There is an old saying that “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” If you have an older dog, you will be relieved to know that this just isn’t true. Older dogs are more than capable of learning new behaviours, and it’s never too…

“My dog can’t be trained. I’ve tried everything and nothing works with him. He’s just a stubborn dog.” Most dog trainers hear some version of that story pretty frequently. While it’s completely understandable for dog owners to be frustrated, especially when they are trying to…

Dogs are constantly taking in new information and interpreting new experiences. They make emotional associations with each new event, and they also pay close attention to the consequences of their behaviour in each interaction. Every behaviour has a consequence.  A consequence is the action or…

Whenever I meet with a new training client for the first time, we almost always spend the first portion of the lesson talking about their dog and the behavioural challenges that they would like to address with training. One of the most common questions that…

For many years, describing dogs as “alpha” and “dominant” have been a big part of dog training culture. Dogs that are difficult to handle or that don’t get along with other dogs or people are labeled with one or both of those adjectives as a…

A dog’s eyes are naturally expressive. Small changes in the shape and size of his eyes or the direction and intensity of his gaze can tell you if your dog is feeling happy, excited, nervous, or scared. Knowing how to interpret the changes in eye…

For a lot of people, a dog that is able to behave and remain focused on his owner while off of the leash is the epitome of a well-trained dog. Teaching your dog to stay tuned into your movements and to respond to your cues…

In the past, there has been some debate about whether or not we should play tug with our dogs. The thought was that high energy games like tug were dangerous and encouraged dogs to bite.  It’s true that Tug is a game that can get…

Teaching a Leave It behaviour is a great way to begin teaching your dog about self-control, especially around people, other dogs, or other items that he REALLY wants to investigate. It’s a way to teach him to ask for permission instead of just grabbing. Sometimes…

Living with a dog that barks excessively can be very stressful. It’s hard to relax at home with a barky dog, it can be difficult to get along with neighbours if you have a dog that barks too much, and chances are, your dog is…

One of the most common misconceptions about dog body language is that a dog that wags his tail is always friendly. This just isn’t true. Dogs wag their tails for a variety of different reasons and there are plenty of dogs that have bitten a…

When we ask our dog to “drop” something, we are expecting him to let go of whatever he is holding in his mouth. Sometimes we’d like our dog to let go of a toy that we are playing with to keep him from getting overly excited. Other times,…