One of the most common things you hear as a dog trainer, or even as someone wanting to train their own dog, is that your timing matters. Not just the aspect of how quickly you do something, but also the order in which you do something that can make or break your effectiveness at training the dog in front of you. There are lots of different ways to train dogs, really any animal. Some methods I strongly oppose to and some I am a huge proponent for. But at the end of the day, wh

Dog bites are a tough subject to talk about. Whether you work with dogs, are around dogs, own dogs, or even just go anywhere that has the potential of having a dog, there is a potential that you could encounter teeth. For most people, it is a small encounter. I don't anticipate getting bit by a dog when I go to the grocery store, but I know my chances of receiving a bite can increase substantially when I go to an owner's home for the first time and I have been informed the do

Working with people who then have to work with animals can be a tricky business. Even being a person who just works with animals can be a tricky business. When working with animals, we are working with a completely different species with its own way of thinking and operating and its own language. When working with pets and being surrounded by them all day you tend to forget that you are literally working with another species and it is in no way human. Unfortunately, that tend

We are going to start this post, with a human-related tale. A dad was put in charge of watching his two boys for the day so the mom could take care of some grocery shopping and other errands without having to wrangle two children on top of the tasks at hand. So the dad had a great idea: it's hot outside, it's summer, let's go to the pool. So he got the boys together and they headed over to the public pool. Dad was relaxing, the kids were having fun, until the inevitable happe

Taking your dog to a dog park can ignite quite the conversation between dog lovers. Some dog lovers are in the camp of a dog park not being a good idea. Some dog lovers are in the camp of dog parks being a great place to take your dog. Both camps are correct. Dog parks can be great depending on the dog, the owner, and the park itself, but they can also be horrible ideas depending on those same criteria. Here are some questions to ask yourself on if you should be taking your d

As a professional dog trainer, I work with thousands of dogs and their owners. I work with first time dog owners, experienced owners, owners that have worked with other trainers before, and everything in between. Along with experience level comes different personalities as well, from human and canine alike. But what a professional dog trainer should know is how to work with these different personalities and how to create a training plan that is good not only for the owner, bu

I am obsessed with the show "Criminal Minds". I watch it religiously. I love the show so much, I feel like my calling in life could have been as a profiler if I wasn't such a chicken and didn't absolutely love dogs and doing what I do. There is one person I have to thank for enlightening me to this show and his name is Scott Jetter. My late mentor had so much knowledge and deep understanding of dog training and dog behavior that I hope to one day have the same amount of under

One of the many grievances I hear about as a professional dog trainer that has a very simple fix is that of dogs that bark and/or whine in the crate. Dogs that have minor crate issues are very easy to work with. Puppies are also very easy to crate train. There are many times where people want to work on private lessons, which are typically an hour long, just to teach the dog to be quiet in the crate, but I am here to tell you, it is very simple. I have outlined and provided a

If I ever was reincarnated, I can tell you what I would never want to come back as. No it is not a dung beetle, slug, or other gruesome animal most people initially state as a horrible animal to be. My answer would be even more specific. I would never want to come back as a puppy. Yes, you heard correctly, a dog trainer would never want to be reincarnated, if that were even possible, as a puppy. It has nothing to do with my love of dogs or coming back as something cute that w

Summer is a fun and crazy time. There's trips and vacations, tournaments, barbecues, and chaos in between. When we get ready to celebrate Independence Day, we plan for our barbecues, fireworks, trips, etc. One area people forget to prepare for is their dog on the Fourth of July. For some, this is your dog's first Independence Day and you can do little things now to make it a good experience, or a bad one, for your dog. Here are some tips to get you started. People frequently