A Decade with a Dog

Last week my best furry best friend, Hayley, celebrated her eleventh birthday. Where has the time gone? Was it really ten years ago that I visited that apartment in New York City to see a super hyper pit bull that was being fostered? Back then it was definitely love at first site for both of us and our feelings for each other have only grown over the years. Time really does fly by . . . Hayley has been, and continues to be, such a huge influence in my life. When I decided to adopt a dog back in 2001 … Continue reading

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Pit Bull Dress Up

Yesterday I was at a one-year-old birthday party with my wife and two daughters. About an hour into it I found myself sitting down watch my girls wait to get balloon animals (that would pop in the not so distant future causing a meltdown of three-year-old proportions), when a woman seating close by asked me a question. “Is there some kind of pit bull support group I can join?” she asked with an undertone of frustration. “I’m so sick of people avoiding me on walks or refusing to come into my house because I have a pit bull. He’s the … Continue reading

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Puppy Classes Done the Right Way

One of the things that I (and pretty much all dog trainers) recommend when bringing home a puppy is getting informed early on and beginning training right away. And one of the best and most cost effective ways to do that is to enroll in a puppy class. Puppy classes can be a great way to get some very important information on how to properly raise your puppy, teach the little guy some manners and enable your pup to interact with both people and dogs, scoring him some critical socialization. To me socialization is the #1 thing you should be … Continue reading

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Puppy Socialization Will Save Your Dog’s Life

I’m going to tell you something that is going to sound bit surprising: I want to put myself out of business. Yep, you heard me correctly. My new professional goal is to make sure you never hire me. The bulk of my clients call me because they are having some behavior problems with their adult dogs. These dogs are often between the ages of 1 and 3, and the behaviors have usually been going on for a while by the time they actually reach out to me. In almost every case the problem stems from lack of socialization. Personally, I … Continue reading

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Get Off the Treadmill

Here we are again . . . another brand new year beginning. It’s the time when we all declair resolutions, set goals and make promises to ourselves. For many of us, our enthusiasm will quickly wane and all our good intentions will have been abandoned by mid February. I’ve been doing a lot of thought about all this and just had to shoot you this quick video. My hope is that this video has made you really assess your state of happiness and begin to realized that everything is in your control – if you take action. My challenge to … Continue reading

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Why Growling is Good

When your lovable family dog, who has always been a happy member of your pack, all of a sudden growls it can be a very surprising and disconcerting event. Most people are shocked and appalled that their lovable fur ball would growl at them, a guest or another dog. Many times the dog has never shown this kind of behavior ever before and it’s very out of character. The tendency is to take it a bit personally and become reactive to the incident by immediately scolding your dog for growling and punishing the behavior. After all, you expect your dog … Continue reading

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Make a Resolution to Your Dog

Happy New Year everyone! I hope the past year was a great one for you. Today I want to discuss how to make 2012 an even better year for both you and your dog. This is the time when everyone is reassessing their goals and making resolution for the New Year. I’m a big fan of goal setting but I find that most people don’t understand how to go about making those resolutions actually come to pass. Everyone begins year all gung-ho but within a few weeks most people fade out their efforts. Why? The reason most people fail when … Continue reading

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Addressing the Age Old Problem of Chewing

Ok, what was it? What was it that your dog destroyed that prompted you to read this post? Was it a new pair of shoes, your nice leather couch, or maybe kid’s homework (I know it’s a cliché but hey, it happens). All dogs chew – you’re never going to stop that. What we need to do is make sure we teach your dog to chew on the appropriate things and not on all that other stuff. The big reasons for chewing are boredom, insufficient exercise and lack of supervision. Lack of exercise and boredom go hand in hand, are … Continue reading

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Structured Play

One of the simple joys of being a dog is playtime. Play is high on just about every dog’s list of the coolest ways to pass the day. Although some dogs are more playful than others and older dogs may have matured to a less playful stage of life, the majority of pooches out there light up at the sight of a ball or squeaky toy. Playtime is a time of fun and seemingly reckless abandon, however should still be structured with rules and boundaries. Just because you’re taking a break from life to engage in a little playtime with … Continue reading

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Is Cesar Millan Bad For Your Dog?

When I first became a dog trainer I very quickly realized that there is one word that has divided dog professionals and has become the cause for much debate, countless arguments and event resentment. Saying this word will cause a dog trainer to either smile with respect or scowl in disgust. That word is Cesar. My beginnings My dog training education started before I even knew that dog training was an actual career. Ten years ago I adopted dog – a pit bull named Hayley. This was my first dog as an adult and I didn’t know what to expect … Continue reading

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