The two great loves of my life. Maisy has never been a dog who likes to be touched, although she will tolerate it. She especially h...

I recently had the supreme honor of editing the new Denise Fenzi/Deb Jones book. Dog Sport Skills: Developing Relationship and Engagement ...

On our last day at Shedd, Ken summarized the week with three main points: 1. Get to know your animal. Ken believes that animal traini...

In our classes, we often tell our human students that they are the experts on their dogs. The theory is that while we, the teachers, know t...

Most people who are active in the dog training world will probably receive conflicting advice at some point. This seems to be especially ...

When you have a reactive dog, life is full of difficult emotions. There is sorrow over mistakes that we think we made. There is embarras...

One of my private training students was recently recounting an incident in which her anxious, reactive dog left her side during agili...

There are many ways to know an animal. From understanding the basics about what kind of animal it is to the intimate bonds that can come onl...

Have you ever heard the expression, “The only thing two trainers can agree on is that the third trainer is wrong?” While a bit hyperbolic, t...

I can’t remember who started it, exactly, but some time in the past year or so, my husband and I began to use the word “click” with one anot...

You may have noticed that there was a distinct lack of performance-related items in my 2012 goals , especially in terms of titles and trials...

On a cool, autumn evening, my dog and I were walking out of a local obedience training club. This particular club is based on positive reinf...

  Photo courtesy of my friend. A few weeks ago, one of my friends- a fellow reactive dog owner- emailed me, distraught over an incident she...

I am not a perfect trainer. I make a lot of mistakes. My criteria is often inconsistent. Sometimes I push her too hard, and sometimes I d...

  In my last post , I explored the concept that having a relationship with a dog makes it easier for the human part of the equation to cope...

The last few Sundays, I've been volunteering with a really cool shelter-training program. Dogs who are in a shelter or foster home can c...

Denise Fenzi told us that while you can trick a dog into thinking that you have food or toys in the ring, you can't do it indefinitely. ...

She's down there... somewhere... On Tuesday night, I went to the Lady Gaga concert. Wait, wait! I promise this will relate to dog traini...

During the first year after I learned that Maisy was reactive, I wished for a miracle. I wished she could be normal. Having a reactive dog c...

Over on her blog, Kim asked “How much responsibility do you take for your dog’s reactions to things, and how he acts?” It’s a really fantas...