You like to run, your dog likes to run. It seems like a no-brainer. How about both of you run together? While you might be concerned about your dog’s ability to run a reasonable distance, the most common hindrance to running together is actually your dog’s ability to stay at your side. Intro to Training Your Dog The first mission at hand is to teach Rover to walk nicely on leash.  You’ll want him to run either on your left or right side with his front feet even with yours or behind. Choose a side and stick with it so

Question: I recently saw you speak at the IAABC and enjoyed your talk. I had a question regarding the tips from your newsletter about administering eye drops. I thought your advice seemed great and passed it on to the ophthalmology group I work with as a vet tech. Both the doctors and the techs had major concerns about contamination to the bottle by putting treats directly on the bottle and they also had a problem with potentially teaching your dog that it is okay to lick/chew on eye (or other med) bottles. What are your thoughts on these objections?Thanks! I

Imagine you’re walking down the street in a foreign country-like, maybe Texas or Louisiana- and suddenly people start shouting wildly at you. Like a scene out of Hitchcock, you see a crowd of distorting mouths but can’t understand the words coming out. Only the increasingly frantic arm flailing tells you a climax is about to spring. While you may have never been in such a situation, chances are your horse or dog has experienced something similar. Believe it or not, horses and dogs aren’t born knowing English, and while they are experts at learning to read human body language, they’re

Question: Our 5-year-old Soft-Coated Wheaten Terrier presents as a furry, lovable and inviting dog while he sits waiting outside the cafe for me to finish my morning latte. Trouble is, he’s taken to growling and barking at some well-meaning types, especially those who come on too enthusiastically. It’s like they invade his space. This behavior is slowly starting to accelerate. What would be the best approach short of hanging a sign on him saying “Beware, looks can be deceiving”? — San Francisco Answer: You nailed the problem on the head. While Fido might be carefree and confident with you alongside,

Traditionally, dog classes focus on basic exercises like training dogs to sit, lie down, stand, come, and heel on command. While these may be important tasks for dogs to learn, dog training can and should include a more global approach. For instance, the dog may know how to sit or to walk next to their owner in class, but if they haven’t learned to actually focus on their owner, they won’t be able to perform these behaviors in the presence of every-day distractions. Furthermore, positive reinforcement classes often give adequate rewards for desired behavior, but without also training the dog

Readers will frequently ask me questions like, “My dog chases my cat, what do I do?” or, “My dog goes after my chickens so he can’t be outside. How do I stop it?”  I’m always surprised at the timing of these questions because they tend to occur right after I’ve explained in detail how to train your dog to be calm and relaxed around other dogs instead of barking, lunging at, or attacking them. Why am I so surprised? Although the problems and their answers may seem unique, they are actually just the same problem in disguise.  If your dog