Behavior Problems

Back in the summer of 1995 I opened my dog training business in Fall River MA. My folks and family were HUGE in helping me get it started. But once the doors opened it was up to me to get enough customers through the doors to keep them opened. People make business very complicated but there is one overriding problem that you need to solve. You have to have enough people interested in what you provide (product or service) to make a profit. Having no money, no business experience, no contacts and (believe it or not) being (and still am… Read the rest

Is everyone as excited as I am about tonight’s football game? I hate seeing summer end but I definitely love that football season starts. Yesterday after a long, grueling day of dog training I stopped over my sister’s house. She made dinner for me and the fam. After the chow I parked my butt on the couch with my bro in law and watched the “Do Your Job” special on the NFL network. It was great and it was loaded with some great lessons. Roughly translated, “Do Your Job” means being prepared, working hard, paying attention to details and putting… Read the rest

Did you hear the Tom Brady interview yesterday? Very interesting and he mentioned a book that helped him a lot with his career. He said that he reads this book every year. Funny how a book can make a difference. One book that I read and re-read is “Success Through A Positive Mental Attitude” by W. Clement Stone and Napoleon Hill. One of the most important lessons I learned from this book is discussed in Chapter 3. The topic is accurate thinking. Accurate thinking is much more difficult than you would think. Emotions and other people’s opinions and beliefs cloud… Read the rest

A big part of my business is working with aggressive dogs. After leaving a client’s house the other day I was talking to my wife Rach and said: “I think it’s time to invest in some kevlar gloves and pants.” I wasn’t kidding. In my younger days I had no problem jumping in and working with aggressive dogs without protection. To quote Oscar Wilde: “With age comes wisdom, but sometimes age comes alone.” Anyway, there are many reasons why a dog can become aggressive. Some due to environment, some due to handling and some due to training. Which leads us… Read the rest

“Truth is ever to be found in simplicity, and not in the multiplicity and confusion of things.” – Isaac Newton September is rapidly approaching. This was the time of the year when I would start to feel depression as a kid. I hated summer ending and going back to school. I also hated school more than most. Having a “learning disability” would mean more months of enduring subjects that made zero sense to me. I’ll be the first to admit that my brain does not make things complicated- which is good! If there is one thing I have learned in… Read the rest

Let’s talk politics today. It’s funny for me to watch what is going on right now. The Trump thing is interesting. Some of my friends are very pro-Trump, friends that have never shown any interest in politics. Other friends are petrified and make comments like: “What if this guy really gets elected?” My answer to my friends is always the same: “Trump will never make it to election day.” And my belief and opinion is that he is doing it for ONE reason. And that reason is….. …..ATTENTION! Yesterday he made a comment that was revealing. He talked about his… Read the rest

Did I ever tell you I think of myself as a positive guy? Seriously. My bookshelf is loaded with books by Zig Ziglar, Norman Vincent Peale, W. Clement Stone, Napoleon Hill, Dr. Wayne Dyer and many more. When it comes to dog training I have read all the books by the trainers that consider themselves “all positive trainers” and if you were to hire me we would spend about 98% of the training using positive reinforcement. BUT….. …..at some point we would probably introduce and use a negative consequence in your training. So why would a super positive, friendly and… Read the rest