I think this is an important episode.  Effective dog training is not accomplished by carrying out specific tasks.  It is based on the ability to know what you're trying to teach your dog, and doing so by responding to what your dog tells you about your teaching.  This is extremely important in the skill of doing marked retrieves, and everything else you do.  Developing marking is used to illustrate how important knowledge based training is.

Today we talk about G's latest escapades and introduce the discussion of developing the retriever pups marking, thinking, use of eyes and nose, so that as a hunter and competitor, they are as skilled and confident as they can be.  This really is part of their life's work.  And it is at this age that I begin the skill development so that whatever she winds up doing as a retriever, she is very good at her job.  It is a fun time...

In this episode, we talk about the improvements in G and her work, and the associated idea of teaching your dog to take responsibility for doing their own work without your constant reminders and assistance.  It is a big part of training a dog to be very good at what they do.

In today's episode, I tell on Miss G and all the things she's doing this week.  We also break down 4 listener questions about the training of a puppy at this age, centered on when to begin 'discipline', live bird introduction, the real purpose of basic obedience and why working on retrieving is so important.

In today's episode, we talk about how Miss G makes me have to think a lot about what we're doing; outlandish behavior on the walk and retrieves without any return.  We also discuss how the training aspects now are important to future behaviors, so it helps to keep in mind how quickly these little guys learn and grow.

In this episode, I bring you up to date on "G" and her latest hijinks and what I plan to do about them.  From there we go into a discussion on the approach to various dog personalities, their abilities, their limitations and how to think about adjusting your training program to take your dogs idiosyncrasies into account.

The new puppy has a call name!  We discuss what she's been up to, good and bad and how to approach, or at least think about, questionable puppy behavior.  Barking, biting, good aggression are also talked about; these little fellows, though short in duration can certainly be a handful...

In this episode, I bring listeners up to date with the latest yellow puppy progress.  We also discuss how to approach your dog goals in 2021, the way to be the best trainer possible and wind up with the success you'd like to see this coming year.  Hint:  don't be afraid of training problems, and small things are much easier to fix than big things...

In this episode, I introduce a new puppy I'm going to showcase over the next year on the podcast and on Facebook.  We also discuss that just responding to your dog's behavior without really thinking about it first can sometimes cause problems.  Dogs will tell you their story.  You  need to step back and listen more sometimes... Happy New Year to All!

In this episode, we look at research that supposedly tells us how dogs know who we are.  There are many interesting ideas about the dog/human relationship, perhaps none more significant than what you actually think about your own dog.  It is a fascinating topic and very helpful when you are engaged in any kind of dog training.