Dog Training Blog

Dog daycares are quite common in Chicago. Especially these days when people have a tendency to work longer hours and might even need to take on a second job to make ends meet. It is easy to feel guilty about dogs not getting enough exercise or...

You do not have to worry about your dog becoming lazy. This is not a sign of a personality trait that leads to a lazy older dog. It is not uncommon for dogs to refuse to walk sometimes when they are outside. They might just "put the brakes on", or...

​Did you ever want to change a cue or teach your dog a new cue for an old behavior? It is actually very easy to do this with just a little planning. Why would you want to teach your dog a new cue for a behavior that he already knows? One common...

Your dog growls at your son when he walks by his food bowl and then snaps at him. He barely misses sinking his teeth into his 6-year-old leg.  Should you yell at your dog? Put him in another room? Something more physical such as use a choke chain or...

Crates should not be such a tough sell. Puppies have sharp teeth, develop strong jaws, are curious, get bored easily, like to chew, are not housetrained, and can develop separation anxiety . . . . for starters.  An easy, humane, and time-tested...

The puppy class is loud with barking puppies jumping and bouncing happily over the padded floor. All the puppies are about the same age, but you can already tell that some are bound to be much bigger when they reach their full size. The Bernese...

This morning I was walking my dogs and saw a woman walking her dog. From the look of the dog's dry elbows and physical stature, I would guess he was about 5-6 years old. I have no way of knowing how long she has had the dog. He might have been...

There are a few preventative measures you can do with your dog to lessen the likelihood of problems later on. Unfortunately, even if you have the best intentions and do all the exercises properly, there are no guarantees of eliminating the problem...

There are many treat bags on the market and one is set apart from the rest. The quality and ease of use of the Terry Ryan Treat Pouch makes it the best choice for dog training.

Frisbee is a great way to tire out your dog and have fun in the process. You should understand the basics of training a retrieve before you start. Read my article about training a retrieve.

Retrieve and Frisbee are two great training exercises to work on with your dog. As always, focus on keeping your dog engaged and interested in each session instead of getting stressed out about finishing the final behavior in one session. Have fun...

"Settle" is simply another name for an extended down cue. However, it is often used as an "off" switch for dogs that are a bit too exuberant, mouthy, or wild. There are many strategies to get a good Settle cue. 

I recommend that you first work in a...

I read an amazing article many years ago about an experiment training sea bass to respond to a tone and swim back to a certain location for feeding. At some point the signal would entice them to come back for the last time when they would be caught and...

I have tremendous success with my aggression cases and have been helping dogs overcome aggression since 2002. There are strategies that you can use that can make the situation worse.I want you to avoid doing that and help your dog become more...