Question: My husband and I have a 10-week old yellow lab named Avery.  We brought her home 3 weeks ago, at the age of 7 weeks, and have been using the methods we learned from your book, Perfect Puppy in 7 Days, to teach her to say please and to sit for everything. It is going well, and Avery is becoming a good puppy…not perfect!  She likes to bite us A LOT. We try to give her something else and reward her for not biting, or for stopping, but she still likes to do it!  That will just take time, I

Question: Thank you for the post [on over rambunctious dog play]. I am relating to this exact situation currently. We have a 5 month old (neutered) pit/lab/shepherd puppy who really loves to play with dogs. His issue is that he doesn’t pick up on the social cues of when the other dog doesn’t want to play, or is done playing. We recently fostered a little terrier/chuhuaua overnight from the rescue that I volunteer with (trying to socialize our pup and help out at the same time). If the dog growled at him (as the terrier didn’t want to play at all),

In the last blog, you learned about how and why Marian and Keller Breland started Animal Behavior Enterprises (ABE), the most successful and prolific animal training company that has ever existed. In this segment, you’ll find out more about Bob Bailey, how Keller got involved in developing the first scientifically trained dolphin show, and what dolphins were trained for in the Navy. Bob also reveals the four most common trainer errors. Question: Bob, how did you get into animal training? Dolphin and Dog Bob: I was at UCLA. I was an Ich and Herps man while I was an undergraduate. I’d

If you ask someone who they think is or was the best animal trainer in history you’ll get many different answers. Some may pick a dog trainer they have seen on T.V. or a lion or horse trainer they have seen at a show. Others may pick a trainer who gives lectures and workshops around the world and whom they have followed and learned from for years. The reality of it is, whether we’re talking about dolphins, pigs, and parrots for shows, dogs, crows, or albatross for military missions, or lions, giraffes, or elephants for husbandry procedures in zoos, trainers

This is the overall approach to the fearful or reactive dog in a nutshell. It’s all about addressing the dog’s overall ability to look to you for guidance, and your ability to be aware of his emotional state and to reward desired behaviors and remove rewards for unwanted behaviors.

Question: Today I went to get my pup’s last set of shots. This was the third visit to the vets. Axel did some growling and tail between the legs, but, over time, he became a little comfortable with the vet and the vet tech. He was still uneasy though– ears back, tail curled, and doing a little growl. He felt more comfortable with me holding him (when I let the vet tech take over he just wanted to jump off the table). Well anyways, I was a little surprised when the vet put his face up to my 15 week