I’ve had a few random thoughts knocking around the inside of my head lately and this week seemed as good a time as any to toss them out to my readers and see what you may think about them. I offer them in no particular order and they are just things that made me go “hmmm” this week.

We have a saying in our home, “Train it or manage it.” When it comes to dealing with our dog’s behaviour, it seems there are really only two choices. We can either train our dogs to do things in a way that we like or we can manage their situation so that they don’t have the opportunity to do things we don’t. It’s a practical decision.

Dog trainers can, and frequently do, debate which techniques for teaching a dog to do a specific behaviour is the most effective. There is some flexibility in how we teach our dogs to do something new. But what about those cases where our dog is doing something we don’t want them to do? What training methods or techniques are available for dealing with those cases and how do we choose?

There are a few common phrases that float around in the dog training world that get my hackles up. One of those phrases is “I use whatever training technique my dogs need.” The implication being that some dogs are more responsive to one technique over another.

“Sit.” “Down.” “Fetch.” These are things that most people associate with dog training. But is there more we can teach our dogs beyond simple behaviours? You might be surprised that you already do! And there might be more you can teach them.

Crossing over to positive training can be frustrating. Abandoning old techniques for new is uncomfortable. Especially when you aren’t good at the new stuff. Dog trainer Eric Brad has found that sticking with positive training is well worth the effort for the rewards that come later!

Do you ask your dog to do things for you or do you tell them to do them? Trainer Eric Brad believes that how we think about working with our dogs matters. It affects our expectations and can lead to cooperation or conflict. It seems to be an AND/OR proposition.