Dog Training

There’s a lot of talk these days about training styles and methods. I suppose there has always been talk about such stuff among dog people. I don’t subscribe to any particular method or style, but I do have something to say about such stuff. Oh, you knew that.

Dogs will jump. Many people think a small puppy jumping is adorable! But when that puppy is now seventy pounds (or even twenty pounds) of adult, the cuteness wears off.

I have used this technique successfully with everything from toy dogs to Great Danes and even breeds some people will tell you have to be harshly corrected in order to get them to learn. If you are fun and do this properly, you can develop good leash manners in your dog. However, if you are lazy or allow your dog to lead the walk, the undesired behaviors will persist. You may end up walking in circles for some time, but the end result is worth it!

I know what it’s like to try to cook, or eat a meal, when you own a perpetually starving dog. My Labradorus goofus, Pierce, acts as if he hasn’t eaten in weeks when there is activity in the kitchen or dining room. He takes every opportunity to search the kitchen floor for molecules of anything remotely edible. He holds his breath if he thinks I’m about to give him a taste of something. He’d not only sell his own soul for a grain of rice, he’d sell mine, too.