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Diabetic Alert Dogs

Service dogs for people with diabetes are the “tattletales” of the dog world, according to Rita Martinez, co-author of a new book, Training Your Diabetic Alert Dog. The job for these special dogs is to notice a change in a person’s blood glucose level, and then tell that person about it. If that person doesn’t “listen” to the dog or isn’t able to respond, then a diabetic alert dog may tell someone else!

Teaching a Dog to Play Fetch

Last week a trainer friend stopped by to visit with her three dogs: Star, Kaiya, and Lhotse. As we were chatting, Laura confessed to me that she thought she'd ruined Star's "fetch" with the clicker. "She had a great retrieve," Laura said, "until I started clicking her for it. Now she just drops it as soon as I click. I stopped working on it because I knew I was messing it up." I chuckled to myself. I knew this would be a fun - and easy - training fix.

For Better Dog-Behavior Training: Pretend Your Dog Is a Tiger

Owners often turn to dog trainers when they’re feeling exasperated. They report that their dog has the following behavior and training issues: Has no...

The 12 Rules of Rocket Recall

How do you perfect your dog's recall skills? Practice! Use the reinforcers that have the highest value for your dog for recall practice and reward generously.
An older rescue dog rests in a comfortable crate with the door open.

How to Crate Train a Rescue Dog

Crates are management tools meant to help your dog feel safe during your absence and other times he may need to chill. Dogs who learn to love their crates use them independently for relief and safety .
how to train a dog to stay

How to Train A Dog to Stay

Once you train your dog to stay on cue, the behavior can come in handy. In the past week alone, I’ve asked my dog to stay a number of times.
How do you train a dog without treats? Your best bet is to use play and affections as a reward.

5 Ways to Train Without Treats!

Food treats are an easy and effective reward for a dog when training. But food rewards are only one way to build strong behavior. There may be times when you do not want to or cannot use food, and there may be times when the best reinforcement is something other than a hot dog! Here are five great ways to reward your dog when you don't want to reach for the treat pouch.

Training Larger Dogs Using Positive Methods

A holistic pet behavior counselor often has to be like a detective. You have to find all of the missing pieces of the puzzle and put them together to form a complete picture. Sometimes this is not easy because people are not accustomed to thinking about the whole picture in order to determine the cause of their problems. Most of the time, people focus on one detail and cannot see the forest through the trees.

Teach Your Dog to Make Eye Contact

If your dog doesn't already know the value of eye contact with humans, you can easily teach her. This is an operant conditioning/positive reinforcement exercise – your dog learns her behavior can make good stuff happen. When your dog has come to realize the value of eye contact, she will sometimes offer the behavior without being cued. Be sure to reinforce offered eye contact as well as cued eye contact. To help her be comfortable with eye contact from other humans, ask your friends to play the Watch" game with her as well."

Put A Stop to Door-Darting Dogs

Door darting is an impulse-control problem. It's also incredibly self-rewarding. Remedying the issue requires teaching the dog to exhibit self-control around an open door, while employing diligent management to prevent the rehearsal of unwanted behavior. The following tips can help.

“Quarantrain” Your Dog: How to Train Your Dog While Staying Home

See that dog surfing your counter as you read this? You know, the one who jumps on you during your Zoom calls? That’s your...

Latest Blog

How “Bird Flu” Could Threaten Your Dog

The “bird flu”, or avian influenza, has been around for a long time; it’s circulated in wild birds since the late 1990s. But like all viruses, it mutates over time—and influenza viruses are known to mutate very quickly. What’s more, some emerging strains are deadlier than others.