Still An Easy Pill To Swallow

This entry is part 4 of 4 in the series An Easy Pill to Swallow

I’ve written before about training my dogs to take undisguised pills on cue. There’s a host of benefits to this: I don’t have to worry about hiding the pills I don’t have to worry about coming up with ever better tricks as my dogs get better at finding hidden pills… Continue reading

Puppy Training on a FitPAWS Donut

This entry is part 16 of 25 in the series Service Dog Training

So apparently I forgot to publish this blog post — sorry! Set the Wayback Machine for a few months ago, when Mindy was small enough to use this size FitPAWS Donut. The weather was too bad (sub-zero Fahrenheit) for puppies to play outdoors for long, and this was not only… Continue reading

On TAGteach and Skill-Building

This entry is part 3 of 3 in the series CT for Shooting

Okay, I was a bit slow to adopt TAGteach when I first encountered it in the early 2000s, but I’ve caught on, and I’ve been applying it more and more in my life. Sometimes I use TAGteach principles without the actual tagger (clicker), simply because that’s what I have to… Continue reading

Happy Halloween! Tricks & Treats for You

Laev and our houseguest McCoy the Skeleton

In the spirit of the holiday, I’d like to present you, Dear Reader, with a trick, a tag, and a treat. What, you’re not familiar with the middle part of that phrase? It’s a new Halloween tradition. Trust me on this. Want to know what that undead-Michael Jackson has to… Continue reading

Laura’s Coming to Wisconsin! 2-Day Clicker Workshop

Laura on ground laughing as Laev rolls on back

We interrupt this blog for a word from our sponsors! I’ll be in Wisconsin in a couple of weeks for a Core Clicker Seminar, a two-day hands-on intensive workshop for beginning to intermediate trainers and handlers. This is, if I say so myself, a pretty good training seminar. 🙂 And… Continue reading

Getting My Butt In Gear And Into Shape — Training Myself

dive bomber pushup
This entry is part 1 of 2 in the series Behavior Training & Physical Training: OC for Fitness

One of the toughest things about being a behavior professional is that one doesn’t have many excuses. When I do something stupid, I can easily identify it and the triggers (if any) and a way to avoid it the next time by choosing an alternate behavior instead. That doesn’t mean… Continue reading

Why We Teach House Manners — Or, Good Training Should Be Idiot-Proof

Valenzia and groceries

Like many dog owners, I’ve gotten spoiled by having a mature, well-trained dog in the house. Naturally, when we first bring home a new member of the family, we are obsessed with teaching all sorts of critical foundation skills (targeting, door and leash manners, handling exercises, and so on). But… Continue reading