Any dog training plans for 2009? Or have you thought of changing to homemade dog food? Taking up agility? Volunteering at a local shelter? Doing art that features dogs? Maybe you have some wild ideas relating to dogs: the one or ones you have now, dogs you would like to have…

Now, in the early days of the year with the long cold nights, it’s a great time for dreaming. Not just the dreams we have at night, but those that come in the waking hours: dreams of doing something new, achieving something that has been beyond our reach, creating something that only takes shape as we begin to work on it. Read the rest of this entry

Sometimes situations arise with puppies and adult dogs where the owner doesn’t know what to do about something pretty important. Perhaps their large year-old dog insists on jumping up on everyone it meets when taken for walks. Perhaps house-training hasn’t worked sufficiently yet. Perhaps the puppy is nipping constantly at the children. You name it, there are so many possible challenges.

Often the first step is to gather information: read a book, watch a DVD, go online to dog forums ( Dogforums.com is one) and websites like this one. Quite often the owner solves the problem by taking action on the information gleaned. And it works.

But many other times, the best choice is really to get the help of a good trainer.

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