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I Hate Extra Warm Days in Winter
I Hate Extra Warm Days in Winter This past Friday and Saturday, Pittsburgh was gifted with a slight respite from the deep freeze also known as our winter. Nearly everyone in Pittsburgh rejoiced as we hit the 45 degree mark--I won't lie, I saw at least three girls in...
read moreHome Alone, It's Not Always Fun and Games
Home Alone, It's Not Always Fun and Games I share my home with Shayne, Rio, Bandit (my mom's dog), Panther, Monty, and Jefferson--plus the occasional foster dog. It can be a bit much in terms of the number of critters that share the space but I am extremely fortunate...
read moreThe Power of Choice
The Power of Choice During this most recent stretch of frigid (though not quite the 'extreme cold' of a month ago), I have had to improvise the activities happening with my mid-day dog walking clients. It has simply been too cold to spend much time outside, even...
read morePuppy Love
Puppy Love It might be a "Hallmark Holiday," but I think the sentiment of celebrating love is a powerful one. If we placed as much value on love (not just romantic love) as we do on other more superficial things, I think the world would be a far more pleasant place....
read moreThrowback Thursday–Gotta Buy Into Training
Gotta Buy Into Training--Throwback Thursday Originally posed on 10/18/11 How many times have you heard "I've tried everything to get my dog to ..."? I think I must hear something to that effect more than once a week from people inquiring about training or in...
read moreBigger is not always better
Bigger is not always better "The more tools you have in your tool box the better. If you purposely exclude a particular tool and a problem pops up that requires that tool, you won't be abel to fix the problem. I'm not one of those cookie pushers that limits their...
read moreDon't Be REactive
Don't Be REactive No, I'm not talking about your dog, I'm talking about YOU! If I could give students of any dog a handful of "words of wisdom," this would surely be one of them--be proactive! Don't wait until your dog does the unwanted behavior, don't wait until...
read moreSJC Social Walk pt. 2
SJC Social Walk pt. 2 Alright folks, we've got social walk number two planned! I had planned on getting it out of the north hills area for this walk since the last one was up this way, but after looking at a few different parks/routes, I ended up choosing to go to...
read moreThrowback Thursday–V-E-T is Not an Abbreviation For Trainer
V-E-T is not an abbreviation for trainer--Throwback Thursday Originally posted 4/22/11 (has some updates/modifications from the previous version) I love my vet, while we may not always agree, nutrition-wise, he respects my choices and never gives me a hard time...
read moreThe Power Of Classical Conditioning
The Power Of Classical Conditioning Over the years, one of the things I have heard over and over again from people use utilize aversive training tools like shock collars and prong collars is that their dogs love these devices and they get excited when they are...
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