Author: amix

The Calm Energy crew had an amazing pack walk last week, through Prospect Park! Eight pooches joined the gang, led by our Calm Energy greyhounds Monkey and Turtle. At first, when the group of dogs gathered in a circle [...]

Recall: win-win-win. happy, positive treat/praise/rub, release/reward.practice in the park, around distractions! Better proofing, and more rewardeven add leashing and releasing.this all said, don't call to "come" when leaving the park! (Why?)Instead "sit", "lie down", "let's go for a walk"Make [...]

I just got back from a dog trainer's party! Well, no balloons, cake, or cocktails, but still lots of fun. It was a meeting of tri-state dog trainers and sharing of questions, experiences, knowledge, and training methods, hosted in Manhattan by the [...]

Is your dog "ready"?fearfear-aggressiondominanceprey drive, prey aggressionExercise for energy:Physical, mental, "social".

This street art installation has absolutely nothing to do with dogs, or dog training. But I enjoyed seeing it. And it made me think......about dogs.And dog training.(Go figure!) TECHNOLOGY If you own a pet, you are probably already painfully [...]

The Horowitz Dog Cognition Lab at Barnard is up and running, and they are looking for dog and owner participants!In my opinion this is exactly the kind of scientific study of of dog behavior that we desperately need more [...]

What's Right, And What's Wrong, With Reward-Based "Positive" Dog TrainingRight:dogs are motivated by reward, positive reinforcement.Who isn't?I say almost my entire methodology is "looking for opportunities to reward."Wrong:"Rewards" as pure distraction (doesn't treat; at best only postpones)At worst reinforces [...]

One of the easiest ways to train your dog is at feeding time. Yet I can't tell you how often I hear from owners of hyper, disobedient pups:  "But I DO make my dog sit before he gets his [...]

Turtle kept stealing toys off the table. Over the weekend I had the opportunity to give a talk about dog training at a wonderful dog-centric lakeside barbecue hosted by Brooklyn Bark.  I was joined by pet photographer James Morrissey who gave a talk on [...]