If you have taken a WOOFS! class you have probably heard us request that you bring high value food rewards to class. So what’s with the obsession with food, you might ask? To begin with, we are positive reinforcement trainers. This means that we use rewards (technically reinforcers) to teach dogs to respond to the… Read more »
Why teach tricks?
Teaching tricks is great for dogs. It provides them with both mental and physical stimulation and helps create a stronger working relationship between the dog and the handler. To start: want better basic obedience skills? Teach some tricks. The more things you teach your dog, the better he gets at learning. The more often you… Read more »
Go for a better walk
Originally published by ArlNow.com Walking the dog is an integral part of the dog owners day, especially for those of us who don’t have a yard. And for many of us it has become a rote behavior, but walking your dog is an opportunity. It is quality one-on-one time that should not be wasted. Here… Read more »
(The right kind of) ‘practice makes perfect’
Originally published on ArlNow.com Do you “practice at your performance?” I’ve been talking to a lot of clients about practice lately. People hate practice. Do you remember being forced to practice the piano? What about sports drills? It seems to be in our nature to want to get better at something but to hate the… Read more »
Trick Dog Titles
Originally published on ArlNow.com Teaching tricks is great for dogs. It provides them with both mental and physical stimulation and helps create a stronger working relationship between the dog and the handler. One of the best ways to help your dog perform basic obedience skills better is to spend some time teaching trick behaviors. We know… Read more »
Surviving your dog’s adolescence
Originally published on ArlNow.com Much like in humans, your dog will go through an adolescent phase and this period can be fraught with difficulty. Dogs will enter their adolescent period at around 6 months old, and exit between 18 months and 2 years of age. Smaller dogs tend to mature more quickly, larger dogs more slowly.… Read more »
What you should really be teaching your puppy
Originally published on ArlNow.com Whenever someone gets a new puppy or dog, they are often eager to teach “the basics.” So everyone starts in on the same things; sit, lie down, shake, stay in front of the food bowl, etc. While these are all valuable skills for your new puppy or dog to know, they… Read more »
Is “people food” okay for dogs?
Originally published on ArlNow.com We often here people say, “I NEVER give my dog people food.” This surprises me because I do almost all of my dog training using “people food”as treats. My favorites are hot dogs, string cheese and rotisserie chicken. So is it ok to give dogs people food? Of course it is!… Read more »
On-leash greetings
Originally published on ArlNow.com Urban living can be tough on our dogs, and one of the toughest situations our dogs encounter is meeting other dogs on leash. Dogs meeting on leash is a completely artificial situation for them. The leash and the resulting close quarters means that dogs can not greet each other in a natural… Read more »
WOOFS! training class basics
WOOFS! number one priority in our basic class is something we call Voluntary Attention (VA). Simply put, voluntary attention is the ability of the dog to pay attention to it’s handler in a distracting environment without the owner using the leash or constantly cueing to the dog to look at them. The idea is that… Read more »