Analogies are often useful to help us see a different perspective. My analogy that Dog Training is Like Dieting goes like this…

The basic principles for each activity fundamentally are pretty straight forward:

• Dieting - Reduce caloric intake, increase caloric expenditure
•  Dog Training – Reward the positive behaviors, prevent or ignore the negative behaviors

So why is it that so many people fail at both or either one? Simplistically it really is because we do not or cannot follow these...

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With the popularity of celebrity dog training these days that preach the idea that you have to be the pack leader, that you have to be the boss, what does that mean? We all have bosses. Children’s bosses are their parents, parent’s bosses are their employers, citizens have bosses which we call governments, and the religious have the highest level of boss, the all mighty one. So saying that you have to be the boss of your dog is a pretty meaningless statement. We all have bosses in some si...

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Even though food is more of a veterinary/medical issues, I often get asked about food and what to feed your dog so here is my opinion:

1) What do you eat? Are you a health nut? Do you buy organic, low fat, high fibre this that or the other thing? Then care about what your dog eats too.
2) Are you a couch potato that eats fried food, chips, and soft drinks as "part of a healthy breakfast"? Then don't worry about what your dog eats! You might want to worry about yourself first.

Basically I recomme...
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I recently attended a Suzzane Clothier Seminar on Reactive Dogs that I must say blew me away. The reasons why, however may surprise you. It's not because she performed miracles, it's not because she cured a dog of anxiety within a 1/2 hour consultation... it was because of such a marvelous insight into the minds of not only dogs but other domesticated animals and how we humans handle them. The way in which she broke down the training progressions was insightful and right on the mark. One very...
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Wow is it every hot these days! Are you and your dog keeping your cool? If you are feeling hot these days, your dog is feeling it even worse.  Here are some things to know about your dog to help keep them cool:
1) dogs dissipate almost all of their heat by panting and evaporating moisture from their tongue. They do not sweat like we do so are more prone to overheating. They need lots of water to keep their tongues and bodies hydrated to support all that panting.
2) some coat types can not only ...
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We've all heard that giving or getting a pet for Christmas is not a good idea. But if you have fallen into that situation because that puppy was just so cute and you fell in love... well... let's make the best of it. Here are a couple of tips to help you through the excitement and into the hard reality.
1. Try not to give your new puppy too much attention or excitement and try to get into as much of a normal routine as soon as possible. If you set unrealistic expectation for your puppy you cou...
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So here's my confession.... my dogs are not perfect! OK I've said it.

For all of you struggling with your training, you're not alone. I have two special needs/rescue dogs and I have to admit that my dedication to training them sometimes falters. Shortly after I got my first dog I registered in my Dog Trainer Certification Program with ABC. I diligently trained my first dog according to the lessons I learned, step by step, and basically used him as my training guinea pig. The results were great...

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I am often asked questions like,... how long will training take, when will my dog start behaving, is there a faster way to train my dog, when can I stop these training exercises...

Or I hear comments like,... he used to listen to me before, I tried that and it didn't work, I didn't think training my dog would be so much work...

I alway wonder why we don't ask those same kinds of questions of our children's teachers, coaches, and parents. Training a dog can be compared to raising a child in many...
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Started in April of 2011, PetSteps Dog Training hopes to help the many dogs and owners in Fort McMurray live happier, healthier lives together

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