Image courtesy of http://jonathanturley.org One of my most cherished bosses in the world once used the analogy that there are 3 “legs of the bar stool” of that particular company that supported our department and its efforts. Without one of those “legs” the entire operation would come crashing down. I love the first day of group dog training classes, where I get to share my philosophy on training and get students on the same page before they even bring their dogs to class. This is where I, too, get to use my own “bar stool” analogy when it comes to obtaining good dog behavior. Except in my version, there’s four legs to the bar stool. Let’s face it, when there’s something as unpredictable as dog behavior at stake, you want to make sure you’re on the most stable foundation possible… Leg 1 – Nutrition What you put in Fido’s mouth … Read More
Tips for End of Season Doggy Swims
Photo credit: Seth Casteel – Little Friends Photo Well, here we are… Another summer almost behind us. Before you pull out the fall sweaters, tailgate equipment and pumpkin carving knives, there’s one left thing to do. Yep, that’s right… Close the pool! What? You don’t have a pool? (Congratulations, you’ve just saved years off of your life in checking Ph levels.) That’s okay, because many of the municipalities around town do have public pools, and many of them offer end of season doggy swim parties before closing down for the season. But this sort of event can be a little tricky, especially for a first-timer dog – or person for that matter… You must be really willing to trust perfect strangers with the capability to protect not only their dog, but your dog, from harm and injury. Nevertheless, end of season public dog swims do exist and can have their … Read More
10 Ways To Include Your Dog In Daily Activities
Updated: August 6th, 2026 by Guest Blogger, Caroline Wise Wise Mama Blog (no longer active) Most of our To Do lists are so long, we can’t imagine squeezing in another task. With a 6-month-old baby at home, I know this all too well. Unfortunately, our pets often suffer the consequences of our busy schedules. However, providing your dog with activity isn’t as difficult as you might think: include you pooch in the tasks you’re already doing. It doesn’t take any extra time, and it makes your dog feel like a valued part of the pack. Here are some ideas for how to include your canine in your daily activities. 1. Running the Stairs An exercised dog is a happy dog. One easy way to provide that exercise is to invite your dog to run up and down the stairs with you as you complete your normal housework. Every time I … Read More
Multi-Part Series: Loose Leash Walking – Part 2
Welcome back to the multi-part series on training your dog to walk on a loose leash. As mentioned in Part 1, it’s important for you to decide what your training goals are before you start training. In many situations, owners are content to put their dog on special equipment, like a no-pull harness or a head collar to minimize pulling. Some owners would like to be able to walk their dog eventually on a regular collar, without any special equipment. If you fall into the latter category, then read on! Terminology Before training begins, it’s important to review some training terminology. Positive training techniques often rely on the use of a behavior marker. A marker – usually in the form of a sound – identifies for the dog the exact moment that they did something correct, and signifies that some form of reinforcement or reward is forthcoming very soon. This … Read More
Multi-Part Series: Loose Leash Walking – Part 1
In my professional dog training opinion, loose leash walking with your dog is one of the most difficult things you might ever have to teach your dog. If there was one key to training a dog well, it’s consistency, of course. Therefore, if you live with any other people in your home (like most of us do!) and those people aren’t 100% on board with your training, this might be a challenge. Sometimes the even bigger challenge is maintaining consistency with ourselves. Remembering to do the exact same thing over and over and over again can become boring, so we humans like to mix it up sometimes. This may or may not be a good learning technique for certain dogs. Also, as we begin to see success with our dogs, we tend to become more lax in our training criteria and the learning curve in our dogs can begin to … Read More