Recent Articles

My Dad Meets His Father’s Day Gift: An Australian Cattle Dog Puppy

September 14, 2009

It takes about 5 minutes to train a puppy to learn most new behaviors but how long does it take for that behavior to become a habit? When I started training Lucy, my Dad’s 8 week old Australian Cattle Dog I was hoping that not long. By then I had been training her for a week through the puppy learn to earn program (a.k.a. Creating the Perfect Pup in 7 Days) and she seemed virtually perfect. She would automatically sit to get petted, to get her leash on, to go out the door and come back in, and even when she greeted guests, including a

What To Do When Your Puppy Potty Training Plan Fails

September 11, 2009

By now, most of you know the potty training basic plan. Every day, thousands of people hear this advice and try to follow it only to be frustrated. The issue boils down to several factors, which can be addressed with a few tips. For some dogs, you can’t cut any corners.

Jonesy’s Dog Agility Class Sept 11 2009

September 11, 2009

It was 100°F here today but that didn’t stop us from going to our foundations agility class. Or as I call it “Jonesy time.” Here’s Jonesy on the teeter. Over two years ago when he was 10 months of age and had been lliving with me for several months, I took several private lessons from a really good trainer, Cathy Leggett. Then I decided, Jonesy had more pressing behavioral issues and stopped agility until recently. We’re taking a weekly class now even though Jonesy knows a lot of the exercises already. I’m basically too lazy to practice unless we’re taking

Turn Fido into a Skateboarding Dog

September 6, 2009

Ever since that great video featuring Tyson the skateboarding bulldog hit it big on Youtube, skateboarding has become a standard dog trick that owners attempt to train. Most owners start by using some basic method of luring the dog onto the skateboard with a treat or pointing to the skateboard and hoping the dog will get on. If he does, then they praise and pet him like they would a child who has finally managed to ride a bike without the training wheels. They may even give the dog a treat. For some natural-born skateboarding dogs, this crude technique works.

What to Do with a Cat Who Bites When Petted

September 6, 2009

A version of this article originally appeared in Dr. Yin’s Pet Tales Column in The San Francisco Chronicle in 2000.      

Breed Ban or Better Pet Selection?

September 5, 2009

Originally appeared in SF Chronicle in 2005      

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