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

Young puppies use their mouths to explore the world and to play with their littermates. That includes both mouthing and – ouch! – biting. We can teach our puppies bite inhibition  by using variations on three strategies that other dogs use: Read the rest of this entry

Just before the Westminster Dog Show, I blogged about another award to be given – the Maxwell, given by the Dog Writer’s Association of America at their annual awards banquet.

The President’s Award for the best dog publication of 2008 went to The Agility Advantage (Health and Fitness for the Canine Athlete), by Chris Zink.  The book also won the Eukanuba Canine Health Award.

With agility ever more popular, it’s great to see a comprehensive book on dog agility, by an expert, being so recognized.

Here is what’s in the book… quite a range of topics: Read the rest of this entry

Dogs, like us humans, can develop fear of an endless variety of things. Once I got an email from someone whose Labrador puppy was afraid to go outside unless someone was with him. My Basenji, Sunbeam, had an odd list of things that set her off over her ten years of life. Our Rottweiler, Lola, was a rescue dog and when got her at about six months, she was afraid of several of my friends for some time.

Asking “Why?” a particular dog has a particular fear is not very useful.

So what is useful? What can you do? Just as a human fear — such as the fear of driving over bridges, to name one – can be debilitating, so too can a dog’s fear. If at all possible, you want to help your dog overcome fear and develop confidence.

All this went through my mind as I was reading Clickertraining: the 4 Secrets of Becoming a Supertrainer the other day.  I read (on page 34) a some words they quote from a textbook on medical physiology: “The centre of punishment in the brain often can completely inhibit the centre for reinforcements and pleasure.”

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Here are six ways you can increase your dog’s satisfaction and enjoyment. Not all will be right for every dog. I’ll give you the list first and then discuss each one.

1. Dog training, whether on your own or in a good class
2. Trick training
3. Dog agility
4. Play Frisbee with your dog
5. Start a dog owners group
6. Train your dog to be a therapy dog

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