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This ties nicely into all the off leash talk lately. There's a local issue here where I live surrounding off leash etiquette for a specific individual. My thoughts on the issue aren't hazy. At all. And neither should anybody else's be.  I cannot believe it has come to this. We live in a world where dogs are treated as teddy bears and we have no respect for our fellow humans Normalize responsible dog ownership and mutual respect. 

Off leash is something most people want to be able to do with their dogs. However, this often results in people taking unnecessary chances with their dogs when they don't have the proper training.  Not only is this a safety risk, but it potentially creates a lot of conflict with other people and dogs in the vicinity. So what is the etiquette??

Stop feeling guilty about crating your dog!! The crate is sooooo much more than just a "cage". The benefits are probably so much more than you imagine. You think the crate is just where you put your dog to keep him or her safe, but you are giving your dog a gift you're not even aware of!!Or maybe you're not…If you can't bring yourself to crate your dog, you need to listen to this one.

If you've ever wondered why some trainers seem to be able to modify behavior so quickly and teach the dog to do things differently so easily, you need to hear this. So many people bark commands at their dog constantly. I know I used to. Most of the time they can't even do them because they are over excited,  and the state of mind just stays chaos. Addressing your dog's state of mind does not have to be a mystery.

One of the most awful things you can do as a human being is simply thinking you are worthy of judging everybody else. You are not in a position to do that. But you run into these people often if you take your dog out in public with a prong collar, ecollar, or muzzle on. Maybe you even have these people in your family.. I often get asked how to deal with people that tell you you shouldn't be training

I'm not talking about those big cones they give you at the vet's office for your dog after they have a procedure done. I'm talking about remote collars or shock collars.  This tool will change your life. Even if you aren't sold on the idea, this episode might help you understand what the hell it's all about and how versatile the tool really is.  My clients have had TREMENDOUS  success with various behaviors across the board using this tool, and

Does it bring you joy to see your dog bounding around with the slobber just a flying, and their eyes wide with wonder? Sniffing, playing, chasing, wagging.. Of course it does. But if you overemphasize this state as what happiness really looks like, you might actually be detracting from your dog's quality of life for your own warm fuzzy feeling..  It's also worth mentioning that a lot of anxious/stressed dogs are interpreted as happy simply because they are *excited* (not

Have you ever wondered why someone can raise two dogs and they turn out completely different? Have you ever wondered why your dog is the hardest dog you've ever had to train? It might be because you are expecting them to be like your last dog or your other dogs. All dogs are different and have differing needs. This couldn't be more obvious than when it comes to rules, boundaries, and structure.  Some dogs are a hot mess without it.

Dogs lose their lives because euthanasia is now more acceptable in our society than punishment.  Punishment equals abuse, right? Wrong.  Let's talk about the difference and why proper punishment is healthy and necessary (for all of us).   The fact is those that condemn it don't actually care that much about you or your dog or dogs in general. They just want to feel "nice".  And it doesn't matter who suffers for it. 

Your lifestyle impacts your dog immensely! When we think of dog behavior or we think of training, we tend to think of teaching our dog obedience commands. But that is actually pretty far down the list of things that really create change in your dog.   How you live with and how you interact with your dog affects them immensely! And in some cases you can create a monster with a dog that otherwise might have been a mostly pretty