ARF! Training

It’s that time of the year!  Time for joyous celebration, shopping, overeating, overdrinking, visiting relatives, crowds, traffic, the inability to decide what to buy for Aunt Betty, the sudden realization that what you bought for Aunt Betty won’t work at all, and,...

January 26th, 2015 It’s gonna be a long, long winter’s day is all I kept thinking as Dawson’s energy level grew.  For a week (or six months, I don’t know. I’ve lost track of time), the weather has been either bitterly cold or rainy so there is little opportunity to do...

Number of dogs per day. The more dogs there are, the more chances of something happening. Find out the staff to dog ratio. Staff to dog ratio. Make sure there is adequate staff to supervise the dogs. Anywhere from 10 to 15 dogs per staff member is a good number....

Which do you like better? A dog that is trained to have good manners or one that hasn’t a clue that tackling you like a NFL linebacker is a bad thing? Certainly you’d agree that it’s great fun to be dazzled by a pooch that displays a variety of tricks simply for your...

Having a dog that comes immediately when called is a marvelous thing. When I was training Grady to come promptly when called (dog trainers often refer to this as a recall) I had one goal. I wanted Grady to find the sound of my voice irresistible. Puppies love...

This summer has had record breaking temperatures so it is good to be reminded of how the heat can affect our canine friends. In fact, it really doesn’t take much for a dog to get overheated in hot temperatures since their body temperature is higher than humans’...

There are several benefits of Doggy Day Care. Here's what I consider to be the most important benefits for your dog. A tired dog is a happy dog. And, or course, a tired dog is less likely to get into trouble! D oggy day care is a great outlet for their energy and it...

I used a clicker to train Grady but you don’t have to - just be consistent with treating your dog for the behavior you want. Here are some general suggestions to help you be successful: Make sure you have lots of really good treats.   Remember the goal at this stage...

If you’re dealing with a dog who refuses to cooperate and take his pill, I feel your pain. For 14 days I had to give an antibiotic  to my pill resistant dog, Tucker.  It about drove me crazy.  He was quite a challenge during this time and I had to get pretty...