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Excellent point! I always start shaping behaviors when I first meet any dog. Trying to change behaviors that has been working for a dog and reinforcing is always hard to change. Dogs are opportunist and always default to the most reinforcing behaviors.

Great question and when it comes to behavior many questions are answered with "It Depends". Depending on each dogs overall temperament in my opinion will help me decide how many would too much :). If I had 5 dogs and they get along great 95% of the time that will be awesome. On the other hand if...

Multi dog households or having multi dogs together is always tricky. I find going slow with introductions is always best and reading body language and stepping in when necessary. I always micro manage new intros until I get to know all dogs involved. Glad some of the articles here are being...

With me I always approach every tool or clothing slowly and desensitize a dog anything I am about to put on them like booties. I find slow is better because a dog can sensitize if we rush and have the opposite effect. They may not ever like the site of a boot for example. I also test the...

I like to think parents do have some influence on overall temperament but we never know how a puppy will turn out. Example, Breed two fearful dogs chances are we might see fear and anxiety in a pup. Many things have influence on a dogs temperament such as nature vs nurture: Parents How they...

We have seen a few topics and questions on puppy socialization or adult dog remedial socialization. The importance of socialization is huge for a dogs overall temperament. Here is an article to help set everyone up for success. Common Socialization Pitfalls and What to Do Instead

Great questions! Many use a word instead for an event maker like “Yes” or “click” because they don’t or forget the clicker at home. I can’t ever see myself teaching without using an event marker. I use an event marker when I am instilling new behaviors and then use praise such as “good dog”...

I tried brushing and the additives for the water along with so many different dental bones. Unfortunately I lost control and have to make the decision to get it done from a vet and put him under. I been researching and of course many will debate the pros and cons! For me I think it's worth it...

Great question and we can probably talk for hours on this topic. For me it all starts with a phone call with an owner to take a detailed history report. A good history report will basically give us an idea of a dogs overall temperament in different environmental context. This report will also...

I think having a puppy in a safe area (baby proof) will be the best management plan for potty training and also a pup wouldn't be able to practice any undesired behaviors. Therefore management is always advised until we teach. Therefore baby gates , crates and play pens would be some management...

Here’s to more articles on The topic. Realistic Training based on age When should you start training a Puppy

I wouldn’t say it is the only way to potty train a puppy or dog. It definitely can help in the right circumstances or dog. I feel a crate becomes a safe place for a dog if desensitized correctly. Crate training definitely has lots of pros IMHO. It becomes a safe place for the dog to escape if...

This is one of my professions as I do in Home boarding. It’s a great question on how to choose the right place for your dog. So much goes into to this and I would recommend if you can get personal recommendations. I feel if someone has been using a place they can get a good feel of how it...

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Kikopup usually has great videos on techniques. In short we has the handlers try to become number one in the environment. There are many techniques and the main thing is consistency and your dog will learn to not pull and keep the leash loose. It takes time but it will happen with good...

We always like to teach new cues to dogs alone. Much easier to instill new behaviors one on one. When the dogs are proofed with a cue or cues we can train/practice together “everyone sits”. Here’s an article on social learning that might help. Can dogs learn by watching others?

I always like to say it’s never to late to learn :) Most trainers will have an agility for fun class to get your or should I say your dogs paws wet.

Event markers are definitely in my opinion a great tool for communication. Letting a dog know what they did in that moment earned them the reinforcer is a great tool. Here’s is a great article on clicker/event marker

On the subject of teeth :( I actually have one dog that seems prone to bad tarter (Maltese). I been brushing and lost control and seems to be to far gone to help with brushing only. Such a hard decision to get dental work done or find a good vet to do the work....

Ok that would make more sense on the association your dog had with this particular vacuum. What does your dog do when she sees the vacuum? Form a distance? You can try to DS/CC from a far distance until you observe a better CER (conditioned emotional response). Basically we would want the...