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The best in health, wellness, and positive training from America’s leading dog experts

Home Behavior Impulse Control

Impulse Control

The best way to comfort a dog in heat is to not have her go through the cycle.

How to Comfort a Dog in Heat

An intact dog will go through a heat cycle twice a year. Comforting a dog in heat requires patience and keeping a dog that is confined indoors engaged.
Some dogs do watch TV and react to whatever they see on the screen.

Do Dogs Really Watch TV?

Dogs’ vision is a little different from ours. Despite these differences between dogs’ vision and ours, many dogs watch TV and recognize things that are of interest to them.
A doberman pinscher relaxing in a retail environment.

Teach Your Dog to Settle and Relax on Cue

If your dog will exhibit calm relaxed behavior when needed, it can help reduce stress and make everyone’s day smoother. When our dogs act calm, they will actually become calmer. Gradually, this state of relaxation will develop to match the outward behavior.
A husky howls in Alaska, United States, North America

Why Do Dogs Howl?

Howling is one of the many ways that dogs communicate. It can be a territorial declaration, signal excitement at the start of a walk. or just communicating with dogs in the area.
White Labrador Retriever Dog Sitting In Green Grass and Chewing Wooden Stick On Grass

Why Does My Dog Chew on Wood?

Wood chewing is fraught with potential veterinary emergencies, from splinters in the mouth to pieces lodged in the gastrointestinal tract and more. So even though it's natures favorite chew toy it shouldn't be your dogs.
Dog running at the park and pulling its owner

Teach Your Dog to Walk Without Pulling

It might be an exaggeration, but dogs that don't pull seem to be an exception rather than the rule.

Why Do Dogs Roll on Their Backs?

Dogs rolling on their backs is adorable. Repeated rolling though can be a sign of excessive itchiness that might need veterinary care. Dogs also have a habit of rolling in things their owner's might not care to smell or wash out of their fur.

Understanding Canine Compulsive Disorder

Also called compulsive behavior disorder, this is a mental health disorder characterized by the excessive performance of repetitive behaviors that don't serve any apparent purpose

Properly Supervising Dogs

Five types of dog-to-dog supervision, from left to right (or from 1 to 4 stars): No adult supervising dogs; Adult present but distracted; Reacting after the dogs are too close; Having a plan, being prepared; Fully present, adult supervision
The difference between wait vs stay dog training is subtle but makes all the difference in your relationship with you dog.

Training Your Dog to ‘Wait’ and ‘Stay’

can save your dog's life.
Thanks to Morgan Macy, training assistant at The Canine Connection in Chico, CA, for demonstrating these techniques.üStart teaching the food bowl wait" with the food bowl held high. Look for your dog to shift her eyes from the bowl to your face.üClick (or use another marker) to indicate she's doing it right

Letters and Corrections: April 2018

There are many ways to add mental stimulation to a simple game of fetch. For example, we can ask the dog to jump onto a platform and lie down before we throw a disc for him. We can ask him to go through an agility tunnel before catching the ball. The important thing to recognize is when the dog is getting over threshold and stopping the game or reducing its intensity until the dog calms down. If you know the signs of hyperarousal, depicted in the infographic in the original article, then you will be more able to help your dog.

Training an Over-Aroused Dog

It's true that dogs like Australian Shepherds, a breed commonly referred to as high drive" and thought of as "needing to work

Latest Blog

Tips for Dog Owners Near a Disaster Zone

Could you evacuate your home 15 minutes from now, with everything you would need to live with your pets in a hotel for a few days, weeks, or months? What if you had an hour’s notice?