Dog Training
A Promise to Your Dog
Before you embark on your behavior and training journey with us, know that modifying behaviors is a process. There are no quick fixes or immediate solutions. Though they can seem tedious, small steps are usually the fastest and most effective path to lasting success. While our staff will be coaching you along the way, behavior change takes time and [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Muzzle Training
Canine muzzle training games to play with your dog.
Health & Safety
Holiday Safety for Dogs
By Brenna Fender The holiday season is filled with food, guests, and excitement. While these things are fun for the people in your life, they can be dangerous for your dog. But don’t worry, there [...]
Trick or Treat?
Choosing the Right Food Rewards for Your Dog By Brenna Fender If you attend a dog training class, you are likely to be asked to bring treats with you so that you can reward your [...]
Microchip Maintenance
By Brenna Fender Your dog is microchipped and you feel confident that, if he or she was ever lost, that microchip would help get your dog returned to you. But sometimes it isn’t that easy. [...]
Dog Agility Training
Courteous Canine Articles
Why Are so Many Dogs Going Gray as Early as Age 1?
Seeing white hairs on a very young dog can be surprising. It can also be concerning. Why Are so Many Dogs Going Gray as Early as Age 1? This question has drawn attention from both [...]
Dog Training’s Dirty Little Secret: Anyone Can Legally Do It
Most dog guardians assume that professional trainers follow strict standards. These standards include education, safety, and ethics. Dog Training’s Dirty Little Secret: Anyone Can Legally Do It challenges that belief. It reveals a reality many [...]
Update on NEW AKC Trick Training Titles
By Marie Macher Trick training is a fun, engaging, and great way to build a bond with your dog! Not only do you and your pup get to show off tricks to family and friends, [...]
How to teach your dog to jump through a hoop
Here is a great YouTube Channel and tutorial on how to teach your dog to jump through a hoop. Kikopup has many of these videos that are clear and easy to understand. We highly [...]
Insecure Teenage Dogs at the Off Leash Park
Recently I got asked: “What should I do when my dog goes over to another dog, puts his head over the other dog’s shoulder and, depending on the other dog’s reaction, they will start squabbling?” [...]
Pet Professional Guild announces scholarship program for members to further force-free education
Eligible candidates can apply for educational opportunities that support PPG’s stance on avoiding the use of aversive methods and equipment in animal care and training WESLEY CHAPEL, Fla. – Jan. 17, 2017 – PRLog — [...]
PPG Publishes Open Letter to Veterinarians on Referrals to Training and Behavior Professionals
Expresses concern that, in an unregulated industry, pet s may be referred to individuals who do not use scientific protocols or adhere to the premise to do no harm, regardless of credentials Pet Professional Guild [...]
Cheeseball Recall
By Brenna Fender If you need to work on getting your dog to come when called, here’s a fun game to try! Select an easy-to-eat, fairly dry, easy-to-toss, visible treat. The name of this exercise [...]
Pet Professional Guild Releases Position Statement on Pet Correction Devices
Pet Professional Guild Press Release PPG maintains that the use of the startle response is a “management technique that uses fear as the motivation.” Photo: (c) Can Stock Photo Pet Professional Guild (PPG) [...]
Pet Professional Guild’s Blog
Here is a link to the Pet Professional Guild's blog if you have some extra time over the holidays. All of us from Courteous Canine, Inc. wish you a great Holiday and a funtastic [...]
News Flash: Dogs Remember
Another great post by Pam Hogle on Pet Professional Guild. Science has once again confirmed the obvious: Dogs can remember things. OK, maybe I am being a bit hard on the researchers. They were specifically [...]
Holiday Safety for Dogs
By Brenna Fender The holiday season is filled with food, guests, and excitement. While these things are fun for the people in your life, they can be dangerous for your dog. But don’t worry, there [...]
Dog Agility Loses an Obstacle
By Brenna Fender Nearly every American agility organization has removed the chute (otherwise known as the closed tunnel) from the list of obstacles that can be used on an agility course. This has been an [...]
Don’t Be Callous: How Punishment Can Go Wrong
by Eileen Anderson I’ve written a lot about making humane choices in training and about the fallout that accompanies aversive methods. But there are other problems with the use of aversives besides the immediate fact [...]
Don’t Punish Me!
A Look at Punishment in Dog Training By Brenna Fender Recently, I was at a competitive dog sport event. In the competition, each dog was supposed to retrieve an item and bring it back to [...]