Training Resources
Practical training tips, short articles and literature resources to help you understand canine behavior, promote more effective training habits, and advance progress at home.
Quick Training Tips
Communicating
Dogs respond to what we do as much as what we say and often your inflection communicates the message more than the words do. Dogs also use their bodies to send messages, your body language helps your dog understand what you want from them, especially when distractions are present.
Positive Reinforcement
Always reward behaviors you want repeated. Don’t ignore when your dog offers the right response. When good choices consistently lead to something your dog values (food, praise, play), those behaviors become stronger and more reliable over time.
Clicker Training
A clicker helps you mark the moment your dog does the right thing. It’s a simple tool, but timing matters! Most of the “training” is the human learning to click and reward with timing and consistency.
Behavior Modification
Instead of only correcting unwanted behavior, teach your dog an alternative behavior. Dogs are always eager to learn new things, especially if there’s a high value reward in it for them! Clear direction and consistency create lasting change.
The Backyard Dog
They are just about everywhere, in almost every neighborhood. A dog left alone in a backyard tethered to a tree, to the ground, or sometimes to a doghouse. Water and food bowls may be empty, absent or just beyond the dog’s reach. Isolated and captive, a backyard dog suffers. Dogs, like humans, did not evolve as solitary creatures; they are essentially pack animals and thrive in the company of others. As domesticated companion animals they need the connection that comes from the pack: you and your family.
They are the barking, whining, destructive dogs living in someone’s yard, trying their hardest to attract attention of any kind. Even getting someone to come outside and yell at them offers the reward of contact. People that consistently keep their dogs outside rationalize, saying they spend time with the dog when working in the yard, taking a walk or throwing a ball for a few minutes. Providing food, water and some engagement is not enough if once you’re back in the house, the dog is again isolated.
One of the most efficient ways for bonding to take place is for the dog to share your home with you. When your dog is alone, abandoned and living outside, they become stressed, anxious, bored and frustrated. In addition to destroying two of their strongest instincts: bonding and denning, these factors may also lead to illness, aggression and destructive behaviors.
All this is not to say that one must spend every minute catering to and entertaining the animal. Training will allow bringing them indoors to join the you, even if it is just lying nearby as you read or watch TV. Many times the dog may just curl up under your feet and sleep; otherwise, providing a fun, appropriate chew toy keeps them happy! The important thing to remember is that being incorporated into the family pack is both comforting and necessary for your dog’s mental and physical well being.
Articles
Deeper reads on behavior, learning, and building a better relationship with your dog.
Guidelines to Manage Leash Reactivity
Practical steps to reduce reactions on walks and build calmer patterns over time.
Body Talk
Dogs communicate constantly through posture, movement, and facial cues, learning to read it changes everything.
Dog Intelligence
What “smart” really means in dogs, and why it doesn’t always look like obedience.
Notes to Self
A personal-style reminder list that reinforces patience, consistency, and realistic expectations.
How Dogs Learn
A straightforward look at how repetition, timing, and reinforcement shape behavior.
One Size Fits All
Why training isn’t “one method for every dog,” and how to choose what fits your dog and lifestyle.
Matchmaker, Matchmaker
Choosing the right dog (or the right fit) matters more than most people think.
It’s Shocking!
A perspective piece that challenges quick-fix thinking and emphasizes humane, effective training.
Recommended Reading Material
Any Book by:
Dr. Ian Dunbar
Dr. Bruce Fogel
Dr. Nicolas Dodman
Jean Donaldson
Also: Inside of a Dog by Alexandra Horowitz
Journals:
Dog Watch from Cornell University: (Click Here)
Whole Dog Journal: (Click Here)