Subscribe

The best in health, wellness, and positive training from America’s leading dog experts

Home Training Beginner Dog Training

Beginner Dog Training

12 years old girl in backyard at home teaching her black labrador puppy to sit on command. Stay a home. Weekend activities

Dog Training for Kids and Other Beginners

The level of your children’s participation in your dog’s training program will vary based on the age and abilities of the children.
A white dog on a leash looks intently at its owner for hand commands.

Dog Training Basics: How to Teach a Cue

While our dogs are born with all sorts of natural canine inclinations – like searching out food, investigating scents, romping with friends – “listen to words from humans” is not part of their default program. With the right kind of teaching, responding to your cues will become a dog’s go-to choice because it is the most reliable route to the things he wants.

Does Your Female Dog Hump?

Usually humping is associated with male dogs, but humping is also very common amongst female dogs. Some girls will hump toys or other objects, some hump air, others hump other dogs or even people. To learn more about humping, why girls do it, and how to keep your female dog from humping, we talk with Certified Professional Dog Trainer and Chair of The Association of Professional Dog Trainers Nick Hof, CPDT-KA, CBCC-KA, KPA-CTP, CSAT, to answer some of your most commonly asked questions about female dogs and humping.

Teach Your Dog to Relax Around Bees

Just like a good skunking doesnt stop most dogs from going after those black-and-white critters again the next time (darn it!), there are many dogs who seem goaded into more intense bee-chasing behavior after an unfortunate encounter of the stinging kind. Conversely, there are also dogs who become literally phobic about all small, flying creatures after a stinging incident. Then there are those who develop an obsessive-compulsive behavior known as fly-snapping.

The Best Food Dispensing Dog Toys

We still love the basic Kong toy, as well as the variety of other toys made by Kong. But we have to admit, we also love many of Kongs competitors in the food-stuffable toy category. In fact, there are so many its hard to even have favorites anymore! But at a minimum, we think you should be aware of how many options are available to you and your dog today, so you can select the ones that are best suited to your own dogs needs and wants.

Autistic Dogs: Can Dogs Have Autism?

Autism is not yet a diagnosis that can be given to dogs. Autism-like symptoms such as repetitive behavior or episodic aggression can be very challenging for dog guardians to understand and safely manage in the home, and it may be tempting to put the autism label on a dog if it fits. But Dr. Parthasarathy explains that a detailed history of the dog is essential for professionals to come up with a diagnosis.

A Proactive Approach

Theres a significant difference between professional dog trainers and many dog owners: Owners tend to react to things the dog has done that they dont like; in their minds, this reaction is what might be called training. In contrast, trainers set up situations so that their canine pupils dont have any opportunities to practice undesired behaviors, and actively teach dogs how rewarding it is to perform desirable alternative behaviors, instead.

Comfort Your Dog

There is absolutely no evidence, not one bit, suggesting that providing comfort and security to a distressed dog causes the dogs anxiety or fear to increase. Why then, does this myth persist among dog owners and even with some trainers? Why are owners still advised to ignore their dog when he is distressed or anxious or fearful, as if providing any attention to the dog will reinforce those emotions?
whole dog journal editor Nancy Kerns

Price of Freedom

I asked trainer and Whole Dog Journals Training Editor Pat Miller to write about the risks and responsibilities of off-leash dog walks in this issue. Thats because Im a huge fan of hiking with my dogs off-leash, but I recognize that the activity is a huge challenge for many dog owners.

How to Train Your Dog for Off-Leash Walks

Taking a dog for a walk or hike off-leash must be done appropriately and legally in order to prevent any number of risks to the dog, other dogs, or humans who may encounter the off-leash dog, as well as livestock or wildlife in the area. Off-leash dogs may run off and get lost, run onto roads and cause serious accidents, cause hikers to fall and bicyclists to crash, and chase or even kill other animals.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Dog Owners

but finds it even more rewarding to teach their owners how to build a better relationship with their canine family members
The best way to correct a dog's behavior is to remove opportunities for bad behavior and provide a new better behavior.

How to Stop a Dog’s Unwanted Behavior in Five Steps

Most of the time, when dogs do something we don't want them to do (such as stealing our socks or jumping on our elderly...

Latest Blog

Rehoming Your Old Dog

Rehoming a dog due to loss of income, loss of a home, or another extreme circumstance is understandable. In other scenarios it's less clear if rehoming is the best option.