My Soul Dog

Fence fighting or barrier aggression can be very much a problem. It sounds terrible and is very much misunderstood.  Let's talk about it and the ways in which you can help if you have this problem.  Your dog will be much happier! 

I took my dog for a walk and it's like we did nothing. He is still asking to do something. What can I do?  

Dogs need variety as much as humans.  What should you do more of; mental stimulation or physical stimulation?  Should I buy a treadmill? Should I take my dog to daycare?  What should I do?  Find out exactly what to do here! 

How do I train 2 dogs in one house? How do I train 1 dog in a house with 4 dogs?  Your questions has been answered!  And for all those with 1 dog, there is a skill in this episode that is good for single dogs too.  It's one of my most favorite and the uses are abundant!  

Will I always have to bride my dog with food to get a behavior?  Luring forever is not necessary.  When training your dog, there are steps you can take to fade out your food lure.  Yes, you can get to a place when you ask your dog for a behavior, your dog responds.  Find out how to fade the lure in this episode.    

You may be living with a saboteur and not even know it!  Often in dog training, the problem is not the dog, it's the what, or more specifically the who living at home undoing all your training.  Boil down to find the actual source of your frustration and I will bet, it's not the dog.  

How does bribery, reward and sledding all end up in the same podcast? Leave it to me and listen.  Of course, we all want to have a dog who will listen anytime and anyplace.  Of course, we want a dog to not have to see a treat before offering a behavior. One day you can ask your pup to do something, and they will do it, but today is not that day.  You need to make sure you are taking the right steps to get there. Start here!   

Melissa and I met years ago.  We both foster rescue dogs and have come together to share our views and experience. If you are on the edge wondering if you should foster, this is a MUST listen.  It's not always a cake walk; it can look a lot of different ways and there are a few must haves that make foster life easier.  We share it all in this episode.  The good, the bad, the tears, we share it ALL!   

"You know better!", "He did it because he was mad at me" are phrases I hear from owners about their dog.  Are these true or are we putting human emotions on our dogs? Is this detrimental? Dogs are a part of our family now more than ever.  Even though pet dogs are a multibillion-dollar industry, this does not make them human. 

In this episode, I discuss several examples of anthropomorphizing in the animal world and discuss the ways in which it can weaken your relationship with your dog.  Perhaps you see yourself in this episode.  I also discuss some tips on how to avoid turning your dog into a person.  

Take the quiz and find out if you are a helicopter parents.  Stay long enough to know if you are helping or hurting? This topic has come up many times in the last few weeks in my training classes and daycare, it's worth mentioning.  Remember, we are trying to help our pups live their BEST life but are we really helping or are we "helping".  Have a listen and then decide!  

What do you do inside when the temperatures rise?  Take a listen! I share several things you can do to not only help your dog settle in the evening after sleeping the day away, but these tips also help with common problems like not coming when called.  Yes, you can work on skills inside the cool house and see huge improvements by summer's end.  Stick around to the end when I go on a tangent about the blue stuff!