There are some very, very good dog trainers out there. These are the trainers-of-trainers – they don’t take on pet people any more as they are beyond that, they are the nth degree blackbelts of dog training, the grand masters, the sensei, the research scientists of the dog world. Some of these will drop little pearls […]

A commenter left this comment on my post about Pit Bulls. I was going to reply to it, but I feel it deserves a whole post aaaalllll by itself. “Jescargill- contrary to your statement rescues do not “sell” dogs. they charge an adoption fee that is used toward their organization continuing to help other dogs. […]

Two dogs enjoying some offleash time – oh wait, they’re both wearing ecollars! They can’t be enjoying themselves, can they?! I am a balanced trainer. I’ve got a lot of tools in my bag-o-tricks, including my voice, my hands, my feet, my hips, my eyes, my body posture, niblets of treats, the ghost and promise […]

When I was a little girl, my dad would speak to me about the dangers of narrative thinking. (Of course, my frequent response was to stare blankly, think “I’m like . . . 9, dad, I can’t read Godel Escher Bach yet, nor understand this conversation. Can I go outside and play?”) But I guess […]

“Please help me, I don’t know what to feel about this”

Sometimes, I like to watch my dogs to get an idea of what they’re thinking. Mika is a hussy. She’s the kind of dog to stick her tail in male dog’s faces (even though she’s fixed) and drag them all around town with a come-hither flash of her blue eyes. The only dogs that have […]

Recently, I had the privilege to watch a heated conversation on Facebook about pit bulls develop. If you’ve been on the internet longer than a week and you have a dog, I’m sure you’re familiar with such conversations. It was, in truth, about image. What is the image of the pit […]

I’ve tried, as a baby dog trainer, to sit down and listen more than I talk. I caught criticism lately for the fact that my dogs followed the commands of an (apparently mentally handicapped) electric company man who decided to open my front door when his knock wasn’t answered. Instead of running out the door, […]

Well, This blog is mostly going to be about dogs. Possibly about other things. But most things lead back to dogs. After all, I’m a dog pusher – come get training. Let me help you pick out your next dog. Do you have questions about dogs? I can tell you anything you want to […]