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Impulse Control

A doberman pinscher relaxing in a retail environment.

Teach Your Dog to Settle and Relax on Cue

If your dog will exhibit calm relaxed behavior when needed, it can help reduce stress and make everyone’s day smoother. When our dogs act calm, they will actually become calmer. Gradually, this state of relaxation will develop to match the outward behavior.
A husky howls in Alaska, United States, North America

Why Do Dogs Howl?

Howling is one of the many ways that dogs communicate. It can be a territorial declaration, signal excitement at the start of a walk. or just communicating with dogs in the area.
White Labrador Retriever Dog Sitting In Green Grass and Chewing Wooden Stick On Grass

Why Does My Dog Chew on Wood?

Wood chewing is fraught with potential veterinary emergencies, from splinters in the mouth to pieces lodged in the gastrointestinal tract and more. So even though it's natures favorite chew toy it shouldn't be your dogs.
Dog running at the park and pulling its owner

Teach Your Dog to Walk Without Pulling

It might be an exaggeration, but dogs that don't pull seem to be an exception rather than the rule.
Brown and white boxer dog leaning on balcony as if he's looking outside, barking or howling

How to stop a dog from barking

Dogs bark for many reasons, but the overall reason is communication. You may just want to know how to stop your dog from barking,...

Why Do Dogs Roll on Their Backs?

Dogs rolling on their backs is adorable. Repeated rolling though can be a sign of excessive itchiness that might need veterinary care. Dogs also have a habit of rolling in things their owner's might not care to smell or wash out of their fur.

Understanding Canine Compulsive Disorder

Also called compulsive behavior disorder, this is a mental health disorder characterized by the excessive performance of repetitive behaviors that don't serve any apparent purpose

Properly Supervising Dogs

Five types of dog-to-dog supervision, from left to right (or from 1 to 4 stars): No adult supervising dogs; Adult present but distracted; Reacting after the dogs are too close; Having a plan, being prepared; Fully present, adult supervision

Training Your Dog to ‘Wait’ and ‘Stay’

can save your dog's life.
Thanks to Morgan Macy, training assistant at The Canine Connection in Chico, CA, for demonstrating these techniques.üStart teaching the food bowl wait" with the food bowl held high. Look for your dog to shift her eyes from the bowl to your face.üClick (or use another marker) to indicate she's doing it right

Letters and Corrections: April 2018

There are many ways to add mental stimulation to a simple game of fetch. For example, we can ask the dog to jump onto a platform and lie down before we throw a disc for him. We can ask him to go through an agility tunnel before catching the ball. The important thing to recognize is when the dog is getting over threshold and stopping the game or reducing its intensity until the dog calms down. If you know the signs of hyperarousal, depicted in the infographic in the original article, then you will be more able to help your dog.

Training a Over-Aroused Dog

It's true that dogs like Australian Shepherds, a breed commonly referred to as high drive" and thought of as "needing to work
Dog behavior modification can help with many of a problem's dog troublesome behaviors.

Your Dog’s Behavior: When to Manage, When to Train

How do I stop my dog from stealing food? How do I get my dog to stop drinking toilet water? Why does my dog run off all the time? These are just a few of the countless things dogs do that make their guardians run to professional trainers for help. The reality of dog behavior modification is that often the solution to a dog's bad habit is not through training the dog, but through carefully managing every opportunity the dog has to practice unwanted behaviors.

Latest Blog

Exploring Breed and Behavior

In my experience, it’s possible to make some guesses about future behavior based on the breed of the dog, the temperament of the parents, the skills that run in the genetic line, and so on. If there is one thing that growing up around a breeding kennel has taught me though, it’s that every dog is an individual.