Category Archives: Uncategorized

Change doesn’t just happen. It doesn’t matter if the change is something insignificant like changing the TV channel or if it’s something life-altering such as changing careers or moving. Change is the result of a motivating force that causes us to seek something better, a force that makes us pursue a different path for a moreContinue reading “Change”

I’m sure that every career is similar in terms of impact towards self-confidence to an extent, but my only firsthand experience is my career as a dog trainer, and that experience has been an emotional roller coaster. I began dog training when I was young, and as I grew, so did my self-confidence. By theContinue reading “Dog Training and Self Confidence”

We have a new puppy class geared towards the performance prospect on the calendar! I have had the privilege to raise a number of puppies of different breeds and have developed a foundation program that I’m proud of and want to share with the dog sport community.  As most of you know, my dogs trainContinue reading “New Performance Puppy Class!”

There is only one thing that we really have control of in this world: how we choose to act, whether it’s with another human being or with the animals in our lives. True, we get to control the choices that we make, but often, those decisions are forced upon us. We are required to makeContinue reading “Be Nicer”

You would think that life with a bazillion dogs was crazy enough, but I seem to be a glutton for insanity.  My household includes my newly adopted 7 month old tri-pawd border collie, Spree, my 5 month old home-bred koolie keeper puppy, Brilliant, and a new addition: a 8 week old belgian malinois puppy. CreatureContinue reading “It’s raining puppies…”

  We are told that decisions can be right or wrong. We fixate on making the correct decisions in our lives and in regards to the well-being and training of our dogs.  We analyze, make lists of pros versus cons, fret over the consequences at stake.  After the decision is made, we idolize the alternativeContinue reading “Decisions”

  Summer is a busy time for people in my line of work.  Summer means shows, crowds, sweat in the eyes, tired dogs and exhausted trainers. The past three seasons, I’ve dutifully limited my time off, ensuring that I pull my share of the load at work.  This has led to a bit of aContinue reading “Australia”

It’s been awhile. My goal for the next six months is to maintain this blog in a more active fashion. In order to meet that goal, there will posts more of what I’ve done in the past as well as some creative topics. I will say that the majority will be dog-related, because let’s beContinue reading “Blog Updated”

We all have seen it, even though we might not have realized it at the time. A dog that doesn’t out a toy when asked, one that takes a victory lap instead of returning to his handler after catching a frisbee or perhaps one that habitually sniffs the ground between drill repetitions. These are allContinue reading “Breather Behaviors”

Working with operant dogs often leads to dogs that are quick to offer a behavior but lack stillness and commitment within each exercise.  This is a skill that needs to be taught and developed over time and can be difficult for some dogs.  Famous, my 18 month old malinois, shows great commitment to even new behaviorsContinue reading “Duration”