One of the most common concerns people have is wanting their dog to come when called.  It makes sense that this is the case because our dogs have their own interests, and often the world has many fun interests to compete with our call.  To compete with that, we need a plan to first teach our dogs that coming to us when we call is an a great thing to do, and to then challenge them with achievable challenges to improve their ability to respond even when distracted.  

The biggest tip I can give you is to make coming to you amazing.  Make it fun and enjoyable for your dog, and do so repeatedly so that your dog develops a strong history of responding to you being a great deal for them.  This foundation creates an almost automatic response because your dog doesn't need to think about what comes next, they know it will great.  And that is what causes them to return even when there is something else they are interested in.  There are a variety of games that you can play with your dog to establish this foundation, and in private lessons I can help you choose and tailor games to your dog's specific preferences, but here are some common ones you can try.

It depends!  I am a big fan of letting dogs learn how to work odour to source before adding in a lot of direction from their handler in the search, after all, our dogs are the ones with the nose!  Using airflow strategically can help your dog learn to trace an odour cloud back to it's source.  And knowing when the airflow may be working against you can help you make sure that your dog gets into the right position to be able to pick up the scent cloud in the first place.   Let's look at some scenarios.

This topic comes up in a variety of ways in both my personal and professional life.

• Adding a dog to my own personal home
• Visiting family/friends who also have dogs (a little off topic but related)
• Clients wondering about adding another dog
• Clients who have added another dog and things aren't going as they expected.

When we decide to add another dog to our home, we usually have visions of the dogs becoming good friends, playing together, sleeping together, sharing everything, etc.   And while that sometimes does happen, it is also wise to consider that sometimes it doesn't, or not as fast as we would like.  If you're in the thinking about it stage, we'll look at some factors to consider and ways to stack the deck in your favour.  If you've already added your new dog and you've run into some unexpected hiccups, try backing up a bit, give everyone their own space, and reintroduce slower and potentially with some help creating good associations and tolerance for the other dog.

As I live with a new puppy again, there are a few things I find myself very grateful for, and if you have or planning to add a new puppy to your household, you may find them helpful as well.

I love going hiking with my dogs, but there are some things that make that experience more enjoyable for us both.

I find hiking so much more enjoyable when my dogs aren't pulling me down the trail!  Although it can be frustrating when you just want to go on a hike, I highly recommend taking the time to train your dog to walk nicely on a loose leash.  These two things aren't mutually exclusive, I taught Tristan how to casually walk on a loose leash on trails, however, I had to go out knowing that I'd be stopping and turning if he pulled so I wouldn't cover as much ground, or if I stuck with a predetermined route, it would take us longer to complete it.  Consistency is the key here - if your dog gets to explore by dragging you along behind them, that's what they'll do in the future.  

Here is how I taught Tristan not to drag me down the trail: