Blog
(Mostly Archived)
Shayne's Super Sale!
Shayne's Super Sale! First of all I want to thank everyone for your kind words of support while Shayne was both IN the hospital and recovering from the visit. She is pretty much back to normal minus the shaved fur on her leg and foot--she's feeling great and I...
Go Faster! More Cookies!
Go Faster! More Cookies! I spent part of the weekend trying to find a link to a study that I read years ago that looked at the skills/mechanics trainers used more effectively than average pet owners. Unfortunately I couldn't find anything--so I can't cite the...
Wild and Stressful Week
Wild and Stressful Week Some of you may be wondering where I've been all week, well hopefully this will explain it (though those of you who follow me on FB already know most of the story). This week has been a bit of an emotional and stress roller coaster with Shayne....
Rally-O Revelations
Rally-O Revelations It's been about 9 months since I did any Rally with Rio--the last time was his first trial that was held the first weekend in December. He did quite well during his first trial when looking at his scores (195, 198, 208) but when I watched the...
Fearful Fourth of July
I spent this weekend prepping for the mayhem that will be the fourth of July. Five of our neighbors are very big into fireworks and we have, what seems like, a 2 hour show every 4th by the time they are all finished. Shayne is pretty much rock-solid in terms of...
What's In Your Wine Glass?
What's In Your Dog's Wine Glass? On Monday I published a post about Trigger Stacking and created a graphic using wine glasses to help get my point across. It occurred to me that it was actually quite similar to the way I explain increasing the "Three D's" of a...
Trigger Stacking–"but he's normally fine!"
Trigger Stacking--"but he's normally fine!" Recently I found myself on a short road trip. During part of the trip I was driving on a bridge over a body of water. This particular road actually has two bridges--the northbound bridge has three lanes, while the...
Bribery Is Against The Law
Bribery Is Against The Law I cannot tell you how many times I come across people who really struggle with their dog "only listening when he sees that I have a treat." I also constantly hear the same warning from people who are against using treats, "if you use treats...
Positive Reinforcement Isn't For All
Positive Reinforcement Isn't For All Yep, you just read that correctly. Positive reinforcement isn't for everyone, but not for the reasons many people think. I firmly believe that dogs do not need to have aversives as part of their training in order to learn and be...
B.A. C.L.A.S.S. Test Time!
B.A. C.L.A.S.S. Test Time! WPHS will be hosting the B.A. level Canine Life And Social Skills evaluation for the class students next week and there are a few extra spots available WHEN: Tuesday 6/25 and Wednesday 6/26 various time slots between 6:40 and 8:40pm (only...