I get contacted a lot by people who have fallen in love with dog training and want to learn how to become a professional dog trainer. I decided to write this blog post so that I can quickly give a helpful answer.
Continue reading How to Become a Dog Trainer in Seattle (and elsewhere)
Seattle Metropolitan Magazine has an annual Best of the City issue. As the founder of Ahimsa Dog Training, I was featured as the “Trailblazer” in Seattle Met. Fox chose three of the Trailblazers to feature on their morning show and interviewed me with my dogs at the training center in Seattle. (The dogs are Sagan – Boxer mix, Peanut – border collie / whippet, & Spoon – border collie / hound). Click here to see the Fox “Best of the Best” Interview. The video is sometimes broken, and refreshing the Fox website seems to help.
There’s a big 3D picture in the Seattle Metropolitan magazine (page 96). Thanks again to the puppy class students for putting up with the photo shoot!
A group called Families Against Breed Bans that works to block Breed Specific Legislation (BSL) in the Seattle area and elsewhere. There has been talk of creating a breed ban in Seattle for pit bulls or “fighting breeds” and I know that this is *not* the answer.
Continue reading List of Banned Breeds: Will Your Dog Be Next?
Hi folks! In May, I’m going to redesign several of the classes, including Puppy & the Basic and Better Manners classes. If you have taken any of those classes and are interested in helping us teach more effectively, I’d love your feedback. I need ideas on what you liked as well as what you didn’t. If you didn’t finish the class, why not? If you continued to the next class, why? Were you happy that you did? Just reply to this email with ideas. Thanks!
The AKC reported 30 dog thefts for January-March 2008, compared to 10 in the entire year for 2007.
I don’t know the rest of the trend (maybe 2007 was a really low year?) but the AKC is worried and so am I.
Continue reading It’s 2 a.m. Do you know where Fido is? Dog Theft on the Rise
Is your dog a stubborn Donkey Dog? A lot of dogs pull forward on leash, but some dogs and many puppies pull *backward* or refuse to walk. This happens to French Bulldogs and English Bulldogs all the time! Pulling harder or luring with a treat only makes the problem worse, so what should you do to help your dog or puppy get moving?!
From StopCanineObesity.com: “The numbers are startling. Recent studies show that while veterinarians estimate 47% of their canine clients are overweight, only 17% of dog owners believe their dogs fit that description.”
Continue reading Is My Dog Fat? How to Tell Your Dog is Overweight
I’m very happy to announce that the details have finally been hammered out and Ahimsa is going to host a dog trainer workshop by Kathy Sdao in Seattle this summer. The I-Cue seminar is open to professional dog trainers and regular dog owners who have interest in taking their training a big step further. Click for seminar info & registration.
Continue reading Kathy Sdao Dog Trainer Workshop in Seattle 2008
I just made a quick video of my dog, Peanut, at Magnuson Off Leash Park in Seattle. I have him do the same chain of ten behaviors twice in a row: wait, spin, jump, heel, left turn, right turn, wait, come, sit, and carwash. There are a few dogs that Peanut just met at the dog park, for distraction.
I’ve been asked by dog training clients several times about my opinion on the Invisible Fence. The short answer is that I really, really don’t like shock fencing; I think it’s inhumane. Watch the video below, which shows several humans wearing a shock collar, for an indication of what it might be like for a dog to wear a shock collar. Continue reading Dog Fences: Invisible vs. Visible
There have been news reports of dogs in West Seattle that may have been poisoned with rat poison on dog treats, bones, etc, strewn about Westcrest and Fauntleroy parks where dogs run off leash (though possibly, they shouldn’t anyway, as I think they aren’t off leash parks).
Continue reading West Seattle Dog Poisoning
The Saturday puppy classes are changing times somewhat. The good news is that we now have a play time for bigger dogs – under 30 pounds instead of just 20 and for tiny dogs under 15 pounds. Continue reading Puppy class and play time changes
Everybody knows that chocolate is bad for dogs, but do you know how much is too much? That 7 raisins could kill your dog? Or that onions are bad for dogs? Or that garlic is also toxic for dogs? Continue reading Chocolate, Raisins and Other Foods Toxic to Dogs
Have you ever taken a dog training class and then not done the homework? I have. I’ve also done months of PT and struggled to get through the homework. I just never had time, and the dog training ended up being at the end of the to-do list. The cure? Continue reading Dog Training for Busy People
Fixing dog behavior problems isn’t just about training the dog. Many times, a “management” solution, where you change the environment instead of changing the dog, is the best way to go. Continue reading Sagan and the Blanket – Thinking Inside the Box
If you have tried a harness and that’s not enough to safely walk your dog, the Comfort Trainer head collar is a great way to reclaim your walk from your pulling dog. The collar portion of the Comfort Trainer head collar should fit fairly snugly, but not as tight as you might fit for the Gentle Leader. You want the collar on tight enough that if the nose portion does come off, the collar itself stays on. Continue reading Comfort Trainer head halter – fitting
Why do breeders continue to breed dogs that are not of sound temperament? The dogs meet the AKC beauty standards, but dogs can be dangerous, and living with an aggressive dog has a huge effect on our lives and the life of the dog. We should be breeding for calm, happy golden retrievers, labs, pit bulls, pomeranians, chihuahuas, etc. Temperament needs to be placed over beauty. Can’t we make a law? Continue reading Breeding Dogs for Temperament
It’s official. The “Dog Whisperer” TV show uses outdated, inhumane dog training methods. I’m so happy to have found out that it’s not just me, or the many, many dog trainers that I know – in Seattle and around the world – that think the Dog Whisperer show has done more harm than good.
Everyone has been so afraid to say anything possibly libelous, but it’s just the truth, and we need to stop hurting these dogs.The American Humane Association, founded in 1887, officially announced late last summer that they found the techniques on the “Dog Whisperer” inhumane, and stated that the National Geographic Channel should take Cesar Millan’s show off of the air as soon as possible. Continue reading Dog Whisperer Training Techniques Inhumane
Tug-of-war is good game for teaching the dog to switch between Crazy Dog mode and Thinking Dog mode (Limbic and Cerebral). Contrary to popular myths, tug does not cause aggression in dogs. Continue reading Rules for Playing Tug with Your Dog
Seattle is a very dog-friendly city. Dogs can even ride the bus in Seattle, you just may have to pay for it. If you have a puppy, the bus is a lovely way to socialize your dog will lots of different people. Bringing a dog on the bus changes the dynamic – even the “normal” people on the bus will talk to you if you have a puppy!
The quick answer? Pay only for better than average behavior. The three aspects of fluency are precision, latency, and speed. The following training plans are designed to increase the fluency for three Rally Obedience exercises: slow pace heel, fast pace heel, and right turn while heeling.
Continue reading How to Teach Perfect, Fast Dog Behaviors
I wrote a different article about Crate Training Puppies and Dogs last week. Take a look at it before you read this one, if you haven’t done so already.
Many dogs can be crate trained faster by using targeting. With targeting, you first teach the dog to touch a target and then eventually put that target into the crate. Then you can put “getting into the crate” on cue. Continue reading Crate Training for Dogs Using Targeting
We’re excited to begin offering private behavior consultations with world-famous dog expert Kathy Sdao, MA, CAAB at Ahimsa. Sessions take place at our facility in Ballard. Topics include aggression, fear, separation anxiety, and most other dog behavior problems. For more information, visit the private training page.
* Workshops this week: Coming When Called, Fraidy Dog, Baby-Proofing Your Dog
* Online dog training forum is up and running!
* Featured product at the store.
* Free Training Practice class moving to Mondays.
* TIP: Teaching your dog to fetch.
Continue reading November News
Does your puppy grab a toy and run off with it instead of bringing it back to you? You should be able to play catch *with your dog* and having your dog fetch the ball instead of playing “catch the dog” and having to fetch her. Fetch should be exercise for the dog, not for you!:) Continue reading How to Teach Your Dog or Puppy To Fetch
You hear it all the time. “Sit, Fido.” (Fido sits). “Good sit!” It’s in my old training, too, but it’s a habit I’m mostly over. It’s not helpful for dogs when you use the cue (like “sit”) in the praise. It’s probably actually making your dog learn more slowly Continue reading “Good Dog!” NOT “Good Sit”
We have offered agility classes at Ahimsa for several years. Our core focus is to improve the relationship of dogs with their humans, and while agility does serve that goal, the training center is so busy these days that I had to decide between continuing to offer agilty classes and offering more manners classes, Continue reading The future of Agility at Ahimsa
There are many different brands of head collars for dogs these days. Popular dog head halter brands are Gentle Leader, Halti, NewTrix, and the ones that we carry on our website, the Comfort Trainer and the K9 Bridle. Head collars give you a lot of control, but dog’s can take several weeks to get used to them. This post gives instructions desensitize your dog to a head collar. I also have a blog post with fitting instructions for the Comfort Trainer. Continue reading How to Get Your Dog Comfortable in a Head Collar
We did it! The dog training forum is ready for people to visit. Complaints about off leash dogs in Seattle? Need help with coming when called? Or weaning off of treats? This is the place to post your questions, rants, and raves. Visit the forum at http://doggiezen.com/forum.
CityDog Magazine had it’s annual readership poll for TopDog in various categories. In 2006, we were voted TopDog in the Dog Trainer/Behaviorist category. In 2007, CityDog wrote that we were a “close second” to a facility in Woodinville. When I asked my clients for suggestions for what to say about Ahimsa getting the most votes of any dog training facility in Seattle proper, here’s what one of them wrote: Continue reading Voted Best in Seattle – again!
