Adding Verbal Cues to Hand Signals

Adding Verbal Cues to Hand Signals

Many of us want our dogs to reliably respond to both verbal cues (“sit!”) as well as our hand signals separately. As humans, we primarily use our voices to communicate. Our dogs probably think we’re crazy just chattering away! I hope that Knox finds it endearing...
Charging a Marker Word or Clicker

Charging a Marker Word or Clicker

When we teach our dogs a new behavior, we need a fast and effective way of telling them that they are doing the right thing. We do this with a “marker.” We will be using a clicker ( small box like noise device) or a verbal marker (a short, distinct, one syllable word...
The Do Nothing Exercise

The Do Nothing Exercise

The goal of this exercise is to teach our dogs how to settle down, relax, and possibly even take a nap while we are busy. This is great for a variety of situations, like running into a friend on the Greenway, going to eat at an outdoor cafe, or when shopping in the...
Help Calm Your Excited Greeter

Help Calm Your Excited Greeter

This post is pretty extensive, but is not all-inclusive. There are other factors to consider as well! Try not to be intimidated by all the information below, I’m just offering lots of ways to work on this issue. Try them all, and stick with what works! Jumping on...
Kong 101: How to keep your pup busy!

Kong 101: How to keep your pup busy!

Winter is upon us, and here in the Boone, NC, that means lots of cold weather, short days, and SNOW! How do we keep our dogs from driving us crazy during those long winter nights? Working on your dog training skills with your dog is a great way to burn off some of...