There is an old saying something like, “A good craftsman never blames his tools.” Likewise, it’s important that we never give credit to our tools for good work either. Dog training is an interactive process and as your dog’s trainer, you are responsible for creating a good relationship in which your dog can learn. Choose your tools wisely and learn to use them well!

Teaching our dogs to do things can be great fun. But teaching them to NOT do things can be just as important. Taking a proactive approach to teaching our dogs when it’s time to settle can be much more productive and rewarding than interrupting or scolding them. It’s remarkably easy and can make for happier dogs!

There is a trend in modern dog training toward kinder, more dog-friendly training methods. Training that seeks to remove everything unpleasant for the dog and to make learning more enjoyable. But is kindness enough to teach our dogs? Is there more to being effective trainers than just being kind to our dogs and not using force?

Modern reward-based training methods are based on some pretty simple concepts. And they can be amazingly effective. But things that are simple are not necessarily easy. Three simple guidelines can make all the difference, especially to those new to this kind of training. Sometimes you can make simple things easy!

Modern, reward based training has not only proven to be as effective as more traditional training methods. It has actually stretched our definitions of what is possible in training our dogs. We are teaching our dogs more behaviours more quickly than ever before. The most exciting part is that the dogs themselves are teaching us how to go even further into these new frontiers!

It’s amazing that we can train dogs. That we can train dogs in so many different ways and that most of them work is almost miraculous. But how we teach our dogs is evolving. We have new and better ways to get our dogs to give us behaviours. Animal and learning science is making our training not just more effective but more fun!

It doesn’t matter how you train, timing is important when we communicate with our dogs. We don’t have the benefit of just explaining things to our dogs. It can be like a guessing game where telling the dog they are right (or wrong) at the right moment can mean the difference between understanding and confusion.

We don’t want our dogs deciding for themselves. Or do we? Maybe it’s actually not up to us humans. Our dogs make choices all the time whether we want to admit it or not. It can be a problem if we try to control something we can’t control. I think the answer might be in managing and influencing their choices instead of trying to decide for them!

Sometimes the most important thing we can do when we are training out dog is…nothing. How else will we find out what our dog knows if we don’t pause to see what they know? It’s a lesson my own dog taught me years ago. It has led to a delightful give and take that allows me to learn from her as as learns from me. Sometimes you just have to wait for the dog!

Most people call them “Time Outs.” That moment when we have to correct our dog for not doing what we ask by depriving them of something they wanted. Does it really work? It can. But it may be trickier than you think it is. Sometimes Negative Punishment turns into just plain retribution or retaliation and isn’t about teaching the dog at all!