Posted on Jul 02, 2009 Behavioral Modification, Dog Psychology, Dog Training, separation anxiety Separation anxiety manifests itself in varying degrees.  The symptoms can be very subtle and escalate quickly if not addressed.  I do believe that some dogs suffer from post-traumatic stress as well.  Combine the two, and you may come home to something like this.  These photos show the pure panic of a dog who was lost after the passing of the other dog in the family. Emotional instabili... Read Full Story

Posted on Jun 30, 2009 Behavioral Modification, Dog Psychology, Dominant Dog Does your dog have dominant tendencies?  Are you confused at what that actually means?  Is dominant and being alpha one in the same? A dominant dog isn’t necessarily the alpha dog.  Some dogs are born as dominant beings.  They are hard-wired from birth with the genetic makeup to be “bossy.”  Puppies will exhibit the behaviors in subtle ways that will grow to be less subtle as they mature.  Som... Read Full Story

Posted on Jun 29, 2009 Behavioral Modification, Dog Training, Socialization Here’s how the introduction might start: It’s a surprise meeting as they look into each other’s eyes. . . They slowly move to touch one another. . . What happened next was far more fun for the dog than the cat.* Here’s information on Dog and Cat Introductions. *No kitties were mistreated in the taking of these photos! Start Slide Show with PicLens Lite Read Full Story

I was sitting outside tonight as it finally cooled down.  I was snacking on some nuts and had one of my dogs with me.  It’s good to spend time with your dogs individually as they each have different personalities.  It’s easy to miss the differences if they are always viewed as a pack. Read Full Story

Posted on Jun 26, 2009 Behavioral Modification, Dog Psychology, Dog Training If you have seen the recently released, delightful, fun-loving movie “Up,” then you know about the Cone of Shame.  You will also know of it if you have had a dog spayed, neutered, or if for any reason you need to keep their head away from other parts of their body.  When donning the cone, dogs do seem to be embarrassed or at a minimum very aware of their limitations. Here’s Fletcher wearing th... Read Full Story

In a previous post, I wrote about dogs needing other dogs. In the following video, you will watch my two labradoodles play fight. A human can never play with a dog like another dog. Not only are they having fun, they are also communicating with one another (in more ways than depicted by the comic bubbles). Read Full Story

Some dogs instinctively have a high prey drive. In some cases, they can be trained to use this ability for search and rescue missions by taking their natural instinct and putting it to good use. Here’s a video of a dog who was used on a special research program. Read Full Story

If you have puppies and can’t keep your eye on them constantly, hire a dog nanny. This video is of Mac-Nanny. Mac is a labradoodle that does a great job at keeping two Maltese puppies corralled and in their crate. Read Full Story

Most things about puppies are adorable. They are always enthusiastic because everything is new and exciting! They also lack the ability to focus and have a very short attention span. AND, it doesn’t bother them a bit. Read Full Story

It is common to hear dog trainers using the word of a command in the praise that follows the desired response.  For example, when a dog first learns to sit, the command is reinforced with “good sit.”  The same applies to all of the basics - down, stay, leave-it, etc.  It gets a little cumbersome to continue this when they do something like “get out of the kitchen.”  Saying good “get out of the kitchen” just doesn’t work the same! Read Full Story