A Dog Trainer’s Salary: Can You Live On It?
You’re wondering if you can live on a dog trainer’s salary. That is an important question, especially since you have checked all the boxes confirming that a career in dog training is right for you. Can you live on a dog trainer’s salary? The short answer is “yes”. I’m pretty sure when you googled this […]
How Open-Mindedness and Flexibility Improves Your Dog Training Skill
Knowledge through education, skill obtained from hands-on experience and growth acquired through continued education are three excellent attributes for dog trainers. Let’s add a fourth that you may not have thought of: Open-mindedness and Flexibility I greatly enjoy listening to podcasts on dog training while driving from one lesson to the next. I recommend that […]
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 […]
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. […]
Get Your Dog to Follow Commands Around Distractions
Your dogs refuse to follow commands that they know. What causes them to ignore you? Dominance? Stubborn behavior? Lack or respect? Human error? Well, my friend you likely failed to generalize the dog’s behavior. What does generalizing mean? Ability to complete a task in every situation and environment. Once humans learn a behavior, we maintain […]
How to Teach New Commands without Stressing Your Dog
Think back to history textbooks during your school years. Each chapter in those textbooks contained dozens of pages filled with dates and information. If your teacher were to assign the entire chapter at once and then give an test two days later, most of us would fail miserably. That’s why teachers break chapters down into […]