Traveling With Your Dog Should Not Be Stressful!
With so many people getting vaccinated, our long-awaited vacation plans will finally happen in the coming months (fingers crossed). Dog lovers often include their dogs in their travel plans because we love spending time with our animals, yet their presence can cause us to stress. What if they soil inside? What if they break something? […]
The Compassionate Dog Trainer
Empathy is one of the most important skills we possess as humans. The ability to understand and relate to another person’s feelings from their point of view rather than our own. This provides healthy relationships in both our personal and professional lives. Empathy allows us to show compassion. Compassion is necessary when training dogs. Each […]
Why does my dog follow me around from the moment I walk in the door from work?
Why does my dog follow me around from the moment I walk in the door from work? We recently had this question to us. We like to invite our ISCDT students to reflect on the question before reading our response. Find out if your answer matches ours. Here is our response to this dog owner: There […]
Can Poor Dog Training Be Corrected?
Can Poor Dog Training Be Corrected? Yes! But it is not a fast fix. It will take work and time. The dog believes the behavior is appropriate because the human reinforces this behavior with their response, or lack thereof. Of course, this isn’t anything dog trainers don’t already know. Often, the most difficult part of […]
Puppy Temperament Testing
Photo-by-Ezequiel-Garrido-on-Unsplash When we walk into a store, kennel or rescue looking for a dog, we allow our hearts to steer us in making a decision. While all puppies have adorable, sweet faces, their personalities are as individual as human personalities and temperaments. What if you could determine which puppy is best suited for your family? […]
How Anthropomorphism Can Hurt Dog Training Efforts
What is anthropomorphism? Anthropomorphism is assigning human characteristics to an object or animal. Anthropomorphism is a human trait – a pattern of behavior that was introduced to us at an early age. Think back to your childhood. Our families humanized dolls, stuffed animals, even rocks. Cartoon animals were dressed in clothing and given a voice. […]
When Is It Okay To Pet A Service Dog?
A reader asked us this question. While we do not train service dogs, we’ve had the pleasure of discussing the difference between a service dog and other dogs at local schools. Service dogs are different from therapy dogs and emotional support dogs. These dogs are not pets, rather they are working dogs with paramount jobs. […]
Why Does My Dog Lick and Hump Me?
In this blog we will answer a question from one of our podcast followers. He wanted to know: Why does my dog lick and hump me? I am going to begin with the humping issue and then follow with the licking issue. Why do dogs hump? Humping can be sexual in nature, especially for young, […]
The Ultimate Guide For Families Considering A New Dog
Your client is considering a new dog. This is an exciting time for them. While it may have been a long-awaited decision, that doesn’t necessarily mean they won’t use only their heart when choosing a dog. When we rescue dogs with only our heart, we sometimes end up regretting that arrangement and in the […]
Tips To Desensitize Your Dog to Face Masks
If the summer months don’t provide enough fearful triggers for our dogs– we’re talking fireworks and thunderstorms — this year we can add face masks to the list of possible reactivity issues. Throughout most of the United States, people are asked (or mandated) to wear facial masks while in public to prevent the spread of […]