Category: Dog Health

The Failure Of Treat-Focused, “Purely Positive” Dog Training

So-called "purely positive" training is a huge new fad. It means you only reward your dog's good behavior; you never correct the bad. Most purely positive trainers are what I call "treat-focused", centering around giving the dog edible treats [...]

Why Walk Your Dog? (The Answer May Surprise You!)

All good owners know they need to walk their dog. Granted, there are exceptions … like the nice lady who called me because her dog was chewing and destroying the house, and then looked surprised when I told her the problem [...]

“Don’ts” When Training Recall (“Come!”)

In my last post I explained why what I call "Leading" is a more helpful obedience ritual to have mastered than recall ("Come") when taking your dog offleash. Still, "Come" can be a very useful command, particularly in various [...]

Street Etiquette for Dogs

I recently had a client new to puppy-rearing who asked "What is the etiquette for where to allow your dog to pee, when walking in the city?" My answer? "That's a great question!" _________________________ I could name a few [...]

To Tyson

Last week I cried as a sweet, peaceful, loving dog stopped breathing in my arms. Then I cried tears of joy, as I watched him come back to life. I'd traveled that day to Sheepshead Bay to work with [...]