Dog Training

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Treat & Train: 5 Clever Ways to Use It!

Treat & Train: 5 Clever Ways to Use It! is a practical and engaging guide designed to help dog owners and trainers get the most out of the Treat & Train remote reward system. This innovative tool allows you to reinforce great behavior from a distance using perfectly timed food rewards—no shouting, no hovering, just clear communication and fun, effective [...]

To Crate or Not to Crate

By Angelica Steinker, M.Ed., C.D.B.C, CAP2 designed by Kimberly "Kim" Archer, CPDT-KA, CTDI It has become a popular notion to crate dogs, especially during adolescence to encourage [...]

The Problem with Shock Collars

The Problem with Shock Collars Download The Problem With Shock Collars as a PDF SHOCK COLLAR MALFUNCTION The first potential problem is that the unit itself may malfunction. Malfunctioning shock [...]

Health & Safety

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Animal Abuse Harms People Too

by Daniel Antolec When Love Isn’t Enough: Why Advocacy Matters If you are reading this blog then I may safely assume you are an animal lover, but sometimes love is not enough. Sometimes advocacy through [...]

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Quality of Life for Blind/Deaf Dogs

Understanding the quality of life for blind and deaf dogs is important. Many people assume these dogs suffer. However, this assumption is often incorrect. Dogs experience the world through far more than sight and sound. [...]

Dog Agility Training

A Quick Guide to Agility Organizations

By Brenna Fender The United States offers many agility sanctioning organizations, which means that American competitors have lots of options for different agility experiences. There are more similarities than differences between the organizations. Most are [...]

Courteous Canine Articles

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Is Your Dog Bored?

Is Your Dog Bored? Enrich Your Dog’s Life! By Kimberly Archer, Dog Behavior Technician    Have you ever wondered what a day is like through your dog’s eyes? You may wake up, have breakfast, catch [...]

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The Truth About Dominance Theory

The Truth About Dominance Theory By Angelica Steinker, M.Ed., C.D.B.C, CAP2   The truth is there is nothing noble in being superior to another being. The only real nobility is in being superior to your former [...]

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Preparing Your Dog For Your New Baby

Preparing Your Dog For Your New Baby By Heather Gibbs, CPDT-KA, ABCDT, SBA Overview Preparing for a new baby's arrival can be an exciting and stressful time for all family members  involved - especially your [...]

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Pitfalls of Punishment

Author’s Note: Positive punishment is when you add something unpleasant when an undesirable behavior is displayed to discourage that behavior. Negative punishment is when you take away something pleasant when an undesirable behavior is displayed [...]

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Agility for Dogs with Issues

This means that for some dogs playing the game of agility around other dogs can make other dogs seem fun also. The same thing can happen if a dog is afraid of people, being around people when doing agility can come to signal fun.

  • two dogs sharing a toy in the pool

The Sharing Game

The image above is an advanced version of the game, your coach will help you find the ideal starting point. By Angelica Steinker, M.Ed., PCBC-A, AABP-DBCT, CDBC, CAP2 Please note that if your dogs have [...]

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Talking to Dogs

 by Pam Hogle Photo by Deni Elliott A newly published study finds that dogs pay attention to both the way we talk to them and to what we say. Alex Benjamin and Katie Slocombe’s ‘Who’s a good boy?!’ [...]

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Animal Abuse Harms People Too

by Daniel Antolec When Love Isn’t Enough: Why Advocacy Matters If you are reading this blog then I may safely assume you are an animal lover, but sometimes love is not enough. Sometimes advocacy through [...]

  • cartoon dog afraid of lightning

Thunderphobia in Dogs

Thunderphobia is a serious fear of thunderstorms. It can make a dog’s life extremely difficult. Many dogs suffer more than people realize. Research shows that at least 20% of dogs experience noise phobias, including thunderphobia. [...]

  • Picture of a blind dog

Quality of Life for Blind/Deaf Dogs

Understanding the quality of life for blind and deaf dogs is important. Many people assume these dogs suffer. However, this assumption is often incorrect. Dogs experience the world through far more than sight and sound. [...]