‘Nature to be commanded, must be obeyed’ said Francis Bacon. Nowhere more true than dog training. Dogs have a natural tendency to seek and adhere to a hierarchy with an alpha (leader) at the top on down to an omega at the bottom. ‘Down’ is one effective technique for enforcing your alpha status. It also…
Dogs aren’t really stubborn. But they often don’t clearly know what’s wanted. Make it clear by quickly establishing alpha (dominant leader) status. Be willing to exercise the patience and modest, firm force to get the desired behavior. This can be particularly challenging when training a ‘come’. Dogs naturally want to explore the environment. They sniff…
A dog’s jaw muscles are among his strongest. An average-sized Golden Retriever can untie the knot in a rawhide bone (or just chew it off) in minutes. If only they’d stick to those! The tendency to chew will vary from one breed – and one individual – to another. But most dogs will chew on…
No training is more basic for pet owners than that first important lesson: Do it outside! Teaching your pet to eliminate outside the home, not in it, usually starts between six and eight weeks of age. Dogs as young as four weeks have been started on the program, but at that age few have the…
Many people don’t have the time, energy or patience to devote to dog training. Few other activities require as much, if the result is to be a safe, well-adjusted dog and a happy human. For some, the answer is to outsource the effort to a professional trainer. As in any profession, quality and cost vary.…
Even dumb dogs are clever. Just think of the many ways they get humans to do what they want. Few can resist the soulful eyes and the offered paw when eating something the dog also views as tasty. One of the reasons for the many-thousand year association between humans and dogs is the latter’s great…
Most dogs will display a tendency to jump on people at times. How often will vary with breed and by individual. One theory suggests that dogs are trying to get close to the person’s face – not to attack, but to interact. Other dogs, especially of the same breed, have faces close to their level…
Debate continues unabated about whether or not crate training dogs is healthy or harmful. ‘Crating’ involves placing a pet in a cage, usually plastic or metal of roughly the size of the dog, for a period of time during the day or night. Proponents argue that crating gives the dog a sense of ‘property’, a…
Sometimes the distinction between training and control is too easily lost. Using commands and hand gestures, with leashes or treats, to solicit desired behavior is training. Using choke or ‘no-bark’ collars, electronic fences and similar devices is for control. Control isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Dogs naturally have and seek a social hierarchy in which…
Dogs are surprisingly complex creatures. Some official estimates of the number of breeds reaches as high as 800 in Western countries alone. Even given that distinguishing one breed from another can be carried to absurd extremes, the variety is astonishing from a human perspective, who have, perhaps, a dozen ‘breeds’. Complicating the picture still further…
