Dog Training

Backlash From Yesterday’s Email

Can you believe that there are trainers out there that actually disagree with me? Yes, I am as shocked as you are but yesterday’s email struck a cord and the backlash was fast and furious. ADTM was under fire yesterday taking it from all sides. BUT….. …….no worries. I’ll stay the course and promise to continue to clear the confusion about dog training and help you out. Yesterday I made some recommendations about finding a group obedience class. My observations were on point, succinct, timely and incredibly useful. And I still recieved email from other dog trainers that disagreed with… Read the rest

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Beware Of Group Dog Obedience Classes

So why would I be telling you to be careful about group obedience classes? Here’s the deal: The overwhelming reason people sign their dog up for a class is because they want their dog to STOP doing certain behaviors. They want their dog to stop jumping, chasing and chewing on the kids, stealing food off the counters and blowing a gasket every time a visitor comes to the house. The problem with most group obedience classes is that the instructor has probably been indoctrinated by the “positive only” dog training ideology and can’t help you. They can’t help you because… Read the rest

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Can You Help Me With This?

Can You Help Me With This? You may have missed my email a few days ago. I wrote explaining how you could get any of my online courses for whatever price you choose. You see, I am helping an animal shelter in my area and if you help me by making a donation of any size I’ll send you your choice of: The Ultimate Online Recall Course The Good K9 Manners Course Leash Walking Secrets Course Ultimate Online Obedience Course And as a special thank you I’ll include TWO bonus gifts. The Fun Dog Tricks Course and my ebook, “Think… Read the rest

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The Shelter That Helped Me Survive Some Difficult Times

We all face tough times in life. I’ve had my share and I’m sure you’ve had yours. One particularly tough time was right after I started my business. I would stay up nights worrying about getting the bills paid. I had no business experience, no networking skills and I was a complete dope when it came to marketing and advertising. On top of all that, I wasn’t even sure if I was a very good dog trainer. Talk about being scared. And then one day I got a call from an animal shelter in Middletown, RI. The executive director asked… Read the rest

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I Have To Stop Watching These Videos

Came across a video on The Huffington Post on dog training. Disciplining your dog specifically. The video was an interview by “That Girl” (I bet many reading this have never even heard of that TV show) and a popular Animal Planet trainer. It caught my attention because it was on discipline. I wondered what was going to be said. Actually, I knew what they were going to say but I watched anyway. The popular trainer went to say that discipline and yelling at the dog is bad, that she loves dogs and then the ole scientifically proven quotes came out.… Read the rest

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My Dog Refuses To Listen To Me – What Can I Do?

Let’s start off the week with a question……. …..and an extremely important lesson you won’t read anywhere else. This came in over the weekend: “My 70lbs. Lab loves to go for rides. Especially to the beach. My problem is getting him into the back of my vehicle. I think it is my fault because I have always lifted him but now that he is 70lbs. he is getting too heavy for me. I was told by friends and advice I read on the internet to teach her to jump in by offering some treats. One person said to use “addictive… Read the rest

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The Dumbest Name I’ve Ever Heard, So Dumb It Makes My Head Hurt

Most of you know by now that I worked seven years doing K-9 security in Hartford, CT. Best job I ever had and still am in contact with many of the friends I made there. I hate to pick on the city but I just can’t help it today. They did it to themselves and this is so stupid I have to share it with you. So what’s the problem? The Double A Colorado Rockies affiliate baseball team is moving to Hartford for the 2016 season. The old name of the team was the New Britain Rock Cats. They decided… Read the rest

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When Dogs Become Too Much To Handle

This sad post came across my news feed yesterday on Facebook: “As an Animal Control Officer, and I know I speak for all of us, that it is very disheartening, frustrating, and aggravating that people can just take a living, breathing creature and open their car door and discard it. Because of this heartless action, all of my efforts yesterday, along with those of the Mattapoisett ACO, were in vain. The dog was hit by a car and was killed.” – Acushnet Animal Control Officer As a former animal control officer myself I know how the Acushnet ACO feels. I’ve… Read the rest

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My Dog Won’t Listen to Me

“Do you think she has hearing problems?” asked my mother-in-law. She was asking about Scarlett. She thought that maybe she had a hearing problem because she didn’t always respond to her name. My wife laughed and said: “She hears just fine. She is choosing to ignore you.” Funny how kids can be a lot like dogs. I see it all the time when I am helping someone train their dog. The dog will be on leash and they say the dog’s name…..nothing. No response, no attention, no engagement. Which is why you need to make sure you are always working… Read the rest

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Using Negative Reinforcement To Help A Fearful Dog

It’s only been a week but I can already tell a difference between little Spencer and Scarlett. Amazing how differently they behaved at this age. Spence loves his car seat and goes right to sleep. Scarlett at his age would howl and cry nonstop when put into her car seat. Interesting. But not surprising. Afterall I am a highly trained canine specialist and I see and work with dogs that have many different behavior problems. And the most difficult to deal with is…. ….fear. Fear cancels out rational thought. Fear overrides hunger. Fear can turn into self defense resulting in… Read the rest

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