Videos
Bringing out the best in a cat or dog is a hands-on task. Seeing it in a video is often better than reading it. My goal with these videos is to make behavior management easier to understand and implement.
Some kitties live under the bed; others may run for the hills when you sneeze. Dogs, noises, or just daily life can trigger a bunker mentality.
Does your dog need to stop a bad behavior? She doesn’t do what you want either, does she?
Helping dogs who freak-out when home alone is complicated. Improvement requires lots of changes but do you have to completely ignore as you leave and return?
A normally placid pussy cat can turn terrifying when facing unfamiliar visitors of the human or canine kind. They can even be dangerous.
Bad behavior has to stop ASAP. Punishment can work fast but reward-based training delivers happy, well-behaved dogs. I’ll get you started.
Has a new dog stirred the political pot at your house? Or maybe you’re thinking of adding to your pet family. Wanna avoid the brawls?
Here is Mick, the Nichol family’s long-awaited new puppy, having a wonderful time with his first vegetable-based chip. At 8 weeks old he isn’t crazy about his new collar and leash but one must adapt. We call him Mick because he rocks! We are already in love with the little rascal.
Some dogs hate to be groomed. But a hungry dog can earn tasty treats while lying still for gentle brushing. Sitting on the floor, rather than leaning over, will help reduce nervousness. Start out slow, keep sessions short, and maintain the food flow. With young Mick we wait until he’s sleepy. If he gets antsy the dog biscuits stop and the brush gets stowed. There’s no point in struggling.
Our dogs should always come when called, whether they’re sitting and looking at us or when they’re heading off in another direction. Don’t get frustrated when ignored; train in baby steps that your pupster can understand. Mick has gotten pretty good at the recall command – when he’s already paying attention. But when he’s away from home, well, other priorities can get in the way. That isn’t OK but let’s not lose our patience. While allowing him to forge ahead on-leash he knows he can sniff and investigate at his leisure. But when I say, “Mick, Come!” I can enforce…
Mick is only a kid. He’s not ready to be trusted to behave if we leave him loose in the house at night. A dog is a denning creature but a puppy needs to go there when his folks tell him to. So that he isn’t forced (he’d quickly learn to hate it) he gets to choose. I made it easy for Mick by rewarding each baby step with a tiny treat. As he walked into the crate I “captured” the behavior by saying, “Mick, Crate!” You’ll see later how he follows the command without argument.