Missed Messages: Is Your Dog Feeling Secure in Bitework or Tug Play?
“Check out this video. What do you think? I’d love your opinion” It was sent to me by a friend and it was a video of her young dog starting bitework. Normally, I keep my...
Working Dogs
An Exercise in Frustration – Is your Drive Work Really Helping?
“Drag him back,” the decoy coached. The dog barked wildly, threatening to take his handler to the ground as he pulled to reach his target. He wanted to bite. It’s all he could...
Combatting Brain Melt – The Technique That Transformed My Dog’s “OUT”
The dog is insane. It’s no secret. If you met him, you’d quickly realize he has more drive than sense. He’s a bull in a china shop, and he’d have no issue running head first...
Getting Strategic: The Top 5 Mistakes Handlers Make when Playing with Their Tug-Crazy Dogs
The tug was made of leather, roughly stitched, with two bright red handles fashioned from a strip of utility webbing. Being the MacGyver style, former Navy SEAL that he was,...
Reward it Right: Assessing Your Dog’s Wants for a Conflict Free Out
“Out!” I called, holding the toy firmly in one hand as I spoke the word, a lead in my other hand attached to the dog in front of me. I wanted to know exactly what I was...
You Can’t Go It Alone: Treating Bitework as a Team Sport
“An out to a guard?” I asked. It was more a statement than a question, as I knew what was coming next. The decoy nodded, the massive 90lb Malinois’ jaws shut tightly around...
2 Strangers, A Malinois and A Precarious Game of Jenga
I picked him up on Monday. I really wasn’t prepared to take him, but as I had been pining over him for more than a year, when he became available with the caveat that...
Mixed Messages: Getting Clear on Your Body Language when Training for Sport
She peered down at her dog lovingly, shoulders tilted slightly so she could grab his eyes with hers and hold them. “Au pied,” she called in a strong tone that completely...
More Harm than Good: 3 Reasons Why I Never Socialize my Puppies
She stood atop of the massive metal bleachers, her puppy triumphantly standing on one of the rows, as she called down to me. “Aren’t you going to socialize your puppy?” she...