like a child, sometimes certain things work and sometimes you wonder why the same technique does not work the next time.
Learning to train a dog by trial and error can be very time consuming, as well as frustrating. Like trying to construct the swing set without the directions! Although you may complete the project, there was an easier and more effective way to get success!
Unless you have studied dog behavior, even two dogs of the same litter can require two different styles of training. Pair that with the personality of the owners, and the training process is skewed all over the place.
The good news is.... Training your dog can be simple with the right instruction, and without any tools except your mind.
Imagine the feeling of sharing a relationship with your dog built solely on trust and respect. No collars, spray bottles, or tools needed. Just you.
Experience the difference, and share your home with a polite and well mannered dog.  


Your Dog's New Years Resolutions.

Your Dog has New Years Resolutions too!


What did your dog scratch out in the dirt to dedicate and promise himself to acheive in the year 2012. Remember one of our years, is seven to a dog, so this New Years Resolution event is a very serious matter!

Did he swear to learn how to open the refridgerator? Or perhaps to finally escape the front door to chase the neighbors annoying cat? Has he always wished he had your fluffy pillow, or your side of the bed? Maybe his dream is to watch more reruns of Lassie's adventures, or to start standing up to your inconsistent rules?

As humans, we love to project our emotions and feelings as those of our dogs oppinion as well.
#1, this helps us to reason, and also to relate.
#2, it is just plain entertaining.

Even if you have watched one episode of the Dog Whisperer, you have heard how important it is to realize people are people, dogs are dogs, and the two minds work differently.

However, as I have learned working with dogs and their people, the people understand better if I explain the dog behavior in people terms. After all, we all love to talk about ourselves!

If we can understand our own motivation, if I can translate this for you to dog language, then we can understand the dog. And when we finally truely understand the dog, we learn to get the dog to behave the way we want him to, and this may be the best New Year's Resolution of all!

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