Training

All dogs have noses – and they all know how to use them. Our awareness of our dog’s nose capabilities is nothing new. We...

If competition isn’t your thing, you can do a simpler activity at home with your dog that we call Nose Games. You can do...

When Orbit came into one of the classes I offer for puppies and their owners, in Santa Cruz, California, he was in most ways...

These days, it seems that every time someone posts a picture on social media of a child with a dog it is immediately followed...

Does your dog understand what behavior you wish her to perform when you use verbal cues alone, with absolutely no hand gestures or suggestive...

Once you train your dog to stay on cue, the behavior can come in handy. In the past week alone, I’ve asked my dog to stay a number of times.

Usually humping is associated with male dogs, but humping is also very common amongst female dogs. Some girls will hump toys or other objects, some hump air, others hump other dogs or even people. To learn more about humping, why girls do it, and how to keep your female dog from humping, we talk with Certified Professional Dog Trainer and Chair of The Association of Professional Dog Trainers Nick Hof, CPDT-KA, CBCC-KA, KPA-CTP, CSAT, to answer some of your most commonly asked questions about female dogs and humping.

We still love the basic Kong toy, as well as the variety of other toys made by Kong. But we have to admit, we also love many of Kongs competitors in the food-stuffable toy category. In fact, there are so many its hard to even have favorites anymore! But at a minimum, we think you should be aware of how many options are available to you and your dog today, so you can select the ones that are best suited to your own dogs needs and wants.

Just like a good skunking doesnt stop most dogs from going after those black-and-white critters again the next time (darn it!), there are many dogs who seem goaded into more intense bee-chasing behavior after an unfortunate encounter of the stinging kind. Conversely, there are also dogs who become literally phobic about all small, flying creatures after a stinging incident. Then there are those who develop an obsessive-compulsive behavior known as fly-snapping.

Autism is not yet a diagnosis that can be given to dogs. Autism-like symptoms such as repetitive behavior or episodic aggression can be very challenging for dog guardians to understand and safely manage in the home, and it may be tempting to put the autism label on a dog if it fits. But Dr. Parthasarathy explains that a detailed history of the dog is essential for professionals to come up with a diagnosis.

I asked trainer and Whole Dog Journals Training Editor Pat Miller to write about the risks and responsibilities of off-leash dog walks in this issue. Thats because Im a huge fan of hiking with my dogs off-leash, but I recognize that the activity is a huge challenge for many dog owners.

There is absolutely no evidence, not one bit, suggesting that providing comfort and security to a distressed dog causes the dogs anxiety or fear to increase. Why then, does this myth persist among dog owners and even with some trainers? Why are owners still advised to ignore their dog when he is distressed or anxious or fearful, as if providing any attention to the dog will reinforce those emotions?