I was in the park with my client and we were working on off leash control strategies with his rambunctious one-year-old Border Collie mix. Jake was not too interested in anything at the moment besides the squirrel jumping from branch to branch in a big oak tree. My client was calling Jake repeatedly before I asked him what he wanted Jake to do when he called his name. My client told me that he wanted Jake to come to him when he called. I then asked him if he wanted him to come to him every time when he called him. "Yes, he said, but I sometimes want him to look at me when I say his name so I get his attention so then I can ask him to do something else."

It is not uncommon for dogs to refuse to walk sometimes when they are outside. They might just "put the brakes on", or they might sit or lie down.

I just returned from a trip out of town to visit my wife's family for Thanksgiving. Fortunately our friends and family that we stay with allow us to bring our dogs with us when we spend the night. We also spent the last night in a hotel that allows dogs. We even brought our three dogs to Thanksgiving dinner. Their behavior always makes me very proud. They were gentle with the kids, they did not try and steal food and they played appropriately with my brother-in-law's puppy.

Looking for an indoor activity to work on with your dog when the weather prohibits extended training and exercise? Try proofing behaviors that you have taught your dog.

It is important to set up provisions for a long-term confinement area even if you don’t think you are going to use it every day. There will be times (and there should be – dinner and a movie with your loved ones!) that you will need to leave your puppy for a longer period of time than he can hold it. If you haven’t thought about this ahead of time, you will be stuck, or worse, your puppy will have an accident in the crate or destroy something in your home.

Have you ever gotten bored working on "Sit, Down and Stay?" Sometimes it helps to have some suggestions for ways to make training a bit more interesting. Here are some simple ways to keep it fun for you and your dog.

Housetraining a dog can be a very frustrating experience. Especially if you had a dog in the past that was unusually easy to housetrain, your current dog might seem "flawed" or you might be at your wits end. Here are some general tips to keep in mind and some ideas to try if you are frustrated with your puppy.

Dogs exhibit specific signs of stress when they are under duress. If you know what to look for in your dog aggressive dog, you can help him remain calm around dogs. To do this, you need to learn his specific signals and then move him away when stress occurs. 

If day in and day out your dog is kept comfortable around other dogs, he will learn that he doesn’t need to be “on guard” when dogs around. This will lower his anxiety.

Dog daycares are quite common in Chicago. Especially these days with the economy in shambles, people have a tendency to work longer hours and might even need to take on a second job to make ends meet. It is easy to feel guilty about dogs not getting enough exercise or attention. So many people look into dog daycare to provide their dogs with necessary exercise and social interactions. But, can these trips to daycare cause more problems than they help? In a short answer, I would say, yes.

Want to take your dog training skills to the next level? Enlist the help of someone to watch you train and give you constructive help based on the following criteria: