For a very good guide to all sorts of dog training processes and dog behavior challenges, I use and recommend Clickertraining ...that link goes to the description of this terrific ebook you download immediately, wherever you are! -- Rosana

When you think about dog training, we are fortunate to be living in this time. Even before the internet brought us together in a variety of new ways, veterinarian Dr. Ian Dunbar, dolphin trainer Karen Pryor, and others were doing things that would have massive effects on how people think about dog training. Now, positive dog training is turning up everywhere.

Dr. Dunbar has gone on to create an outstanding line of books and DVDs, including one of my all-time favorite DVDs, Sirius Puppy Training. (That link goes to my review of it.) He founded the Association of Pet Dog Trainers, which describes itself as a “professional organization of individual dog trainers who are committed to becoming better trainers through education.” Not only do they have a website, but they also put on annual meetings with cutting-edge speakers and programs. The next one is in Louisville, Kentucky, in mid-October 2008; you can read more at their website. He and others recently started a website that is on my regular must-read list, Dog Star Daily.

Karen Pryor and others have made clicker training a significant part of the conversation on how best to train your dog. Her site Karen Pryor’s Clickertraining is another must-read, as it is a treasure trove of clicker training information for dogs and other animals. There are blogs, from beginners just trying out clickers to pros like Agilityscots, who inspires me — here is is a post called I Live for Days Like These which for me captures so much about the exhilaration when our dogs “get it” regarding what we are asking them to do. And Pryor’s Clickertraining Expos, two a year, have been described to me by a friend as life-changing events… I haven’t been one myself. Yet.

In the publishing world, this golden age is enhanced by the numerous books and DVDs that Dogwise has been bringing out since. Here’s a link to the page where they list all the dog books and DVDs they publish. These books, by so many thoughtful and creative dog trainers and others, bring a huge amount to the table! You may know them as an online dog bookstore, or may have seen them selling books at a dog show, but this publishing arm shows how important they are in extending the world of dog training. Kudos to them!

Getting outside and doing things, agility is a relatively new activity requiring training of dog and human. It started as entertainment at the Crufts dog show in England in 1978… just thirty years ago.

Excuse me for a moment if I am preaching to the choir here, but let me describe positive dog training: it’s training that is based on positive reinforcement. In other words, you reward the dog for doing what you want him or her to do, and you don’t punish him in physically painful ways for doing what you don’t want, though you can certainly tell him no. This kind of dog training is science-based, drawing on work done with dolphins and other mammals. Luckily for us and for our dogs, it’s also way more fun that the older approaches.

Back to the Golden Age idea. That’s a term that was used by Greek and Roman poets to describe an era when humanity lived in utopia… umm, better skip that part! But this part fits: when there was a flourishing of creativity and culture, when great things were achieved.

Well, I sure feel like that shoe fits modern dog training. Take the internet alone. When I was training my Basenji puppy, back in the early 90s, I was thrilled to be on a listserv about Basenjis. (I loved its motto: “Where it takes 100 people to outsmart one Basenji.”) Now we have thousands of dog websites, blogs, forums, and social hangouts online. Of course, it can be a task to find the best, but dog training online is certainly flourishing! And it means that no matter where you live on this ever-smaller planet, you have access to good dog training information. (I used to have a world map which tracked locations of readers on the homepage of this site. It was thrilling to see the little dots as readers from East Africa and Central Asia came to the site, as well as the more expected North America, Europe, and English-speaking world. I took it down when so much of the planet was covered in dots that it was hard to see the underlying geography.)

I rest my case: this is a Golden Age of Dog Training. What have I left out? Please comment! (I just recently got the comments working, when I changed the format of this blog.)

Summertime coming up! And thousands upon thousands of family dogs will pile in the car, maybe with the kids (and sometimes the cat or hamster) and head out to go camping, visit Grandma or in reverse visit the grandkids, or just to have a good time. Some dog training in advance will help everyone have more fun and be safer.

First, brush up on the good old basics: sit, stay, down, come. You may well be using them every day at home, but an interesting thing about how dogs learn is that it tends to be very location-specific. In other words, if Fluffy sits beautifully in the kitchen, she may not when outside on the patio, let alone in a completely unfamiliar situation with distractions.

So do some very simple training, on these basics, but with a twist: do it in a variety of places. Even if you live in a tiny apartment, you can probably find spots where you have never asked the dog to stay. And when you go out for walks, ask your dog to sit now and then. When you ask for the down, select locations where the dog is likely to be willing to do it, as many dogs are reluctant to lie down if they feel insecure in a particular place. With some practice, the dog will be more willing to lie down in a wider variety of places. Then when you travel with your dog, you will have more confidence.

If your dog does not come reliably — and in my experience, very few dogs really always do — then vacation is not a time to risk off-leash, unfenced roaming unless you really know the circumstances. I like extendable leashes for good walks. Check to be sure whatever leashes you plan to take are in good condition, and that the dog’s collar is sturdy and not wearing out. By the way, I am a huge fan of the Really Reliable Recall… that link explains it on my website.

Also be sure that his ID tags are legible — sometimes, after a lot of wear, they can become very hard to read. Also be sure they have the right address and phone on them… have you moved? If you want new dog tags, you can usually get them, online or locally, inexpensively and quickly. Next time we have new tags made, I am going to have my email address included! If your dog takes any meds, have enough with you, plus enough of the dog food he is used to.

Another aspect of training to consider is your dog or puppy’s potty training level. If you are still housetraining, then you will want to have cleanup supplies along. Something else that can surprise people is that if a dog or puppy is potty trained to do his business on the grass, he may be very reluctant to go potty if there is only cement and gravel at a spot where you have lunch. So before you leave, be sure he’s versatile. (And that you have some bags along. You know what for.)

Here’s a book to help you get ready for travel in many ways: The Well- Mannered Dog: From Dealing with Cats to Staying in Hotels, a Total Guide to Good Manners, by Matthew Hoffman. From dealing with cats to staying in hotels, a total guide to good manners for the owner and dog who don’t want to compete for titles, but want to hear people say, “What a well behaved dog!” Basic good manners at home, when traveling, visiting, meeting other animals, etc. Practical advice, positive training methods, fully illustrated in color.

Another useful book is The Canine Hiker’s Bible, by Doug Gelbert. It offers descriptions of over 225 parks and trails in the US and Canada – with rules for dogs in 100 of the most-visited national lands in the US; rules for state and provincial parks; rules for dogs at over 1300 beaches and 500+ beach towns on the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, Pacific Ocean and all five Great Lakes; outfitting your dog for a hike, a canine hiker’s watch list, canine hiking in the desert, canine hiking at altitude, low impact hiking with your dog, and more.

A good webpage with lots more information of travel with dogs and how to cope with the various challenges it brings is at Squidoo: http://www.squidoo.com/travel-with-the-family-pet. If you aren’t familiar with Squidoo, anyone can write pages on any topic, and so you do get a mixed bag in terms of quality. This one is very good.

Not Going Traveling with a Dog?

Then you might like to do a little armchair traveling and read Travels with Macy, which I have added to my own list of things to read. Veterinarian, writer and broadcaster Bruce Fogle flew to North America from the UK with Macy, his Golden Retriever, picked up a 25-year-old silver and red motorhome, and set off around the continent to experience the land, its people and any wonders that awaited them. Having decided to retrace the footsteps of John Steinbeck in his 1962 book “Travels with Charley”, Fogle was sure he would find the beauty of rural America spoiled and the people as unworldly as during his own childhood. But what he found surprised him. This is a wonderful travel adventure written with great joy and humor, exploring a land of overwhelming grandeur and people of extraordinary spirit – journey in the company of a very, very happy dog!

There’s a lot of interest in feeding our dogs a better quality diet. I’ve written about it some on this dog training website, since what you feed your dog can affect his behavior. Many people have become more aware of what ingredients are in the dog kibble they buy, while others are feeding a totally homemade and often raw diet. Read the rest of this entry

Lately I’ve been training LarryDog on his long down. Kelly and our Rottweiler Lola have a habit of going for a walk around the neighborhood and into the mountains behind us early most mornings. (And of course Lola sees no reason it shouldn’t be every morning!) When they would leave, Larry would complain loudly at the front gate, so I started dog training sessions with him at that time, complete with yummy tidbits, usually miniscule pieces of

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